Volume 26, Number 36
ON THE COVER:
news
With two weeks left, the 80th runs into foul weather
BY AMY SMITH
State government starts long, protracted, and expensive era of oversight, litigation, and structural changes to discredited agency
BY RICHARD WHITTAKER
The Austin Climate Protection Plan takes form
BY KATHERINE GREGOR
Homeland Security clangs detention center's door shut on U.N. investigator Jorge Bustamante
BY PATRICIA J. RULAND
Queer Students Alliance gains clout, solidifies on-campus legitimacy
BY KATE GETTY
The Chronicle endorsements
Kucinich's formal move against Cheney one more political weapon
BY MICHAEL KING
Going where no analogy has gone before ...
BY WELLS DUNBAR
City plans ahead for sustainable funding of Austin's new flagship Downtown library
BY KATHERINE GREGOR
State's farmers stuck in web of federal bureaucracy
BY JORDAN SMITH
More Corporate War Against Workers; and Slamming the Door on Iraqi Refugees
BY JIM HIGHTOWER
food
A guide to preparing homemade pet food
BY FRAN MOODY
Bark for Peace Organic Vegan Dog Treats
BY KATE THORNBERRY
Remembering Cheers the German shepherd as well as Natural Insect Repellents for Pets, People, and Plants
BY VIRGINIA B. WOOD
May 11-20
Food Reviews
music
The Tonewheel Collective spins off Austin's indie scene of tomorrow
BY DOUG FREEMAN
Stories from the Ritz's punk heyday and a former Adult now on tour with Kelly Clarkson, and the 2007 ACL Fest sounds just like Tom Thumb's blues
BY CHRISTOPHER GRAY
Phases and Stages
Volta, American Doll Posse
New Moon
My Fleeting House
Twelve
Imperious Delirium
Year Zero
Favourite Worst Nightmare
screens
The Alamo Drafthouse is serving up It Happened One Night and Sabrina for Mother's Day
BY JOSH ROSENBLATT
PodCamp San Antonio, May 19
BY MARRIT INGMAN
Incentives in the Senate: Does Steve Ogden want to censor filmmakers shooting in Texas?
BY JOE O'CONNELL
News From the Front
BY BELINDA ACOSTA
Screens Reviews
Film Reviews
Despite the presence of three acting powerhouses – Jane Fonda, Felicity Huffman, and Lindsay Lohan – this movie about three generations of "difficult" women never rings true.
This romantic drama is set against a Las Vegas background and stars Eric Bana and Drew Barrymore, but it rolls snake eyes all the way.
This amazing-looking Mexican epic is a work of historic fiction by a first-time filmmaker, and focuses on the aftermath of the takeover in 1519 of the Aztec empire by Spanish conqueror Hernando Cortés.
This continuing story of a populace that fears infection from a "rage virus," forges ahead with panic-paced sequences of graphic, random violence.
Despite a storyline that involves an unplanned pregnancy, various affairs, spousal abuse, maternal ambivalence, and food-service employment, Waitress is an optimistic comedy about getting past your mistakes and making the best of life.
arts & culture
Wallace Shawn bares all about writing, why he does theatre, and that play with all the sex in it
BY SPENCER PARSONS
The Long Center received $5 million from the Sybil B. Harrington Trust, which put the organization over its $77 million fundraising goal
BY ROBERT FAIRES
Art of the Pot is bringing out the goods for its annual weekend studio tour and sale with work by 15 ceramic artists, each of whom bring something unique to the table
BY RACHEL KOPER
As Ballet Austin presents a Special Evening With Stephen Mills, some of the artists from the ballet explain why they think their artistic director is a special guy
BY BARRY PINEO
Arts Reviews
Each of the seven short plays written by Dan Dietz in Shrewd Productions' Trash Anthems unfolds like a gift being opened, full of surprising scenarios and sympathetic characters
For years, Second Youth Family Theatre has set the standard for children's theatre in Austin, but its latest show, The Page and the Caterpillar, doesn't quite live up to that standard
Oscar Gillespie's stunning and intricate prints, as exhibited at Slugfest Gallery, wouldn't be more compelling if they were printed in the artist's own blood
columns
Our latest batch
Freedom is beautiful and dangerous: That has been the theme of American writers since the beginning
BY MICHAEL VENTURA
This week, your Style Avatar sounds a bit like Homer in the Flaming Moe episode of The Simpson's: Mow, Mow, Mow, mow, mow
BY STEPHEN MACMILLAN MOSER
The Windy Hill Winery north of Brenham makes eight wines using locally grown grapes with good results
BY GERALD E. MCLEOD
An old-school potato clock and a famous appendix on ice
BY MR. SMARTY PANTS
Can I see my employment personnel file?
BY LUKE ELLIS
La Zona Rosa, Saturday, May 12, 2007
BY THE LUV DOC
Letters to the editor, published daily
sports
Lightning home opener, and more
BY NICK BARBARO