• personals • promotions • best of austin • find a paper • submit an event • advertise with us • contact • jobs
Subscribe To RSS Feeds
Get Mobile Content For Your Ipod, Pda, And Phone
Sign Up For Email Digest And Events Newsletter
Sign Up
Newsdesk


 ON THE LEGE
Bill Dingus Makes Our Heads Hurt

Oh, elections. Someone wins, someone loses, right? Wrong. The ever-more complicated legal kerfuffle around Bill Dingus, Democrat challenger to House Speaker Tom Craddick for his Midland seat got even more complicated today. Grab a stiff drink and we'll begin.

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

 Comment on this item – you might win a T-shirt!



 THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC
City Opens Emergency Storm Shelter

The City of Austin and the American Red Cross are opening a shelter at the Parque Zaragoza Recreation Center, 2608 Gonzales, for residents who have lost power after the storms. The city also has Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) volunteers going door-to-door in the affected areas: ice will be available to help stop food spoiling.

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.

continue reading...

Richard Whittaker, Thu May 15, 6:17pm

 Comment on this item – you might win a T-shirt!



 THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC
Lights Out, Zilker Closed After Storm


Photo by Richard Whittaker
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.

continue reading...

Richard Whittaker, Thu May 15, 4:31pm

 Comment on this item – you might win a T-shirt!



 THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC
Keller Withdraws from ACC Runoff

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.

"Therefore, after careful consideration, I have decided to withdraw from the runoff election and to donate the balance of my campaign funds to the Austin Community College Foundation. I remain humbled by and deeply grateful for the encouragement and support I received from family, friends and supporters from across the political spectrum. I want to thank everyone who supported me in this election. I am proud of the positive, issue-focused campaign that we ran. It was an incredible experience. I want to congratulate the new board of trustees, and I will support them as they work to help realize the enormous potential of Austin Community College."



Lee Nichols, Thu May 15, 2:53pm

 Comment on this item – you might win a T-shirt! (read 2 comments)



 ACROSS STATE LINES
Mr. Seven Percent


Edwards: Did no-one tell West Virginia he's, well, not running any more?
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

 Comment on this item – you might win a T-shirt!



 MEDIA WATCH
Still Kickin' at the Chron


Last spotted at a French market
"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

 Comment on this item – you might win a T-shirt!



 THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC
Because We Just Don't Get Enough Opportunities to Vote

Press release from the Travis County clerk's office:

AUSTIN-Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir today reminded voters that there will be an opportunity to cast a ballot in the elections scheduled for June 14 involving runoff elections for the City of Austin and Austin Community College and the postponed School Board Trustee Election for the Manor Independent School District.

Early Voting begins on Monday, June 2, and extends through Tuesday, June 10.

The County Clerk’s office is in discussions with the three local jurisdictions to determine the number of location of Early Voting sites, and this information will be provided as soon as it is available. Sample ballots also will be available before the start of Early Voting.

Voters who are over 65 or disabled, or plan to be out of town on June 14, may apply to receive a ballot by mail. The deadline to apply for a ballot by mail is Friday, June 6.

Voters may request an application by calling the County Clerk’s Elections Division office at 238-VOTE (238-8683), or applications may be downloaded from the Elections web site at www.traviscountyelections.org.



Lee Nichols, Wed May 14, 12:44pm

 Comment on this item – you might win a T-shirt!



 BEYOND CITY LIMITS
Pushing for a Three-Party System


Pat Dixon: Back in office, baby!
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

 Comment on this item – you might win a T-shirt!



 REEFER MADNESS
The Human Bong and the Bake Sale


Bake Sale Entrepreneur: Headed to the pokey
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.

continue reading...

Jordan Smith, Tue May 13, 8:14am

 Comment on this item – you might win a T-shirt!



 BESIDE THE POINT
Allen Demling Photo Booth


Meet the press
Photo by Alison Narro
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

 Comment on this item – you might win a T-shirt! (read 2 comments)



 BESIDE THE POINT
Cravey: No Endorsement


Cravey gets the last word
Photo by Jana Birchum
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.

Cid and Laura each let me know that they will be reaching out to the voters who supported me in the general election, and I understand that. I will not be making any endorsement in the runoff, and I let each of them know that.

I will look forward to working with both Cid and Laura in the future in whatever roles each of us may have in serving Austin."



Wells Dunbar, Mon May 12, 2:55pm

 Comment on this item – you might win a T-shirt! (read 16 comments)



 REEFER MADNESS
Depressed on Pot


Czar Walters
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.

continue reading...

Jordan Smith, Mon May 12, 2:50pm

 Comment on this item – you might win a T-shirt!



 BESIDE THE POINT
Morrison Breaks on Through to Run-Off


Sets the night on fire – even if voter turnout didn't
Photo by Jana Birchum
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.

continue reading...

Wells Dunbar, Mon May 12, 1:28pm

 Comment on this item – you might win a T-shirt! (read 7 comments)



 THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC
AISD Gets New Trustee, PAC, Working Bathrooms


AISD: Taking a bite out of overcrowding
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.

continue reading...

Richard Whittaker, Sun May 11, 12:15am

 Comment on this item – you might win a T-shirt!



 THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC
Shade's Victory Grows

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

 Comment on this item – you might win a T-shirt! (read 7 comments)



[1] 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10  Next     1,860 articles





 updated yesterday

 updated two days ago

 updated 05/13/08

 updated two days ago


Columns







Browse by Author























 rss feed

This Week in Print

Meeker's anti-Wal-Mart cred fails to bring in the votes

Even after winning, Shade takes jabs at Kim

If election day's hot, muggy weather depressed spirits (or turnout), it certainly didn't hamper Laura Morrison's gathering at the...

Last summer, when the Austin Independent School District started putting its latest $343 million school bond package together, the...

The high jumpers over at the UIL track and field state championships at UT Saturday night certainly had no idea...

Brewster breaks with political consultant

After a split vote on three bond proposals, it looks like the city of Pflugerville is big on bookworms...

If you're going to lay money on the City Council Place 4 run-off, it appears the safe money would...

Here's a regional breakdown of the election results, based on the council districts floated during the last round of...

Quote of the Week May 16, 2008
"I'm taking my mother for dim sum for Mother's Day." – Council Member Jennifer Kim, on what she had...

Headlines May 16, 2008
• Round one of the city elections closed Saturday, with an easy victory by Place 1 incumbent Lee Leffingwell, a...

Naked City May 16, 2008
News briefs from Austin, the region, and elsewhere

Beyond City Limits May 16, 2008
• In a story that sounds like a chapter from Wild West history, Austin businessman Jeffrey Scott Hawn is facing...

Neighborhood, developer, and bike activists all at odds over proposed development

Happenings May 16, 2008
For more events, see Community Listings, p.70. Friday 16 BIKE TO WORK DAY is just one of several Bike...

The new 20-acre Midtown Commons broke ground this week; it will be Phase I of Crestview Station, Austin's first...

Want to hear developer proposals for the biggest Downtown Austin redevelopment project in history? Then plan to spend an afternoon...

Iconic Obey Giant creator sues Austin artist

The Libertarian Party of Texas is hoping for a record election year. Well, at least in terms of candidates. They're...

Polycarbonate plastic bottles pulled from shelves over health concerns

City Hall Hustle May 16, 2008
Poppin' E: Election Reception Round-Up







Picture in Picture
film, tv, tech, and gaming

Earache!
austin music blog

The Score
chronicle sports blog

The Gay Place

Chronique
chronicle on design



ADVERTISING AND PROMOTIONS
contests
AdIndex



Civic (28)

Retail (59)


Coupons (13)