Looks like Round Rock ISD is headed to court over their policies on organized prayers at school events. Washington-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State, representing six students and one former student, have filed suit against the district, saying that its policy of allowing school-sponsored prayer at graduation ceremonies violates the First Amendment principle of church-state separation. Every year, each of the four Round Rock high schools (Round Rock, Stony Point, McNeil......

From big blockbusters to foreign films, there's something for everyone being released today. These overviews should help you choose which movies you'd like to shell out for this weekend. DOA: Dead or Alive We thought DOA meant dead on arrival, but fans of video games and girls in bikinis likely won't quibble with the title of this action movie featuring scantily clad heroines. Babes! Yeah! Eagle vs. Shark Nerds kiss while wearing animal costumes,......

Seven months after a sold-out Texas debut at the Austin Film Festival, the indie mockumentary Chalk returned to Austin Friday as part of a national platformed release. Shot for a mere $10,000 with the aid of friends and students, the work is a collaboration of Austinite ex-teachers and co-writers Mike Akel (who also directed) and Chris Mass. Chalk uses a faux-documentary style in the same manner as Spinal Tap or The Office, exposing the......

Various images from the AISD Documentary, Teaching Austin: 125 Years of Public School Education, produced by Barbara Morgan of the Austin Film Festival and directed by local filmmakers Kevin Smith and Mike Nicholson. Local luminaries interviewed include political writer and UT/Austin High grad Liz Carpenter, former Austin school board president and city council member Gus Garcia and current AISD Superintendent Pat Forgione. RSVP information is available in our previous post. Photos courtesy AFF, Picture......

Celebrate the end of the spring semester with the Austin Independent School District, which is commemorating 125 years of existence. That's a whole lot of spitballs dodged, times tables taught, and citizens molded. The AISD is putting on an IMAX showing of a documentary called Teaching Austin: 125 Years of Public School Education, on Sunday at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum (you know, the building with the giant star that almost looks Soviet?).......

Texas is thawing, the Northeast is freezing, and a sort of natural order seems almost restored to the Ist-A-Verse. Almost. Londonist HQ—that is to say, the city of London—was battered by heavy winds, making it a bad time to be a twelve-meter (nearly forty-foot) tall snowman. Still, not everyone decided to keep warmly covered. Meanwhile, back indoors, the Big Brother racism is now causing all kinds of headaches for international diplomats, and Londonist got into......

As you make those New Year's resolutions, you may wonder how to get more involved in the Austin community for 2007. January is National Mentoring Month, and one way to mentor here in Austin is through a volunteer teaching position at Citizen Schools. The Boston-based nonprofit arrived in Austin last year, and helps children in lower-income middle schools to prepare for the rigors of high school and college. They've already won 2006 and 2007 Fast......

Sunday. Usually, a quiet, contemplative day in the Blogosphere. But not here in the Ist-a-Verse. Nonono! Just look below and see all of the wild and crazy stuff our staffs are up to. In Austin, bands are beginning to confirm for SXSW and the rumor mill is up and running. Good thing, too, because we all know how much Austinites love live performances. Austin also found itself in the national spotlight, with Longhorn Legend......

Pending a vote by the Austin City Council tomorrow, Congress Avenue Bridge is to be renamed in honor of Ann Richards, Texas' 45th Governor who passed away in September. [Excerpted from our previous post] From humble beginnings in Waco, Texas, Richards went on to attend Baylor University on a debate scholarship, later marrying high school sweetheart David Richards and settling in Austin. She began her political career by campaigning for such respected Texas Democrats......

Chalk Narrative Feature Competition Screening Info: 7pm October 24th at Arbor For students high school can be hell, but it can be worse for the teachers. Chalk follows the frenetic and awkwardly painful journey of three novice teachers as they navigate one memorable public school year. As a former teacher, Akel is able to offer a unique, firsthand view of life as an educator, and along with the cast, he dives headfirst into the......

BackstageDrama, Dir. Emmanuelle Bercot, 2005 Screens: Monday, October 2nd at 7pm "In a world relentlessly tuned in to “American Idol” and the daily lives of the TomKats and Bennifers, the universal obsession with celebrity can cross the line into fanaticism. In keeping with the times, Emmanuelle Bercot’s stunning feature directorial debut explores the psyches of both the star and her adoring fan to reveal a troubling view on the world of celebrity worship and......

From humble beginnings in Waco, Texas, Richards went on to attend Baylor University on a debate scholarship, later marrying high school sweetheart David Richards and settling in Austin. Her political career began by campaigning for such respected Texas Democrats as former Congressman Henry Gonzalez, famous for demanding Reagan's impeachment, and former Senator Ralph Yarborough, co-writer of the Endangered Species Act and vaunted civil rights advocate. It was in 1988, though, that Richards attained national fame with her quip against then-Presidential candidate George H.W. Bush, "Poor George, he can't help it...He was born with a silver foot in his mouth." ...

The Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN) is a national organization that brings together folks in the nonprofit sector for professional and social networking opportunities. Tonight, YNPN Austin hosts the first in its fall Professional Development Speaker Series: led by Toastmaster members Nathalie Sorrell and Jim Walsh, the event -- entitled "How to Talk to a Roomful of People and Do It Well" -- aims to offer you some helpful tips for successfully delivering a public......

Local: It seems that Delay's 2003 gerrymandering has left Texans confused about what district they reside in. One Austin couple appear to be in two Congressional Districts at the same time. In other redistricting news: The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has ordered that all proposed solutions for fixing the state's congressional districts are due to the court on July 14th. State: Republican Gov. Rick Perry delivered a speech to......

A patient at South Austin Hospital started a fire in his room with a lighter yesterday. Charges may be filed if he survives the severe burn damage he suffered as a result of the fire. Our fair city is among those that the music industry is focusing on for their investigation into CD piracy. Public school students will have to find a new way to get their caffeine/sugar fix. The AP reports that coke/soda/pop......

School Finance, Take 47 The state government has been trying and trying to come up with ideas as to how Texas might, you know, start paying for public schools. They keep convening and reconvening and yet, Texas public school ratings keep getting worse. No one can understand it. It's a mystery, like pyramids. Aaaand We Have a Record! The obesity epidemic in America has now extended right into one Austin woman’s womb. Why wait......

We are obviously mounted-up and riding high with the Kinky Friedman campaign for governor. (I mean, Why the Hell Not?) But we have the sneaking suspicion that this race will eventually come down to a battle between the two parties of the Establishment. With that said, the Democrats picked up a little bit of optimistic steam this morning as Chris Bell announced his candidacy for governor. In his announcement, Bell brought a breath of......