According to City Council, that's the only question following Futrell's performance evaluation as city manager last night. While the torrent of adulation directed her way may not appear reflected in her raise at first glance – a 3.5% cost-of-living increase of more than $8,000 – bear in mind this comes after last year's whopping $36,000 hike. Her salary is now more than $240,000.

Let's listen in on what everybody said:

Betty Dunkerley: "[I'd like to] thank our city manager for coming through a very tough year. [Editor's note: for the city or for Futrell?] … We've had a massive growth spurt that is unprecedented in Austin's history. … We continue to grow and recover from those dark days. [Editor: With all the mythologizing of the post-9/11 downturn, we're veering into Rudy Giuliani territory.] … [She's] the best city manager in the world, in Austin, Texas."

Jennifer Kim: "She often stays here until 2am working for us and for you. … It's unprecedented to imagine what we're on the verge of, on the cusp of. [Editor: Am I the only one reminded of Caesar crossing the Rubicon?] … In the next three years, we're going to be nearly doubling the value of our land Downtown. … All this takes staff; all this takes an organization headed with very strong leadership."

Brewster McCracken: "The Austin economy is the envy, really, of the world. … I had my superlatives stolen; I was gonna say best city manager in the country." Dunkerley in the background: "Best in the world!"

Sheryl Cole: Futrell's "supportive and responsive."

Lee Leffingwell: "All the superlatives are gone by now. Great job, [a] 4.0. … [She runs] the city, several utilities, public safety, airport, [and still] sits down with each of us for an hour and a half. [Editor: the infamous one-on-ones]."

Mike Martinez: "I'm not gonna sit here and try to pretend that I haven't been critical of some of our city concerns. I've never met someone so determined in my entire life until I met you, someone so determined to succeed and to serve the community."

Will Wynn: She "makes my job as mayor a lot easier. … I just wish Toby would stop talking about a strong mayor form of government. … [Adjourning] It is 8:40pm, and Toby's buying."

The House Committee on General Investigating and Ethics heard four hours of testimony Wednesday about a recent Department of Justice report into a series of deaths at the Department of Aging and Disability Services' Lubbock State School (you can read the DOJ report here in .pdf format, but be warned - it's pretty graphic and disturbing). But guess what? You don't get to see the testimony. Why not? Well, this excerpt from the press release put out Tuesday may give a clue:

"This committee will oversee this issue due to the potential or alleged criminal nature of recent incidents. It is important that the Legislature not interfere or complicate the efforts of DOJ or local law enforcement with state officials. For this reason, the committee will meet in executive session to review these matters, starting Wednesday, April 4th. We must ensure the House is fully advised of steps taken to ensure the health and safety of individuals under the care of the Department of Aging and Disability Services."

Is that a roundabout way of saying that the similar investigation at Texas Youth Commission - as Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, has been saying - may have been botched or that it's the state that could be on the receiving end of litigation for what's been happening to patients there?

DADS already has its own report into what happened at Lubbock, and they've made that secret: Now the Legislature has joined in on the locked-door approach.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson this week signed his state’s medi-pot bill into law, making New Mexico the 12th state to legalize the use of pot for medicinal purposes by seriously ill patients.

The state Department of Health is charged with establishing the New Mexico medi-pot program by Oct. 1 – including the promulgation of rules that will govern state-licensed “cannabis production facilities,” which will cultivate pot for patient use. The law doesn’t allow patients to grow their own. The Health Department will also be tasked with deciding how much pot constitutes an “adequate supply” for qualified, state-registered patients.

Who would have thought awarding the taxi franchise would've been such a nail-biter?

It appeared Capital City had the edge going in, with the recommendation of the Urban Transportation Commission. Sheryl Cole made a motion to award them the franchise, but Mike Martinez counted with an alternative giving Lone Star the franchise, seconded by Jennifer Kim. Martinez cited Lone Star's owner-operated, co-op format and a computerized dispatch system. He got a little heated too, noting an earlier speaker "accused us of trying to line our pockets by delaying this … both of these cab drivers are in support of Capital City Cab."

But Betty Dunkerley said she's still in favor of Cap City, noting the staff, UTC, and ad-hoc driver association's recommendations. "I believe this company has more staying power."

Substitute passes 4-3, with Martinez, Kim, Will Wynn, and Lee Leffingwell voting yes. Lone Star is your new cab company.

Suppose we should note the city executed a search warrant on the Austin Convention Center this morning, but that's about all they're saying. The city just held a press conference where they confirmed this; the search comes in the aftermath of former director Robert Hodge's dismissal earlier this week, and the ongoing Travis County district attorney's investigation.

Wonder how much post-South by Southwest swag they found on the premises.

Down here at City Hall, the chambers are packed with cabbies. Two proposals are before council right now – one creating a limit on the number of cab permits a company can hold and giving 55 permits to a new franchise, most from now-departed Roy's Taxi, and the other selecting which franchise will get them.

Item 14 awards the new franchise, and judging from the crowd, there's still some consternation as to who should win. While this would likely be the case regardless, the close scores between the top two applicants have further fanned the flames. (For more background, see our coverage this week. And for even more, on the sale of Roy's and look at Austin's taxi history, click here.)

It looks to be a long morning; in addition to the taxi battle, the Waller Creek tax-increment financing district and the proposed charter revision committee were both pulled from the consent agenda for further discussion. And let's not forget the city manager's performance evaluation, which won't happen until the afternoon, following her review in executive session.

For anyone itching to get their New Urbanism on today, there's a free conference at the university at 6pm pertaining to the city's plans for TODs around town.

The press release:

"With commuter rail expected by the end of 2008, the community has a chance to learn now how it can affect the areas surrounding future rail stops and what opportunities exist for development in close proximity to rail.

The City of Austin and national planning consultant representatives will discuss Transit Oriented Development (TOD) and station area planning at 6 p.m. April 4 at the University of Texas Thompson Conference Center, Room 3.102.

City planners will present the upcoming process for visioning and planning areas near commuter rail stops and how the public will have input. Officials say the April 4 session is especially important for those who live or have businesses near future rail stops at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Plaza Saltillo and Lamar Boulevard, but all are welcome to come and learn about TOD.

Later meetings will focus on gathering public commentary and will involve the public in hands-on planning of specific station areas.

The Conference Center is at 2405 Robert Dedman Drive at the southwest corner of Dean Keaton and Red River streets. Bus routes to the Conference Center are Nos. 15, 20, 21 and 22.

Information is also available at the TOD Web site: www.cityofaustin.org/planning/tod

Last week, Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington announced new controls over narco cops and so-called no-knock raids, policy changes prompted by the police shooting death last year of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston inside her home. Among the “new” policies, the Atlanta PD will adopt a requirement that “top supervisors” – that is, officers with a rank of major or above – sign off on all narco operations and all applications for no-knock warrants, will mandate that supervisors must witness payments to confidential informants, and will require all narco investigators to undergo additional training. (Among the more questionable policy changes is a move to increase the number of APD narco officers from 16 to 30, and to reassign officers every few years to “prevent complacency.” Of course, how increasing the ranks of narco officers is supposed to help reduce the incidence of such over-the-top raids – like the one that left Johnston dead – isn’t exactly clear.)
In announcing the changes, Pennington demonstrated his overwhelming grasp of the obvious: “I think a lot of times, some of these things” – like, uh, Johnston’s death – “could have been avoided” had the new measures been in place, he told reporters during a press conference March 27.

California lawmakers are moving forward with their second attempt in as many years to legalize hemp farming. The liberal-conservative odd couple of Assembly Members Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, and Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine, have offered AB 684, the California Industrial Hemp Farming Act, to reauthorize and regulate agricultural production of the earth-friendly crop.

The bill would “clarify” the definition of marijuana to exclude industrial hemp, the non-psychoactive “agricultural field crop” containing no more than .3% tetrahydracannibinol, or THC. The bill specifically names the mature plant stalks, fiber, seed oil and cake, and sterilized seeds as hemp products distinct from marijuana – which, in essence, echoes the 9th U.S. Court of Appeals definition of non-narcotic hemp contained in a 2004 ruling that shot down a Drug Enforcement Agency attempt to ban the sale and consumption of all hemp seed and oil containing products – including, for example, shampoos, lotions, hemp burgers and chips. In other words, AB 684 uses the appellate court’s ruling as the definitive word – indeed, since the feds failed to appeal that decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit’s ruling is, in essence, law (at least that’s how the hempsters see it – five bucks says the DEA disagrees…any takers?).