The Austin Ice Bats, who entertained hockey fans in these parts for more than a decade, receive a well-deserved tribute in today's New York Times....

Power lines by Frenzied Vole on flickr"Texans have shown little interest in nine billion dollars worth of initiatives." Have you voted yet? Sorry, Ice Bats. Cedar Park has another team in mind for their arena-to-be. Upcoming 2008 state anti-pollution law is causing problems already; if TCEQ is too lax on coal/power plants, cities and school districts stand to lose a lot of money. Fed Chairman gave speech in San Antonio today. This morning a suspect......

Truecraig had some thoughts on the shot heard round the world in his column. Mr. Hollywood Jason Patric dropped his suit against the ever-aggressive Austin Police Department. Austin ranks as the second-best city outside of Hollywood in which to make a movie. We checked out the Zuraach Collective and took some photos. AM Syndicate, Nina Simone, Talking Heads...take a listen in AV Bits. It was a busy news week in the Kingdom of George.......

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......

Cindy Sheehan was arrested at the Capitol (essentially for unlawful conduct) just before Bush's State of the Union Address last night. Ever wonder why the hell you've gotta sit in traffic sometimes? Maybe sometimes it's just a giant roll of steel. That's all. Domestic Partners - gay or straight - might soon be able to share benefits with Austin City Employees. Brewster McCracken wants to appeal the current prohibition of coverage for domestic partners.......

The Austin Ice Bats will host the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup at the Travis County Expo Center Saturday night. The Cup will be on display during the Ice Bats' game against Wichita, and fans may bring their cameras to take their picture with the Cup. The Cup will be available to the general public starting at 6:30pm. It's also Guaranty Win Night as the Ice Bats play the Wichita Thunder of the Northern......

Contrary to popular belief, we here at the Austinist are not solely interested in going to exclusive parties, seeing the best live music Austin has to offer, and getting free drinks whenever possible. We also have been known to enjoy the basketball. All of you Austinites who have been living vicariously through the Mavericks, Spurs, and Rockets, your time has come. Austin is getting it's own National Basketball Developmental League Team for the 2005-06 season.......