You can call it Countdown to Casapocalypse. A digital clock now sits in the dining room of Casa de Luz, Austin's beloved macrobiotic restaurant, marking the number of days till relocation or closure. That's because the 20-year-old Austin institution, located just off Barton Springs Road, is locked in a legal battle with the City of Austin over parking. more ›

• Editorial from the Austin American-Statesman urges leaving Town Lake open as an adoption facility, to help Austin meet the goal of becoming a “no kill” city.
• Yes, the Texas quasi-holiday following Martin Luther King Jr. Day day…is Confederate Heroes' Day. You can’t make this stuff up.
• One of the advantages of living in the grooviest state-capital in the country is the old training films made by state agencies back in the day. One of the films spotlighted here has beautiful 1950’s cars, while another has a performance from an actor who would go on to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

According to Stuart Strong, acting director of the Austin Parks and Recreation, the department has already received feedback from people on both sides of the leash issue but it will be holding an upcoming meeting later this month to discuss this and other concerns facing Auditorium Shores improvements. Once the department has a sense for the public's stance on the issue, it will present the final plan to the City Council for approval. more ›

Every weekday morning we'll be featuring a photo (or two) from our readers. Please feel free to submit your photos (min 600px width) by adding them to the Austinist Flickr Group. more ›

Every weekday morning we'll be featuring a photo (or two) from our readers. Please feel free to submit your photos (min 600px width) by adding them to the Austinist Flickr Group. more ›

Every weekday morning we'll be featuring a photo (or two) from our readers. Please feel free to submit your photos (min 600px width) by adding them to the Austinist Flickr Group. more ›

Every weekday morning we'll be featuring a photo (or two) from our readers. Please feel free to submit your photos (min 600px width) by adding them to the Austinist Flickr Group. more ›

Every weekday morning we'll be featuring a photo (or two) from our readers. Please feel free to submit your photos (min 600px width) by adding them to the Austinist Flickr Group. more ›

Every weekday morning we'll be featuring a photo (or two) from our readers. Please feel free to submit your photos by adding them to the Austinist Flickr Group. more ›

In an effort to honor the who's who of Austin legacies, City Council has finally named the new city park near the south shore of Lady Bird Lake and just west of the Palmer events center (between Riverside Drive and Barton Springs Road) Butler Park. The park itself was named in honor of the Butler family that donated the land to the city. In the late 1800s, Butler was an Irish immigrant who ran a successful brick-making business on the land and ultimately his heirs donated the land to the city in 1941 for civic purposes. more ›

Photo of Caritas by Beard Papa on flickr
• APD successfully halted a home burglary in-progress this morning.
• Plane crash this afternoon in Fort Worth.
• Yesterday the United Way Capital Area announced that it is cutting funding to 21 area non-profits; Brewster McCracken says that the city may step in with an emergency appropriation to help.

As you have probably heard by now, the Planning Commission voted to deny CWS Capital Partners' variance request, which would have allowed them to build condo towers within 150 feet of Lady Bird Lake in exchange for demolishing their existing structures and donating the land along the shoreline to the city (approximately the pink bit in the top left of the image above). As a result, the existing structures will almost certainly be re-built... more ›

The new head of EMI apparently gets it. Study: "War on Terror" is spawning legions of terrorists. Texas investor to help fund the International Space Station with the hope of saving millions of lives. Campaign by Blackwater to further embarrass our country continues to be a great success. Parisian vandals destroy valuable piece of art, trot away laughing, smoking cigarettes and looking absolutely fabulous. Article about students getting it on during class at a... more ›

CWS Capital Partners seems to be attempting to generate the appearance of grassroots support for their plan to donate land along the southern shore of Lady Bird Lake in exchange for a variance. Extend Our Trail popped up recently as a counter to Save Town Lake. Katherine Gregor at the Chronicle called shenanigans, saying that Extend Our Trail was just a front for CWS. M1EK asked for proof. Katherine added that "Confirmation that CWS... more ›

Construction worker fell over 25 feet (and may have landed on some upended rebar) from condo construction at 17th and Lavaca this morning. New background check requirements lead some volunteer dogwalkers to quit their work at Town Lake Animal Shelter. Al Gore is in town tonight; we'll keep an eye out for the YCT protesters. Numerous people named in Dallas corruption investigation, including city officials and a State Rep. A&M is having difficulties attracting... more ›

The City of Austin wants your input in naming the new 21-acre, $7.3-mililon park just south of Lady Bird Lake. The recently opened area, which houses the Palmer Events Center and the Long Center, is currently dubbed "Town Lake Park," but a "facilities naming ordinance" calls for the park to be rechristened in honor of "an individual(s) (living or dead) or something other than an individual such as a place or natural feature." Submit your... more ›

ACL Previews Interview: Ghostland Observatory Previews: The Broken West, Big Sam’s Funky Nation & Rose Hill Drive Previews: Billy Joe Shaver and Fionn Regan Previews: Brandon Rhyder and Ocote Soul Sounds Interview: The Broken West Previews: Sylvia St. James, Jeffrey Steele, and Amy Cook Interview: Bloc Party ACL Fest Updates: Google Mashup, Contests, Eco-Chic Previews: Augustana, Amos Lee Interview: Peter, Bjorn, and John ACL Band Clash, Round 3: Wilco Vs My Morning Jacket Travis... more ›

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Same thing, another week. As you move on to the next line on the calendar, you're still out there trying to make a connection. Sadly you let most of them slip by without saying a word. We understand, no one wants to be overzealous and get shot down. If only you had some place to find a second chance. Oh yes, Missed Connections. If only you had someone to sort through and find the... more ›

Next week, the City of Austin will officially unveil Town Lake Park, the latest chunk of land to join the already expansive family of city parks. Austin Parks and Recreation are responsible for some 206 parks, 26 greenbelts and 12 nature preserves, totaling a whopping 16,682 acres. Add 20 acres to that total on August 29, when the city officially celebrates the opening of Town Lake Park. Where is this all coming from, you ask?... more ›

A 71-year-old El Paso woman soars off a 150-foot cliff in her pickup truck and lives Kyle family's trailer houses some 15,000 bees and over 60 pounds of honey After being arrested for giving her 3-year-old cocaine and marijuana, a woman in Taylor shows up in court high on drugs Town Lake was officially renamed to Lady Bird Lake today TxTags are selling like hotcakes—authorities claim toll roads getting 168% more traffic than predicted... more ›

The Spicewood bar where an Austin Police commander and her husband, also an officer, were drinking before dying in a motorcycle crash was shut down by the TABC Today was the 41st anniversary of the UT Tower shootings Six cases of human West Nile Virus have been reported in Texas this year After the scandal earlier this year where UT's financial aid chief Lawrence Burt had improper dealings with a student loan company, the... more ›

Mercury Design Studio is raffling off eight I'm Not A Plastic Bag canvas totes, designed by Anya Hindmarch to encourage recycling. These limited bags are already sold out in major cities. (Read about the nation-wide craziness, paralleling Harry Potter-like mania, reported by our sister blog Gothamist.) The 2nd Street store is raffling two bags a week through August. Raffle tickets cost $5 apiece and all proceeds go to the Town Lake Trail Foundation. Tribeza... more ›

Town Lake will be officially renamed to "Lady Bird Lake" after the Austin City Council meets this morning. Sponsored by Mayor Will Wynn, the proposed ordinance comes in response to massive public requests that the City honor Lady Bird Johnson's legacy of environmental advocacy. "Numerous citizens have contacted my office suggesting ways that the City should honor her memory, including the most obvious of renaming Town Lake," wrote the Mayor in a statement issued after... more ›

Just moved out of the family house and feeling lonely? Living in an apartment that won't allow dogs? Maybe you need a cat. Throughout the month of July, the Austin Humane Society and Town Lake Animal Center have lowered the adoption fee for cats to $35. This fee covers vaccination, microchipping, de-worming, flea/tick treatment, as well as spay/neuter procedure (if applicable). At this low cost, how can you pass this deal up? Even some... more ›

Lady Bird joins LBJ, but her legacy lives on. Take a lap around Town Lake for her, and be sure to stop and smell the flowers. Pray for rain--in Alabama. Lord knows we've had enough of it here, and we may even get more. While you're at it, pray for grocery stores--Detroit doesn't have any. Maybe Whole Foods could move in if Mackey weren't so busy online. Feeling broke? Head to Japan, where they... more ›

Lady Bird (Claudia Alta Taylor) Johnson was the oldest living former First Lady before her death this afternoon in Austin. The widow of LBJ will be fondly remembered for her love and work for the environment (promoting the highway beautification bill, raising money for Town Lake Park, and co-founding a national wildflower center). She had not been in top health since her first stroke in the early '90s, but still made rare public appearances around... more ›

Two girls paddling a rented canoe on Town Lake nearly drowned this morning, when their tiny watercraft was sucked under the floodgates at Longhorn Dam. A 9-1-1 caller watched as the canoe was pulled past the floodgates: EMS officials say the caller continued to watch as one victim surfaced almost immediately and was swept downstream. The second victim was caught in the spillway turbulence for up to several minutes, and was later pushed downstream.... more ›

Just like last year, Austin's in for another rainy July 4th. With Lake Travis still hovering around 700 feet above sea level and an estimated 2-4 inches of rain on the way, the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) is keeping all area lakes closed for boating, including Lake Austin and Town Lake. "Debris and high water from floodwaters make the lakes unsafe," reads the news bulletin post to LCRA's site this afternoon. "LCRA will... more ›

Either something's gone wonky with the Doppler Radar, or Mother Nature's feeling awfully gloomy: Austin's extended forecast indicates that we'll be dealing with hot, stormy weather through the July 4th holiday. Last night's thunderstorms, which delivered an estimated 18 inches of rain, flooded parts of Williamson, Lampasas, and Burnet counties, leaving many folks stranded on cars, roofs, and trees. Emergency rescue crews were forced to make their way by land, air, and, in several cases,... more ›