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......

O, the mighty men and women of Austin's stages! They get so busy this time of year. There's more than enough to choose from this week, but here are the theater picks that top our list. ProArts Collective wraps up the Black Arts Movement Festival with Incognito on Thursday at 8pm, and Spoken Word Caravan on Friday at 8pm. The former is a one-man drama, performed by author Michael Fosberg, about a man who grew......

Last Friday in Houston, a young girl brought a loaded 9mm pistol to school and started pointing it at people. She is 12 years old. The U.S. Supreme Court's new term starts this week. Why exactly is socialized medicine such a bad idea? Interesting article... The guy who tried to extort $1 million from Tom Cruise commits suicide. Article about the bloggers who helped bring the story of recent government oppression in Burma to......

Thursday, June 28 artOpening Reception for Whitney Lee: Power Craft at Women and Their Work, 1710 Lavaca Street (6-8pm) artOpen House Work Viewing at Atelier 3-D, 2209 Pasadena Drive (4-10pm) artArtistic License: Josefina Guilisasti at The Blanton Museum of Art, MLK at Congress Ave (Free, 6-8pm) booksAmanda Eyre Ward presents Forgive Me at BookPeople (7:00pm) comedyPat Dixon with Brendon Walsh at Cap City Comedy Club comedyParallelogramophonograph with special guests Look Cookie at ColdTowne Theater (8pm)......

Tonight's eagerly anticipated launch party for KLRU-TV's Downtown has been rescheduled to tomorrow night, due to the heavy thunderstorms and flash floods that are expected to slam Central Texas. "Rain, hail and thunderstorms don't make for a good party when it's being held at a power plant," as someone our awesome friend aptly put it. The original lineup will remain intact, with featured guests from past episodes of the Emmy Award-winning series performing throughout the......

TUESDAY [24] party • KLRU, Downtown Austin Alliance and Action Figure host a party for Season 3 of "Downtown" at Seaholm Power Plant (7:30pm, Free, Bring a Canned Good) POSTPONED books • Rob Neyer and Jim Baker present Baseball Prospectus 2007 at BookPeople (7:00pm) comedy • Tig Notaro and Steve Burr at Cap City Comedy Club film • AFS Essential Series: "Funny Games" at Alamo Downtown film • "Shaft" with Free 40! at Alamo......

Seaholm Power, LLC has released new renderings of the proposed Seaholm Power Plant redevelopment, which it will present to City Council tonight. The site plan includes an extension of the city street grid, filling the gap in Third Street, connecting West Avenue to Cesar Chavez and adding a new street, Seaholm Drive, between Third Street and Cesar Chavez. Both new streets get pedestrian/bicycle crossings at their intersections with Cesar Chavez, to help integrate this......

Sandra Bullock and husband Jesse James are planning to tear down the home that was the subject of a legal dispute in 2004 (over a little mold). They're going to rebuild on the same property. People still love her, though- she's almost as popular as she was in 2002. "Mustang Sally" writer and Soul Man Wilson Pickett dies. We know it's unseasonably warm in Austin. But hey, don't dive into the lake head first!......