Austin @ Large: Kirk Watch

Illustration By Doug Potter

What did we tell you? Two weeks ago, the ongoing showdown of Hyde Park vs. the Baptists got stopped with a penalty flag thrown by Council Member Raul Alvarez, who got his colleagues to send the matter back to city legal staff. It's back on the agenda this week, but curiously, while the Hyde Park Neighborhood Conservation Combining District -- opposed by Hyde Park Baptist Church -- was only up for second reading last time, it's up for second and third (and final) readings this time. Remember, the only way the Baptists can head off the neighborhood is if they have Kirk Watson's vote before he leaves office. There is absolutely no other reason to speed this deal up -- it's a neighborhood-wide plan that's been in the works for years and has significant unresolved issues having nothing to do with the church.

We noted last time that any further attempts by the mayor to hurry the matter along would be "unseemly." They probably don't think so in Laredo.