The Statesman is reporting on the efforts on the part of Transmission Entertainment to alter a policy that would limit their Fun Fun Fun Fest to two days instead of three. more ›

Well, while we were all was guessing The LBJ Library, Hogg Auditorium or The Frank Erwin Center, UT has announced that the February 21 Democratic Debate will officially be held at The Recreation Sports Center. more ›

The Statesman is reporting that Tim Finley (owner of most of the block soon to house a new Marriott) has reached an agreement with the Perez sisters (owners of Las Manitas and a building on the northwest corner of that block). Las Manitas will move from its current location into the building owned by the Perez sisters. The buildings currently housing Las Manitas, Escuelita del Alma and Tesoro's will be torn down to make way for a single 1,000 room Marriott hotel. more ›

Former Austin mayor Gus Garcia struck and killed a pedestrian with his car in an accident Sunday evening on North Lamar Boulevard. more ›

Eanes was concerned because the teacher had led their physics program to be one of the best in the nation and had quit less than 45 days before the start of the school year. Therefore, they refused to accept his resignation and filed a complaint with the state. Yesterday, however, Eanes school district superintendent Nola Wellman announced that if Harper turns in his resignation again (by the end of this week), she will recommend that it be accepted and the complaint to the state be dropped. more ›

After a fantastic week of panels, parties and screenings, the Austin Film Festival will wrap up tonight with a screening of Sidney Lumet's highly anticipated Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. Lumet (the man behind films like Running on Empty, Serpico, and one of our favorite movies ever, Dog Day Afternoon) directs an unbelievably great cast including Albert Finney, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei and Philip Seymour Hoffman in this caper-gone-wrong thriller. We haven't had the... more ›

Contrary to popular opinion, feminism and romance are not incompatible and feminism may actually improve the quality of heterosexual relationships. The Statesman reports that the ACLU and LULAC have complained about the location of the new municipal court. US House of Representatives has voted overwhelmingly to renew the ban on taxing Internet access — but only for 4 years, not permanently. MySpace will offer members of its popular social network free Internet phone calls... more ›

For updates, go to today's post The Statesman's 360 blog is reporting that the White Stripes have pulled out of the ACL Festival. The band was scheduled to play on Saturday night in the headlining position opposite Arcade Fire, as well as an after party @ Stubb's on Sunday. The word on the streets is that someone is ill, we'll be sure to keep you posted as details emerge. Photo courtesy Autumn De Wilde... more ›

TxDOT has increased its estimated cost for five of the new highways it wants to build around Austin to a total of $2.5 billion. This is especially troublesome because Congress has recently cut federal highway funding, and is expected to cut more in the future, leaving a potential shortfall of between $1 and $1.8 billion. more ›

Adorably swollen former U.S. Congressman and blogger Thomas Dale Delay received a bit of good news today. The Statesman is reporting that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Texas has decided to uphold a lower court's 2005 decision to dismiss felony charges against Delay and his politickin' and redistrictin' homies, Jim Ellis and John Colyandro. The 2005 dismissal held that the state's conspiracy statutes would cover election codes in September of 2003, well over... more ›

The Statesman picked up a Chicago Tribune story indicating that 18 out of 20 studies on the topic show significant links between the built environment and obesity. One, by Reid Ewing from the University of Maryland, showed that people living in suburban developments whose only link to other places is busy roads with few sidewalks were 6 pounds heavier on average than those living in "walkable" communities. Another, by Matthew Turner at the University of... more ›

Plans have been released for a new 44-story condo/hotel/museum tower on Third Street between Brazos and San Jacinto. It would be the second such tower by ACE (Art Commerce Entertainment) Unlimited - they did a similar tower in Louisville, Kentucky. The plans call for a nearly even split between hotel rooms and condos, plus a restaurant, café, contemporary art museum, and artist lofts (below market rentals). Various architects are involved in the project: Deborah... more ›

If Texas State University gets their way, in a few months, the river and beer won't be the only thing you smell while driving through San Marcos. Plans are currently in the works by TSU to create a 17-acre "body farm", a forensic field laboratory used to examine and study decomposing corpses. The field will be placed along Highway 21, at the university's horticultural center. The Statesman reported that University Provost Perry Moore told local... more ›

Among the many exciting items on tomorrow's City Council meeting agenda is the fate of CLB Partner's 32-story condominium tower at 7th & Rio Grande. Also on the list are the Retail Retention and Enhancement Program for Congress Avenue and East 6th Street, the Mayor's Climate Protection Plan, the Town Lake Hyatt condo plan, VMU opt-in/opt-out and the Big Box ordinance. more ›

The freezing thunderstorms and errant tornados of last night have left Central Texas a sopping mess, with heavy flooding leaving people and cars stranded, and over a dozen roads closed. At least one woman is believed to have drowned in Waller Creek, while several homes and industrial buildings San Marcos were damaged by "tornadic winds" that touched down in the early morning. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning in effect... more ›

Photo credit: Harry Cabluck/AP Our brief local nightmare is over. According to Homeland Security representative Russ Knocke - via The Statesman - our birds may not be safe, but our central Texas located piece of "homeland" is... for now. The official avian death toll has reached 63 and several species of bird were affected including Austin's official spokesbird, the boat-tailed grackle. Rumors that early responders on the scene had taken ill have proven to... more ›

The Statesman is reporting some serious biz this morning. According to their sources several dead birds, roughly a dozen, were discovered around 3AM this morning in the downtown area. As a result Congress Avenue will be shut down from 11th St. to Cesar Chavez. Traffic is jammed, buses are late, and those working on this stretch of Congress will not be admitted to their offices until noon at the earliest. A few police officers are... more ›

The Statesman and KGSR are reporting that Austin music legend and club owner Clifford Antone has passed away. After a few rough years, Antone had taken back control of the booking at his club earlier this year. We have no specifics as to the cause of death or funeral arrangements. more ›

The Statesman is reporting that another cyclist has been injured in a collision with an automobile. The unnamed woman was struck by an 18-wheeler on FM 1431 and taken to the hospital after suffering head injuries. We sure hope things do not come in 3s. We did notice yesterday, on our bike ride home from work, that people in cars kinda gave us curious glances and other cyclists made slight nods in support. We aren't uber-cyclists or anything and don't think people with cars are evil or any of that self-righteous jazz, but it was interesting to see people behaving a little differently yesterday with that knowledge lingering in the collective consciousness. We could have just been making all those glances up in our heads, though. We mean, we might have a history of minor paranoia-inducing drug use. Maybe. more ›

Breaking News! The Statesman just reported that a stretch of MoPac (Loop 1) from William Cannon Drive and Slaughter Lane is closed in both directions, after a "construction worker struck a water line." It's estimated to take at least four hours to fix, but the Austin Water Utility Department warned that this might very well continue past rush hour. more ›

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon undergoes emergency surgery after doctors discover an increase in cranial pressure. Meanwhile, Pat Robertson has the audacity to suggest this is some sort of "divine retribution." The Canadian Medical Association Journal claims that supplying winos with booze might actually be good for them and everyone else. BBC lists the top 100 things we learned this year. Our favorites? "WD-40 dissolves cocaine - it has been used by a pub... more ›

A man is arrested and charged for murdering his mother-in-law in 2001. more ›

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Might control of the famous Los Alamos Research Labs be turned over to the University of Texas? The Statesman reports today that the contract to run the top-secret weapons research lab - currently held for over six decades by the University of California and Bechtel National Inc. - is now up for grabs. A joint venture between UT and Lockheed Martin is seeking to wrest control from the incumbent, with a potential annual funding budget at around $79 million. Needless to say, there's a lot at stake. more ›

Here we go again, waving our hands through the Smoking Ban debate, continuing to spread the love around. But this time, oh this time, it feels personal. We are still sorting through stacks of reports, stats, and widely quoted data to try and make sense of all sides involved, so the detailed discussion continues to be worked out. But in the meantime: more ›

As we all know, Austin is a mecca for cyclists. And while we prefer to get around on our own two feet, we know some of you jones for that next pedaling challenge. The Statesman today has a story about where you can best (or least) challenge yourself. In the article is a list of the different hills around town and the grades of their slope Choose wisely, we don’t want to have to come pick you up in our AstroVan and drive your ass home. more ›

We were on our way to our neighborhood Taco Deli on Barton Skyway and Spyglass Drive, thinking about our weekly Puerco Borracho plate, when we were greeted by the sight of a dozen police cruisers parked haphazardly at the T-intersection. We thought it was a normal traffic accident until we noticed that the cops were putting on camouflage gear. Evidently there's a crazy man with a shotgun prowling the Greenbelt! With paramedics and firefighters on hand, Austin's finest ventured into the hike and bike trail in search of the armed lunatic. We didn't stay to watch the spectacle unfold - we needed to walk our dog, and we're also somewhat put off by being shot at - but as we pulled out of the parking lot we passed an armored assault minitank, sirens blaring. Ahhh, Austin. UPDATE: The Statesman is now reporting that two gunshots were heard around 2pm, and that shortly thereafter "a man was brought on a stretcher from the greenbelt and loaded onto an ambulance."

Arumabh Das, who works at nearby Tacodeli, said that earlier today a woman was standing outside calling police from her cell phone to report that she was being chased by a man with a shotgun. Das said he heard the woman describing him as a fit white man. Officials said the man who was shot was white. Das said police arrived moments later and that the number of officers has increased for the past several hours. Witnesses also said the department's SWAT team arrived at the scene shortly after noon.
Elizabeth Patlan, who works at American Cleaners at Barton Skyway and Spyglass Drive, said she heard two pops that sounded like gunfire around 2 p.m.

-The death toll in Pakistan and surrounding countries has exceeded 20,000, with countless more bodies yet to be recovered in what was the most devastating earthquake to hit South Asia in the last century. Aid agencies estimate that over 120,000 people are in "urgent need of shelter." The magnitude-7.6 quake struck on Saturday near the northeastern border of Kashmir and Pakistan. Austinist asks that you leave links to donation sites in the comments section. -Boy... more ›

Best Quote in The Statesman Ever
When asked if opponents of the ban on same-sex marriage were considering bussing in voters against the ban, Director of No Nonsense in Texas Glen Maxey said people must be "smoking crack" if they thought this would work, calling it "illegal and immoral." We can't help but point out the irony that this is exactly what proponents of the ban think of gay marriage. more ›