June 26, 2009

Jason Stout

Volume 28, Number 43

ON THE COVER:
news

The Chips Are Down

Budget balancing picks up speed – and it's anything but fun and games

BY WELLS DUNBAR

Compact, Climate-Friendly, Competitive

To restart the economy while saving the planet, the Congress for the New Urbanism advocates traditional neighborhoods for all

BY KATHERINE GREGOR

Muny Isn't Part of UT's Grand Plans

Consultant rolls out two master plans for UT's Brackenridge Tract

BY JACOB COTTINGHAM

Austin Hit in Veto Spree

A look at the bills whose lives were cut short

BY RICHARD WHITTAKER

Line-Item Veto vs. State Budget

How much money did Perry really save?

BY RICHARD WHITTAKER

Parks and Rec Plus Eight

A new planning approach

BY KATHERINE GREGOR

Music Department Hits Sour Note With Police

Creation of a city music department strikes sour note with police union

BY AMY SMITH

TCRP Blasts Abbott Over Delay in TYC Prosecutions

A whole lot of foot-dragging going on in Texas Youth Commission cases

BY RICHARD WHITTAKER

Yogurt Shop Murder Defendants Set Free

Prosecution not ready for trial

BY JORDAN SMITH

Point Austin: The Supremes Bail Out

Court ruling lets Voting Rights Act live for another day

BY MICHAEL KING

City Hall Hustle: Lee Leffingwell's Big Adventure

The new mayor promises a safe landing

BY WELLS DUNBAR

Res Publica

Citizens calendar, June 25-30

Headlines

Naked City

News briefs from Austin, the region, and beyond

The Hightower Report

One Serious Illness Away; and The Union-Made Miracle

BY JIM HIGHTOWER

food

Will Travel for Food and Wine

Well-made wine, exquisite food, and great art – Spain should be on anyone's short list of travel destinations

BY WES MARSHALL

Food Reviews

Rio's Brazilian at the Vintage Lounge

Those talented Brazilian boys from Rio's have found a home for their fabulous foods at the retro-chic Vintage Lounge

Vitamin Cottage Natural Grocers

Vitamin Cottage Natural Grocers proves a perfect complement to Whole Foods and Wheatsville's offerings

Food-o-File

The death of a range hits home, but new spots Bennu Coffee, Annie's Cafe & Bar, and Cafe Laguna help fill the void

BY VIRGINIA B. WOOD

Event Menu

Foodie fun for June 25-July 2

BY VIRGINIA B. WOOD

music

Crime and the City Solution

How safe do you feel exiting the Sixth Street/Red River Austin music crucible at 2am?

BY MARC SAVLOV

Texas Platters

Manikin

Stop the Sirens

Charlie Robison

Beautiful Day

Nanci Griffith

The Loving Kind

Jude/Ross

Meat Puppets

Parish, June 20

Steve Earle

Paramount Theatre, June 19
screens

Paging Dr. Mario

Game Over Videogames' Classic Game Fest

BY JAMES RENOVITCH

An Order of Horror, Hold the Monsters

Fantastic Fest vet Simon Rumley brings his brand of scary movie to Austin

BY ASHLEY MORENO

You Can Sing, but You Can't Dance

AFS Documentary Tour presents Afghan Star

BY ANNE S. LEWIS

Screens Reviews

Sherlock Holmes

As London's preternatural sleuth, John Barrymore broods through the producers' emphasis on his matinee-idol "Great Profile" even as his alcoholism continued tightening his sharp features

TV Eye

New TNT series Dark Blue proves there's nothing like a man in uniform

BY BELINDA ACOSTA

Film Reviews

Burma VJ

This documentary about the 2007 Myanmar uprising is an airtight argument for the absolute necessity of a free press.

Cheri

Another dangerous liaison, this one based on the Colette novella, reunites director Stephen Frears and star Michelle Pfeiffer.

Food, Inc.

Documentary lifts the veil on our nation's food industry.

My Sister's Keeper

Nick Cassavetes' reign as the go-to waterworks man remains uncontested.

New York

This new bollywood film about three longtime friends was filmed in America.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Full metal racket.

Year One

Jack Black and Michael Cera are comic wanderers through the biblical era.
arts & culture

The Hideout Improv Marathon

Eight players improvise for 40 hours straight to help save their artistic home

BY ROBERT FAIRES

'The Collections'

The Collections explores the connection between identity and what we keep

BY CINDY WIDNER

Arts Reviews

Touch

This drama about mind and spirit and love and grief has much to recommend it

Impermanence

This aerial dance enlarges your heart, your field of vision, your brain capacity

Mourning for Landscape, Ritual for Shelter

Jen Frost Smith's installation explored notions of home as the artist prepares to move
columns

The Common Law

I Am Starting My Small Business – How Do I Get a Federal Tax Identification Number?

BY LUKE ELLIS

Playing Through

Ed Easton is initiating interest in a soccer-specific stadium for the Austin Aztex that would also play host to concerts

BY THOMAS HACKETT

Gay Place

Gay Place turns it over to comedienne Kate Clinton for a special Stonewall remembrance

BY ASH BELL, KATE X MESSER AND KATE CLINTON

After a Fashion

Your Style Avatar wrestles with the subcutaneous nature of beauty

BY STEPHEN MACMILLAN MOSER

Day Trips

The Houston Museum of Natural Science is hosting the exhibit 'Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China's First Emperor' through October

BY GERALD E. MCLEOD

Mr. Smarty Pants Knows

Mascara, muscles, and more

BY MR. SMARTY PANTS

Luv Doc Recommends: Poodie's Picnic

The Backyard at Bee Cave, Sunday, June 28, 2009

BY THE LUV DOC

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