Headlines

› City Council takes today (April 14) off, though it convened briefly Tuesday to approve a $1.2 million economic incentives package with eBay and subsidiary PayPal, promising to create 1,000 jobs over the next decade. When council members return April 21, they're scheduled to (finally!) name a citywide recycler; see "City Hall Hustle."

› Anonymous signs around town disparaging Randi Shade's re-election efforts are the work of Texans for Accountable Government leader John Bush, who's appealed on Facebook for funds to print more, according to In Fact Daily. For more election news, see "Endorsements Roll In."

› Do you want to vote in the May 14 City Council elections? Then you must be registered to vote by the end of today (Thursday, April 14). Travis County residents may get registration info at www.traviscountytax.org/goVotersRegistration.do or 238-8683. For Williamson County residents, www.williamson-county.org or 512/943-1630.

› Historic Landmark Commission recommendations to cap the tax exemptions for historically zoned homes at $2,000 will be winding their way to City Council by the end of the month. That's not enough for three Austinites who sued the city and council this week to stop the practice. See "Don't Abate That Joint."

› Another round of City Council emails have been released, forwarded from the private accounts of the whole council, minus Bill Spel­man. They're less guarded, with Mike Martinez warning Lee Leffingwell that "[Sheryl] Cole is crazy enough to switch her WTP4 vote if she thinks you're messing with her," and Randi Shade complaining Spelman "promised to play the role of on-time and on-budget guy not SOS Fund­rais­ing Chmn.," in emails traded on the eve of the $300 million Water Treatment Plant No. 4 allocation. Council last week passed a resolution stipulating city email accounts must be used for city business, and any future discussions on private accounts must be forwarded to public servers.

› Formula One organizers announced this week even bigger plans for the F1 track under construction. See "Formula One for All."

› On Tuesday, the Trail Foundation began the renovation of the Lady Bird Lake Trail with a groundbreaking ceremony at the Johnson Creek Trailhead. The $350,000 project, which will take three to five months, will widen the trail and add rest-station features, water fountains, and a rainwater garden.

› April is Wildfire Awareness Month in Texas. Nearly a million acres have burned thus far this year, and at press time the Texas Forest Service continues to fight the "Rock House Fire" between Marfa and Fort Davis, which has already consumed 120,000 acres and a couple of dozen homes.

› The state Comptroller's Office accidentally released private information, including birth dates and Social Security numbers, for as many as 3.5 million people. The unencrypted data was on a publicly accessible server for more than a year.