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A Piece of the Poll

Remember that political poll back in December that queried folks at length about the City Council incumbents and potential rivals? No shocker here but it turns out Brigid Shea was "one of a number of clients" who hired pollster Jeff Smith to conduct the survey. The results showed Mayor Lee Leffingwell "well inside the vulnerable range." Read More | Comment »

Local 9:37AM Wed. Feb. 8, Amy Smith

AE Rate Proposal Double-Edged

Austin Energy's latest proposal -- presented last Thursday at City Council -- got a mixed reception from City Hall and the public, mostly on the expense side. The problem facing Austin is that every rate cut has an income consequence to city programs currently sustained by the utility. Read More | Comment »

Point Austin 7:15PM Mon. Feb. 6, Michael King

Voter Groups Blast New Interim Maps

A couple of weeks ago, the plaintiffs in the redistricting case were dancing around their fear that Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund was ready to sell them down the river in redistricting. Now Attorney General Greg Abbott is touting new maps that could save the April 3 primary, and claiming MALDEF backs them. Read More | Comment »

On the Lege 5:52PM Mon. Feb. 6, Richard Whittaker

Occupy Austin Evicted

At 10.45pm last night, after days of speculation and rumor, Occupy Austin was evicted from the steps of City Hall. Read More | Comment »

Local 2:14PM Sat. Feb. 4, Richard Whittaker

Charter Committee Endorses SMDs

In a fairly contentious meeting Thursday night, the city's Charter Revision Committee voted 8-7 to recommend a 10-1 single-member district system to the City Council to be placed on the November ballot Read More | Comment »

Local 9:29PM Thu. Feb. 2, Michael King

Shut the Front Door: Proposed Rules Threaten Cottage Food Operators

Back in November, we told you about local home bakers whose small businesses got a boost from Senate Bill 81, which allows them to make and sell their cakes and pies unregulated. Read More | Comment »

On the Lege 12:26PM Wed. Feb. 1, Melanie Haupt

'At the Snap of a Finger'

Think the fight over IDEA Public Schools is over? Think again. At Monday night's Austin ISD board meeting, speakers from Occupy Austin – many of them reading anonymous letters from staff, students and families at both AISD and IDEA campuses – gave stories that only deepen the feeling that the board moved too fast. Read More | Comment »

Local 10:08AM Wed. Feb. 1, Richard Whittaker

Shea to Run for Mayor

Brigid Shea, who 20 years ago helped lead a historic ballot initiative creating tighter water-quality regulations, will officially kick off her bid for mayor at 6pm Wednesday at Threadgill's World Headquarters. Shea is challenging Mayor Lee Leffingwell, who is seeking reelection with an impressive war chest of campaign funds. Read More | Comment »

Local 3:31PM Tue. Jan. 31, Amy Smith

Behind Closed Doors

Monday, Feb. 6. That's the deadline set by the San Antonio redistricting panel for all parties to agree on interim House, Senate and Congressional maps, or they'll miss the deadline for the April 3 primary. But what will the minority voting rights groups want from those maps, and can they stay on the same page? Read More | Comment »

State 1:17PM Mon. Jan. 30, Richard Whittaker

Judges to State: Fix Your Maps Now

Agree on maps, or move your calendar again. That's the current conundrum facing everyone interested in Texas' primary season In a two-page opinion, a federal judicial panel has made it brutally clear to all parties: "If we have no agreed set of maps by February 6, 2012, there will be no April 3 primary." Read More | Comment »

On the Lege 9:55AM Sun. Jan. 29, Richard Whittaker

Cole Hosts AE Forum at ACC

At a spirited if not entirely illuminating Saturday morning forum at Austin Community College-Riverside, Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole and a panel of experts engaged the public on Austin Energy's proposed rate changes Read More | Comment »

Point Austin 6:00PM Sat. Jan. 28, Michael King

Pick a Map, Any Map

Ya gotta love Twitter: Especially as a journalist who could not make it to today's redistricting hearings in San Antonio, it has been an invaluable tool for catching the high to-and-fro. Read More | Comment »

State 4:28PM Fri. Jan. 27, Richard Whittaker

Barrera Killer Dead?

Austin Police say a likely suspect in the murder of Esme Barrera is dead. Read More | Comment »

Local 6:31PM Thu. Jan. 26, Jordan Smith

The Good and Bad of the Rain

At last, Austin got some of the rain it so desperately needs, courtesy of last night's dramatic thunder storm. The 5.66 inches dumped overnight is a new local record for the date, but with it comes the cleanup and rescue efforts. Read More | Comment »

Local 12:27PM Wed. Jan. 25, Richard Whittaker

SCOTUS: Back to the Redistricting Drawing Board

If it's Friday, it must be time for another installment in the ongoing Texas redistricting courtroom battles. This morning the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Federal Court in San Antonio has to go back to the drawing board and develop yet another set of maps. So how is today different from yesterday? Er, barely. Read More | Comment »

State 3:50PM Fri. Jan. 20, Richard Whittaker

Dear Porn Industry

Howdy from Texas. How is it going? Sorry to hear about your recent condom to-do with the Los Angeles City Council. Forcing people making porn movies to wear condoms. Well, that’s big government for you. Them liberals and their condoms. We’re big on abstinence here despite our teen pregnancy rates. But that’s a whole other story. Read More | Comment »

State 5:01PM Thu. Jan. 19, Mr. Smarty Pants

Done and Dusted

Recognizing the political reality everyone else has known since his dire Iowa caucus showing, Rick Perry has announced he is suspending his presidential campaign – and on his way out he jabs a thumb in the eyes of Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and the Evangelical movement. Read More | Comment »

National 10:50AM Thu. Jan. 19, Richard Whittaker

Targeting Planned Parenthood, State Hurts Texas Women

For the first time in nearly 40 years, Austin's Downtown Planned Parenthood clinic has been shut out of federal pass-through funding used to serve thousands of local low-income and uninsured clients. Read More | Comment »

On the Lege 3:36PM Wed. Jan. 18, Jordan Smith

Internet Blackout Day: Jan. 18, 2012

If you're a regular visitor to the Chronicle site, you may have noticed the colorful faces of our featured stories are missing from the home page today. If you're a student, you may have spotted a massive Wikipedia outage. (Or, depending on your studiousness, it may be more appropriate to swap "Wikipedia" for "Reddit." Either way.) Read More | Comment »

National 2:10PM Wed. Jan. 18

Just Call Him Herr Bradley

Oh, the pains of being Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley in a county that seems, day by day, to be turning its favor away from the veteran prosecutor. Read More | Comment »

Local 2:07PM Tue. Jan. 17, Jordan Smith

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