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Seems like I'm not the only one to take Time's accolades seriously, John Edwards has announced he's running for president in 2008 � via YouTube. To wit:

I thought Edwards made a great potential VP in 2004, his debate with Cheney being a timeless example of youth and idealism versus age and... pure evil? I'm definitely digging what he emphasizes here also (expanding health care, raising the minimum wage, combating genocide and rejecting the 'surge' in Iraq). 2007 will definitely be an interesting year. Read More | 1 Comment »

Indeed, the year is drawing to a close, and we're preparing our Top 10 lists. Hard to believe, but Northcross only blew onto the scene in the year's fourth quarter. What were the local, state, national and international stories that mattered the most in 2006? Read More | 6 Comments »

As the year sputters to an end, we see more round-ups, countdowns and accolades. More often then not, they're pithy, inconsequential and arbitrarily awarded, but every now and then, they make the right choice. Like Time awarding me � a blogger, MySpacer, YouTuber and Flickrer (I think I got that one right) � their Person of the Year award. Finally, they got one right.



I, Wells Dunbar, thank you for my award. Read More | Comment »

Responsible Growth for Northcross has an application ticking-off the 60-day building moratorium at Northcross minute by minute. Heavy. Read More | Comment »

Another local happening that got neglected in our yuletide insanity was announcement of the Congress Avenue Retail Retention and Enhancement Fund. In promoting the program last week, the mayor said the fund would enable "judicious, strategic investments in Congress Avenue," but made no attempt to obscure its impetus: "The inspiration for this program is, of course, the situation regarding the proposed Marriott development on the 200 block of Congress and the desire to preserve Las Manitas, a mainstay of Congress Avenue."

The fund would take fees the city levies on major developments Downtown � fees that have often gone uncollected as the city sought to bolster growth � and fold them back into smaller and local businesses. What might seem like a ledger balancing decision to a $180 million development like the Marriott complex � $100,000 in fees for closed lanes, or traffic easements, for example � could conceivably save a smaller business like Las Manitas or Escuelita Del Alma, or so goes the line of thought. Read More | 2 Comments »

In preparing a post on the Congress Avenue Retail Retention and Enhancement Fund, I'm struck with a blinding flash of brilliance: in lieu of McDonald's, why doesn't Las Manitas reopen as an eatery inside the Northcross Wal-Mart? Those giant arched Ms can't be hard to come by � who wouldn't want a McNitas in their neighborhood? Read More | Comment »

Austin consultant Alfred Stanley plans to kick off the New Year with a new political action committee, Too Close to Craddick, and an accompanying Web site that takes aim at House Democrats who are way too chummy with Speaker Tom Craddick. "I intend to lose some friends over this," Stanley said. Yet Stanley believes there are enough House members on both sides of the aisle who are ready and willing to overthrow Craddick. Rep. Brian McCall, R-Plano, has mounted a serious campaign to try to do just that. Before McCall publicly confirmed his intentions over the Christmas break, Houston Democratic Rep. Senfronia Thompson had been the only candidate running for speaker but was not regarded as a serious threat to Craddick. Democrats are now looking to McCall as the person to beat Craddick. It matters little that McCall is a conservative Republican, Democrats say. What's important is that he works and plays well with others. It it happens that Craddick wins re-election when House members cast their votes on Jan. 9, watch for Stanley to go after Craddick's Democratic allies with metal tongs at the yet-to-be-launched www.tooclosetocraddick.com Read More | Comment »

Wake up, man. Snap to it! It's high time to dig yourself out from this yellowing snowpile of neurotic family members and curdled eggnog. There's a whole world out there that's been going along just fine minus you, you know. Just what the hell have we missed?

First Traffic Light Installed at Mueller: Thursday, Public Works activated the traffic signal at Airport and Aldrich, the main entrance to the former airport. Here's hoping no cars use it, as everyone bikes their 25-quart roasters back from Bed, Bath and Beyond.

Housing Authority Receives $350,000 Grant: Lloyd Doggett brings home the housing bacon. More info here.

Craddick Challenged as Speaker: We're not referring to his eloquence; it looks as if Plano Republican Brian McCall is venturing into the lion's den. Whoa.

Water Main Burst Downtown: Bad enough to send Whole Foods packing for the day. Double whoa.

Everyone is Dying: First James Brown, then Gerald Ford. RIP. Read More | Comment »

In our haste to pack it in for the holidays, we almost neglected to call attention to this slightly off-kilter picture of Lee Leffingwell and Mike Martinez cleaning newly-purchased Eastside parkland. Grace it with a caption in the comments section below. Read More | 7 Comments »

Before tonight's game against the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the 0-11 Austin Toros announced that swingman James White had been recalled by the San Antonio Spurs (21-7). White goes from the team with the worst record in the D-League to the one with the best mark in the NBA - making him officially the fastest-rising player in professional basketball. The former University of Cincinnati star, who was assigned to the Toros by the Spurs back on Dec. 16, will take his place on the Spurs bench in time for their game tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks. In three games with the Toros, White averaged 12.5 sorely-needed points off the bench.

As for the Toros, they'll try to avoid a dirty dozen (0-12) start to the season tonight against L.A. The D-Fenders beat the Toros two days ago, 103-97. As of this writing, they're down 19-11 at the four-minute mark of the first quarter. Read More | Comment »

Regular posting will resume by the middle of the week, as we nestle in the bosom of our respective families. It's nice and warm there!

Until then, happy holidays! Read More | Comment »

The Tyler Morning Telegraph reports that former top Texas drug cop Barry Cooper next week will launch a new Web site to promote his video �Never Get Busted Again,� which Cooper says will show viewers how to hide their stash, �avoid narcotics profiling� and to fool, �every time,� those pesky drug-sniffing police dogs.

Needless to say, Cooper�s change in profession � from narco superman to drug war foe � hasn�t exactly charmed his fellow drug-fighting colleagues. �It outrages me personally as I�m sure it does any officer that has sworn an oath to uphold the laws of this state, and nation,� Tyler DEA Agent Richard Sanders told the paper. Read More | 1 Comment »

Mexican soldiers say they�ve found a new hybrid marijuana plant that can grow outside year round and is immune to herbicide, reports the Associated Press.

Soliders in the mountainous western state of Michoacan, which has been ground zero for a raging Mexican drug cartel war, have been trying to clear the mountainsides of the plants � known as �Colombians� � by pulling them out by the root and burning them, the AP reports. �Before we could cut the plant and destroy it, but this plant will come back to life unless it�s taken out by the roots,� army Gen. Manuel Gracia told reporters. Read More | Comment »

Which is why you're reading this, duh. But comments are still wonky, for reasons unknown.

As you might imagine, posting around these parts will be a might light through the holidays, however. Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, a joyous Kwanzaa a hep Tet, and a Festive New Year to you all.

UPDATE: Comments a'workin'. Happy Holidays! Read More | Comment »

Lawyers for Anthony Graves on Dec. 21 fired back at Burleson Co. District Judge Reva Townslee Corbett, who, in an apparent screw you to the federal bench, the day before set a $1 million bond for Graves to be released from jail.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in March overturned Graves� 1994 capital murder conviction and death sentence, ruling that prosecutors withheld crucial exculpatory witness statements from Graves� defenders. Graves has maintained his innocence, repeatedly saying he played no role in the 1992 murder of six people � including four children under 10 � in Burleson Co. Nonetheless, Graves was fingered as an accomplice to the murders by Robert Carter, who was also convicted and sentenced to death for the crime. However, Carter later recanted � shortly before he was executed in 2000 � saying that he had lied and that Graves was in fact innocent. Indeed, during a recent hearing regarding Graves� impending retrial, one of the original investigators in the case, Texas Ranger Ray Coffman, testified for the first time ever that Carter told him several times during the original murder investigation that Graves was innocent. Sources told the Chronicle that Coffman further testified that he�d passed that information on to former Burleson District Attorney Charles Sebesta, who spearheaded Graves� first trial. Read More | Comment »

Chronic troll-in-residence M1EK (former Urban Transportation Commission member Mike Dahmus) points us to a lengthy comment in this Austinist discussion by none other than Brewster McCracken. (Or someone claiming to be him. But if it's a fake, then his doppelg�nger's got McCracken's mannerisms � his talking points, the bloviation, the hepcat-parlance he adopts for the kids � down to an almost frightening degree.) After dispensing crazy "props," MC Cracken breaks down the science at Northcross, yo:

"1. The Council was told by Wal-Mart reps that the project was going to comply with the Design Standards and Mixed Use Ordinance when we were first told about this project the week before it hit the press. That turned out to be untrue.

2. Whether the neighborhoods would have the same reaction to a Costco or Target is apples and oranges, because this Super Wal-Mart will be 24 hours/7 days a week and will be 225,000 square feet. Costco is 153,000 square feet, located on a highway, and closes at 8:30 pm M-F, 6 pm Sat. and Sun. The largest Target in Central TX is 171,000 sq. ft, located on I-35, and closes at 9 pm M-S, 8 pm on Sunday� It's a completely different experience from other power center retailers.

3. It appears likely that Lincoln and Wal-Mart have been untruthful about the traffic impact of this highway-style development� At a minimum, Wal-Mart and Lincoln have some explaining to do, and they have a responsibility to start telling the truth.

4. It's a bum rap on the neighborhoods to try to label them as NIMBY's. They are supporting significant Triangle-caliber densities (which are far denser than the Northcross power center) at Crestview Station."

Which M1EK responds to with his hoary argument that locating Wal-Mart on a freeway or frontage road is a bad idea, because it's bad for pedestrian traffic. Read More | 6 Comments »

So folks up in Minnesota elected an African-American to Congress who converted to Islam some years ago, and will take his oath of office on a Koran instead of a Bible. And one of his colleagues, some dumbass from Virginia named Virgil Goode, somehow decided this merited a call for tighter immigration laws to keep Muslims out of America. Aside from the utter hatefulness of this, we're almost as appalled by his lack of logic – how can tighter immigration laws do a damn thing to stop Americans from converting to Islam?

Still, you have to love democracy: Even the ignorant, fearmongering bigot community has representation. Read More | 1 Comment »

Holiday hesitaters, listen up: with today's publication of the Chronicle's 2006 Political Procrastinators' Holiday Gift Guide, there's no excuse for an empty stocking. The best doesn't come cheap though, like this motivational picture for the condo impresario that has everything. But Christmas only comes once a year, right? Condos are forever.

For those on a tighter holiday budget, here's a few final suggestions:

The Gift that Keeps on Hoarding: Post-apocalyptic survivalists are always the hardest to shop for. So why not give them a gift certificate to survivormall.com? That way, there's no egg on your camo-greasepainted face when they get a second Scott M-95 Military Grade Gas Mask in the mail. Done and done!

Joe Lieberman "Go Joe" 2004 Bumperstickers:
The Joementum's only 50 cents. Don't order all at once, lest you "crash" Joe's website. Last, and decidedly least...

1600 For Men Exfoliating Power Scrub: The irony of the Bush White House licensing an official "power scrub" is almost suffocating. Or how about their "hand wash?" (Blogger David Neiwert says it's great for "getting out those nasty bloodstains.") Setting aside the Nixonian/Metrosexual connotations, one Amazon shopper wonders, "Can you imagine the uproar if Clinton had done something like this?" Read More | Comment »

On the heels of a ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordering the state to set a bond for Anthony Graves � whose murder conviction and death sentence the appellate court overturned earlier this year � or free him on a bond set previously by a federal district judge, state Burleson Co. District Judge Reva Townslee Corbett on Dec. 20 set Graves� bond at $1 million.

The six-figure bond is a far cry from the $50,000 bail set by U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent in November � a bond that would�ve allowed Graves to walk away from prison after 12 years on death row for just $5,000 up front, while the state prepares to retry him on capital murder charges for the murder of six people � four of them children under 10 � and for the arson prosecutors say was set to cover the crime. Read More | Comment »

Since our first round of suggestions got the blogosphere going nuts, here's another round of last-minute gift ideas, leading up to our print-edition extravaganza tomorrow. Suck it, secular humanists!

Shop WorldNetDaily: Aside from being a platform for black helicopter paranoia, standing firm against the nefarious homosexual/tofu agenda, and fanning Chuck Norris' literary flames, this winger-site par excellence offers plenty of ways to ruin the holidays. Their "Operation: Just Say... Merry Christmas" bracelets are an inexpensive way to remind loved ones that the season of peace on earth means nothing less than outright spiritual warfare. But WND doesn't totally hate the Jews � they need Israel to fulfill biblical prophecy and bring about the Antichrist, remember � so they've prepared a "The Gift of Chanukah" DVD. For their Muslim friends, WND offers� ha, we had you going there!

NukAlert: At all times, the Right must be vigilant in the war against Islamofascinazipinkonmulticulturalism. Who knows where you'll be when a dirty bomb's detonated � blogging from the front lines in the GWOT, in the bunker some call your Grandmother's basement, or, God forbid, on a Wasabi Funyuns and Mr. Pibb refueling mission. Well now there's NukAlert, the only $160 keychain authorized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of Domestic Preparedness. Read More | Comment »