Hurricane Dolly's leading edge hits Texas, Mexico Bush drops opposition to housing aid plan Women on antidepressants may benefit from Viagra Polygamous sect leader charged with sexual assault Brawl breaks out at women's pro basketball game Lyons and Mankiewicz: At the Movies Comic-Con expects crowds of up to 125,000 for this year's convention......

A lawsuit against the City of Kyle for violation of the federal Fair Housing Act started yesterday. The suit was filed by the national and Austin branches of the NAACP, the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin and the National Association of Home Builders. It alleges that Kyle has increased the cost of local housing by instituting revised zoning ordinances. According to the NAACP, the resulting increase in prices disproportionately affects minorities and the Fair Housing Act prohibits cities from zoning in a way that excludes housing for certain classes of people, even if officials did not intentionally discriminate....

I left you somewhat in the lurch last week concerning my plans for a weekly column devoted to guests (that would be you), and that was a bit rude of me. But honestly, at the time I wasn’t convinced that I knew exactly what I was looking for....

Photo by my favorite yarn on flickr Sgt. Michael Olsen is appealing his firing by APD. While the housing market everywhere else is on the decline, Austin still a place to buy, according to real estate expert. David Letterman in Austin for a Habitat build. Someone is going door-to-door claiming to be raising money for Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Video: Bobby Knight's neighbor isn't happy about how close Knight is shooting to his property. New, more......

Stock.xchng Austin Green DrinksFriday, November 30Opal Divines Freehouse (700 W. 6th)5:30-7:30ish[info]Green drinkers gather once again this Friday at Opal Divines. On tap this month is Brandi Clark - founder of Environmentality Inc. She is also co-chair of the Austin Sustainable Business Council, past chair of the Urban Forestry Board, and founder of the AustinEcoNetwork. Her goal is to create a focal point for environmental issues and information in Austin and raise the dialog about what......

Image from Killercorn on flickr.ZOM Inc. has again changed its mind about whether units in the currently-under-construction Monarch should be rented or sold. You may recall that The Monarch was initially announced as rental apartments, but switched to for-sale condos two months ago. The timing on that decision wasn't great - Austin's housing inventory has been piling up in the last few months. About twenty percent of The Monarch's units were sold between then and......

The Austin Contrarian did a nice post yesterday on the Design Commission's Density Bonus Recommendations. A "density bonus" isn't quite what it sounds like - developers don't get a bonus for building more density. Instead, developers pay the city (generally to provide money for parks, affordable housing or mass transit) in exchange for the right to build more density. Parks, affordable housing and mass transit are all good things, but density is also a good......

On Thursday night, City Council preliminarily approved the first phase of a plan to create a ‘second downtown’ in the area around the Domain. The North Burnet/Gateway Master Plan aims to transform 2,330 acres north of US 183 into a pedestrian and public transportation friendly mixed-use neighborhood. The plan envisions a redesigned Burnet Road as a ‘multi-use transit boulevard carrying Austin, bicycle and future transit service throughout the area.’ It will encourage the addition of......

Mayor Wynn says, "We're taking action today that will lower the cost of utility bills, make housing more affordable, help improve air quality and take critical steps in the fight against global warming," as City Council adopts codes to make new homes zero energy capable. El Paso high school student collapses and dies after finishing the PSAT. Blanco High School pranksters put bloody deer carcass in Comfort High School bus. Bird conservationists are opposed......

According to Bizjournals, Google is expected to close on a lease at the Scarbrough Building on Sixth and Congress Ave. They'll be taking over the entire second floor of the Chicago-style building, which has the distinction of being Austin's first steel and concrete structure (built just shy of a century ago) and, more interestingly, housing the first dry goods store that tacked on price tags to its wares—before that, stores in Austin worked largely on......

The Northcastle Apartments (8100 North MoPac) have become the newest front in the affordable housing/density wars. Trammell Crow Residential is seeking a zoning change in connection with a plan to demolish the complex and replace it with a larger, denser, more expensive complex. The Zoning and Platting commission will be hearing the request at their meeting tomorrow (item 13). Some residents aren't happy to be displaced, but other residents don't seem to like living there......

Few things are as restorative as the perfectly lazy Sunday brunch — for us, it's the ideal tonic for those especially brutish weekend ragers, which, in this town, happen all too often. Starting this weekend, East Austin's Blue Dahlia Bistro will be serving up its own version of the classic Sunday brunch, with DJs spinning a variety of vintage tunes and cheap mimosas on the menu. The "European-style bistro" takes over the space formerly housing......

As a prelude to CNU XVI, Envision Central Texas and the Congress for the New Urbanism are hosting "From Boom to BEST? The Future of Central Texas", a lunch featuring a discussion by Andrés Duany of Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company, Hank Dittmar of The Prince Charles Foundation for the Built Environment and our own beloved mayor. Topics include fostering walkable development, transit, sustainability in times of booming growth and the impact of mixed-use development......

The American Planning Association has named Old West Austin one of the first ten Great Neighborhoods in America, noting that "Resident Participation Keeps Neighborhood Character Intact." Some might quibble with the characterization of this neighborhood as the "most dense and diverse" in Austin. Also, some haters would probably dispute (apparently contradictory) statements like "Voluntary efforts of residents and developers alike have kept the neighborhood's character intact in the absence of local ordinances governing building......

Austin’s rising population and stagnant housing supply have resulted in increased housing prices. Even though there are a lot of condos under construction, few have hit the market. Our pal Wells Dunbar over at the Chronicle has a nice article discussing the complicated answers to the problem of affordable housing. One undiscussed simple answer would be to get people to stop moving to Austin. Despite our commenters efforts, that plan isn't working [ed: isn't......

The City of Austin has posted a survey seeking local input about the Downtown Austin Plan. The planning process is being led by ROMA Design Group and is supposed to address issues such as density codes, funding mechanisms, transit routes, and affordable housing. The survey is available in English and Spanish and will be up until Oct. 12 or until they get 10,000 responses. Questions include "If I had $100 dollars to spend on......

Chicagoist is gearing up for this weekend's annual Air & Water Show along the lakefront. In what's becoming an annual tradition around there, staff member Todd McClamroch even got to fly with one of the participants. Chicagoist's decidedly opinionated readership was also appalled that one of their staffers found a popular local brewpub to be a great place to bring a kid. They also think that an unlikely activist for immigration rights should just take......

ACL Previews Interview: Midlake Interview: The National Preview: The Wonderful Harmonizers, Loretta Williams Gurnell Preview: JJ Grey & Mofro and Charlie Musselwhite Preview: Young Love and the Dynamites Featuring Charles Walker ACL Band Clash, Round 1: Spoon Vs. Queens Of The Stone Age Snapshots Lollapalooza 2007 Snapshots: Summer Extrav-O-Ganza 2 Weekly Features The Argyle Academy New Release Tuesday: Art in Manila, Flight of the Conchords & Marissa Nadler Feature Review: Okkervil River's The Stage Names......

Back on November 7, 2006, Austin voters approved Proposition 5, the issuance of $55 million in "tax supported General Obligation Bonds and Notes for constructing, renovating, improving, and equipping affordable housing facilities for low income persons and families, and acquiring land and interests in land and property necessary to do so, and funding affordable housing programs as may be permitted by law; and the levy of a tax sufficient to pay for the bonds and......

Between claiming that we need more highways no matter how we pay for them and promoting Smithville as an affordable alternative to living in Austin (commute to Austin, Houston or San Antonio!), it was easy to miss the Statesman's publication of a new rant by developer Ed Wendler, Jr., in which Wendler points out that downtown condos are expensive and says that "Austin should abandon the idea that it is encouraging downtown living to......

Cedar Park, Pflugerville and Round Rock placed among Forbes magazine's fifty fastest growing suburbs in the United States from 2000-2006. Among the many Texas cities on the list, Round Rock was 12th, Pflugerville was 7th and Cedar Park was 3rd. Forbes discussed some of the tradeoffs of unregulated suburban sprawl: low housing costs, but high transportation costs - providing the example that in Houston, transportation costs are the No. 1 household expense, according to......

Details on the murder that occurred on Juneteenth were sketchy when we posted yesterday (as we mentioned). More details of the event have been culled since then, and here is what the police think happened at this point. Two men in a Ford Taurus were driving near the Booker T. Washington housing development Tuesday night and accidentally hit a 2-year-old boy. The driver of the car got out (to check on the boy, perhaps)......

Fridge The Sun (Temporary Residence) Kieran Hebden, Adem and Sam Jeffers have been working hard since 2001's Happiness, though perhaps not with each other. Hebden's Four Tet is almost as prolific as Prefuse spin-offs, and Adem has released one of the greatest folk-pop albums of the decade with Love & Other Planets (2006). Jeffers is no slouch, working hard in the graphic design and web industry, as well as continuing his musical aspirations. As......

Austin, Texas: It's not exactly New England here. We don't have the Liberty Bell or historical plaques on every block explaining how the Pilgrims invented the Internet in some old tavern. But we do have history! You just have to look a little harder to find it. For instance, did you know that in Austin's oldest standing structure, the French Legation, some dude's pigs broke into the bedroom in 1841 and ate the papers and......

Our pals at Project Transitions will host the 12th Annual Texas Swing fundraiser this Friday. Project Transitions - the only nonprofit organization in Central Texas that provides hospice and housing programs for individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS - raised more than $37,000 during last year's Texas Swing with more than 700 people attending. Texas Swing is a family-friendly event that features live music by local favorite Alvin Crow, barbeque by Scholz’s, and free......

Several East Austin groups are asking the city to wait to implement the VMU ordinance until October 1. Their primary concern is that "East Austin is experiencing rampant gentrification ... and that the application of vertical mixed-use zoning will further speed the loss of affordable housing and locally-owned businesses." East Austin is certainly experiencing rampant gentrification. Property values (particularly in 78702) have risen faster than almost anywhere else in the city. However, VMU zoning......

Tuesday night, the Planning Commission recommended approval of a zoning change near South Lamar and Manchaca - property which includes Habibi’s Hutch, a particularly awesome South Austin day care run by Andrew Urbanus (shown right), to allow construction of a project including 45 townhomes, 360 apartments, 20 live-and-work units, and 18,000 square feet of retail. The change would allow Cypress Realty to take advantage of VMU development incentives, which include relaxed requirements on setbacks, building......

The buildings once housing Gallery Lombardi and Tambaleo were demolished last month, making way for the new Springs condominium project.......

The kids at Top Drawer Thrift will host their second annual fashion show, Top Drawer Couture ’07 on May 6, 2007. Almost Impatient Productions and local fashion designers will create a runway show featuring both original works and items taken from the racks of the store. The Austin Chronicle’s Stephen MacMillan Moser will play host with the most again this year. Organizers say the evening will feature drinks, hors d’oeuvres, a DJ, and live......

Everyone knows that Lago Vista is the next Lakeway. Less well known is that the City of Kyle has commissioned TIP Strategies, Inc. to help turn Kyle into the next Round Rock. TIP has released their recommendations - commuter rail is featured somewhat prominently in the Project Overview and the presentation, but in the actual plan (large file - it's boring, but it's long), rail barely gets mentioned. Even when it does, it is......