The Asarco smelter in El Paso has sat dormant for the last seven years, but lately, there has been a cacophony of voices debating the pros and cons of its return. ...

"Barista Babe" From Unrelated Source, Found on Seattle MetblogsA new coffee trailer in South Austin is hoping to capitalize on the recent "sexpresso" fad that's taken over Seattle. Latte Dolls offers a selection of coffees and espresso drinks served by scantily-clad female baristas with stripper fascinating names like Kyana, Alysha, and Reyna. Touting itself as a "highly-personalized, memorable and convenient coffee alternative to morning commuters and the mobile labor force of Austin," the stand plans......

Go Texas Film! After a lengthy submission and selection process, the Austin Film Society has announced the recipients of the 2007 Texas Filmmakers' Production Fund. After receiving a whopping 218 applications (the most they've ever received), the AFS has awarded 21 Texas filmmakers $150,000 in cash and film stock (nearly double the amount of money awarded last year, and by far the most they've ever given away). The biggest individual grant went to June Lee,......

Yesterday, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality - the state organization in charge of keeping our water, earth and air clean - granted a crucial air permit to Dallas-based energy corporation TXU for the purpose of building a lignite-fired power plant in Robertson County, about 100 miles northeast of Austin. Lignite, often referred to as "brown coal," is the lowest rank of coal and used almost exclusively as fuel for electric power generation. It's really......

We hope that after seven other posts about Spot the Spank you are aware that Austinist has teamed up with Spank Dance Company to be the exclusive promotional outlet for their latest dance 4Red Lines. Prior to each performance, Austinist has posted a clue to help you determine its secret location. If you haven’t recovered from Eeyore’s Birthday been able to catch at least one of these performances, what are you waiting for? This is......

This Thursday, Austinist presents another installment of Spot the Spank. By now, we hope you are already aware that Austinist has teamed up with Spank Dance Company to give you clues on where to check out their latest dance production, 4Red Lines. If you haven’t been able to catch the performance, what are you waiting for? Perhaps our clues have been just that good. Or maybe you were partaking in other recreational activities at Eeyore’s......

As you're hopefully already aware, Austinist has teamed up with Spank Dance Company to be the exclusive promotional outlet for their latest dance production, 4Red Lines. The location for this Saturday’s two performances will be prime people watching and a perfect backdrop to observe the interaction between the dancers and the audience. If you haven’t been able to “Spot the Spank” guess the location of the upcoming performances from the clue listed below and come......

Spank Dance Company is conducting a social experiment on you. Have you noticed? Were you wandering around outside of the Convention Center during SXSW only to see four red clad dancers (and one whimsical ring leader) spontaneously break into dance? Maybe you were enjoying the epic day we had this past Thursday at Republic Square Park and caught a glimpse of them. According to Spank Dance Company's director and choreographer, Ellen Bartel, if you......

Austinist is honored to present the second installment of Spot the Spank, an ongoing modern dance treasure hunt taking place throughout this great city we call home. As mentioned during the madness of SXSW, Spank Dance Company has partnered with Austinist to promote their original contemporary dance piece titled 4Red Lines. Performed in an outdoor public venue, the dance addresses the barriers between performer and audience, the concrete and the abstract. Ellen Bartel, choreographer......

Violinist Charles Yang. Photo by Eric Uhlir Three weeks ago, Austin's newest arts organization, strataTX, launched with a successful kickoff gala at the Design Center of Austin. The latest giving group of the Texas Cultural Trust, strataTX brings together enthusiastic young professionals of all industries and backgrounds to help sustain and expand the Lone Star State's arts community. StrataTX Launch Party Attendees. Photo by Eric Uhlir Amidst heavy fanfare, TCT Deputy Director Jennifer Wijangco......

Cine Las Americas is hosting a special screening of the critically acclaimed Letters from the Other Side. The documentary on Mexican immigration was directed by Austinite Heather Courtney. The free screening at the George Washington Carver Museum is open to the public and will feature a Q&A with women featured in the film, with a reception to follow. Beyond just a screening, the evening is a celebration of sorts, as the women from the......

Austin's Capital Metro Transit, with the help of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), has declared today an Ozone Action Day. What does this mean for the lay commuter? Free bus rides! It's a great way to forgo guzzling gas or avoid getting pit stains from biking to the office. According to Capital Metro Transit's web-site they estimate an increased ridership of 8,000 on Ozone Action Days. There could be some truth to......

It's a mad, mad world out there, folks. If you don't believe us, just check it out for yourselves... LAist tracks an award-winning TV writer who worked on Good Times to a homeless shelter and sees a Little Old Lady get a jaywalking ticket because she can't get across fast enough (in the same post!). Poets invade Metro and an LAist contributor's new book asks WWJB. Gothamist gets down with the immigration rally and......

In the last month, we started a discussion about the potentially critically-damaging impact that the dissolution or restructuring of the Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA) could have on Texas' arts and cultural organizations. (here and here) This week, we interviewed Ricardo Hernandez, the Executive Director of the Texas Commission on the Arts, and Jennifer Wijangco, the Deputy Director of the Texas Cultural Trust to get more information. They gave us some more bone-chilling......

We’ve always thought that right-wing allodoxaphobes Republicans’ lust for cash trumped their disdain for minorities the gay community women progressives the poor sick children cute little puppies those of us with souls, and the organizations/events that appeal to or involve said demographic. As it turns out, we were wrong. Last week we brought you breaking news that Howard Wolf, citizen advisor of the Sunset Advisory Commission (the body that periodically reviews Texas state agencies)......

What a possible travesty! Might the Texas Commission on the Arts -- provider of grants, information, and technical assistance to artists and arts organizations in visual arts, theatre, dance, music, media and literature -- be destroyed? The organization, which has been the primary source of governmental funding of the arts in Texas for over forty years, was under the Sunset review this year, a process all state agencies undergo every 12 years to determine whether......

Image from Museum of Ephemerata websiteThe curators of the Museum of Ephemerata, Scott Webel and Jen Hirt, are presenting MachinesMimesis™, a walk-thru musical installation event at the Cathedral of Junk this Saturday. This will be a fundraiser for the Machines exhibition which is scheduled to open in March 2006 and which is funded in part by the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division and a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts.......