Photo by Karsten (Balorn) on flickrThe Democratic run-off for the Travis County District Attorney's race and Texas Railroad Commissioner's race takes place today. If you voted in the Democratic primary, don't forget to stop by your polling place and take the 5-10 minutes to place your vote. The DA race between Lehmberg and Montford has become quite contentious in recent days. Today's vote means an end to their political ads (phew).......

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....

Admittedly, the Democratic delegate selection process in Texas is ridiculous, especially to casual voters who don't hold a particular allegiance to either candidate—or, in this case, the exact type of swing voters that each campaign is now clamoring to bring to the polls next Tuesday. ...

"We're not publishing the list in our news columns, period": Statesman Editor Oppel on why the paper will not include a listing of precinct voting locations on election day. McCain stopped in San Antonio today. Bill Clinton spoke in town today. On the primary race between Glen Maxey and incumbent Nelda Wells Spears. Power outage in East Austin this afternoon. While her father was tied up, a robber sexually-assaulted a 15-year-old girl in a South Austin apartment yesterday morning. Semi veers off Dallas highway ramp and falls onto Continental Avenue; at least 3 are dead. ...

Lloyd Doggett endorses Obama. Kirk Watson has posted a response to his appearance on MSNBC last night. More news on tomorrow's debate: Texas Dems were able to get 100 more seats, Clinton and Obama will appear at the TDP watch party afterward. Tomorrow's debate will affect bus routes. Voting early? You aren't the only one....

Texas Huckabee supporters aren't giving up. Early voting starts tomorrow and goes through Feb. 29. Two Austin High teens die over the weekend after the car they are in is hit by a hydroplaning truck. USDA finally recalls beef already sent to Central Texas schools....

Photo from Obama’s rally at The Backyard by Romain Nayalkar for Austinist.comWith all eyes focused on Texas and what could well prove to be a kingmaking March 4 primary, the statewide political machine has kicked into full gear. Whether it's a happy hour, camp out, or fundraising poker tournament, there's something going on just about every day of the week for Obama or Clinton supporters. Even those still rooting for under-underdog Ron Paul have something......

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....

Lots of young people got their voter registration cards in on time. News?: Door-to-door magazine salesmen harassing Austinites. Farmer's Branch city leaders sued over their anti-(illegal) immigrant ordinance. Meat from abused cows in California sent to Round Rock and possibly Austin schools....

15% of items put out for recycling in Austin end up in a landfill anyway. Dewhurst doubts TxDOT's claims of being really low on funds. Speaking of TxDOT, you can vote on their site for the next state license plate design. Voting ends next Monday. Illegal immigrants moving to Texas in large numbers from . . . Oklahoma and Arizona?...

If you want to vote in Texas' presidential primary elections but haven't registered yet, time is running out. Monday is the last day for voter registration....

Today's Mega News Bits by Patrick Dentler and Rebecca Onion Asian markets fall; the Fed is really, really worried. Not convinced Giuliani's a dangerous, power-mad nutcase? Read this. The Great iPhone Heist! Tom Brady limps through the streets of New York with a walking boot on his foot. (The question is, what the hell was he doing in enemy territory in the first place?) Unhappy news for pregnant ladies, those who must inhabit the......

• Londonist pondered who might be the next sponsors of the London Eye and whether or not readers would be willing to donate £1,000 each for a Londonist Eye.
• Shanghaiist was shocked to find a cameltoe in the city's only English-language paper.
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Continue Reading "Week Around the -Ists"

Year end lists can be exasperating and tedious, yet we find ourselves addicted to them anyway. Something about the structured format for opinions inspires discussion, frustration and elation in all of us, regardless of our own sympathy or disdain for the list-maker. ...

Waller Creek Design Workshop. Image from City of Austin News Austin Music Commission's Town Hall Meeting Notes AMD Sued Over Birth Defects Plant a Tree for Freedom Waller Creek Design and Vision Workshop At This Rate, We're Having Our Next Happy Hour in Cancun Pangaea: It's For Real, Y'all UT Biologists Propose Biodiversity Institute Save BookWoman! Austin Music Commission Considering Plan to Stop the Rock They've Got the Lasers... Now All You Need is......

Photo by CAVE CANEM on flickrToday's the day to cast your vote in the statewide Constitutional Amendment Election. If you're unfamiliar with the sixteen propositions appearing on the ballot, we've reprinted them after the jump. Austinist is officially recommending that you vote "NO" on Prop 12, which would authorize the Texas Transportation Commission to issue up to $5 billion in bonds for so-called "highway improvement projects"—read about it here. We're also recommending a wholehearted "YES"......

The notion that ‘It's not a conspiracy theory if it's actually true,’ is about as spot-on and useful as ‘Golly, she ain’t a witch if she done drown.’...

Louisiana elects the first Indian-American to ever serve as governor of a U.S. state. Is nuclear power (excuse us, we meant "nuke-ular") in the cards for America's post-petroleum energy future? Greenpeace takes issue with the environmental friendliness of the iPhone. Bill that seeks to increase court control over government surveillance passes through the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee. The ISP war against file sharers intensifies; BitTorrent comes under heavy fire. Prediction: Apple + Google =......

As it gets closer to Halloween for LAist, a contributer recollects her tale of staring down the serial killer, Richard Ramirez, otherwise known as the Night Stalker. Must think happy thoughts -- okay, free organic chocolate chip cookies for Los Angeles -- now that's a happy thought. Other happy Los Angeles thoughts include an interview with Jack Kehler of The Big Lebowski (he was the Dude's landlord), a beautiful and magical photographic moment in Venice......

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.......

Seattlest watches as a S.L.U.T. is born and Seattle Flickr users go nuts over a local art installation. A restaurant critic demands a Diner's Bill of Rights over a gnat next to her drink, and, in lieu of a Portlandist, Seattlest debates with itself over the identity of the Northwest's crown jewel. Seattlest also joins the guys from Fantagraphics for an ill-fated gun party in the woods. Bostonist got a crash course in what not......

It’s down to the final five! No, not The Sound And The Jury Contest, but the Public Radio Talent Quest. Presented by PRX and cpb, the quest started in April with thousands of applicants, all with high hopes of hosting their own show on public radio (along with some cash booty). Now it’s down to the last five and voting ends on September 23rd at 11:59 p.m. (Eastern). Why should you care? There’s an Austinite......

Congress votes to expand the White House's wiretapping free-for-all. Exercise, it turns out, doesn't have to completely suck. Man pleads "I was sleepwalking" to rape charges, actually succeeds. Wanna get a kid to eat something? Wrap it in a Big Mac wrapper. Giuliani's own daughter is voting for Obama. Chicago Tribune music critic sums up Lollapalooza 2007. Thinking of getting married? Oprah'll change your mind.......

Along a similar vein as last month's Mohawk Residency Series, the good folks at Do512 and Direct Events have teamed up to host a bi-weekly artist spotlight and competition. Dubbed Locals @ La Zona, the three-round showcase series features a trio of Austin indie bands competing each night to see who can bring out the most supporters. The winners from each evening will move on to Round 2, where they'll compete to win an opening......

With all that went down this week, we thought we thought we'd cheer everyone up by giving everyone a double dose of dogs. It was a rollercoaster ride of emotions this week at DCist. Like the rest of country, we were floored by the news of so many dead coming out of Virginia Tech, and with so many of the victims and their relatives from the D.C. area, we felt it important to pay......

The Austin Chronicle kicked off its 19th Annual Restaurant Poll yesterday with a ballot deadline of April 23. Each year the Chronicle covers all the bases from best comfort food to best bathrooms to best wine list. The results will be featured in the May 18 issue of the Chronicle. Here's who we're voting for: FAVORITE RESTAURANT One: El Gringo Two: Vespaio Enoteca Three: Uchi BEST DISHES Appetizers: The Bar at the Roaring Fork......

Tomorrow's your last chance to vote in the PLUG Independent Music Awards, the annual audience-juried awards event that recognizes the most promising artists and members of the independent music community. Beyond traditional music categories like Album of the Year, New Artist of the Year, and genre-specific awards, PLUG also celebrates everything from live venues and music festivals to internet radio stations and music blogs. This year, several Austin or Texas-based bands, stores, and organizations......

Sunday. Usually, a quiet, contemplative day in the Blogosphere. But not here in the Ist-a-Verse. Nonono! Just look below and see all of the wild and crazy stuff our staffs are up to. In Austin, bands are beginning to confirm for SXSW and the rumor mill is up and running. Good thing, too, because we all know how much Austinites love live performances. Austin also found itself in the national spotlight, with Longhorn Legend......

Photograph of Rick Santorum conceding defeat with his family by Gene J. Puskar/AP The -ists this week had politics on the brain. And what goes better with politics? Partying-- that's two great tastes in one. Oh, and Kevin Federline...can't forget about Kevin Federline. That's three great tastes in one. -Bostonist discussed two big state issues-- what sort of math constitutes a marriage and what kind of alcohol can be sold in most grocery stores.......

A billowing American flag against a pitch background opens this compelling story of a Seattle grandmother, Bev Harris, who started asking questions after presidential candidate Al Gore managed to get negative votes (-16,022, to be exact) in Volusia County, Florida in 2000. After a media distraction over "hanging chads" and other discrepancies, the overall results in Florida effectively lost the election for Gore. As simplistic as it sounds, Harris made a search engine find......