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Simple – by winning where the votes are. Like so much of American politics today, the Congressional District 23 race (see previous posts below) was something of an urban (blue) vs. rural (red) battle, and although Bonilla beat Rodriguez in 12 of the sprawling district's 20 counties, Rodriguez won the most populous, Bexar. Almost all of Rodriguez's 6,082-vote margin of victory came in the western part of Bexar that is within the district. Theoretically, he could have lost all of the other 19 counties and still squeaked his way into Congress. Although the district stretches all the way from San Antonio to the eastern city limits of El Paso, the San Antonio end dominates: 65% of the votes cast were in Bexar County, and Rodriguez took 56% of those. For a county-by-county breakdown, the Secretary of State's Web site. Read More | Comment »

Tonight kicks off the first of several inform meetings regarding the recently passed Commercial Design Standards Ordinance, and its centerpiece, the Vertical Mixed Use provision. Neighborhoods can decide to opt-in or opt-out of the zoning category, dependent on their desire to reside in a $500,000 condo above a gelato parlor. (We kid, we kid – well, kinda). Tonight's meeting is specifically geared toward neighbors of that Urban Village guinea pig, the Mueller development. That Bed Bath and Beyond they're building looks New Urban to the max!

Meeting happens tonight, Wed., Dec. 13, from 6-9pm, at the Region 13 Education Center, 5701 Springdale. Full press release copied inside. Read More | Comment »

Going down to City Hall tomorrow for what's sure to be a memorable meeting over the Northcross/Wal-Mart/Big Box debacle? Bone up on all you city memos and such at the city's own Northcross information page here. Read More | Comment »

It's over. All 267 precincts have reported, and Democrat Ciro Rodriguez has upset Republican incumbent Henry Bonilla. Rodriguez racked up 38,247 votes (54%) to Bonilla's 32,165. That makes it 233 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Read More | Comment »

Democrat Ciro Rodriguez appears to be pulling off an upset over incumbent Republican Henry Bonilla in Congressional District 23 tonight. At the moment, despite polling behind Bonilla in a Survey USA poll over the weekend, election returns are showing him solidly ahead, 57% to 43%. These totals include early voting numbers and 67% of tonight's ballot boxes. We don't know for certain which boxes have been counted and which are still out, but it would be nearly impossible at this point for Bonilla to make up an 8,000-vote deficit (out of 56,320 counted so far).

Rodriguez started the evening in the lead, with 54% of the early votes, and he has steadily increased it since. If Rodriguez wins, it won't be his first time in Congress. He represented District 28 from 1997 to 2005, but the Tom DeLay-driven redistricting of 2003 forced him into the same district as fellow Dem Henry Cuellar, who defeated Rodriguez in the 2004 primary. Rodriguez tried to regain his seat in this year's primary but narrowly lost again. However, when a Supreme Court decision redrew the boundaries of District 23 and he found himself living in Bonilla's district, he decided to enter the Nov. 7 special election.

For more on the background of this last remaining congressional race, see this earlier post. Read More | Comment »

… but we would really like to see some sort of shield law for journalists that can protect us from being jailed when we refuse prosecutors' and judges' demands to reveal our confidential sources. And maybe the upcoming legislative session is the one where we'll see that happen in Texas, as we have both some Democrats and one particularly powerful Republican on our side, Attorney General Greg Abbott. Today Rep. Aaron Peña filed House Bill 382 to create such a shield for journalists; while we haven't yet read the specifics of the bill (and the devil is always in the details), we like what we read in his press release: Read More | Comment »

If you still haven't seen An Inconvenient Truth, former Vice President Al Gore's documentary on the global warming crisis, there will be numerous watching parties nationwide on Saturday, Dec. 16, sponsored by AlGore.com and MoveOn.org, including several here in Austin. To find the one nearest you, click here and type in your ZIP code. Read More | 1 Comment »

We received this note from a friend of OCEAN, the Organization of Central East Austin Neighborhoods this afternoon. Due to the timeliness of the notice, we're reprinting it below.

UPDATE: Question mark added to title. As a member of our news team writes, "They're in the very earliest stages of a public planning process to simply consider their alternatives. They are 6 -12 months away from taking a recommendation to their Board, as to whether or not it may make sense to redevelop the site. So it's no crisis," but your input will still prove valuable tonight.

Please mark your calendars to come to one of two very important public hearings on December 12, at 11am and 5:30pm, at 1124 S. IH-35.

The Housing Authority of the City of Austin has released plans to demolish the Thurmond Heights apartments, which is home to 144 low income families. The Housing Authority has indicated this is the first of several apartment complexes it plans to redevelop over the upcoming years as a mixed-income development, with no plans for 1-for-1 replacement of the affordable units. Lakeside Apartments in downtown Austin has been discussed as another development on the chopping block along with Chalmers in Central East Austin. Lakeside, by the way, which is reserved for seniors, is probably the last remaining affordable housing in downtown Austin for persons earning less than $24k/year – other than the homeless shelters.
Read More | Comment »

From the Chronicle newsbunker to you...

Re: City Council Agenda, Thursday, December 14, 2006

Item 13: $130,000 for Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade and Douglas, Inc. for TOD Station Area Planning. Buys plans for Plaza Saltillo, Martin Luther King and Lamar-Justin.

Item 14: The West Austin Neighborhood Group's name is WANG. For real.

Item 41: Approve a resolution creating a Bond Oversight Committee for the City of Austin bonds approved on November 7, 2006.

Item 43: Spends $1,415,000 of that money for an Eastside park at Oak Springs Drive.

Item 44: Public Safety Task Force creation.

BIG ITEM 82: Northcross Resolution! North Austin's SOS moment at Council? The Omelettry's Last Stand? Burnet, durn it, learn it!

10:30: Briefing Presentation by Cid Galindo regarding the 2030 Town Center Initiative.

Citizen Communications: El Concilio kicking up dust as to who was the duly elected Holly Neighborhood Planning Area.

2pm: Briefing on homeless services

Zoning: A clutch of homes clamoring for historic designation, Redeemer Church returning on second and third reading.

5:30 Proclamations: Senator Gonzalo Barrientos Day, Farewell to the Cadeau.

6pm Public Hearings: Big Box ordinance. Bring a blanket.
Read More | Comment »

Only one seat in Congress hasn't been settled yet, there's reason to believe it may further pad the Democrats' margin of power in the House, and it's right here in Texas. District 23, which stretches from western San Antonio to eastern El Paso County, pits the two top vote-getters in a run-off from Nov. 7's special election, Republican incumbent Henry Bonilla against Democrat (and former Congressman) Ciro Rodriguez. You can follow the results by checking back in here at Chronic tonight after the 7pm poll closing (of course, since El Paso County, Hudspeth County, and part of Culberson County are in the Mountain Time Zone, a few polls won't close until 8pm Austin time); or you can also go directly to the Secretary of State Web site. Read More | Comment »

Following up Brewster McCracken's assertation in a KVUE interview that Wal-Mart and Lincoln Properties wouldn't sue if council intervenes at Northcross, because "both companies are interested in continuing to do business in Austin," today comes more word from the Granola Cosa Nostra: Jennifer Kim's Statesman statement: "If (Wal-Mart) wants to have other developments in Austin, it's in their best interest to do this one right." Read More | Comment »

Just when you think Rick Perry is really trying hard to change his polarizing ways, he appoints a controversial gay-baiting preacher to his 2007 Texas Inaugural Committee. Aren't inaugurations supposed to be festive? Not with a buzz kill like Dwight McKissic on the team. Both Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst appointed the inaugural committee and its leaders. McKissic was Perry's pick. He’s always a big hit at right-wing hate rallies, but you have to wonder what Perry was thinking when he tapped the angry rev to help plan the Jan. 16 event around the theme: "Texas: Imagine the Possibilities." With McKissic on board, we imagine that anything is possible. The last time Perry and the preacher shared a stage together, McKissic created an ugly uproar by suggesting that gays and gamblers were to blame for Katrina's deadly destruction in New Orleans. Afterward, a Perry spokesman said the governor, who was running for re-election at the time, didn't agree with the sentiment but that he couldn't go around muzzling every idiot with whom he shares a stage. No, he just appoints him to his inauguration committee. Read More | Comment »

Gov. Rick Perry has promoted his long-serving (and long-suffering, no doubt) press secretary, Kathy Walt, to special assistant for communications, while Robert Black – Perry's officious spokesman during this year's election rout – advances to chief talker for the governor's office. Ted Royer, a Perry speechwriter, will become deputy press secretary. In her new job, Walt, a statehouse reporter for The Houston Chronicle before she jumped to Perry's office in 2000, will help direct the Governor's Competitive Council, the latest of Perry's economic development initiatives. The new council will combine the wisdom of private industries and the higher ed and K-12 communities in an effort to fatten Texas' economic opportunities. And just think what it might do for Perry's political career as a potential vice presidential nominee. To be sure, Walt will have her work cut out for her. Her new duties will also require her to cajole state agencies into doing their part to bang the drum for Perry's public policy initiatives, no matter how costly or half-baked some of them might be. In other gubernatorial staff changes, Luis Saenz, the strategic brains behind Perry's re-election campaign, will start the new year as a lobbyist, the Statesman reports. Read More | Comment »

This FAQ from the City Manager's office to Council regarding the Northcross/Wal-Mart controversy is disappointingly matter-of-fact:

What does the developer mean by the term "new urban model"?

A Wal-Mart representative indicated that its use of the term refers to a store with multiple stories or a store that has a parking garage.

Shucks. And we thought it meant they had imported cheeses. (Well, pretty much everything there is an import, but regardless...)

What it really means, however, is squeezing bucks out of non Wal-Mart shoppers John Q. Hipster and Sally WholeFoods, because Wal-Mart's market reach is so massive, they can't open a new store without cannibalizing profits from another one. At sone point, they have to reach outside the Larry the Cable Guy demographic. As a recent story in the Washington Post put it, "Wal-Mart's biggest competitor may still be itself. In areas where the chain has two stores, the opening of a third siphons off 20 percent of sales from the other two." Read More | Comment »

An addendum to this week's council meeting has been posted on the city's Web site. It reads:

82. Staff presentation regarding the answers to questions from Council and the public regarding the proposed development at Northcross Mall and consideration of direction to the City Manager. (Council Member Brewster McCracken, Council Member Jennifer Kim and Council Member Sheryl Cole)

The language is easily broad enough to allow for action – denial of the site plan due to public notice violations ranking high on neighbors' Christmas lists. We'll find out Thursday if they get a big box under the tree, or what they really want – a smaller or nonexistent Wal-Mart.

UPDATE: We initially titled this Northcross Resolution Posted, when the municipal hair-splitter in us pointed out it's actually an item. So there. Read More | Comment »

The Responsible Growth for Northcross blog points to a pretty incendiary interview Brewster McCracken delivered to KVUE over the weekend. Dude does not mince words:

"We do have grounds, in fact, a legal responsibility to stop this site plan," McCracken said.

He said a city memorandum may hold the key to legally stopping the go-ahead for the Wal-Mart site plan. He says it's not what's in the memo that's most important, but what was left out.

"We've learned from our own staff that we did not follow the law in the city of Austin in providing legally required notice to impacted neighbors," he said ...

McCracken said if the site plan is rejected, he does not believe Wal-Mart of (sic) Lincoln Development would file suit, because he says both companies are interested in continuing to do business in Austin.

Couple that with the word on RG4N's front page ("City Council members were planning on presenting a resolution for the December 14 council meeting that would suspend the site plan for Northcross. On Friday, we learned that they have changed their minds because they are afraid Wal-Mart and Lincoln Property might sue the city."), and it's an all-out speculation frenzy! Read More | 4 Comments »

For something that's engendered such a level of commotion and controversy, it's possible that precious few have actually read the Big Box ordinance. Find it and more back up information here. Read More | Comment »

Not that anyone ever accused the Houston suburbs of being an oasis of understanding, but for fuck's sake, c'mon:

"KATY, Texas - A plan to build a mosque in this Houston suburb has triggered a neighborhood dispute, with community members warning the place will become a terrorist hotbed and one man threatening to hold pig races on Fridays just to offend the Muslims."

Yup, because there's no target more high value than Katy, Texas. Read More | Comment »

And you thought arresting pot smokers – or, closer to home, using confidential informants of questionable credibility as the sole evidence to convict dozens of people for minor crack possession (as in Tulia or in Edna, Texas) – in the name of the (never-ending) War on Drugs was bad? Well, you ain’t seen nothing yet: According to a report in London’s Guardian, fed-paid narco informant Guillermo Ramirez – a.k.a. Lalo – was given more than $220,000 by agents from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (among other agencies) to infiltrate a Mexican drug cartel in Juarez. Worse, they actually listened in while CI Lalo participated in numerous cartel-ordered murders.

To top it all off, when details of the scandal finally made it up to Washington, D.C. – through Western District of Texas U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, and on to then Attorney General John Ashcroft, and DEA head Karen Tandy – the official reaction was merely a threat to fire a colleague, El Paso DEA Special Agent-in-Charge Sandy Gonzalez, if he refused to quit talking about the details of the feds’ deadly relationship with Lalo. Read and be disgusted. Read More | Comment »

After weeks on end of paint-drying bureaucratic tedium and yawn-inducing dispatches from The Zoning Zone so boring Jeff Jack himself wouldn't touch them if they involved a drive-thru porn and liquor emporium opening in the base of a 600-foot point tower on West Lynn Street, could next week's City Council meeting – the last of the year – finally provide any modicum of intrigue or excitement? Looks that way.

Thank God (or Wal-Mart) – it's the Christmas Miracle! Read More | 1 Comment »