It was 83 years ago yesterday when Martin Luther King, Jr. was born into a nation where simply his skin color alone was enough to designate him a second class citizen and prevent him and his family from enjoying such basic human dignities as living, eating, or travelling where they want, or voting for elected representatives without encumbrance or limitation. It can be difficult sometimes for modern Americans who weren't born or didn't live during the civil rights era to comprehend the gross inequalities and devastating economic and social racism that was encoded into our very laws throughout America just 50 years ago. more ›

Tonight's massive Super Tuesday election returns should make for some top notch TV watching, but there's no reason why you should spend the evening yelling at political pundits by yourself. Whether you're a hardcore democrat or republican, plenty of your like-minded brethren are getting together around town to watch the returns and collectively celebrate (or commiserate). Besides the formal meetup spots, you'll probably stand a decent chance of catching some prime time coverage at Brown Bar and the Cloak Room. more ›

And you thought you couldn't look any stupider on a tandem bike? It now costs two cents to make one cent. Does that make sense? A man upset with his property tax hike pays his $12,000 bill in change. Fox News is accused of altering Wikipedia articles. Raising a baby until the age of 17 will cost you $290,000 if you make around $75,000 a year. $198,000 if you make $45,000 a year. A... more ›

Despite the sprawl-loving Statesman's spin attempt, it is clear that the majority of Austin neighborhoods are embracing VMU zoning. Out of eighty neighborhoods given the choice to opt-out, forty-six did nothing, which apparently means the VMU zoning will be implemented as suggested by the city. Seven neighborhoods responded, but did not opt-out for any properties. It isn't clear whether they opted-in for additional properties, or just submitted applications saying that they agreed with the city's... more ›

As a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. (and now, unfortunately, to James Brown himself), Alamo Music Mondays and KUT 90.5 present James Brown Live at Boston Garden. This legendary performance was taped on April 5th, 1968 - the day after King was assiasinated in Memphis. Boston Mayor Kevin White was set to cancel the performance, fearing an outbreak of violence (and we don't really blame him - Detroit, D.C. and Chicago all saw widespread... more ›

The annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day, taking place this year on Saturday, January 13th, was created to honor the memory of the civil rights hero and encourage the public to carry on his legacy of volunteerism through community service projects. Locally, what began as a grassroots effort by State Rep. Dawnna Dukes (D-Austin) to clean up East MLK Jr. Boulevard in 2000 has blossomed into the citywide MLK Day of Service. The 2007 clean... more ›

Due to its rather lackluster presence, that statue has now been repealed by the UT Barbara Jordan Statue Committe. Today, they're calling for help from all of Austin--not just students--in order to gain input before the next selection process, as opposed to afterwards. To date, 75 artists have applied and the committee hopes to narrow that number down to five by January. more ›