This past Saturday, two Austinites took home Independent Spirit Awards! Chris Eska took home the "John Cassavetes Award" for his feature August evening, and Laura Dunn took home the "Truer than Fiction Award" for her film The Unforeseen, a documentary look at the controversy surrounding Austin's real estate development and its impact on the Edwards Aquifer and Barton Springs....

Silicon Wafer by kjetilv on stock.xchng Austin-based chip company Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has once again found itself in hot water, and this time it's over something far more visible than damaging the Edwards Aquifer. According to a lawsuit filed with the Travis County District Court on Wednesday, the company is responsible for multiple birth defects in at least one child of a former AMD employee who worked in the manufacturing "clean room." Austin resident......

There will always be chatter about Austin's changing landscape, much as there will always be supporters for both developers and the environment. We want the privilege of taking a dip in a glistening spring-fed pool, but we also want to have a robust economy that allows us to continue working and living in this city. Some would argue that the two desires aren't mutually exclusive, but we all know that it's a sticky subject.......

Scientists, nature buffs and stoners alike have gathered in front of their television sets every Sunday night for the past few weeks in order to catch the awe-inspiring footage of the Discovery Channel mini-series, Planet Earth. Originally produced and aired by the BBC, the eleven part mini-series took crews around the world, working for 5 years and shooting 2,000 days of footage with the latest in high-definition camera technology. Capturing the rarities and wonders......

Barton Springs is currently closed after this week's rains flooded the pool. Meanwhile, on the other side of the watershed, the Save Our Springs Alliance points out that recent construction by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and the Hill Country Galleria Mall have left "huge amounts of sediment," much of which washed into the Edwards Aquifer earlier this week: More photos and descriptions are available on their website.......

One of the films we're most excited about seeing at this year's South By Southwest Film Festival is Laura Dunn's The Unforeseen, a documentary look at the controversy surrounding Austin's real estate development and its impact on the Edwards Aquifer and on Barton Springs. Co-executive-produced by Terrence Malik and Robert Redford (who reportedly learned to swim at Barton Springs), the film explores the unseen relationships between our natural environment and our urge to destroy it.......

The Texas Department of Transportation's plan to replace the part of the four-lane stretch of 290/71 west of MoPac with a 12-lane, partially elevated superhighway has come up against opposition from the people who live nearby and would have to look at it and hear it. As we mentioned a few months ago, a group of those people have come together to form the Fix290 Coalition, which is proposing a relatively sensible 8-lane alternative.......

Pending a vote by the Austin City Council tomorrow, Congress Avenue Bridge is to be renamed in honor of Ann Richards, Texas' 45th Governor who passed away in September. [Excerpted from our previous post] From humble beginnings in Waco, Texas, Richards went on to attend Baylor University on a debate scholarship, later marrying high school sweetheart David Richards and settling in Austin. She began her political career by campaigning for such respected Texas Democrats......

From humble beginnings in Waco, Texas, Richards went on to attend Baylor University on a debate scholarship, later marrying high school sweetheart David Richards and settling in Austin. Her political career began by campaigning for such respected Texas Democrats as former Congressman Henry Gonzalez, famous for demanding Reagan's impeachment, and former Senator Ralph Yarborough, co-writer of the Endangered Species Act and vaunted civil rights advocate. It was in 1988, though, that Richards attained national fame with her quip against then-Presidential candidate George H.W. Bush, "Poor George, he can't help it...He was born with a silver foot in his mouth." ...

Trying out a different approach in their efforts to preserve the Edwards Aquifer from urban development, Save Our Springs Alliance today launched a new audio-based walking tour of Barton Springs. The self-guided tour covers thirteen stations of note, including Philosopher's Rock Statue, Old Mill Springs, Eliza Spring, and the Monument on Big Hill. What's more, they're making these available as free mp3 downloads so you can load 'em onto your iPod before you head......

On May 13, Austin voters will determine the fate of several city charter amendments. Perhaps the most controversial is Proposition 2, referred to as the “Clean Water Amendment.” Prop. 2 would amend certain policies involving the Edwards Aquifer and require the City to fight projects that seek to circumvent the Save Our Springs rules adopted by voters in 1992. Prop. 2 was proposed – along with Prop. 1, the “Open Government Amendment” against “secret......

It's been a rollercoaster week for the Save Our Springs Alliance. The on Monday announced that it had finally collected the necessary 20,000 signatures to add an amendment to the ballots in May that would effectively make it city public policy to prevent development in the Edwards Aquifer, chiefly by restricting the tax incentives typically offered to land developers and discouraging large corporations from moving in. Case in point is semiconductor giant Advanced Micro......

Reader Alison writes: What exactly is an aquifer? I'm always entering some kind of aquifer and don't know what the heck they are. But damn, those aquifers and watersheds, or whatever, are all over the place. To summarize all of the definitions we found, an aquifer is an underground body of water. Ever heard of an Artesian Well? Sounds sexy, doesn’t it? The marketing departments of certain bottled water companies seem to think so.......

High on Austinist's list of things we love about this city are our countless lakes, springs, and rivers. Diving into Barton Springs is the perfect remedy for a scorching summer day, and in any season Town Lake provides the ideal backdrop for an early morning run. On a higher level, we feel that natural resources like these serve as the cornerstones of our outdoor community. Without them, we'd likely be as desolate and dry......