Naked City

Carstarphen's State of the District

Katharine Beisner and daughters, 4-year-old Ruby and 2-year-old June, dig in at a tree-planting outing at Pease Park on Nov. 14. The weekend effort, organized by Friends of Pease Park, involved planting about 200 trees to replace those damaged or lost to a summer windstorm. (Photo by Jana Birchum)

After four months on the job, Austin Independent School District Superintendent Meria Carstarphen got an opportunity to set out her strategic plan when she gave her first "State of the District" address at LBJ High School, Nov. 17. Called "The Power of Us," it was also an opportunity to showcase one of the new "innovation stations," part of a multimedia teaching system that the district plans to install in 900 district classrooms. Carstarphen said it will become an essential part of helping get kids into the global economy. In 2005, Texas became the nation's fourth minority-majority state, and Carstar­phen said she has four years to prepare for those kids entering middle school. She set several goals: 1) All children should be at or above grade level after three years in district schools; 2) close achievement gaps by providing effective teachers in every school; 3) bring every school up to or above state and federal standards; and 4) ensure that every child is college- or career-ready. Carstarphen also announced some specific initiatives, including a complete overhaul of the English Language Learners program; some administrative adjustments, like school attendance zone review; and some major changes of policy, including more proactive intervention in troubled schools. – Richard Whittaker

Former Po-po Popped for Piracy

Photo by Alan Pogue

Former Travis County Sheriff Raymond Frank, the white-hat-wearing, horse-riding top county cop from 1972 to 1980, has been fined $10,000 by the Feder­al Communi-cations Commission for the "willful and repeated" illegal transmission of a radio signal from his West Lake Hills home. According to a forfeiture order issued Nov. 5, Frank has been popped twice in two years for transmitting a radio signal that is some 13,000 times stronger than what is allowed by law for an unlicensed local station. In 2007, Frank agreed to cease his pirate transmission on 100.1FM, but in response to the government's letter this summer ordering him to stop broadcasting on 90.1FM, Frank claimed that the FCC had no jurisdiction over his actions. He "asserts that, as a citizen of the Repub­lic of Texas, he is not subject to the laws of the United States or the Commis­sion's Rules" since he's only broadcasting inside the state. (Ironically, perhaps, Frank was popped for illegally broadcasting the show hosted by local Libertarian and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, reports KXAN.) Since Texas is a state, the FCC noted, Frank's objections are misplaced. – Jordan Smith

No More So-So Spaces

Interested in creating or enlivening Great Public Spaces for Austin? A new group by that name is holding its kickoff party on Sunday, Nov. 22, 1-3pm, at the HOPE Farmers Market at East Fifth and Waller. Austinites are invited to "public ninja training camps" which offer demonstrations and ideas for how to hold fun events in public spaces. Planned activities include creating a group mural, playing street games, a tea party, and outdoor yoga. Entertainment includes the Yellow Bike Gospel Choir, Minor Mishap Marching Band, the Austin Samba School, and street dancers. The mission of the group, which is seeking creative energies from the Austin community: promoting well-designed, -managed, and -used public spaces that provide places to "meet as citizens, neighbors, friends and family." See the group's Facebook page for more details. – Katherine Gregor