Two Austin-area animal shelters, Austin Pets Alive! and Humane Society of Williamson County, have been chosen to participate in the qualifying heat of the ASPCA $100K Challenge. During the initial voting round, which ends at midnight on Friday, April 15, supporters can vote online to send shelters to the final round of the challenge. The 50 agencies with the most votes will be the official contestants in the $100K Challenge. more ›

Earlier this week, the Williamson County Republican Party’s most recent finance report seemed to finally prove what some folks in Travis County have long suspected: that WillCo Republicans are very well-funded, and they’ve got one hell of an appetite. more ›

Williamson County Sheriff were dispatched to a house in Round Rock on Tuesday, after someone at the residence called 9-1-1 and hung up. One resident at the address, 42-year-old Cong Van Pham, appeared to be "very nervous" when questioned by police, and, according to the Sheriff's report, tried to shut the door on authorities. Deputies entered the house nevertheless, and came upon what appeared to be a modest marijuana-growing operation, with nearly the entire house being used to grow weed. All told, some 760 marijuana plants were seized. Pham now faces federal charges of manufacturing marijuana. more ›

Devin Adam Pro, 17, and Sean David Ramsey, 20, had grabbed their loot—worth a sum total of about seven bucks—and were making their way out of the store when they were intercepted by Wal-Mart securty. Rather than surrender, Pro and Ramsey fought with the 'loss prevention officers,' injuring the employees in the process. The two managed to escape, but were later caught by police. more ›

After it was thought to be contained last night, the wildfire in Williamson County regained power. Since yesterday the fire has caused over 50 homes to be evacuated and has overtaken 3,700 acres. Various Central Texas fire departments have combined forces to work on the fire near Florence, and a black hawk helicopter will be doing water drops. So far the fire has been burning for over 24 hours. [KXAN] more ›

• 13 reported dead in North Texas bus crash.
• Williamson County wildfire contained.
• John Edwards' 'love child' sex scandal hits Obama campaign.

The new campaign headquarters for Willco's Democratic candidates opened this past weekend to some fanfare, despite being largely overshadowed by the convention of marauding liberals in downtown Austin. They're now up and running, and could use your donations and/or volunteer time. more ›

Drunk driver Allen William Owen won't be eligible for parole until he's an octogenarian, thanks to a grand jury in Williamson County that recently convicted him of his third DWI. more ›

Back in mid-May, 48-year-old Kenneth Holder decided to give his girlfriend's dog a bath in the couple's backyard. The German shepherd/Labrador retriever mix, being a dog, was displeased with this plan. And so, when Holder attempted to "forcibly hold [him] down," the canine bit him on the arm. more ›

Former convention center director pleads guilty to tampering with governmental records. State Board of Education deciding on English curriculum in a difficult and somewhat hostile process. Baseball player traded to Laredo minor league team for ten bats. Yes, you read that correctly. CPS is asking the state Supreme Court to overturn yesterday's ruling by the Third Court of Appeals on the removal of the children from the FLDS compound. Williamson County developers are funny. more ›

The Democratic party of Williamson County didn't order enough ballots; some precincts had used half of their ballots before the afternoon and evening rush. Today is the day of judgment for some of Craddick's Democratic supporters. Austin's Pluck purchased by Demand Media. Alfonso Royal, aide to Gov. Perry, named as chief of staff for TYC. The man who tried to steal copper from an East Austin electrical substation last week has died. more ›

Red light camera locations announced this afternoon. New TYC conservator rules out the use of pepper spray in youth prisons, except for in emergency cases. Dallas cop serving in Hillary's motorcade this morning killed after his bike hit a retaining wall. Little Walnut Creek library location is opening tomorrow after almost a year of renovation. more ›

Even those still rooting for under-underdog Ron Paul have something to look forward to: the ten-term Congressman is coming to UT Austin this Saturday for a massive rally at the Main Mall. "Although he is behind in delegate numbers and poll support, Ron Paul says he intends to continue the race as long as his supporters finance him," wrote Chris Robertson, Event Coordinator for this weekend's event. more ›

"Unfortunately, no one watches it": NBC's head entertainment honcho seems pessimistic about the chances of a third season of Austin-filmed Friday Night Lights. KLRU's Tom Spencer to head up Austin Area Interreligious Ministries. All of the City's diesel fleet will soon run on bio-diesel. 17-year-old charged with two counts of sexual assault on the Texas State campus. more ›

The good thing about Bush's State of the Union speech tonight: it will be his last! St. Austin's Church turns 100. Judge decides against landowners in Brownsville border fence dispute. This has us baffled: Harris County assistant district attorney sends out e-mail using "Canadian" as a racial slur. more ›

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.

Common sense would tell most folks who hire hookers to pay in cash. Not so for a recently accused Austin Police Officer and a dumb kid from WilCo. 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 ›

Photo by Matt Wright on flickr Sunday morning, a Cap Metro passenger was stabbed by another rider with a screwdriver. Gas line break off of Riverside this afternoon is being repaired. Cold front on its way tonight? Habitat for Humanity of Williamson County is starting its first Women Build in February. Even though Tejano music is popular among locals, it has been overtaken on the airwaves by Norteño. Shady fliers telling people to vote this... more ›

Chemical spill closed highway in Williamson County for a good part of the day today. Perry defends the expensive rent for his Barton Creek-area temporary home, saying, "Texas ain't Arkansas." Man arrested at the border for a murder committed 13 years ago in Northeast Austin. Shocker: Secretary of State expects low voter turnout for this constitutional amendment election. Supposed chupacabra discovered in Cuero found to be just a coyote. "Get out of Iraq .... more ›

Have a happy and safe Halloween! If you're headed to Sixth Street, leave your light saber/fake gun/billy club at home. Williamson County won't kick privately-run immigration detention center out of Taylor now that they aren't liable for it. Some Texas prosecutors will wait for the Supreme Court's decision next year before asking judges to set execution dates. After a soldier died in a Ft. Hood training exercise, his supervising officer is facing court martial.... more ›

Sad, but true: Sunday night, after having some drinks on Sixth Street, a young couple drove to Hutto and left their babies in the car as they indulged in margaritas at a restaurant. The children, a one-year-old boy and five-month-old girl, were locked in a Ford Expedition for half an hour on that warm evening before the cops were called. Luckily some people in the parking lot had noticed the small children in the... more ›

City of Austin has posted their recent agreement with LCRA. New watering restrictions for Austin businesses go into effect in October. Businesses will now only be allowed to water twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays. It's that time again! Big Tex is set up today in Dallas. Guy uploads photo of peace-sign flashing Texan teen to Flickr under Creative Commons license, Virgin Mobile uses same photo in Australian ad campaign, teen's parents sue... more ›

Citing "severe exhaustion," Amy Winehouse cancels entire North American tour... to the surprise of exactly no one Texas State scores highly in U.S. News' latest "America's Best Colleges" ranking Love 'em or hate 'em, those Gibson guitars scattered around town are going up for auction in October Armed man in Williamson County barricades himself in truck, prompting highway closure for nearly two hours Might the Marriott deal be on the chopping block? A horribly... more ›

One of the country's biggest private mortgage companies goes belly-up, leaving 120 Austinites newly jobless The Texas Department of Transportation releases a list of over 2,000 "structurally deficient" bridges across the state, with 10 in Travis County Nicole and Jeffrey Rank of Corpus Christi are awarded $80k after being wrongfully arrested at a Bush rally in 2004 Tax-free holiday weekend starts on Friday Whole Foods gets the go-ahead to buy out Wild Oats The... more ›

Low-income families in Central Texas hoping to replace their old cars may qualify for financial aid Put that pen down, sir: authorities are going after hot check writers across the state this month There's a Lady Bird Johnson tribute DVD out now, with proceeds going to the LBJ Wildflower Center Houston area man gets evicted, leaves behind hundreds of chickens Williamson County animal shelter accidentally euthanizes lost dog after only two days, owners show... more ›

*The views expressed in Foodie Friday are those of the author and do not represent Austinist (and quite often our readership) as a whole. Ahh, the subjective nature of tastebuds.* -The Editors Growing up in Williamson County, culinary choice was abundant. If you wanted homestyle cooking, you could drive west on 620 to Pass the Bis'kits, Please, where you might be presented with a chicken fried steak and a - you guessed it -... more ›

Every year - from large festivals to more intimate tastings, from foodie seminars to elegant galas - the Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival showcases many of austinist's culinary favorites. At locations throughout town, the festival highlights not only local restaurants and culinary talents but local products as well. This year, the festival includes old favorites such as demos and classes by local and national celebrity chefs as well as the ubiquitous Sunday... more ›

We attended the press day preview of the new Round Rock IKEA store last week, where we had a chance to snack on an assortment of delectable Swedish cuisine before being given a tour of the new (and enormous) space. Like every other IKEA we've ever visited—Frisco, Houston, Elizabeth, Emeryville, Covina, Taipei—the store is laid out as a series of showcase areas (Living Rooms, Wall Units, Media & Storage, Kitchens & Dining, etc.) that... more ›

City counsel members from Farmers Branch, a suburb of Dallas, unanimously approved fines for landlords who rent to illegal immigrants, making English the city's official language and allowing local authorities to screen suspects in police custody to check their immigration status. Mexico's largest airline, Aeroméxico, will launch the only nonstop international service from Austin, with four weekly flights starting Dec. 15. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has made the first step in... more ›