Our sister sites in NYC, San Francisco, and Chicago may have the culinary advantage of established food scene braggin' rights, but during the long weekend of April 10-13, the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival returns for its 23rd year, showcasing Central Texas' unique culinary points of distinction (with modern mixology, gourmet hangover breakfasts, and Austinist's most important gastronomic matter - the ubiquitous search for the perfect taco - at the head of the line.)...

Photo from Obama’s rally at The Backyard by Romain Nayalkar for Austinist.comWith all eyes focused on Texas and what could well prove to be a kingmaking March 4 primary, the statewide political machine has kicked into full gear. Whether it's a happy hour, camp out, or fundraising poker tournament, there's something going on just about every day of the week for Obama or Clinton supporters. Even those still rooting for under-underdog Ron Paul have something......

Item: The organizers at SXSW have responded to years of complaints about long lines and short notice by dramatically revising the wristband system for the 2008 festival. 4,000 wristbands priced at $139 are reserved exclusively for Austinites and will be distributed via an online lottery system that commences at 9am on Thursday, February 21st. There is a four-day period for sign-up, then the festival will let the winners know they've been selected shortly thereafter. All registrants must live in the Austin area - a credit card with an Austin metro area billing zip code will be required (this generously stretches as far as San Marcos, Georgetown, and Taylor). One can purchase two wristbands, but one of them must be for the purchaser...and the recipient of the second one must be named when placing an order....

Photo by gunnyrat on flickr The oil that spilled onto Sixth Street and into Waller Creek last week came from a 100-year-old underground tank. Jennifer Kim on the Northcross WalMart: "It's going to be a freaking disaster." Celebration Church in Georgetown has its own Starbucks and 5,000 attendees. Sayeth the pastor: "You can't do church without money." Wachovia Bank on Mesa Drive robbed this morning. Statewide public meetings on the Trans-Texas Corridor to begin tomorrow.......

As if this weather hasn't been enough to get even the laziest of Austinites out and running, Paul Carrozza and his team over at RunTex are creating even more reasons to get out and about in 2008. Over the course of this month, the Lake Austin Boulevard RunTex will be stripped of its retail shelves—in its place will be a running institution aimed at consulting, training, and creating various fitness programs and seminars for local athletes....

Photo by Northern Transplant on flickr The Trail of Lights will open this Sunday evening. Suspicious black powder sent to office at Ninth and Congress today. Looks like vice chancellor and dean of agriculture Elsa Murano will soon be A&M's first female president. The former TEA science director forced out for forwarding an email on evolution thinks she is now unemployable. Will the upcoming strip club "tax" affect the Alamo Drafthouse? The Texas Comptroller's office......

Image from City of Austin Watershed Protection Dept. 108,000 gallons of wastewater drain into tributary to Harris Branch Creek, killing fish and possibly harming nearby residents who use well-water. Manhunt on for man who shot and killed someone during a card game in Bastrop this morning. Truck overturns in South Austin, takes power lines with it. Georgetown cop indicted for sexually assaulting a female in custody. Dawnna Dukes may have an opponent in her race......

Back in November, we caught the brief, free run of A Mystical Quest To Slay Normalcy at Southwestern University in Georgetown. We enjoyed this remarkable, site-specific work so much that we have to talk about it, and share rehearsal / promotion video. Described as “exploring disability,” the performance by Southwestern's Department of Theatre and the Theatre For Social Justice started off at the Jones Theater on campus. The show then mocked the fact that wheelchair......

Photo by punchup on flickr East Austin halfway/"sober" house to close after neighbors complained. Mother and child hit by truck in Georgetown HEB parking lot. Double B Foods recalling 98,000 pounds worth of sausage roll products for listeria contamination. After a fight at Taylor High School, the police tasered a girl, arresting her and two other students. 109,263 mistakes in the math textbooks proposed to be used for the 2008 school year at Texas elementary......

Google MapsGeorgetown Village, a new master planned community 35 miles north of downtown Austin, is hoping to become the first green subdivision in Georgetown. According to the Statesman: Green Builders Inc. is creating an 800-acre master-planned community with 2,000 houses that will be environmentally friendly and feature rain harvesting and energy-saving heating and cooling systems. Georgetown Village will offer 15 floor plans, from 1,800 square feet to 2,400 square feet. Several models are near completion.......

Former Westlake High teacher resigns to teach at a lower-income school; less than pleased, Eanes school district attempts to get him suspended A UT journalism student has a nice chat with Dan Rather during a morning Jet Blue flight from Austin to New York City A routine traffic stop in Hunt County turns up two dozen embalmed human heads in the back of a tractor-trailer A woman in the Dallas/Fort Worth area comes forward with......

Paul Ross Evans gets 40 years in federal prison for attempting to blow up the Austin Women's Health Center in April. The state's first sex offender treatment program may start in Milam County. Mueller Property Owners Association Open House tomorrow (Sat, Oct. 20) from 10am to 2pm at Mueller Central. Will your comments and questions be addressed? Is Dubya really the best fund-raising tool the Cornyn campaign can come up with? Georgetown woman escapes......

A dealership in Georgetown has found itself in the middle of a public relations debacle after it was caught making racist comments in an effort to sell more cars. Attempting to show off the fancy air-conditioned seating in its Lincoln vehicles, Mac Haik dealership ran the headline "Tired of the Wet Backs????" at the top of an email ad that was distributed to over 1,000 customers last week. Among these customers were members of the......

Old Pecan Street Festival, UT home game, Silicon Labs Marathon Relay, and Alzheimer’s Memory Walk are all in the downtown area this weekend. Watch for street closures! Sheryl Cole's Safe Surrender program will allow people with outstanding warrants to turn themselves in at area churches. APD is supporting Jennifer Kim's anti-panhandling ordinance; a public hearing on the ordinance is set for October 18. The US Supreme Court stopped the execution of Carlton Turner Jr., who......

There's so much going on across the Ist-a-Verse that it's almost impossible to keep track these days. Fortunately, we do it so you don't have to! Londonist took a walk through Oliver Twist's London, thanks to a gorgeous map layer for Google Earth. They also caught up with modern-day fictional London, with the Fantastic Four and 28 Weeks Later. It was a week of insanity over at DCist. They started the week off with......

Absolutely nothing, but they're all part of a Halloween-style flash mob being planned for this Saturday, May 5th, in Georgetown. Equal parts bizarre spectacle and fodder for a film to be submitted to AFF next year, the Cinco de Mayo flash mob will take place at a youth championship soccer game. Thus far, they've already convinced a pair of unicyclists, "some" local media, and a mariachi band to come. They're hoping to get at least......

In the wake of a serious dog attack that left 69 year-old Genevia Bushnell recovering from 23 distinct bites, the Texas Legislature is considering a change in dog aggression laws. Current laws don't classify dogs as dangerous unless they've previously been reported for an act of aggression, allowing the dogs' owner, Janet Mott of Fredericksburg, to escape punishment even despite her indifference and inaction during the attack. (Allegedly, Janet stood idly by and even commented......

We bring you this customer service announcement for those of you in need of a little friendship in the 'burbs. It seems to be fairly specific, so if you fit the criteria you best apply. *Cowboy Hats Not Included. My friendship My good friend and neighbor of nearly 6 years is moving to Georgetown. As with all (non-gay, strictly friends) friendships, we enjoyed some great experiences from attending games downtown to poker nights to......

austinist is an Official Media Sponsor of The Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival photo of Chef John Ash courtesy The Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival Sure, think about the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival and the Sunday Fair in Georgetown is the first thing to come to mind. One of our favorite events, though, is this Saturday from 10am-1pm - then outdoor farmers’ market-inspired tasting event - From......

Every year - from large festivals to more intimate tastings, from foodie seminars to elegant galas - the Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival showcases many of austinist's culinary favorites. At locations throughout town, the festival highlights not only local restaurants and culinary talents but local products as well. This year, the festival includes old favorites such as demos and classes by local and national celebrity chefs as well as the ubiquitous Sunday......

With great weather, a social atmosphere, and big crowds, there were many good times to be had at last year's Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival Sunday Fair in Georgetown. Having braved the long drive, we found a huge, beautiful park filled with white tents full of salsa, BBQ, chocolate, tamales, and copious amounts of booze. This is probably one's best chance to experience the gluttony of the THCWFF at a moderate cost,......

We drive by their lot on a daily basis, and for a while just assumed that they were selling clown cars. Those funny-looking vehicles parked at South Lamar dealership Shock Value are, in fact, the latest batch of electric cars produced by California-based ZAP Power Systems. And soon, you'll be able to own one yourself. Last fall, the dealership announced that it had signed an exclusive license agreement to bring the pint-sized "city cars" to......

TxDOT has decided to eliminate funding for trail, beautification and tourist projects, including federal funds distributed by the department. These projects only constituted approximately 2% of the TxDOT budget, but they have now been removed completely, despite the fact that they are mandated by the Transportation Enhancement Program, established by Congress in 1991. TxDOT will spend its entire budget on highway repair and expansion (including ad campaigns). Local projects that will not be receiving......

Out at the refurbished Del Valle High School football stadium, a staged homecoming football game was filmed last Friday night and into the pre-dawn hours of Saturday. The “game” was the backdrop for the Austin-based NBC series Friday Night Lights. The show’s pilot premieres tonight at 7:00 p.m. “We wrapped at 4:00 a.m.,” assistant director Michael Waxman said. “I’ve had about 3-1/2 hours of sleep at this point.” Waxman was talking by cell phone from......

Total annual budget for University of Texas system: $10 billion Number of cell phones confiscated from three "Texas citizens of Pakistani descent," which police alleged could be used in setting off explosives or making meth: 1,000 Cost of renovating Carl's Corner truck stop on I-35 to include a hotel, saloon, and possible golf course, rebadged as Willie's Place in honor of investor Willie Nelson: $5 million Length of sentencing, in years, that 35-year old......

Change in Austin/Round Rock unemployment rate from February to March, according to the Texas Workforce Commission : -.1% [reference] Combined wattage of new solar panels installed at Austin's St. Gabriel's Catholic School: 21,000 [reference] Equivalent pollution reduction this represents, in number of cars per year: 6 Amount hoped to be raised by Austin resident-slash-actor Dennis Quaid at his annual Charity Weekend in May : $500,000 [reference] Number of pounds Quaid thinks he lost back......

A new mid-income housing subdivision in [Far] East Austin was approved by the Travis County Commissioners Court yesterday, paving the way for developers to construct the 1,343-home project that's identical to one already in Pflugerville. The so-called Villages of New Sweden would be so far out in the boondocks (FM 973 and New Sweden Church Road? We've no idea) that surrounding neighbors are worried this first wave of suburban sprawl might "hurt their property......

At a press conference held today, the Austin Icebats stated that they will be staying in Austin as they continue to look for a more permanent home. As you may recall, the team and the city of Cedar Park had an on-again, off-again relationship for a while. Now, they've apparently reached some form of agreement, and the Ice Bats have temporarily returned home while they look for a bigger place. In a joint announcement......

FRIDAY [10] conference/music » The 18th Annual International Folk Alliance Conference comes to town! At the Austin Hilton Hotel (schedule) (Through Feb. 14th) music » Massive instore, featuring (2pm) Freddie Steady 5, (2:45pm) Lost Bayou Ramblers, (3:30) Whit Smith's Hot Jazz Caravan, (4:15) Juan-Carlos Formell, (5:00) Jordan Chassan, and (5:45) Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez at Waterloo Records (link) music » Ghostland Observatory, The Arm, The Blackheart Society plus DJ Erin at Emo's (link) music......

It's good to see that at least one former radio DJ understands the spirit of giving. Stephen Aechternacht has pledged to donate 13,000 CDs to Georgetown’s Southwestern University. A mix of classical, rock and jazz, the gift will quadruple the university’s music collection. Of course the original plan was to bequeath the lot to his alma mater, Southern Methodist University, but the Dallas school wasn’t enthusiastic enough. No ticker tape parade, no tapes. Sufficient......