The Statesman is reporting that Maria Martinez (33, Austin) has been charged with cruelty to animals after throwing her boyfriend's Shih Tzu into a dumpster. Apparently, Martinez's boyfriend, Michael Jackson, loves his 12 year-old dog a little too much for her liking, as she claims she tortured him out of jealousy. According to the arrest affidavit, Martinez tossed the pup into a dumpster and then "slammed the animal onto the concrete." All this after also attempting to poison the dog (his name is Chase) by pouring bleach into his food bowl. No word on what exactly this woman's problem is with Chase, but we're glad to know that the owner is pressing charges. Congratulations, Maria Martinez, you're one of the most terrible people around. How could you be mad at a Shih Tzu? more ›

• Tragic. An unresponsive infant was found in a parked car today, later pronounced dead.
• Do you have an extra-large dog crate or some towels you aren’t using? The Austin Humane Society could use your help taking care of the 150-plus dogs who were just rescued from a Bastrop home.
• One of the women from The Real Housewives of New York visits The Big D. Sadly, the actual part where she “visited” with fans doesn’t sound like much fun.

Last week I invited my writing workshop students to write obituaries describing the lives they hope to have lived by the time they reach the finish line. Some balked, thinking this was too creepy and might even jinx them into dying sooner rather than later. I’ve decided to thumb my nose at this potential curse and write up my own fantasy obit. Here ya go: Spike Gillespie died on May 4, 2074 at her home in East Austin. She was 110 years young. Though the cause of death remains fuzzy, an autopsy suggests she succumbed to the one-two combo of a head injury and “over licking.” Her son, Henry, 83, told investigators that two days before her death Gillespie was driving him to band practice, as she had every week for the past 70 years, when, as she was so fond of doing, she accelerated while approaching a speed bump, at which point her trusty Buddha statuette, which she kept on her dashboard to remind her not to flip-off shitty drivers, flew forward and conked her in the head. more ›

There’s a new dude in my life. It’s all Warren’s fault for leaving me for a month to go on a road trip. I guess I got lonely. I don’t usually succumb to online ads. But there I was, one Saturday morning, clicking a link, reading Dante’s story. Even though he’s 49, overweight, blonde (not my preference) and has a mysterious history, still I thought, “I need to meet this guy.” I met him in person that same day, let him move in the day after that. Turns out he’s a heavy breather, slobbers a lot, and spends most of his time lying around. He’s not a particularly well-mannered eater. And it became clear our first night together that we won’t ever share a bed. Still, I’m letting him stay. more ›

• Rice University's radio station KTRU is being sold to The University of Houston. Rice folks aren't happy about this!
• Team from Pearland is in the Little League World Series.
• A million here, a million there, and pretty soon it adds up to real money….and a lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Super sad news— we lost Lee Mannix, aka The Irish Dogfather, to a car crash earlier this week. I never had the pleasure of meeting Lee, but I know he rocked the worlds of many a pooch as he trained their humans to better understand them. Perhaps Lee’s best-known client is Kinky Friedman, who will be eulogizing the dog behaviorist later today. (Note: am posting this May 6, 2010, link to the details for the celebration of Lee’s life here.) In this town of mostly less-than-one-degree-of-separation, I happen to know Kinky, who has had a direct and incredible impact on my life. No, not through his writing and his politics, though these amuse me. The thing that really binds us is our shared love of dogs. More to a point, because of Kinky’s animal rescue efforts, I have come to live with a dog that, for the three years she’s been alive, has easily won two annual international contests: Cutest Dog on the Planet and Dumbest Dog on the Planet. more ›

• If you thought you saw a Viking Boat on the street on Saturday, it wasn’t your imagination. It was on the way to be part of the East Austin Studio Tour!
• The Blue October show at Stubb's on Friday was kind of a big deal. People even flew in from out-of-town to see the band play.
• The Austin Film Society's current film series features the work of a modern Finnish filmmaker. Watching some of the films might make you very glad that you don’t live in Finland!

If every dog has its day, then that day is Sept. 8 for the free-roaming Fidos at the Bull Creek District Park. Blaming unsafe levels of E. coli bacteria in the unleashed dogs’ fecal waste, the city proposed yesterday to make Bull Creek an on-leash park this September. more ›

10 good reasons why you should vote on Saturday. New unemployment claims drop. Prejean keeping it classy. Now, someone take away her title. Kthxbai. Santa Barbara still on fire. Infuriating story on dumped dogs in Malaysia. Do you read your news online? (Ahem!) Get ready to pay for it. Texas smoking ban bill about to die. more ›

Your best excuse for throwing that zany-yet-slutty costume onto your favorite pooch (this side of Halloween) comes this Saturday with back-to-back pet events along South Congress. more ›

• Uno visits the Capitol.
• Waco man stabbed for his flatulence.
• Local auto theft on the rise.

According to Stuart Strong, acting director of the Austin Parks and Recreation, the department has already received feedback from people on both sides of the leash issue but it will be holding an upcoming meeting later this month to discuss this and other concerns facing Auditorium Shores improvements. Once the department has a sense for the public's stance on the issue, it will present the final plan to the City Council for approval. more ›

In celebration of his newest release, and in anticipation of various readings about town, Austinist asked Austin author Owen Egerton to write something special to be published here, just for you. From his heart. Something sacred. Something of wow and character. And that is precisely what he has done here. But for those readers who, like most of us, are slaving away at some dismal day job beneath pale lights of buzzing fluorescence amidst the scent of burnt coffee, where certain words or humor are unfortunately frowned upon, some of the subject matter and phrasing may be deemed NSFW. Perhaps you should wait until you get home. Or live a little and risk it. Hell, it’s Friday. And seriously, this is quite possilby the funniest thing we've read all week. more ›

Second week of early voting begins - the last day to vote early is Friday! Ooops...South Austin polling site left open after hours on Saturday. Truck carrying pumpkins overturned on 183 near 970 after the driver fell asleep at the wheel early this morning. Was dragging death of Brandon McClelland in Northeast Texas race-related? The president at A&M has been given authorization to settle lawsuits over the bonfire collapse. Perhaps the lesson learned here is to keep your dog on a leash at parks that require them? A look at Concordia University's new campus. more ›

Poet and Austin fixture Raúl Salinas died yesterday morning."Ponytail bandit" caught in Thailand! Her bank-robber husband is still on the loose. Uno, whose handler used to live in Austin, is first beagle to win Westminster Dog Show. A tale of dog rustling: in which the mayor of Alice lied to her neighbors about the health and whereabouts of their Shih Tzu. Over the protestations of most El Pasoans, TCEQ renews smelter's air quality permit. more ›

Image from www.sustain-a-ball.org Sustainable Shopper’s Ball, "Have a Green, Green Christmas!" FestivalSaturday, December 1Burger Center (3200 Jones Road)9am-2pm, FREE[info]It's time for the second annual Sustainable Shopper's Ball Green Holiday Festival! Over 60 local vendors will be at the Sunset Valley Farmer's Market at Burger Center this Saturday with plenty of sustainable products and gift ideas to choose from. You can finally buy that sun oven for your brother-in-law, or an electronic motorcycle for yourself. You... more ›

Image from Wild Sweet Orange’s MySpace, by Jason Wallis The Whigs & Wild Sweet OrangeThursday, November 15Stubbs (801 Red River)$10 | Doors 10:30 p.m. | Inside[info] | [tickets] | [The Whigs MySpace] | [Wild Sweet Orange MySpace]Wild Sweet Orange are in town this Thursday at Stubb’s to offer introspective dream-pop from their recently released The Whale EP, as well as their upcoming full-length for Canvasback Music. The Birmingham, Alabama act’s “Ten Dead Dogs” was featured... more ›

A new academic study suggests that the appeal of curvy women is based on more than the purely physical. Homophobic Surgeon General nominee to be recess appointed by Bush? The 2008 Austin Firefighters Calendar is on sale, and we're thinking about next summer's dry spell already. WTF: Jump-roping dogs. The Austin Independent School District just started an outreach program that’s meant to enroll more African American students into its gifted and talented programs. In... more ›

P&K Grocery, South Austin's fancy mom-and-pop corner store, has gone out of business. Though open for only a year and a half, the tiny market on West Mary became a neighborhood staple, offering, among a host of more exotic specialty foods, wonderful sandwiches, hot dogs, and (best of all) cupcakes. The store did what it could to help out the community, and, in turn, became a much-appreciated part of the community as well. "We are... more ›

OMG, Barkitecture! Done laughing? Okay, if you love your dog bring your furry friend to 2nd Street District area tomorrow for Barkitecture Austin 2007 – a silent auction for dog-houses built by 20 of Austin’s architects, builders and designers. All proceeds go directly to Animal Trustees of Austin, Lucky Mutts, Austin Dog Rescue and Blue Dog Rescue, which find homes for stray dogs. Bidding starts at noon at Lofty Dog, there’s a live photo... more ›

Weird: Finding a human leg in a smoker you bought at auction. Weirder: It wasn't from a murder, the owner of leg was too attached to let it go. Woman gives birth to 17-pound baby. And no, she's not American. SHOCK! Parts of the Patriot Act are unconstitutional. Not only was he making dogs kill each other, but he was smoking weed too. The U.S. Citizenship test just got a little bit harder. Not... more ›

Starting October 1, it will be illegal to leave dogs unsupervised and chained or tethered in lawns. The City Council passed the ordinance in June; pamphlets telling people of the new ordinance were sent along with utility bills in August. more ›

Drippings Springs Baptist Church has been on fire since 3:30 this afternoon . . . and 290 (in Dripping Springs) is closed because of it. Inmate dies in Travis County jail. Perry and Dewhurst visit local schools to celebrate the signing of the 'defibrillators in schools' bill. Texas Historical Commission pays $490,000 for Davy Crockett's last letter. Animal control finds 41 dogs in a Round Rock home. Man saved from rising water in Leander early... more ›

*Editors' Note: Clearly Austinist does not encourage anyone to get soused in front of their children, thereby damaging their fragile psyches. For those responsible enough to kick a couple back without ultimately taking the kids on a dangerous and terrifying road trip, we offer the following:* If your version of the three martini playdate is to sit and sip microbrew near a playscape in the heat, Austin options abound. Whether you are a stay at... more ›

There’s a way to fundraise, that is. Established painter, photographer, and filmmaker William Wegman has a series of short works that will screen this Thursday, September 6th at The Design Center of Austin to benefit EmanciPET. It’s a collaboration made in doggy heaven, given that Wegman’s subjects are most often his own Weimaraners – a German breed of dogs known for their beautiful coats and haunting, gray eyes. On the subject of his medium-crossing... more ›

JOSH RITTER What’s The Deal: Josh Ritter graduated from college with a major in American History through Narrative Folk Music, which makes the title of this folk-pop singer/songwriter’s recently released album, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter, fitting as well as boastful. He can boast all he wants with those hearty lyrics fat with imagery and the voluminous songwriting of this, his fifth album. Comparisons to Bob Dylan as well as John Lennon immediately come... more ›

Low-income families in Central Texas hoping to replace their old cars may qualify for financial aid Put that pen down, sir: authorities are going after hot check writers across the state this month There's a Lady Bird Johnson tribute DVD out now, with proceeds going to the LBJ Wildflower Center Houston area man gets evicted, leaves behind hundreds of chickens Williamson County animal shelter accidentally euthanizes lost dog after only two days, owners show... more ›

Just moved out of the family house and feeling lonely? Living in an apartment that won't allow dogs? Maybe you need a cat. Throughout the month of July, the Austin Humane Society and Town Lake Animal Center have lowered the adoption fee for cats to $35. This fee covers vaccination, microchipping, de-worming, flea/tick treatment, as well as spay/neuter procedure (if applicable). At this low cost, how can you pass this deal up? Even some... more ›

Banner week for SFist as the site's new editor introduced himself -- hooray for Brock! While the NY Times weighed in on SF's mayoral race, only SFist had the (insert tongue firmly into cheek) hard-hitting latest on candidate/activist Josh Wolf. Coverage of a protest vs. gentrification spawned a fantastic debate amongst SFist's readers. Finally, from the sublime to the ridiculous: video of a man that confused a Board of Supes meeting with "open mic... more ›

The Starlight Mints might occasionally be dismissed as an oddity, but the Oklahoma band’s albums reveal an invigorating, stimulating product. The band sways between Beatles-esque pop and Flaming Lips like eccentricity without missing a beat, all while adding their unique flair and assorted instrumentation and orchestration to the tunes. Allan Vest’s vocal chops combine effortlessly with the wide range of sounds and “Eyes Of The Night” could should win over most skeptics. Their live shows... more ›