 
 First off, Dingus filed to run back in December, but then someone realized that, as mayor of Midland, he couldn't run because that counted as a lucrative office, and, under the Texas Supreme Court decision in Willis v. Potts (1964), in Texas you can't run for one lucrative office while you hold another. Ah, said the Texas Democratic Party, but League of United Latin American Counsel and the Black Advisory Council v. City of Midland (1996) says that doesn't apply to Midland office holders. So they took that to court, to head off any attempts to get Dingus thrown off the ballot, but then Judge Walter Smith said, no, that didn't apply here. So who is Dingus suing now? The Texas Democratic Party, of course. "Outside the judicial process, there is no one else in the election process between now and the election who has the authority to make a determination about Bill's eligibility," said Dingus' lawyer Max Renea Hicks (who represented the city of Austin and several Dems during redistricting), "And to date, the Democratic Party has not made a final, definitive statement either way."
Richard Whittaker, Thu May 15, 11:18pm
 Austin Energy has good news and bad news: there's been no major damage to any pivotal infrastructure, but the smaller-scale damage is so extensive that it still may take to Saturday to get everything up and running. Full press release after the jump. Richard Whittaker, Thu May 15, 6:17pm
Latest news from the city and Austin Energy after the storm: as of 4pm, over 10,000 residents are still without power, and that could continue throughout the weekend. Emergency facilities are being organized, and maintenance crews will be working 24 hours a day until repairs are complete (hopefully by Saturday). As for the city, citizens should note the Conley-Guerrero Senior Center and the CCSD Rosewood Zaragoza clinic are "non-operational" due to the power outage. Zilker Botanical Gardens will be closed right through the weekend, and the only City golf course open is Roy Kizer. But considering further storms are likely, golfing doesn't seem like the smartest plan. AE's full press release after the jump. Richard Whittaker, Thu May 15, 4:31pm
Saturday night, Tim Mahoney and Harrison Keller qualified for a runoff election in the race for Austin Community College Board of Trustees, with the former getting 48.5% of the vote and the latter taking 33%. Today, Keller decided to withdraw, and issued this statement: "Over the past few days I have reviewed the election results, and I have learned that the cost of the upcoming runoff for Place 1 on the Austin Community College Board of Trustees could cost the college up to $400,000. Given that I joined this race to expand educational opportunities for our community and to make sure that taxpayers' money is spent as efficiently and effectively as possible, I think this money would be better spent on ACC's educational programs.
Lee Nichols, Thu May 15, 2:53pm
For those of you looking at the West Virginia Democratic Primary, the interpretation of the results has been pretty clear: that even with a landslide win, the Hillary Clinton candidacy needs to seat Florida and Michigan at the convention (even though neither seems to back a full seating), get statehood for Guam, and convince educated voters to hand back their degrees. But what about the results themselves? Clinton 67%, Obama 26%. Which equals 93%. Who got that missing 7%? Yup, John Edwards, who hasn't even been in the race in three and a half months. Oh, by the way, guess which Republican took West Virginia back in February (hint, it wasn't the GOP nominee)? Oh, yeah, Mike Huckabee.
Richard Whittaker, Wed May 14, 5:51pm
"The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated" – Mark Twain, Letter to New York Sun, 1897 Despite what's been seeded on the rumor mill, I have not been fired from the Chronicle. Or anything close. Amazing how those unconfirmed allegations do fly around during council campaign season!
Katherine Gregor, Wed May 14, 4:29pm
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Press release from the Travis County clerk's office:
Lee Nichols, Wed May 14, 12:44pm
The Libertarian Party of Texas is hoping for a record election year. Well, at least in terms of candidates. They’re planning on having 174 names on the November ballot, beating their 2006 record of 168. They’ve already nominated 131 candidates for senate, house and district seats, plus 33 for county offices, and hope to get eight runners for statewide offices, and their presidential ticket as well. The TLP are riding high off state party chair Pat Dixon re-taking the Place 4 Lago Vista city council seat he lost in 2007. Dixon has already said he’ll be every inch the strict Constitutionalist, having proclaimed, "When you're sworn in, you swear to uphold the Constitution. Some people think it's a formality. I take it seriously." But who does this big turn-out of candidates hurt the most? Traditional thinking has always said that the free-market end of the GOP is most likely to break bread with the Libertarians, but there’s a theory that they may be picking up on some protest Democrat (and stoner) votes. Either way, as pretty much the only people to come out against the Austin ISD bonds that were passed by an almost 3-1 majority this weekend, it’s still not going all the Libertarians’ way.
Richard Whittaker, Tue May 13, 4:48pm
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We had a bumper crop of stupid criminals last week – each doing their part to give pot smokers a really, really bad name. First, from Humble, Texas, comes the sick and sad story of three teens arrested and charged with misdemeanor abuse of a corpse for allegedly digging up a grave and stealing a skull in order to make a bong. I wish I were kidding. (You think normal bong water tastes and smells bad – can you even imagine? Ick. Ick. Ick.) Seems 17-year-old Kevin Jones was being interviewed by police about the use of a stolen debit card when the teen (who faces charges as an adult) spilled the beans about digging up a grave with two buddies, including 17-year-old Matthew Gonzalez (also charged as an adult). (The third teen is still legally a juvenile, so police have not released his identity.) Gonzalez apparently confirmed the tale, though police are still investigating, reports the Associated Press. The grave was in a 19th-century veterans cemetery, the AP reports, and the skull appears to have come from an 11-year-old that died in 1921. Why would Jones confess to such a thing? "We can only speculate and guess to what goes on in the criminal mind," Humble Police Sgt. John Chomiack said. Jordan Smith, Tue May 13, 8:14am
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Peep the pics from Place 1 candidate Allen Demling's E-Night party at The Side Bar here. Thanks to photographer Alison Narro.
Wells Dunbar, Mon May 12, 5:09pm
Looks like Robin Cravey, finishing third in the Place 4 race, won't be issuing an endorsement in the run-off between Cid Galindo and Laura Morrison. Or to hear him tell it: "This morning I spoke by telephone with Cid Galindo and Laura Morrison. Both of them were gracious in their praise of my campaign, and I congratulated each of them on their success. I expressed my hope that the two of them would be able to continue running positive campaigns in the runoff.
Wells Dunbar, Mon May 12, 2:55pm
According to the White House Office of the National Drug Control Policy, home to the nation's drug czar' John Walters, depressed teens are more likely to use pot. Moreover, says Walters, the converse is also true: pot-smoking teens are more likely to become depressed. Bases covered. Yes, it's spring, which means it is time again for the ONDCP's annual 'lets-talk-shit-about-pot' report. In the past we've hunkered down with our milk and graham crackers for nappy-time stories about pot smoking causing schizophrenia and pot smoking being the gateway to other illicit drug use. Such great tales! This year, we've got depression – man, depressed teens make me tired. And depressed. Jordan Smith, Mon May 12, 2:50pm
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Running around like a madman on election night – for City Hall Hustle, natch; check out our E-Night party blowout this Thursday – meant yours truly couldn't share his election night thoughts. So here's a sketch of where the most action was in Place 4: Laura Morrison's gathering at the Waterloo Ice House, a raucous returns-watching party which quickly turned into a victory celebration. Early voting returns Morrison a commanding lead of 37% in the six-person field, which held all night – ultimately swelling to 12,882 of Place 4's 33,398 votes, ensuring her a spot in the June 14 run-off opposite Cid Galindo. News 8 Austin aired a live interview with Morrison, causing her supporters – members of Better Austin Today (Jeff Jack, Debbie Russell, among others – wonder how many BATPACers made it to Jason Meeker's party?), Liveable City (Mark Yznaga, Susan Moffat), and Save Our Springs' Bill Bunch (standing only inches away from development attorney nonpareil and Snidely Whiplash to the neighborhood set, Richard Suttle) – to vigorously scream and wave placards behind their candidate. Someone yelled, "Cid said no to neighborhoods!" Whoa. Wells Dunbar, Mon May 12, 1:28pm
The $343 million bond proposals for Austin ISD may have been fraught with complications: questions about how big it should be, what should be left until the next bond in 2010 or 2011, and fears that an edgy electorate may get nervy about tax raises in an uncertain economy. But tonight the voters put a definite yes for all three. This means that the district won't have to reach into its maintenance and operations budget to pay for the new computers the state is demanding, and can start taking the edge off the worst of that overcrowding. Plus, as AISD board of trustee's president Mark Williams pointed out, this is the second time voters have approved funding for a performing arts center, having already put money toward it in the last bond election. So starting the ball rolling on that may be one of the first jobs for new District 3 trustee Christine Brister, who took the seat with pretty much the same 2-1 margin that the bonds passed by. Final totals after the jump. Richard Whittaker, Sun May 11, 12:15am
Randi Shade's campaign manager Mark Nathan may have put it best. When the Place Three early voting results came in by phone, putting Shade over the top by an astonishing 34 points on 62%, he said, "It's just a question of how much we win by ultimately." Before the results came in, no handicapper seemed prepared to say they knew that she'd win by so much, or at all. But at her election party at the Galaxy Cafe, Shade said she thought the media had under-estimated the breadth of her coalition, and that the Jennifer Kim campaign's late swerve into negativity became a self-inflicted wound. "You don't normally see incumbents attack a challenger in that way," she said. First order of business? Reaching out to the Kim supporters, then working on budget priorities in the midst of an economic downturn: what she called, "The need-to-haves, not the nice-to-haves." Down at the Kim party at the Penn Field Opal Divine's, what was surprising was it still felt like a party: mainly because Kim was working hard to keep spirits up. She had called Shade early evening with her congratulations phone call, and now was talking to her staff, and saying that, whatever was said, she stood by her voting record and her actions on the council. The outgoing council member was pretty clear about what she was going to do next. "I'm taking my mother for Dim Sum for Mother's Day."
Richard Whittaker, Sat May 10, 11:48pm
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This Week in Print
Place 1: A Clear Victory for Leffingwell May 16, 2008
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Place 3: Shade's Surprising Landslide May 16, 2008
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If election day's hot, muggy weather depressed spirits (or turnout), it certainly didn't hamper Laura Morrison's gathering at the...
AISD: No Probs for Props May 16, 2008
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Last summer, when the Austin Independent School District started putting its latest $343 million school bond package together, the...
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Quote of the Week May 16, 2008
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Want to hear developer proposals for the biggest Downtown Austin redevelopment project in history? Then plan to spend an afternoon...
Artist Cage Match: Fairey vs. Orr May 16, 2008
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Iconic Obey Giant creator sues Austin artist
Newsdesk: Pushing for a Three-Party System May 16, 2008
BY RICHARD WHITTAKER
The Libertarian Party of Texas is hoping for a record election year. Well, at least in terms of candidates. They're...
A Little Poison With Your Plastic? May 16, 2008
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Polycarbonate plastic bottles pulled from shelves over health concerns
City Hall Hustle May 16, 2008
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Poppin' E: Election Reception Round-Up
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