Will Council Member Lee Leffingwell run for mayor? That question has proved popular chaw at recent gatherings of City Hall watchers and community-advocate types. Mayor Will Wynn’s term expires in 2009, and term limits prevent him from running again. Brewster McCracken is known to have mayoral ambitions; Leffingwell is the other name most often mentioned. So we asked him.

“I’m definitely interested and very strongly considering it,” Leffingwell affirmed, while noting that it would be too early to officially announce. His first hurdle, of course, is winning re-election to council in May 2008. But provided that Leffingwell maintains Place 1 – a likely outcome – his campaign team could stay in place for the mayoral race. Leffingwell has drawn his base of support from Central Austin, environmental and nonprofit circles, and the business community; he noted that Austin’s gradual shift toward suburban political participation could deliver a slightly more conservative electorate come 2009.

Asked how dueling mayoral sights might affect his working relationship with McCracken, Leffingwell cited their mutual respect and said, “Anything can happen in two years, and in the meantime we both have a job to do.”

“I think I have the temperament that helps people build consensus,” noted Leffingwell. In considering the mayor’s office, he’s been thinking about how he might use those skills to bring council into alignment, in part by hearing out and incorporating members’ individual needs and concerns. “This city is very important to me,” he said with sincerity. “I would consider it a great honor to be mayor of this city – if the opportunity presents itself, it’s an offer you can’t refuse.”

Press release from city of Austin:

Boating ban in effect again for portion of Lake Austin

Due to Lower Colorado River Authority flood gate operations at Tom Miller Dam, City of Austin officials have extended a boating ban for a portion of Lake Austin near the dam. The ban [began on Monday, June 25] and continues through noon Friday, June 29, 2007.

The no boating area extends from downstream of Oyster Landing boat docks to Tom Miller Dam and includes commercial and navigational boating, and all recreational use.

Recent rains have necessitated a partial release from the dam creating swift waters and unsafe conditions.

Watercraft illegally operated on waters in the Watercraft Ban Area may be impounded.

Persons should contact the City of Austin Parks Police Headquarters at 974-7707 during business hours, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday to receive written authorization to secure property in the Flood Ban Area. Proof of ownership or occupancy is required.

For current flood ban information visit the City of Austin’s Emergency Conditions website at www.cityofaustin.org/emergency.

Capital Metro has just introduced a very smart way to make your bus-riding easier. Perhaps you've found yourself out on the town and needing a bus ride but without a bus schedule and uncertain which route will get you where you're going. But you do have a cell phone. If you've tried calling Cap Metro's Go Line (474-1200), you know it's bulky, cumbersome, and sometimes unreliable to the point of uselessness (especially after you finally got so frustrated that you threw your cell phone into Town Lake). Try this instead: Send a text message to [email protected], including your starting point and your destination (i.e., "Fifth & Congress to 4800 N. Lamar" or "Deep Eddy Pool to state Capitol"). Within a minute or so, you'll get a text message back giving you a trip plan, including time, location, and route.

The service comes via partnership between Cap Metro and a company called Dadnab. Austin joins Boston, Dallas, Houston, Seattle, Chicago, and the New York City area among cities using the service. Click on the Dadnab Web link for a demo of the service.

We've tried and love it, but one warning: If your cell phone limits the size of text messages you can receive, and you request a trip with one or more transfers, your trip plan might get broken into two or more messages.

Update: Click "continue reading" for some problems I encountered with the service.

Ever wonder what Gov. Rick Perry has on his official phone lines as hold music?

No, us neither, but this morning while waiting to be put through to the right desk at his office, we at Chronic got to check out the soothing tones of … no, not something classy and corporate like Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" or the softest rock stylings of Styx on "Sail Away" or even a synth-cover of "Hit Me Baby" …

Instead, what caressed our ears was a lengthy aural essay by the governor himself on his superpowered border-patrol exercise, Operation Rio Grande. Ah well, guess Perry blaming the feds for a porous border makes for a change from Kenny G.

Friday night, Emo’s: First drink spilled on myself at roughly 10:30pm. But it was done in a rush to get away from the wankfest organized by Orthrelm guitarist Mick Barr. Dude can noodle. Later, 'round midnight, Gang Gang Dance cleansed the hippie/hipster masses with cerebral electro/rave/space waves, and a confused passerby in a “You Looked Better on MySpace” T-shirt spilled part of his drink on me. Nevertheless, GGD were engaging, if only for those in an altered state.

Geez, but what do they sound like? Well, as one friend put it, “Like Animal Collective being chased through SeaWorld by my Jamaican landlord.” At one point a guy up front tried feeling up his female companion during a tribal drum solo. Nice one. The Glorium reunion outside was a far tamer affair, save for singer Paul Streckfus whipping his mic chord around in a jaunty, lascivious manner.

Equally unclassifiable was Sunday's final anniversary show. Radio Birdman easily sold out the inside, but it was more surprising that Battles was moved outside. Halfway through "Atlas," from their excellent Warp debut Mirrored, the power went out, almost as if someone had willed it so that the whole crowd could scream the screwed sing-song beat. We stood there in the dark for a good five minutes before the power slowly returned and someone dropped their beer nearby.

After a season that saw her ranked as the No. 1 female track & field athlete in the world, qualifying to represent the U.S. at this year's world championships would seem to be a mere formality for Austin's Sanya Richards. But 2007 has been different from 2006 for the UT ex: She had some virus problems this year that cut her training in half, and it showed this weekend at the USA Track & Field Championships. In her specialty, the 400 meters, Richards ran a slow homestretch and placed fourth – the worst possible position, because only the top three make the team. In addition to conditioning issues that put her about two seconds slower than her American record, a mental error put the nail in her coffin: She told the TV interviewer after the race that she thought she was in third as she headed toward the finish.

It wasn't all bad news for Richards, who ran for the Longhorns for two seasons (2003-'04) before turning pro: She recovered the next day for second place in the 200, and she will also be on the American 4x400 squad. Still, it's only partial consolation – unlike her dominant position in the 400 meters, dethroning defending champion Allyson Felix in the shorter race will be an uphill battle.

On Saturday, June 23, a healthy half-hour before the last match of the TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls' 2006-2007 season began, the Austin Convention Center was already packed with the typically incongruous crowd of Lonestar Rollergirls fans: Transvestites ebulliently cheered on their favorite rollergirls, wholesome-looking families eagerly waved their clappers, and the Hellcats' cartoonish manager, Jonny Stranger, walked around the venue wearing a hooded cloak and brandishing a light saber.

All fishnet gloves were off during this bout. It was a high-energy championship, beginning with the teams' celebratory introductions. The Holy Rollers lapped around the banked track, each skater holding a plate on which rested a mannequin head made-up to look like a member of the Putas del Fuego. Each Holy Roller skated around the track, tossing her Puta head with vehemence, and then fell to her knees before a pair of clergy. Indeed, the theme of the night was God vs. Satan: The sweet Holy Rollers adorned appropriately white T-shirts labeling themselves the Mother Fucking Holy Rollers, and the fiery Putas made their entrance wearing black capes and varied Satan-worshiping facial expressions.

From the Austin Police Department Public Information Office:

"An adult female reported to police that she accepted a ride from a male unknown to her in the 2100 block of Gaston Place. The suspect displayed a knife and drove her to a secluded area in the 5100 block of Johnny Morris Road and sexually assaulted her. He then drove her to a location near Johnny Morris Road and Loyola Lane where she was released.

The suspect is described as:

Black male
Late 40s to early 50s
Thinning hair with a gray mustache and goatee
Last seen wearing glasses

The vehicle is described as a light tan, gold or champagne Ford Taurus.

Individuals with information about this incident or the suspect is asked to contact the Sex Crimes tip line at 974-5095. This case remains under investigation by Sex Crimes detectives."

Police have also released the composite sketch you see to your right.

Wind power got another boost today as the U.S. Department of Energy has just announced Texas will be home to one of two new wind-turbine research facilities.

The Lone Star Wind Alliance and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Partnership will each be getting $2 million in test equipment for large-scale turbine research facilities. This is basically seed money, meant to attract other investors, although the alliance has already brought in $18 million in state and private cash for the project. It will be working with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to develop blades 230 feet long, although the DOE hopes they'll finally exceed 330 feet. That's a dramatic increase over the current lengths of between 60 and 120 feet.

The other big change is that the facility will be offshore. Currently, the big push for wind has been out in West Texas, but many see the strong winds of the Gulf Coast as more reliable and prime for development – especially as oil and gas production slows down. "Texas has the deep-water ports, strong gulf winds and political will to make our coast the perfect site for the new blade-testing facility," said General Land Office Commissioner Jerry Patterson in a press release.

British Petroleum has promised to donate land at Ingleside-on-the-Bay, just north of Corpus Christi, for the new facility. If anyone's surprised that an oil firm is involved with a wind-power project, don't be. The DOE projects wind will be an $80 billion industry by 2020, and there's a lot of firms looking for ways to get out of gas while the going's good.