CAMPO's voting on tolling existing roads tonight. . . they say they won't toll the parts of the roads built with tax money. Guess we'll see how that works after tonight's meeting. Looks like rough waters ahead for councilmember Jennifer Kim in the upcoming May election. Woman's body found on UT campus this morning. Tyrell Gatewood, suspended indefinitely from the Longhorns in September for possession, is once again in trouble for. . . possession.......

Remember how Beyonce fell on her ass at a concert and said she didn't want anyone posting videos of it? The folks at Shout Mouth have compiled their Top Ten Most Embarrassing Stage Falls (with video accompaniment, of course). Do you remember the last State of the Union when Bush honored Julie Aigner-Clark, founder of Baby Einstein (a series of infant educational programs)? Yeah...those programs don't actually work. Scary: Shitload of Germans pile on......

It's the short-haired waitress at Spider House, or the barista at Flipnotics. It's the winsome Bookpeople guy with glasses, or that guy in all the plays at Salvage Vanguard. It's your local secret crush. It's old news that Austin has evolved from a sleepy college town into a burgeoning city of big-city transplants, international ex-pats, Houston/Dallas refugees and former Californians. With this influx has come the influence of new ideas about urban density, mass......

Banner week for SFist as the site's new editor introduced himself -- hooray for Brock! While the NY Times weighed in on SF's mayoral race, only SFist had the (insert tongue firmly into cheek) hard-hitting latest on candidate/activist Josh Wolf. Coverage of a protest vs. gentrification spawned a fantastic debate amongst SFist's readers. Finally, from the sublime to the ridiculous: video of a man that confused a Board of Supes meeting with "open mic......

Oh, the humanity! Welcome to the one weekend a year where you can see a biker mama on every block sporting a midriff baring halter top and leather chaps; however, this woman will bear a striking resemblance to the woman who birthed you . Pair that with inhaling noxious greenhouse-effect-inducing fumes and having your eardrums wailed on like a red-headed step-child and suddenly paying $8.25 to sit in a cold, dark box doesn't seem......

Absolutely nothing, but they're all part of a Halloween-style flash mob being planned for this Saturday, May 5th, in Georgetown. Equal parts bizarre spectacle and fodder for a film to be submitted to AFF next year, the Cinco de Mayo flash mob will take place at a youth championship soccer game. Thus far, they've already convinced a pair of unicyclists, "some" local media, and a mariachi band to come. They're hoping to get at least......

St. Edward's University has been evacuated this morning, after a threatening message was discovered in one of the restrooms on campus. Students and staff have been restricted to the soccer field, and officials are asking that folks stay away from the campus until noon. Update (10:40am): According to St. Edward's homepage, all classes are canceled until 5pm. (Thanks, Laura) Photo from Wikipedia......

We don't know about where you are, but it seems like spring can't decide whether or not to happen. Some days are warm, some days are cold, and sometimes you aren't sure which. Baseball may have started up (and soccer/football winding down) but it still seems cold out there. Unless it's not. Anyways, onto the -ists. Austinist happily anticipated fall's Austin City Limits, even though they're not fully recovered from South By Southwest. In......

On Sunday afternoon, Austin Rock N Romp and Book People are sponsoring an all-ages event on the patio at Mohawk featuring Neal Pollack and Shearwater's Jonathan Meiburg. The show will also feature Black Before Red, amps still warm from their Local Music is Sexy 3 performance the night before. Rock N Romp has been putting on all ages rock shows since last summer, and in the coming months will be moving their events to......

So, maybe you’re kind of a sports fan. Or maybe the word “fanatic” just doesn't quite capture how much you love sports. Maybe you don’t like missing really awesome games that you could be watching instead of, say, cleaning the lint trap in your dryer. But how do you know when you’re missing such a game? You can’t be scanning sports listings all day, scouring the internet for information about your favorite teams or......

Happy Holidays! Chances are, you're reading this the day after Christmas, back at your day job after all-too-short a holiday, and the last thing you want from us is stuff about the holidays. But that's just too bad. Because, see, here in the Ist-A-Verse, we do things ahead of time. It might be December 26 for you, but that's what you get for not checking your Favorite Local Blog on Christmas Eve. Austinist is......

*The views expressed in Truesday are those of the author and do not represent Austinist as a whole. Thank heavens.* -The Editors Well, well, well. Today’s a drugged-up writing day. Why is that, you might ask? Well, I apparently one can’t go on a four-day bender that ends with an 8am soccer game and expect to come out with an unscathed immune system. So I’m pumping mucus from every head-hole like it’s my job......

Mia Hamm doesn’t want to visit Waco, and we can’t really say we blame her. The North Carolina Tar Heel and world soccer legend recently declined induction in to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. Sometime-Austinite Hamm and husband Nomar Garciaparra are expecting their first child in early spring, and the couple’s doctor advised any travel after January. Yea, sure that’s the reason. Hamm would have been part of a Hall class that includes UT......

Fútbol in the United States has had its share of peaks and valleys. From the heyday of the North American Soccer League (NASL) to the quarter final run of the national team in the 2002 FIFA World Cup , there have been quite a few success stories in a country that is supposedly averse to the sport. Austin, too, has had its share of hits and misses. The Austin Lone Stars, Austin Lightning, and the......

We hardly think Wal-Mart will help revitalize anything. Say goodbye to the little shops in North Austin. Save Terra Toys! Dunkin' Donuts better step on the bandwagon. They're going to lose their biggest market to some greasy burgers. Anticipate headlines that read: Murders, Pedophiles and Stalkers on the Rise in Japan. They're getting MySpace. Soccer moms not the US Military will soon invade Iraq. Its safer than the suburbs. The FCC has decided that......

It's common knowledge. You don't talk about a guy's mom or his sister. Unless, of course, you're playing the dozens with Truecraig on a street corner after a night of heavy drinking. And, coming from the most mamma-lovin country around, Italian soccer player Marco Materazzi shoulda known better, as well. Apparently, during the World Cup final, after Zinedine Zidane taunted him by saying that he would give the Italian his jersey (on which Materazzi was......

While it arrives in Austin too late to capitalize on World Cup fever, the new documentary Once In A Lifetime tells a surprising and all but forgotten story. In the late 1970's, some brilliant businessmen sold the city of New York on soccer as a stadium event and planted the seed for a huge new pro sports league...only to watch their dream fall to pieces. The most entertaining thing here is to realize that......

A fatty who doesn't exercise but has a miracle drug will likely still just be a fatty who doesn't exercise. Some bars are really appealing to the soccer player in all of us; they're using color-coded cards to call you out on your alcohol consumption. Color us yellow. We don't necessarily love seagulls, but someone really has something against them. Whatever happened to the good ol' Alka-Selzter prank? We used to rely on lazy......

*This post comes from Austinist Special World Cup Correspondent Ben Gardner, Co-Host of KOOP’s SoccerMad, who is in Germany for this year’s Cup.* Three weeks in to the tournament and there are many storylines. The favorites are succeeding, while the Asian and African countries were sent packing, not to mention North America, which saw three of its four representatives finish bottom of their groups. From these three continents, only Mexico and Ghana made the cut,......

*This post comes from Austinist Special World Cup Correspondent Ben Gardner, Co-Host of KOOP’s SoccerMad, who is in Germany for this year’s Cup.* The world cup is incredible! Here in Deutschland, everyone is sick with cup fever. The VeltMeisterShaft is on every television, in every bar, and the German flag hangs in every window. Now is the time when the tournament really gets going. As we begin the final round of group matches, every match......

*This post comes from Austinist Special World Cup Correspondent Ben Gardner, Co-Host of KOOP’s SoccerMad, who is in Germany for this year’s Cup.* One week gone and all the teams have taken the pitch. The Americans are awful and Ecuador is one of the few surprises thus far. I just returned from the streets of Munich, where the party is on. Oliver Neuville´s last minute goal to beat Poland has, in all likelihood, sent the......

The greatest sporting event in the world begins tomorrow, so it’s time to think about where to watch all of this year’s World Cup games. Contacting a friend with a high definition television is a good idea, as all 64 games will be shown live in HD. If you don’t have HD, not to worry, as all the games will also be shown live on ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC. The opening match, between Germany and......

*This post comes from Austinist Special World Cup Correspondent Ben Gardner, Co-Host of KOOP’s SoccerMad, who is in Germany for this year’s Cup.* World Cup 2006 will be the final stage for one of the greatest players of all time. After a brilliant career, in which he has won everything possible, Frenchman Zinedine Zidane has decided to call it a day. For nearly twenty years Zidane has dominated the center of midfield with his perfect......

There was a pretty interesting group out last night to bear witness to Arctic Monkeys and We Are Scientists at Stubb’s. Moms and their kids, shuttled in from the suburbs, were taking in the sounds alongside preppy potheads (we saw the dugout guys, you’re not slick. And un-tuck your shirt, you’re at a show). Apparently and unfortunately, blue hair-dye is still popular with some young ladies. Faux English soccer hooligans, well-tanned and not the......

*This post comes from Austinist Special World Cup Correspondent Ben Gardner, Co-Host of KOOP’s SoccerMad, who will be traveling to Germany for this year’s Cup.* You sip your caipirinha as the warm breeze brings you the sound of samba. The drums beat and you are numbed by waves and beautiful bodies that move in perfect rhythm. Your eyes close and visions of green and gold appear. First it’s Zico, then Socrates, now Romario. Your heart......

*This post comes from Austinist Special World Cup Correspondent Ben Gardner, Co-Host of KOOP’s SoccerMad, who will be traveling to Germany for this year’s Cup.* No longer under the radar, a strong United States team heads to Germany, looking to prove that their quarterfinal finish at the 2002 World Cup was no fluke. Their draw is brutal, as they will have to get past at least one of the two best teams in the world:......

On the menu today: Sizzling underwater action! Hot Art School brats! Delicious football soccer stars! Scrumptious teen empires! Delectable California Jews! Tasty foreign brides! Bon appetit! Poseidon We’ve said it before, and now we’re saying it again: Josh Lucas is the new Kevin Costner. Careful, Josh. Remember what happened after Kevin’s big “water” movie? Yeah. Nothing good. *Art School Confidential We didn’t go to Art School. We imagine it’s just like the stories say:......

*This post comes from Austinist Special World Cup Correspondent Ben Gardner, Co-Host of KOOP’s SoccerMad, who will be traveling to Germany for this year’s Cup.* Elvis and Liz Taylor are dancing the tango. The Merry Pranksters stop at the Fillmore to catch Jefferson Airplane. Dr. Zhivago hits the screens, and “The Newlywed Game” premieres on ABC. The year is 1966 and the Beatles are more famous than Jesus. It has been forty years since England,......

Soccer moms all over Westlake will be saddened to know that Bill Frist and the GOP will not be sending them a $100 check (The equivalent of about 34 gallons of west-Austin gas, or one trip to the grocery store in your Hummer), as Congress decided yesterday to ditch their tax rebate/gas price relief plan in favor of… welll, nobody seems to have any clue. The collapse of the rebate plan is largely blamed......

*This post comes from Austinist Special World Cup Correspondent Ben Gardner, Co-Host of KOOP’s SoccerMad, who will be traveling to Germany for this year’s Cup.* On June 9th soccer fans across the globe will turn their attention to the Allianz Arena in the heart of Bavaria, Germany. Munich’s new world class stadium will play host to the opening match of World Cup 2006 between Costa Rica and Germany. Designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de......