We spent a large chunk of yesterday afternoon with eyes on @CityHallHustle's live-tweets as the city council mulled over Mike Martinez's suggested extended parking meter hour compromise during their meeting. There was disagreement on the changed grid in this compromise. However, the updated days and times were included in the plan that passed yesterday. more ›

Councilmember Mike Martinez has proposed a compromise on the extended downtown parking meter hours, which were originally set to kick in this month but had been delayed until September 6. Newly-elected councilmember Kathie Tovo and councilmember Laura Morrison had considered attempting to delay the meter changes even further, but Morrison has said that given this compromise, she'll withdraw her call to postpone implementation of the extended hours til 2012. more ›

After a day with dad, head down to Emo’s (inside) to cut loose with Brooklyn-based trio Ninjasonik (Telli, Jah-Jah and Roofeeo). The art house, indie-rappers have been stirring a buzz since 2007 with their performance art turns dance party mash-up--fusing punk, hip-hop, and electro-pop in a style akin to Cool Kids and Spank Rock , while noted influences include Sir-Mix-A-Lot, Slick Rick and the Sex Pistols. Sounds pretty crazy, right? Well, check out their hip-hop/post-punk remix of Matt & Kim's "Daylight." more ›

The repaving of South Congress that was set to begin this week has been postponed because of water line repairs, supposedly to start sometime next week instead. The stretch of road from Oltorf to Riverside will be resurfaced in three phases through June and part of July. Some lanes of South Congress will be closed daily during the construction, so be forewarned. On-street parking won't be allowed within the work zone, and residential streets off of South Congress will also likely be affected by the roadwork. Once this portion of South Congress is repaved, the city plans to institute reverse angle parking, such as is already in use on Dean Keeton and W. Sixth Street. more ›

Soon enough, your never-fail top secret downtown parking space may be a thing of the past. The City of Austin is in the process of installing 44 signs on busy roads downtown to direct drivers to parking areas located off of major roads. The signs will lead to public parking facilities, as well as City facilities like City Hall and the Palmer Events Center. more ›

We took the survey, read the Transportation Department's recommendations, and on Thursday the city council will finally decide whether to extend paid parking hours downtown (as the Transportation Department recommends) or not. The suggestion put to the city council is to change the weekday parking hours from 8:30 to 5:30 to 8am til midnight -- and to include Saturdays under these new hours. more ›

You can call it Countdown to Casapocalypse. A digital clock now sits in the dining room of Casa de Luz, Austin's beloved macrobiotic restaurant, marking the number of days till relocation or closure. That's because the 20-year-old Austin institution, located just off Barton Springs Road, is locked in a legal battle with the City of Austin over parking. more ›

The City of Austin has a survey open until January 12 on how Austinites use parking downtown. According to this survey, the city is looking into extending the hours of downtown parking meters until midnight Mondays through Saturdays (Sundays would still be free). If you live or work downtown, or just enjoy spending a lot of time in that area of town, let the city know what you think about this idea. [City of Austin survey] more ›

It looks like the City of Austin might lose their claim on the downtown block which houses the Austin Convention Center parking garage as well as a water chiller built for Austin Energy. In an ironic twist, Austin may have to return the block back to its original owner, Harry Whittington (why yes, that's the hunting buddy accidentally shot by former VP Cheney a few years back), after the city acquired the property through eminent domain in 2001. more ›

• City creates grace period after confusion over new parking meters.
• Water break shuts off service for 500 in W. Travis County.
• Midland deputy fired over Twin Peaks photo.

• Sherwood Cryer, 83, Co-Founder of the Pasadena nightclub Gilley’s—the venue featured in the film “Urban Cowboy’s—goes to that great honky-tonk in the sky.
• They’re no angels: Katrina victims whom Oprah helped get new homes on “Angel Lane” are in court. They allegedly bilked rent money out of FEMA after moving into their new homes!
• When we read about jewelry being stuffed into bears, we immediately wondered if this crime had anything to do with the plushophile community. (It didn't, that's just the first thing we thought of.)

Beginning on July 22, you can use your credit or debit card to pay for on-street parking. Pay stations will appear first on Congress Avenue, with all 3,800 meters replaced by Thanksgiving. Each pay station will replace 8-11 meters. more ›

If you parked at a meter downtown this weekend, you may have gotten a "Violation" like the one shown here, saying that Lee Leffingwell wants you to pay to park on nights and weekends. The violation flyers were distributed by a group called BrewsterNation.com, which has posted Leffingwell's unedited response on YouTube. The question, which was asked by the author of this post at the Austin Super Forum, was "Should the city start generating more revenue from street parking by charging people to park at night and on the weekends?" more ›

Austin may soon cut a policy that gives away a scarce resource to the lucky few: downtown street parking, which is free to those lucky enough to find a spot after 5:30 pm and on the weekends. In connection with the plan to install a new type of parking meter, free times may be cut, perhaps to after 8:30 pm and on Sundays. People park then too, but charging at night might incur the wrath of angry boozehounds and charging on Sundays might incur the wrath of God (or at least the wrath of downtown churches). more ›

City Manager Ott chooses Rhoda Mae Kerr (currently of Little Rock FD) as the next fire chief. Once approved by the council, she would be the first female fire chief in Austin history. APD on the lookout for the suspect in a stabbing on West Campus that happened Sunday. Yesterday UT staff and faculty rallied for domestic partnership benefits. Bye bye, old-school downtown parking meters? This farewell article brought back childhood memories of seeing Ralph the Swimming Pig at Aquarena Springs. Dear Cyclist with the Cat on Your Back... more ›

Harvard scores papers related to Norman Mailer's sex life three years after the author sold his official archives to UT. Yo-Yo Ma will play with the Austin Symphony later this year; maybe some of the parking issues evident this Sunday will have been dealt with by then. Burnet Road Farmer's Market land for sale (again). Hope you didn't try to bribe a fake cop downtown earlier this month. Infant asphyxiation deaths at an increase this year in Travis County, Austin's Center for Child Protection reports. more ›

Hope in the City, a church in southwest Austin that exists to glorify God by growing devoted followers of Christ in communities that advance His Kingdom in Austin and the nations, is running into trouble with the city. They have been so successful at attracting devoted followers of Christ that there is no longer room in the parking lot. The church would like to build another parking lot in the field between their buildings and Williamson Creek, but city officials denied their request because the church is in the Barton Springs watershed and has used its 15% land cover allowed by the Save Our Springs ordinance. City officials have suggested that church members could take the bus, but that would require a miracle. The church is now suing the city on grounds that their free exercise of religion is being illegally hindered. more ›

We mentioned the plan a while ago, but it appears to have legs, so here we go again. Brewster is proposing creation of what he calls the "Austin Parking Enterprise." The city would partner with developers to own parking garages in buildings being developed. Initially, it would operate the Seaholm garage and any in the Green Water Treatment Plant redevelopment. We're scared that this proposal will mean more parking gets built, making downtown more car-centric and pedestrian-unfriendly than it already is. According to the proposed policies, the Parking Enterprise "should seek to maximize the availability of public parking" and "may finance more parking spaces than are required for an associated private development." more ›

This weekend human rights activists protested against the family immigration detention center in Taylor. Body left for San Antonio medical examiner after traffic accident wasn't dead yet. McKinney man caught after following UPS trucks and stealing packages left outside homes. Was Jessica Simpson's appearance at the Cowboys game yesterday the reason they lost? If not, can we blame her anyway? more ›

Photo by Merrick Brown on flickr City charter revision committee wants your input on single-member districts. Executive director of CAMPO resigns effective January 15. Man attacks cop with screwdriver after the policeman catches him breaking into cars at the Highland Mall parking lot. A Hutto man is the first to be treated under Jessica's Law, legislation which deals harshly with child predators. Two adolescent boys (aged 11 and 14) have been charged with attempting to... more ›

No. 5 Jose Gonzalez - "Time to Send Someone Away" from Retread Sessions on Vimeo. If you missed Jose Gonzalez at the Parish last week, you missed one of the most intimate, gorgeously performed sets in a long while. All is not lost, though! KUT 90.5 FM's video series called Retread Sessions spent some time with Gonzalez in the America/Americas gallery at the Blanton Museum on campus, and filmed two songs in the process.... more ›

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... more ›

Image from EAST East Austin Studio TourSaturday, November 17 - Sunday, November 18Various Venues (Austin)Free, 10am-5pm Daily[info]The 2007 East Austin Studio Tour (E.A.S.T.) is happening this weekend, and over the next two days we'll be previewing a handful of the artists whose works you'll be able to check out. Here's our guide to E.A.S.T. 2007: The tour runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. With 113 studios and over 200 artists... more ›

There are reports of an armed man on the roof of a downtown building, near Guadalupe and 14th St. A nearby preschool has been evacuated. Police have blocked off the area around the building. 10:45 update: A witness had spied a man in all black fatigues, perhaps holding a gun, in a parking garage, and called it in earlier this morning. But now police have stopped the search for the armed man, thinking that he... more ›

Image from Brackenridge Field Laboratory Development StudyMembers of the Integrative Biology section of the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Texas have come forward with their own plan (large pdf) for the portion of the Brackenridge Tract currently containing the Brackenridge Field Laboratory. UT's Brackenridge Tract Tack Force recently recommended that the University hire an outside master planner to propose redevelopment for the entire tract, including the field laboratory. The biologists' plan contemplates... more ›

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... more ›

Hand food: it's almost as awesome as food on sticks, but boasts the added bonus of carbohydrates! Food that comes in its own container is perfect for busy Fall days at work and school. Austin offers some great options for sandwich-y goodness on the go, so jump in your preferred mode of transport and grab some grub that requires little else than a hungry stomach, and perhaps a napkin or three. Hog Island Italian Deli... more ›

The SMART car, one of Europe's most eye-catching two-seaters, is finally coming to the states next year. If you can't wait to get behind the wheel of this fuel-sipping sub-$12k urban commuter, head over to Bookpeople post-haste. As part of its pre-US-launch promotional push, SMART is taking the European version of its "fortwo" vehicle on a 50-city road show. Austin is the final leg in its Central Tour, which started in Minneapolis back in June.... more ›

Cop shot in the foot during early morning shootout near Montopolis. UT student Daniel Toole fell to his death from Goodall Wooten dorm this weekend. Public universities in Texas cost more than the national average (for the second year in a row). UT won a state landscape preservation award (over a week ago) for their transplanting of live oaks during stadium renovation. Two kids in a family on their way to visit their wounded... more ›

First there was Keep Austin Weird, then Keep Austin Wired, Keep Austin Corporate— and, starting tomorrow, Keep Austin Good. The first annual “Don’t Lose a Good Thing, Keep Austin Good” is sponsored by Los Angeles lifestyle magazine GOOD, and described in a press release as “part party, part information exchange,” bringing the spirit of fun and the commitment to Austin’s quality of life together. Vendors and local businesses will hand out information about community... more ›