In what was likely his last act of clemency before turning off the lights and closing the door on his eight years in office, President George W. Bush today commuted the prison sentences of the two U.S. Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting a man in the back and covering up the crime. Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Campean were each sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison in connection with the 2005 shooting of Osvaldo Aldrete Davila near Fabens. According to Ramos and Campean, the pair caught Davila with a van load of pot near the border. Davila fled toward the Rio Grande, yet, fearing that he was armed, they said, they fired upon him, hitting him in the ass. Federal prosecutors were skeptical – for starters, there wasn't any firm connection between Davila and that load of dope. But more disturbing was that Ramos and Campean failed to report the incident and actually took steps to cover the crime, picking up spent shell casings left at the scene. Ultimately the pair was convicted (and their convictions were upheld on appeal), but the story, which should've been about the rogue actions of a pair of federal law enforcement officers, eventually morphed into a story about illegal immigration and how these apparently defenseless agents were trying to stand up against the tide.

Celebrating Ana
Saturday, January 24 at 1pm.

Trinity United Methodist Church
600 E. 50th Street

A small, sweet gathering was held at La Peña to honor Ana Sisnett, the community activist, writer, poet, friend, and leader who passed away Jan. 13 after a three-year battle with ovarian cancer. An altar bearing photos, flowers, copies of Ana's book, Grannie Jus Come! and sweets had been assembled the night before, and those who attended the event gathered before it to share their memories, poetry, and laughter, and yes, tears. "Oh no," Sisnett's daughter Meredith Sisnett told the assembled. "My mother told us, 'Don't give me one of those sad, sad, everybody crying, funerals!'" Everyone recognized the spirit behind those words, and it was the perfect cue to invite musicians Olivia Prendes and Odaymara Cuesta to perform. The two women, new to Austin, who happened to be from Sisnett's native Panama, were found at a chance meeting earlier in the day. Their spirited, heartfelt singing, accompanied only by conga and rhythm sticks, was the perfect way to send the assembled out into the frigid night, a little warmer than when they arrived. Below are a few remembrances of Ana. Others are invited to share their memories by clicking on the link below. The thread will remain on the Austin Chronicle site indefinitely.

Finally! Following months of speculation over when he would enter the mayoral race, Lee Leffingwell announced Saturday morning from the steps of his boyhood home. The Hustle is on the scene.

Hey, why wait until Tuesday for Change? Capital Metro is bringing it to you tomorrow. Beginning Sunday morning, the first of the transportation authority's thrice-yearly service adjustments take effect. Check the Cap Metro website, because your regular departure time may have changed, and your usual route may have been moved or discontinued altogether. Press release by Cap Metro after the jump:

With the first week of the 81st Legislature gone, and legislators gaveled out for a few days, the analysis of the new legislative landscape had begun. In the House, the MLK/inauguration break is probably good so that reporters and staffers can get used to saying "Speaker Joe Straus" (see our interview with the new House leader here.) Seriously, it's taking some getting used to, which speaks to the one-time invulnerability of former speaker Rep. Tom Craddick, R-Midland, and his conservative forces. Senate is out until the 26th: probably a good thing, because it will allow a little time for tempers to cool down. The Texas Senate has always prided itself on being, for lack of a better term, the big kids' table. So when Lt. Gov David Dewhurst (in what may be the most confusing opening volley to an election campaign, if rumors of his senate or gubernatorial runs in 2010 are true), and Sens. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, and Dan Patrick, R-Houston, decided to derail that Wednesday in the whole 2/3rds debate debacle, it didn't go unnoticed that the upper chamber was acting like, well, the House normally does. Sunset Commission Chair Rep. Carl Isett, R-Lubbock, had a quick joke about this at the expense of the Senate members of his commissioners.

City Manager Marc Ott has just released a memo to all city employees with the subject line Budget Challenges that lays out a pretty bleak future for city spending and hiring. With a "$25 million general fund gap" already in the 2009 budget, and sales tax revenue expected to drop 4% in the first two months of the year, Ott is asking departments to work out ways to cut an extra $15 million out of their combined budgets "as a starting point." It's even bleaker on the hiring front: With the shadow of possible layoffs later in the year, Ott had told Human Resources to put a hold on filling vacancies, and it will be up to department directors to prove "critical need" to fill positions. For anyone hoping for a pay raise, he's also postponing phase II of the annual market review, which was intended to keep City employee wages competitive. Full press release after the break.

Anyone expecting a Eisenhower-style warning from President George W. Bush in last night's farewell address should have known that they were in for a disappointing night. But they may not have expected a sales job for faith-based initiatives. Because his administration has been so tied up with foreign policy, the immediate analysis centered on his claims of spreading freedom like free snow cones on a hot day. So while foreign policy experts are picking their jaws off the floor at the seemingly irony-free statement that "when people live in freedom, they do not willingly chose leaders who pursue campaigns of terror," the domestic policy notes may get passed over. But on his way out the door, the real advocacy out of the legacy project was for his Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (aka, when your policy grows lemons, give churches tax dollars to make lemonade for you) and charter schools: two conservative touchstones that aren't going anywhere soon. And while pundits like MSNBC's Chris Matthew's have noted that he didn't become a foreign policy ideologue until he got to DC, this is something that President Bush picked up back when he was Governor Bush (not forgetting, of course, that President-Elect Barack Obama likes them enough to reform rather than dismantle them.)

We sadly report that Special Session, the Legislature-themed show produced and hosted by Emmy-winning filmmaker Paul Stekler, will not be returning to public television station KLRU this year. “Just too hard to find funding for it,” reports Stekler, a radio-television-film professor at UT. Of course, KLRU will not be devoid of Lege examination, as it figures to play a large role over the next five months in Evan Smith's Texas Monthly Talks series. On the upside, KXAN’s Jenny Hoff has a new program titled Session ’09 In-Depth, airing every Sunday at 9:30am before Meet the Press.