In case you're still curious about where to vote on Tuesday, we've reprinted the official list from the Travis County Clerk web site as of Monday evening. For up-to-date information, you might want to double-check the Office of the Registrar's database To find out which precint you're in, use their handy Voter Verification form. From the Elections Divison: Registered voters can vote with a voter registration card, driver’s license or any official photo ID,......

A certain local website with a feature that starts with "A" and ends with "ist" (which appeared right around the time they hired our former editor) is having a little poll. They ask "Which local Web site is the best?" Um ... le duh! Vote here (early and often - up to once an hour)....

Image from SOS Alliance SOS Holiday Party & Silent AuctionFriday, December 7Mercury Hall (615 Cardinal Lane)$10 Suggested Donation, 7pm - Midnight[info]Tonight, the Save Our Springs Alliance will be hosting their annual Holiday Party and Silent Auction at Mercury Hall. In addition to food, drinks and great people, the event will showcase music by two environmentally-conscience local bands, Bill Oliver's Otter Space Band and The Bouldin Creek Bobkats. The Silent Auction features items from over 300......

As we move to the next square 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 best of the above. Oh,......

Photo by CAVE CANEM on flickrToday's the day to cast your vote in the statewide Constitutional Amendment Election. If you're unfamiliar with the sixteen propositions appearing on the ballot, we've reprinted them after the jump. Austinist is officially recommending that you vote "NO" on Prop 12, which would authorize the Texas Transportation Commission to issue up to $5 billion in bonds for so-called "highway improvement projects"—read about it here. We're also recommending a wholehearted "YES"......

Senator Barack Obama is coming back to Austin in November. This time around, you'll have to show a little monetary support if you'd like to hear what he has to say—judging from his rousing speech at Auditorium Shores last February, it'll probably be worth it. The charismatic statesman still trails behind Clinton in the national polls, but a recent survey indicates that "rock star" Obama has garnered the most positive press. Tickets are $25 for......

DPS will let the neighbors know that an Austin couple (mentioned in yesterday's Extra Extra) are not sex offenders. Because of "grade issues" and injuries, Johnston High's football season may already be kaput. So teens can't vote? A former Texas Secretary of State thinks they should be able to work at the polls anyway. City of Austin releases schedule for free flu shots; check eligibility requirements. Some North Texas sex offenders arrested for posting......

Okay, we thought New Mexico guv Bill Richardson had already announced his campaign for Presidency, but guess not. In GOP news, Giuliani isn't polling well in Iowa; Mitt Romney is beating him and McCain in the polls up there. Al Qaeda militants are taking on the military at a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. 71 people have been killed so far. European developers are not amused with soon-to-be-former World Bank Prez Wolfowitz. Former US......

Stylists from Austin's Birds Barbershop will compete in tomorrow night's debut episode of "Tease," a new reality series on the Oxygen Network. Hosted by actress Lisa Rinna ("Dancing with the Stars," "Melrose Place," "Days of Our Lives"), each episode of the "hair competition series"—like "Iron Chef" but with clippers—pits two up-and-coming stylists against one another. From a network press release: The aspiring stylists will put their skills to the ultimate tress test in front......

Paul Burka, Senior Executive Editor of Texas Monthly, reports on his latest blog that plans for a George W. Bush Presidential Library on the SMU campus are meeting some serious resistance. Burka writes, “A letter, dated December 16, from ‘Faculty, Administrators, & Staff’ of the Perkins School of Theology to R. Gerald Turner, president of the Board of Trustees, is now circulating not only on the SMU campus but also among a wider academic community,......

On Tuesday, the American -ists will be celebrating democracy and hitting the polls, letting politicians know what they really think. It just made us wonder: if it were up to the -ist-a-verse, what would we be voting for? Londonist votes for better skincare, alternative spaces for art, cute little birds and the men who keep them, and concrete. Lots of concrete. Shanghaiist votes for one of the Bee Gees and Air Supply (it's a double-ticket),......

Remember Puppet Government, last year's Frontera Fest success that went on to wow audiences at this past summer's New York International Fringe Festival? The gang's gettin' together one last time at Ventanna Del Sol's upstairs auditorium to raise money for John Courage, a former teacher, vet, and Democractic congressional candidate for Texas' 21st district. From the Puppet Gov folk: John is a honorable, genuine guy, and also very, very smart. And he's not a......

Chris Bell recently received a $5 million donation commitment from Houston lawyer John O'Quinn. That oughta help. But what Bell knows would really help would be for Independent Kinky Friedman to bow out of the race, freeing up thousands of votes for the Democratic candidate. And he called the Jewish Cowboy yesterday to ask him to do just that. We imagine there are quite a few folks voting for Kinky who would normally vote......

The Democratic and Republican primary run-offs are tomorrow, April 11th. If you vote in the run-offs you cannot sign Carole Keeton Strayhorn's or Kinky Friedman's petition. You can find your polling location here. Endorsements: Austin Chronicle Austin Lesbian/Gay Political Caucus Austin Sierra Club endorsements West Austin Democrats endorsements Statesman endorsements Strayhorn's petition is available online at www.carolestrayhorn.com or by calling 512-469-9393. Information about Mr. Friedman's petition is available at www.kinkyfriedman.com or by calling 512-326-5465.......

Rep. Tom DeLay is apparently pulling out of the race for re-election to his House seat. CNN has reported that, just minutes ago, DeLay completed a conference call with the Texas delegation to the House, announcing his plans. In order to field a Republican candidate for the general election, there will be a special election for DeLay's place on the ballot. The Mayor of Sugarland is expected to be one of the candidates running.......

Austin has ranked high, yet again, in one of those polls that make us look so good to the rest of the country. The American Podiatric Medical Association has ranked Austin as the sixth-best city in America for walking. We received our excellent ranking due to the massive UT campus and students necessity for walking, our vibrant downtown (which is getting more vibrant by the day), our excellent parks and the number of residents......

So it's a primary and you have no clue who's running. Do what we did; go to the League of Women Voters Austin Area site and get their Voter's Guide. We'll even go one step further because we love our readers: here's a direct link to the guide (.pdf). If you care about endorsements, here you go:Austin Chronicle's picks (include Chris Bell for Gov and Charlie Baird for district judge) Austin Lesbian/Gay Political Caucus......

The SWAT standoff off of Riverside yesterday ended in the arrest of a 19-year old who allegedly shot two people overnight-injuries were minor. George W. Bush's visit to India-in hopes of congealing some kind of partnership with the country-is laughable. His next stop is Pakistan where, ironically, he has been deemed as The Most Hated Man. If only we had his confidence, after a 5 year search, Bush insists that Osama Bin Laden will......

*image borrowed from www.trilug.org If you're seeing plenty of those Ben Bentzin and Donna Howard signs littering your neighbors' lawns, quit stealing them. The election will be over soon enough. Yesterday began the early voting period for the run-off election for State Representative of District 48. Back in January, Donna Howard came close to winning the majority by a .5% margin. Ben Bentzin came in a close second with 38% of the votes. Early......

It could be argued that money led DeLay to the top of the republican heap, but it seems that money, or the lack thereof, will bring him down in end. DeLay's leadership PAC, Americans for a Republican Political Majority, is in debt. His legal fund is also in trouble with less-than-sufficient amounts to cover the legal expenses that continue to mount. We're also happy to report that he is not favored to win his......

Laurie Gallardo, KUT's resident music podcaster extraordinaire and one of our favorite personalities in town, is back with another episode of Before the Break, the show that led the Austin Chronicle to dub her one our city's "Sultry New Deejays" in last year's Best of Austin polls. This time she's chatting with What Made Milwaukee Famous: Eklektikos host John Aielli described them as a group immersed within a collection of “intriguing musical palettes.” While......

Scoop Jackson was kind enough to point this out to us: for those of you residing in House District 48, today's your chance to vote for Todd Baxter's replacement in the Texas House. Baxter resigned last Fall, leaving his seat open to four contenders: Republican Ben Bentzin, Libertarian Ben Easton and Democrats Donna Howard and Kathy Rider. A run-off election will be held later if no one candidate receives a strong majority; the winner......

*Photo by Dallas Smith* The University of Texas and its fans have been waiting for this day for 35 years. The Longhorns destroyed the Colorado Buffaloes in the Big XII Championship Saturday in Houston, securing their first 12-0 season in history and a place in the National Championship in January. After squeaking by then-#4 Ohio State on the road in the second week of the season, Texas finally got the Oklahoma monkey of its......

Another one of those asinine polls are out that we can all assail as being unscientific, pointless and a waste of our time in a product’s lame attempt to draw interest to its brand by releasing Top-25 polls. But, we’re a blog, you’re bored, people like to bitch, so here it is. Axe body spray (the one that if you wear it your girlfriend’s mom will rape you) has released a poll listing the......

Polls are open today until 7pm. What to bring: Registered voters can vote with a voter registration card, driver’s license or any official photo ID, birth certificate, United States citizenship papers or passport, a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement or other official document that shows the name and address of the voter. NOTE TO FIRST-TIME VOTERS: If you are a first-time voter in Travis County who registered to vote by mail......

Most of us already know that the Klan's coming to town this weekend to burn crosses, devour babies, and otherwise engage in general pillag(ing) and plunder(ing). And while most of us would love nothing more than to plant ourselves firmly on the opposite shores of this sea of hilariously-blanketed hate and hurl caustic epithets, that would be exactly what the bastards want. Another proposal has been provided, now making its way along the Myspace......

Excuse our brief but unforgivable hiatus from telling you all about the awesome bands playing at Austinist and Trojan Condom's Local Music is Sexy party - happening this Saturday night at the Velvet Spade - we've been hankering down in our subterranean bunker, devouring Bret Easton Ellis' Lunar Park (which we'll both rant and rave about next week) and doing whatever we can to stave off these newfound feelings of paranoia. But that's all......

We know Austin is cool, but apparently we’re pretty damn hot as well. In a public relations/advertising gimmick as blatant as any we have seen in weeks minutes, Old Spice antiperspirant today announced that Austin is the 18th sweatiest city in America. The ‘experts’ compiled their Top 100 List by using the average U.S. male/female height/weight along with average high temperature and relative humidity. In a move that surely skews the numbers disproportionately for......

Election results are in and Austin has let its true voice be heard. The overwhelming response to the polarizing and contentious debate over the smoking ban, three city council seats, education funding, and municipal elections was a resounding, "Meh, who cares?" According to the unofficial results released by Travis County, a whopping 14.29 percent of the electorate felt the urge to exercise their civic rights and participate in our little experiment called democracy. Just over......

Today, May 3rd, is the last day for early voting for the joint general and special elections scheduled for May 7th, 2005. Here is a nice list of polling places around the county, provided by the lovely and overworked folks at the County Clerk Elections Division. Remember everyone, all Travis county voters can vote at any of these locations. Get out the vote kids, and exercise your constitutional right to decide if smoking (just cigarettes?)......