"We're not publishing the list in our news columns, period": Statesman Editor Oppel on why the paper will not include a listing of precinct voting locations on election day. McCain stopped in San Antonio today. Bill Clinton spoke in town today. On the primary race between Glen Maxey and incumbent Nelda Wells Spears. Power outage in East Austin this afternoon. While her father was tied up, a robber sexually-assaulted a 15-year-old girl in a South Austin apartment yesterday morning. Semi veers off Dallas highway ramp and falls onto Continental Avenue; at least 3 are dead. ...

Unlike San Antonio, Austin has so many more opportunities for musicians to play in actual venues attended by actual attendees, so at first glance the need for more private, unique places for bands to play seemed to be less of a necessity. But the deeper a person burrowed, the more they could uncover – with The Church of the Friendly Ghost, out on Pedernales street, standing in as the most odd and accommodating venue for which a music geek could wish. A former site of a real, honest-to-god church whose landlord was glad to rent it out to musicians and curators of The Church of the Friendly Ghost – a step above the wacky fundamentalists who had the space before – the Church had a distinction of being a welcoming place that also catered to fringe music for those in the know. ...

Photo by gina pina on flickr Sgt. Michael Olsen's appeal hearing started today. AISD Superintendent Forgione will retire in June of next year. Bastrop teacher accused of sending obscene text messages to a student. Odds of winning a place on the guestlist for Thursday's debate = less than 1%. While Wisconsin and Hawaii voted today, Obama spent the afternoon in San Antonio. Border fence skips over the land of Bush supporter in South Texas. Jason......

After taking statements and checking evidence, APD thinks that Tevin Park-Flowers' death at NYOS was accidental. 3-year-old rescued from meth lab home in South Austin. Fire in neighboring building that damaged the Austin NAACP's office last night ruled to be arson. Flame-themed bar coming to E. Sixth Street, brought to you by the 36-year-old owner of Qua and Vicci. Catholic church leaders angry at St. Mary's University in San Antonio for housing a Clinton rally last night....

This Thursday through Sunday, improvised music is going to grab a foothold in both Austin and San Antonio. Featuring thirteen artists from all over the world – from the close confines of Houston and Austin to the far-off reaches of Tokyo and Boston – the No Idea Festival is poised to showcase a diverse array of acts you likely won’t see anywhere else, anytime soon....

Looks like ACL Fest organizers have chosen Groundhog Day to release their mildly discounted multi-passes. 3-day passes priced at $150 including service charges are on sale now at ACLFest.com. ...

Seven-year-old boy found injured under "suspicious circumstances" at local charter school yesterday. Pedestrian hit this morning on Burnet Road. Now Gov. Perry is backing McCain (if anyone cares). Watch it now: Austin added to Homeland Security's list of cities with a high risk of terrorist attack....

Dear reader, we’re sure you’ll agree that it’s been too long since we’ve heard from our favorite Bear Den/music venue, The Chain Drive, up there on Willow Street. ...

David Berman, the head honcho behind the massively influential Silver Jews, made a turnaround these past couple of years that has both shocked and delighted his many loyal fans. While Berman became renowned through Silver Jews releases like The Natural Bridge and American Water, not to mention a turn at poetry with 1999’s Actual Air, he more recently experienced a religious rebirth and crawled out of his “hell-hole life,” as he described it, discovering an only hinted-at passion for Judaism as well as a renewed appreciation for everyday life....

After being closed to new subscribers for a period of time, Austin Energy's GreenChoice program is extending its green arms for Austinites far and wide. Claiming to be the nation's most successful utility-sponsored green power program, GreenChoice is an opportunity to walk the sustainability talk. ...

Photo by gunnyrat on flickr The oil that spilled onto Sixth Street and into Waller Creek last week came from a 100-year-old underground tank. Jennifer Kim on the Northcross WalMart: "It's going to be a freaking disaster." Celebration Church in Georgetown has its own Starbucks and 5,000 attendees. Sayeth the pastor: "You can't do church without money." Wachovia Bank on Mesa Drive robbed this morning. Statewide public meetings on the Trans-Texas Corridor to begin tomorrow.......

Photo by Payton Chung on flickr Two remaining candidates for City Manager: Jelynne Burley of San Antonio and Mike Ott of Ft. Worth. City Council approved McCracken's downtown parking proposal at today's meeting. Cars who park in marked bike lanes can now be ticketed by a few workers from the Public Works Department Bicycle and Pedestrian Program. Travis County constables try to cut down truancy at Johnston High. Attorney General Abbott has a plan to......

Photo by mybloodyself on flickr Paramedic who came to the scene of Erica Smith's accident last month in San Antonio didn't check her pulse; she died after being left for dead for an hour at the site of the accident. Wooten Elementary was placed on lockdown this afternoon because police thought someone in a residence nearby was holed up with a weapon; the home was found to be clear. At an Academy store in Round......

Cap Metro bus caught fire on northbound 183 this morning. Ronnie Earle endorses Rosemary Lehmberg, his co-worker, to run for his current position. A case of death, mutilation and possible cannibalism in Tyler over the weekend....

Two area high schools will trade the Friday night lights for the Saturday spotlight when they play for state football championships this weekend. The Pflugerville Panthers play the Katy Tigers at 7 pm Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio for the Class 5A Division II championship, while the Lake Travis Cavaliers take on the Highland Park Scots for the Class 4A Division II title at 1:30 pm Saturday at Baylor's Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco....

After an automobile accident Sunday morning in San Antonio, paramedics placed a yellow tarp over the body of Texas State student and Austinite Erica N. Smith, thinking her dead. When the medical examiner came to investigate the scene of the accident over an hour later, she discovered that Smith was still alive. Smith was immediately sent to a hospital, where she died from her wounds Monday afternoon....

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?...

Image from MySpace Ear to the UndergroundSunday, December 9Salvage Vanguard Theatre ()$5, 8pm-12am, BYOB[info] This Sunday, The Church of the Friendly Ghost and the Misc. Music label are banding together to bring new, mind-expanding music to the Salvage Vanguard Theatre. The event, called Ear to the Underground, begins at 8:00 p.m. and ends at 12:00 p.m. Four bands will be performing; Damage Pants and Aliens from Austin, and Make Your Own Maps with the painful-sounding......

Photo by Pat Rioux on flickr Wanna see the Cowboys game tonight and don't know anyone with the NFL network? Local sports bars are getting ready for what could be their busiest night this year. Former Chester's site to house a community-service-oriented Christian congregation. Currently only one in five 5th graders who fail the TAKS are made to repeat the grade. Father of UT student killed in 1996 accident doesn't think the driver needs to......

Photo by jcolman on flickrSam Kambo has been living in Texas since 1994 when he came to Austin to attend UT. After his graduation from UT, he worked for the LCRA. At least, he did until the fall of 2006, when he was arrested and detained in San Antonio for allegedly taking part in a mass murder. Before Kambo came to Texas, he was one of eight leaders of a coup in Sierra Leone in......

Photo by brookenovak on flickrThe Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) scientifically analyzed 100 metro areas for ranking in their "Most Challenging Places to Live with Fall Allergies" list. We're number 1! Before we pass out the foam fingers, let's discuss what went into this #1 ranking: pollen scores (airborne grass/tree/weed pollen and mold spores), the number of allergy medications used per patient, and the number of allergy specialists per patient all went into......

Image from MySpace Buttercup Mohawk ResidencyTuesday, November 20, 27 and December 4, 11, 18The Mohawk (912 Red River)$2, 9pm[info] For the next five Tuesdays, San Antonio band Buttercup will be The Mohawk’s guest-in-residence, and as always, the quartet will find a way to make these intimate performances unique. Grackle Mundys in San Antonio found the band performing each Monday, arguably everyone’s least favorite day, and augmenting the pain of a new workweek with themed performances......

Power lines by Frenzied Vole on flickr"Texans have shown little interest in nine billion dollars worth of initiatives." Have you voted yet? Sorry, Ice Bats. Cedar Park has another team in mind for their arena-to-be. Upcoming 2008 state anti-pollution law is causing problems already; if TCEQ is too lax on coal/power plants, cities and school districts stand to lose a lot of money. Fed Chairman gave speech in San Antonio today. This morning a suspect......

Photo by johnkoetsier on flickr Utter Reading SeriesMonday, Nov 5BookPeople [map]7pm, Free[info]This month’s Utter Reading Series features two standouts from a couple hours south on I-35. Both teach at Trinity University in San Antonio, and both are long-overdue candidates for the Utter Series, which spotlights hot Texas-based writers. One has just won a national award for his short stories, and the other is an Austin-bred recent graduate of the Michener Center at UT. After the......

Image from SpyYard Texas Book FestivalSaturday November 3 - Sunday, November 4Downtown Austin [map]Free[info]We didn't think ten tips for the Texas Book Festival were enough, so here are ten more to help complicate things and confuse you you navigate the throngs of bibliophiles stalking the Austin streets this weekend. Keep in mind that seating and space is limited at most of these events. Arrive early and often! Saturday 10:00 - 10:45 Kristin Gore (Senate Chamber)......

Better late than never -- here's a video clip of college football's play of the year. Last Saturday, players from San Antonio's Trinity University pitched the ball back and forth 15 times on the final play of the game to score a touchdown and defeat Millsaps College, 28-24. Just as amazing as watching the on-field action, where the play goes on for more than 60 seconds, is listening to the reaction of announcers Jonathan......

Watch the northeastern sky at 7:06pm tonight for the shuttle. Austin ad firm GSD&M loses part of the AT&T account. Statesman has a story on the split between LBJ High School and the magnet school housed therein. Crimestoppers looking for a man who followed a woman home from HEB and attempted to rob her earlier this month. Someone is mutilating cats in the San Antonio area. $3,000 from the feds isn't enough to convince......

Austinites are at the forefront of the blogging community, according to a new report published by a leading market research firm. Scarborough Research's new survey found that Austin tops other tech-heavy cities—Portland, San Francisco and Seattle rounded out the top four—when it comes to folks who either read or contribute to a blog. Fully fifteen percent of adults in Austin interact with blogs in some fashion; the research firm attributes this to both the tech......

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......

Sagra (Italian) Location: 1610 San Antonio [map] Phone: (512) 535-3464 Cost: Apps ($6-$12), Pasta and Entrees ($9-$24 and market), Pizzas ($9-$12), Sides ($6), Salads ($7-$9) Atmosphere: Upscale but not uppity, the atmosphere at Sagra is understated and subtle - a classic modern Italian restaurant atmosphere, hold the stereotype. Food: The problem with some Italian food is that after you eat it, you're hungry again in three or four days. This can be especially true......