• Tragic. The i love you so much mural on the side of Jo’s Hot Coffee on Congress was tagged by a wanker, and had to be painted over. Click thru to the coffee shop’s Facebook page to commiserate with mourners.
• Austin musician paralyzed after diving into underfilled apartment pool is awarded $6.2 million in damages in a Travis County trial.
• This soda fountain in Rosenberg looks awesome enough to warrant a road trip! (The cherry phosphate sounds scrumptious.)
• Great pictures of bikers visiting the Capitol.
• Here’s a virtual tour of the NFL Experience that just opened in Dallas. Visiting this link won’t cost you the 20-plus smackeroos that visiting the real thing will!
• Austin baby’s foot featured on the Tree of Life poster. The baby is now 3 years-old!
• Ironically, even if you have a Super Bowl Championship ring…it’s nearly too heavy to wear.
• Interesting angle on why the TV shows filmed in Texas might not have done well with viewers outside the state.
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According to a tweet this morning from Fran Healy of Travis, his solo performance scheduled for Sunday at The Parish has been canceled due to a personal matter and will not immediately be rescheduled. Healy says that full refunds will be given, so contact Frontgate Tickets for more details. Healy was scheduled to perform solo in support of his new album Wreckorder, which features guest spots from Paul McCartney and Neko Case. more ›

Primary results from national/state/local races: So even though it seems that Hillary won the Texas primary (it's interesting that Obama led in statewide early voting), Obama may beat her in delegate numbers. In the GOP race, McCain is now the GOP candidate as Huckabee gives up the ghost. In Travis County, Ron Paul won 17% of the vote . . . more ›

Unlike past primaries where the Presidential nominees were already decided by the time we voted, Texas' votes are quite significant this year. After the polls close this evening, the party's not over; it's precinct convention time! This whole caucus thing is new to us, so we thought it was worth posting a refresher. more ›

Polls are open from 7am to 7pm. more ›

Travis County DA candidates debate tonight at Dell Jewish Community Center. On Friday when a Secret Service agent wouldn't let a Capitol employee into the building, she got upset and . . . threw a bowl of egg salad at the agent. Man who sold candy to kids at his Austin apartment complex accused of raping two girls 8 years ago. "Scouting ought to be about building character, not about sex": Our own Gov. Perry interviewed in this weekend's NY Times magazine. more ›

AT&T Marathon this Sunday morning; watch out for street closures. Early voting starts next week, but you can't vote at Northcross! Bill Clinton will visit Hillary's new Austin campaign headquarters on Saturday night. Ack! 26,000 people so far have entered the raffle for the 100 seats at next week's debate. UT Associate Athletic Director Douglas George Wilson being investigated by Travis County and UT for possible theft of $60,000. more ›

Meanwhile, both Obama and Clinton are pulling out all the stops to appeal to our state's Hispanic population, which account for as much as 25% of Texas' eligible voters, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. Obama today launched a Spanish radio ad (mp3) stressing his humble working-class roots. Each campaign is also spending upwards of $1 million on TV ads that began running this week. more ›

As we mentioned last week, Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama is setting up one of his campaign headquarters in Austin for the upcoming Texas Primary. Today we found out that the location for the offices will be downtown Austin, on the second floor of the old Frost Bank building at 816 Congress Avenue. more ›

Emo’s, as always, powers our evenings with a good amount of solid shows this weekend. Zookeeper and Zykos bring heartfelt indie-rock to the outside stage on Friday while Ume and Haunting Oboe Music take on the inside crowd with belligerent, experimental rock n’ roll. more ›

Thru 2/23, St Idiots Collective's You Are Pretty is about sex workers' struggles to find love within the harsh environs of a legal brothel. The yap about YAP is the megawatt heft behind it—the production is chock full of local luminaries. [tickets] // Thru 2/17, roving new kids NxNW Theatre are staging "wickedly funny" Five Women Wearing the Same Dress downtown at the Hideout. The titular characters do a little cussin' here, a little pot smokin' there, and cover topics with plenty of chops (religion, sexuality, AIDS). [tickets] more ›

• So, I guess I just got kicked out of another My Little Pony forum. :(
• Here are the results of the University Democrats (UT-Austin) & Central Austin Democrats (CAD) endorsements for Travis County and statewide elections.
• A Travis County election judge claims he's discovered 1,800 active registered voters who were inadvertently deleted from county voter rolls since 2004.

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.

Body found in Lady Bird Lake this morning by the hike-and-bike trail. Fire started in Southeast Travis County, about 6 miles from the airport, by a man with a cutting torch. AISD teacher fingerprinting kicked off today. Whoop? more ›

Photo by smellyknee on flickr
• Kucinich left off Texas primary ballot for not signing Dem loyalty oath, sues.
• No Republican is running for Travis County DA.
• How's the City Manager search going?

After losing part of his arm in a machinery accident on Wednesday, a 52-year-old employee of Alamo Concrete was able to extricate himself from a conveyor belt and call 911 to save his life. more ›

Photo by The Chaninator™ on flickr
• Former convention-center director Robert Hodge was indicted on record-tampering charges by grand jury.
• Voter registration cards sent by Travis County to incorrect addresses increase the chances of voter fraud.
• Sixteen people arrested near Manor for being (allegedly) involved in a cock-fighting ring.

As Christmas approaches, good shows tend to get sporadic and good friends tend to leave town, but the promise of Emo’s Free Week will carry us into the empty canvas that is 2008. Still, we have ten days or so to find that one last good moment of 2007. more ›

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. more ›

TEA will start teacher criminal background checks; AISD will be the first to require fingerprinting. 3 airlines aren't happy with the city for building a low-cost terminal at ABIA. Light pollution starting to invade the skies near the McDonald Observatory. more ›

Photo of Perry filing Giuliani’s ballot paperwork by christopherleonard on flickr
• Current Travis County DA Ronnie Earle will retire when his term is up.
• Now-removed YouTube video showed Perry dissing Dubya and contrasting him with Giuliani. Is nothing sacred?
• State Rep. Dawnna Dukes caught playing hooky in Vegas.

Former Dallas resident Nancy Rose McGowan, 26, was thrown in Travis County Jail yesterday after authorities discovered that she lacked a state board license and, more disconcertingly, any kind of formal education in pharmacy work whatsoever. McGowan had been working at the CVS Pharmacy at 4405 E. Riverside Drive for the past two months, and actively filled prescriptions using the names "Amber Mclendon" and "Amber Shcherbelis." more ›

Photo by jmtimages on flickr Help out: Volunteers needed to take people with mobility issues through the Trail of Lights. Austin/Travis County EMS asks people to not block the driveways at fire and ambulance stations; it's not against the law, but it does slow their response to emergencies. The NY Times thinks the Justice Dept. needs to take a look at the Texas Youth Commission. Body of murder victim's mom found in San Marcos. Jerry... more ›

Photo by dground on flickr City Council considering the gathering of information about Austin's homeless and the expansion of services that help them. The council may also merge Park Police, Austin Aviation Police and City Marshals with APD. Travis County officials aiding Hays County officials in the search for a woman who may have witnessed the murder of her son. Williamson County man on the run from child sexual assault charges captured in Costa Rica.... more ›

Judge Jeanne Meurer may be running for Travis County District Attorney. Pimp C was found dead yesterday afternoon. He was 33. How To Green Your Christmas Tree: Tips for having a more eco-friendly holiday. Colors! Gmail adds colored labels. Guerrilla artist Banksy in Bethlehem, proving if "it's safe for sissy artists, I think it's safe for everyone." Here’s What We Need: Some Way to Associate Our Low Fares with Worn Out Vaginas Using a... more ›

Photo of Rick Noriega by Matt Wright on flickr After the muggy weekend, some Central Texas counties (not Travis) are under freeze warnings tonight. Today Rick Noriega officially launched his campaign against Cornyn for the Senate seat. Cedar Park police going after drivers who skip out on paying 183A tolls. House State Affairs Committee to review TxDOT's "Keep Texas Moving" ad campaign. Gov. Perry is now heading up the Republican Governor's Association. AT&T is leaving... more ›

Photo by The Chaninator™ on flickr Travis County officials hope to extradite former UT student from Peru; in 1996, her drunk driving led to the death of her passenger. Attorney General Greg Abbott's office collected $2.3 billion in child support last (fiscal) year. Chief Acevedo to decide today if any disciplinary action will be taken against Sgt. Olsen for the death of Kevin Brown earlier this year. Secretary of Defense Gates visited Fort Hood this... more ›

Photo by Broken Piggy Bank on flickrThe Texas Youth Commission was in court Monday defending itself against advocacy groups claiming the TYC has overused pepper spray on its inmates. Texas Appleseed and Advocacy, Inc. say the TYC has doubled its use of pepper spray even after a settlement with the TYC back in September forced them to cut back. TYC has not commented on the case but Jim George, an Austin attorney who chairs the... more ›

Image from Austin New Music Co-op’s website Austin New Music Co-op presents “Electrons and Phonons”Saturday, November 17Ceremony Hall (4100 Red River)8 p.m. | $10[info] | [Austin New Music Co-op MySpace]Austin New Music Co-op, in conjunction with SEAMUS, has put together a very special event this Saturday at Ceremony Hall to commemorate “Electro-Acoustic Music Month.” In an effort to champion new musical compositions for electro-acoustic instruments, and provide a setting for inspiration and innovation alike, Austin... more ›

Photo by MotherPie on flickr Attorney General Greg Abbott says the rate of foreclosures in Texas is at crisis level; foreclosures in Travis County have gone down since last year, though. Hit-and-run on Airport Blvd. Sunday morning leads to the deaths of a motorcyclist and his passenger. Fredericksburg wants you to be quiet when you visit. State red-light fines that should be going towards medical trauma centers aren't. Del Rio high school student suspended for... more ›