Disgraced former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling won a small victory Thursday. Yesterday the Supreme Court handed down a ruling that restricted prosecutors' use of an anti-fraud law making it a crime to "deprive another of the intangible right of honest services." Skilling had argued the unconstitutional vagueness of such an honest services law being used by prosecutors in his case. more ›

We told you in January that Whole Foods purchased the largest share of wind energy credits in the nation. They became the first major national corporation to buy enough renewable energy credits to make up for all of their energy usage. more ›

Former Enron crook CFO Andrew Fastow received a six-year sentence today for his involvement in the massive corporate defrauding at the former energy giant. As part of his guilty plea of 2004, Fastow had agreed to no more than 10 years in the slammer. U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt shortened the sentence to six years, believing Fastow had done his part to help the company’s shareholders and due to the suffering of his family. Aw, how sweet. We wonder if every criminal whose family suffers ends up getting a lighter sentence. Don’t drop the soap, Andy. Actually, come to think of it, do drop it. Over and over again. more ›

Enron founder and former chairman Kenneth Lay died yesterday of an apparent heart attack, while vacationing in Aspen. The convicted felon was to be sentenced in October after being found guilty in late May of six counts of conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud. Even during his trial, when his insanely decadent lifestyle was exposed -- including his purchase of a $200,000 yacht for his wife's birthday soiree while concurrently over $100 million in... more ›

After 16 weeks of testimony, the jury has come back. And fairly quickly. The Smartest Guys in the Room now know their fates. Jeff Skilling (28 counts) Guilty on Conspiracy and all counts of Security Fraud charges. Not guilty on charges 42-51 (insider trading). Ken Lay (6 counts) Guilty on Conspiracy and all counts of Security Fraud charges. Experts think the two men will receive close to 20-25 years for their misdeeds. It is... more ›

DCist helps us make more sense of the world this week. Posts like this concert review are the reason for Scott Stapp. DCist also enumerates the reasons for playing ultimate frisbee, Condi's tight buns, their love of a local convenience store, and their jealousy of a person in Seattle calling the city. LAist documented graf artist Banksy's most recent visit to LA in one two three posts. They also found the best possible use... more ›

Earlier this week kissy couples were wading through roses and red tissue paper deeper than an east coast snow dump and singles shook a tiny, lonely fist (no ring!) at it all. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 - Valentine's season is in the can, finally. Austinist is already pulsing with SX energy and posting on the People's Choice Award nominees and the short films that will be playing while the... more ›

We are obviously mounted-up and riding high with the Kinky Friedman campaign for governor. (I mean, Why the Hell Not?) But we have the sneaking suspicion that this race will eventually come down to a battle between the two parties of the Establishment. With that said, the Democrats picked up a little bit of optimistic steam this morning as Chris Bell announced his candidacy for governor. In his announcement, Bell brought a breath of... more ›

According to Martha Stout's book The Sociopath Next Door, approximately one in 25 of us is a sociopath. So we figure here in Austin we have around 26,000, but since Austin is a rapidly growing city, there are probably a lot more. Of course, this may come as no surprise to Austinites. One weekday drive down I-35 is enough to convince anyone of a plague of sociopathy. Martha Stout, Ph.d has written this book... more ›

Bewitched From director Nora Ephron, who brought us such sugary sweet servings as “Sleepless in Seattle” and “You’ve Got Mail,” comes this reimagining of the classic 60’s television sitcom of the same name. Will Ferrell, whom we obviously love for his comedic chops (Blue Oyster Cult sketch, anyone?), if not his fine acting skills, plays Jack, a struggling actor who is cast to play Darrin in a remake of the tv show. He gets... more ›

FRIDAY more ›

This Friday marks the opening of Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room at the Dobie and South Lamar Alamo theaters. The film was in Austin about a month ago when it showed at SXSW, so some of you lucky ones may have already seen it. (Also? It's based on the book of the same name.) None of that really matters though. Austinist just wants you to go see this film. We know. It's... more ›

FRIDAY [fun] Austinist contributors Katie Spence & Reed Becker will be wandering around Austin's "financial district" wearing Ken Lay masks in support of the new documentary film, "Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room" - 2ish this afternoon [art] Tex-Mex Casserole Opening Party at Flux (new collaborative work from Dennis Hodges & Brandon Petree. 6-10) [music] Crack Pipes Record Release party at Beerland (with John Schooley & His One-man Band) [music] True Penny at El... more ›

What with his curly hair and PC company, Austinite Michael Dell has always seemed like a pretty mild-mannered guy to us. But according to The New Yorker’s James Surowiecki, he’s a local hotshot and is in danger of being undone by hubris, like Moctezuma, Abdul Hamid II or Alcibiades.* more ›