Headlines

Jessica Amaya, 12, (r) and Cassandra Amaya, 8, play Big Chess on the historic bandstand at Wooldridge Square on Sept. 14 during the park's reopening festivities. The city closed the park a year ago for grounds improvement work. (Photos by Jana Birchum)

› If you hurry, you can swim with a Council member at Barton Springs. No regular meeting today (Sept. 19), but the whole dais is expected at the pool this morning (9am) to review improvements in progress. See "Council: Return to Forever."

› At press time, the Austin Business Journal reported that White Lodging has filed suit against the city over the cancellation of development incentives for the Congress Avenue hotel project.

› The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Com­mission has notified the city of Austin that its hiring process for 2012 Austin Fire Dept. cadets had a "disparate impact" on African-Amer­i­can and Hispanic candidates, and was therefore discriminatory.

› The city of Austin Planning and Development Review Department has rejected a site plan submitted for the proposed Austin Aquarium. A revised plan, addressing deficiencies, must now be submitted. For more, see Newsdesk online.

Supporters of science education rally Tuesday outside the Texas Education Agency, where the State Board of Education began hearing public testimony on proposed new science textbooks for Grades K-12. Rally organizer Texas Freedom Network says SBOE members and other far-right conservatives are lobbying publishers to include faulty arguments attacking evolution and global warming.

› Attorney Adam Loewy filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the city and Austin Police Detec­t­ive Charles Kleinert on behalf of the family of Larry Eugene Jackson Jr., fatally shot by Klein­ert near Shoal Creek in Central Austin in July.

› More than three years after she went missing, APD last week announced that Julie Ann Gon­zalez's estranged husband George De La Cruz has been charged with murder in connection with her 2010 disappearance.

› The bag ban lives on!(?) The Texas Retailers Assoc­iation has withdrawn its lawsuit regarding "the clarity" of the city of Austin's rules against disposal shopping bags.

› Democrats, mark your calendars. Senator Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, told supporters via email that she will announce her future political plans – which many suspect include a run for governor in 2014 – on Oct. 3.

› Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is removing his foot from his mouth again after claiming that he has only given Senate Democrats chairs on unimportant committees. Cue the wrath of potential lite guv candidate Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, who reminded him pointedly that her Senate Veteran Affairs & Military Instal­la­tions Committee is far from unimportant.

› The House Select Committee on Trans­par­ency in State Agency Operations has set its rules in its investigation and potential impeachment proceedings against UT Regent Wallace Hall. Hall's attorneys are furious that they won't be able to cross-examine witnesses giving testimony.

› Mayor Lee Leffingwell, Ben Loftsgaarden with Greyhill Advisors, and Mike Shea with South by Southwest announced on Wednesday the results of the SXSW Economic Impact Report. In 2013, the annual music, film, and interactive conferences brought $218.2 million into the Austin economy, along with $37.5 million in estimated media brand value.