From Gomer, Sez and Flee to the Austin High Class of 2004, Ron Paul supporters or people who wish to deify Eminem, the Union Pacific Train Trestle has long been Austin's most elusive, yet public and prized spot for Austin graffiti artists. The bridge is owned by Union Pacific, and recently some fed up residents have raised concern about the increasing amount of spray-paint tattooing both the east and west sides of the bridge. The City of Austin agrees and has declared that the lack of maintenance to the bridge violates Austin City Code. However, they understand that cleanup isn't easy....

KVUE News is reporting that developer CWS Capital has reached an agreement with SaveTownLake.org and the South River City Neighborhood Association regarding the proposed redevelopment of 222/300 Riverside. The deal is apparently that the existing apartments will be torn down, the 150 feet closest to Lady Bird Lake will become parkland, CWS can build condos up to 35 feet high between 150 and 200 feet from the lake, and CWS can build up to 96 feet high more than 200 feet from the lake....

In an effort to honor the who's who of Austin legacies, City Council has finally named the new city park near the south shore of Lady Bird Lake and just west of the Palmer events center (between Riverside Drive and Barton Springs Road) Butler Park. The park itself was named in honor of the Butler family that donated the land to the city. In the late 1800s, Butler was an Irish immigrant who ran a successful brick-making business on the land and ultimately his heirs donated the land to the city in 1941 for civic purposes....

Red light camera locations announced this afternoon. New TYC conservator rules out the use of pepper spray in youth prisons, except for in emergency cases. Dallas cop serving in Hillary's motorcade this morning killed after his bike hit a retaining wall. Little Walnut Creek library location is opening tomorrow after almost a year of renovation....

As Austin grows, our unofficial motto should probably be modified from ‘Keep Austin Weird’ to simply, ‘Keep Austin.’ Maybe it's a small defeat. Or maybe it's simply falling back to more secure positions....

Over the last several months, the Austin Parks Department has been accepting public nominations for naming the new downtown Austin park on the south shore of Lady Bird Lake. Located west of the Palmer events center, just upstream from the Ann Richards bridge, the new city park features an ultra-cool high-tech fountain. ...

Body found in Lady Bird Lake this morning by the hike-and-bike trail. Fire started in Southeast Travis County, about 6 miles from the airport, by a man with a cutting torch. AISD teacher fingerprinting kicked off today. Whoop?...

Image courtesy First Night Austin, by 2008 featured artist Alina Byoun Now in its third year, First Night Austin will return to downtown on New Year's Eve. This massive public gathering, intended to ring in the new year through "art, ritual, and festivity," features visual and performing art projects by more than 60 Austin artists. This year's performances and installations will run from Congress Avenue to Cesar Chavez, including Auditorium Shores, City Hall, and......

Photo by *clairity* on flickrA public hearing is scheduled for tonight to discuss a proposed city-wide ban on panhandling. The ban would outlaw panhandling on roadsides and within 1,000 feet of all schools. The current solicitation ordinance prohibits panhandling in three zones of downtown, including the area around the University of Texas, a section of North Austin near the 51st Street day-laborer site and the Second Street District down to Lady Bird Lake. APD reported......

Image from Zilker Park Residences. Sandwich king John Wooley is building a condo for himself and 73 of his closest market-selected friends near the shores of Barton Creek and Lady Bird Lake. Beloved Austin icon Wanfu Too will be displaced. Check this website later for details about the Save Wanfu Too Benefit Concert. In a surprising twist, Wooley appears to have support of the Zilker Neighborhood Association, partly because the project will require no variances......

As you have probably heard by now, the Planning Commission voted to deny CWS Capital Partners' variance request, which would have allowed them to build condo towers within 150 feet of Lady Bird Lake in exchange for demolishing their existing structures and donating the land along the shoreline to the city (approximately the pink bit in the top left of the image above). As a result, the existing structures will almost certainly be re-built......

Blue Lapis Light's newest production opened last weekend, and we had chance to take it in. Illumination is the latest site-specific aerial dance work from Blue Lapis Light’s Artistic Director Sally Jacques. We were totally wowed by how pretty the show was. We might've even spent at least part of the time with our mouth hanging open—we were that amazed by the sheer spectacle. Illumination features dancers/aerialists moving around the big open space of the......

Math teacher at Bowie high school wins a national education award worth $25,000. Last night, the Planning Commission voted against proposals made by CWS to develop land so close to Lady Bird Lake. TxDOT used cameras hidden in orange barrels to collect license plate data for a transportation study. Staph infections making the rounds at Austin high schools; 10 Anderson football players have been affected in recent weeks. As if we needed another reason......

CWS Capital Partners seems to be attempting to generate the appearance of grassroots support for their plan to donate land along the southern shore of Lady Bird Lake in exchange for a variance. Extend Our Trail popped up recently as a counter to Save Town Lake. Katherine Gregor at the Chronicle called shenanigans, saying that Extend Our Trail was just a front for CWS. M1EK asked for proof. Katherine added that "Confirmation that CWS......

The City of Austin wants your input in naming the new 21-acre, $7.3-mililon park just south of Lady Bird Lake. The recently opened area, which houses the Palmer Events Center and the Long Center, is currently dubbed "Town Lake Park," but a "facilities naming ordinance" calls for the park to be rechristened in honor of "an individual(s) (living or dead) or something other than an individual such as a place or natural feature." Submit your......

As you may recall, CWS Capital Partners is trying to build a new residential development in the place of some aging condos on the shore of Lady Bird Lake between the Statesman's offices and East Bouldin Creek (where the hike and bike trail currently dead-ends). The Parks Board has voted to recommend that the Planning Commission deny CWS Capital Partners’ request for a variance that would allow it to build 150 feet from the......

Next week, the City of Austin will officially unveil Town Lake Park, the latest chunk of land to join the already expansive family of city parks. Austin Parks and Recreation are responsible for some 206 parks, 26 greenbelts and 12 nature preserves, totaling a whopping 16,682 acres. Add 20 acres to that total on August 29, when the city officially celebrates the opening of Town Lake Park. Where is this all coming from, you ask?......

Have you ever wanted to see a group of people launch themselves off of a pier 30 foot above Lady Bird Lake? If you answered yes, then you're in luck. Red Bull is bringing Flugtag back to Austin this Saturday night. Enjoy yourself on Auditorium Shores as you watch some of the bravest and/or craziest people in town show off what they've been crafting for months. The evening will also include a visit from......

With the cycling world in a mess after widespread doping allegations, the Discovery Channel team officially disbands Boating bans on Lady Bird Lake and Lake Austin are extended yet again Officials at a Christian boot camp are in hot water after allegedly tying a girl to a van and forcing her to "participate" in a morning run A man posing as a police officer attempts to kidnap an 8-year-old boy in Round Rock Arlington......

A 71-year-old El Paso woman soars off a 150-foot cliff in her pickup truck and lives Kyle family's trailer houses some 15,000 bees and over 60 pounds of honey After being arrested for giving her 3-year-old cocaine and marijuana, a woman in Taylor shows up in court high on drugs Town Lake was officially renamed to Lady Bird Lake today TxTags are selling like hotcakes—authorities claim toll roads getting 168% more traffic than predicted......

Same thing, another week. As you move on to the next line on the calendar, you're still out there trying to make a connection. Sadly you let most of them slip by without saying a word. We understand, no one wants to be overzealous and get shot down. If only you had some place to find a second chance. Oh yes, Missed Connections. If only you had someone to sort through and find the......

Town Lake will be officially renamed to "Lady Bird Lake" after the Austin City Council meets this morning. Sponsored by Mayor Will Wynn, the proposed ordinance comes in response to massive public requests that the City honor Lady Bird Johnson's legacy of environmental advocacy. "Numerous citizens have contacted my office suggesting ways that the City should honor her memory, including the most obvious of renaming Town Lake," wrote the Mayor in a statement issued after......