Two local conservation programs will get six-figure boosts from the federal government in the near future, thanks to some old fashioned pork-barrelin’ from Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. The Senate Committee on Appropriations last week approved $275,000 to expand the 22,000-acre Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge and awarded $300,000 to the Austin Clean Water Program for a sewage management project. “This funding will ensure that the city of Austin has essential infrastructure to serve its citizens,” Hutchison said.

A subcommittee of the Planning Commission met Monday night to discuss recommendations on the city’s capital-improvement projects, including those funded in the recent bond election. Recommendations going to the full Planning Commission next week will include moving more of the affordable-housing bonds to the front end of the bond program, tweaking priorities in sidewalk building, and making sure utility extensions follow Envision Central Texas' principles of avoiding sprawl. Chair Dave Sullivan also suggested looking for a way to tie parkland dedication and sidewalk fees to neighborhood-plan goals, so neighborhoods can see more results from their planning.

Bicyclist Mandi Terese Boswell, 28, was hit by a car Monday and killed in Northeast Austin. According to the Austin Police Department, the vehicle was traveling westbound on Highway 290 East and collided with Boswell, who was wearing a helmet, at the Springdale Road intersection. The driver remained at the scene. Boswell was transported to Brackenridge Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The case is still under investigation, and the exact circumstances of the accident still aren’t clear. Detectives are asking anyone who may have witnessed the collision to call 974-4724. This is the 34th traffic fatality of 2007.

Here's local folkie Bill Oliver doing his thing for SaveTownLake.org, cramming more developer jargon in to a three-minute ballad than should be humanly possible:


New Town Lake towers 200 feet high
Like adding three Hyatts … side by side by side
Crowding the river and the hiking path
If they have to build it, make ‘em set back …

Lyrics continue after the jump …

Fireworks and rain don't mix, so it's not too big a surprise that the city of Round Rock has just canceled tomorrow's big fireworks display at Old Settlers Park due to weather conditions. Don't worry; all those rockets and screaming mimis won't go to waste: They'll be lit at 8pm on Friday, July 13, as part of the Movies in Your Park family film series.

So far they're still expecting the Frontier Days Fourth of July parade at 10am tomorrow morning to go on, but they recommend that visitors check their website for updates.

After the city's earlier announcement, here comes a bleak update from the Lower Colorado River Authority:

There is no recreational boating on lakes Travis, LBJ, Marble Falls, and Inks until further notice. All public boating ramps operated by the LCRA and Travis County have been closed for safety reasons. Floodgates will continue to operate, so the LCRA is hoping to keep Lake Travis, the area's main flood control, at its current level of 701 feet above mean sea level (still a good 10 feet shy of the record).

Seriously, don't risk it on the closed lakes. Not only can these waters be deadly (not just for you, but for rescuers – the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department already sadly lost game one warden, Teyran "Ty" Patterson, during a floodwater search less than a month ago), but if you're caught, it's a class C misdemeanor with a $500 fine, and your boat can be impounded.

Another blog. Another gay-boy blog. Another gay-boy blog about fashion. Another gay-boy blog about fashion on TV in which "two fabulously glamorous fags rip the show they L-O-V-E to watch." Oh, we just know we are going to get addicted.

I would kill for the shirt that bloggers Tom & Lorenzo's friend Emmett is wearing in picture No. 5 of the entry Four Gayboy Four. But then again, I'm a dyke, what do I know? I know that shirt is crispy.

Thanks to Lee Nichols, via his wife Margaret's fabulous blog, This Corrosion for the head's up.

And the Austin-area watercraft bans get extended even further, to the end of the week. Press release from the city:

Area waterway restrictions continue throughout this week


City of Austin officials have extended the current boating ban for all of Lake Austin, Town Lake and the Colorado River below the Longhorn Dam through noon Friday, July 6, 2007.

The extended ban is necessary due to the Lower Colorado River Authority’s continuing operations at Mansfield Dam and Tom Miller Dam. Flood gates have been open all week, creating very swift, debris-filled waters and unsafe conditions.

Persons with interests along these waterways should contact the City of Austin Parks Police Headquarters at (512) 974-7707 during business hours to receive written authorization to secure or remove property in the Flood Ban Area. Proof of ownership or occupancy is required.

Watercraft illegally operated on waters in the Watercraft Ban Area is a Class C Misdemeanor, punishable by fines up to $500 and boats may be impounded. Crossing barricades put in place on roadways or boat ramps for public safety can result in a Class B Misdemeanor, punishable by jail time up to 180 days and fines up to $2000.

City officials urge residents to be safe during a flood. Most fatalities occur when people drive through flooded roads or walk near creeks or low-lying areas. Be aware that water can rise very quickly and avoid low-water crossings. At night it may be difficult to see water on the road. Never attempt to drive, swim or walk through water that is flowing in a roadway, ditch or storm drain. "Turn around, don’t drown!"

For current flood ban and roadway closure information, visit the City of Austin’s Emergency Conditions webpage at www.cityofaustin.org/emergency.

By the time you read this, the Allandale Neighborhood Association will have filed a lawsuit against the city of Austin and Lincoln Property Co. alleging that the city’s site plan approval for the redevelopment of Northcross Mall is illegal. Sound familiar? While the ANA petition is independent of the lawsuit filed last week by Responsible Growth for Northcross, it’s nearly identical in spirit.

“It’s a very ripe situation for getting a judge to interpret city ordinances and to determine whether interpretations by city staff were correct,” said Bruce Bigelow, attorney for the surrounding neighborhood association. ANA alleges that city staff got it wrong. At issue is whether the project qualified for the easier administrative approval process it received – which involves only staff reviews, with no input allowed by council or the public. ANA contends that a garden center within the planned Wal-Mart should have triggered a conditional-use-permit process – which requires Planning Commission review and a public hearing and allows appeal to council for a final decision. That last point is the key. Under the administrative approval process used, council believes it has no authority to act.

“Getting clarity on this will be very helpful,” said Council Member Brewster McCracken. “For us to know, one way or the other – from a judge – whether we do or do not have the authority to act.”