Sign o’ the Times
Filing deadline for bills looms, legislators start locking the door
Perry Rejects Stimulus Funds for Unemployment
Governor announces rejection of cash in Houston
The Lineup
Recommended music for the week of March 13-18
Random Play
Bob Wills, My Bloody Valentine, etc.
Weekend Market Visit Makes Me Even More Grateful For Rain This Week
Virginia’s report on her visit to the Taste of the Market event at the Downtown Farmers’ Market
Aztex MLS Madness Continues
Aztex face defending MLS champs this Saturday; also Champions League news
Another On-Site Sales Bill for Brewers
Farrar files a bill more limited than Burnam’s
Time for Party Lines
Dems condemn voter ID debate, Republicans turn it into Austin-bashing, fund-raising opportunity
Naked Willie
Less is more
E-Waste Solution – And You Can Help!
UT and Goodwill join forces to gather and recycle electronic waste Saturday, March 28.
UPDATED – It’s Done: Voter ID Passes Senate
After marathon all-nighter, Republicans now send bill to House
Madden Pushes for Evacuee Reform
City of Austin opposes bill proposing closing schools when they are serving as an emergency shelter
Innocence Committee
Lawmakers consider how to stop wrongful convictions
OMG, They’re Still There
Senate committee of the whole went all night
An All-Nighter at the Senate
Voter ID debate continues into the night
Shapleigh Rips Into GOP Witness
Former Justice Department lawyer participated in Texas re-redistricting
Free Interactive Party List
What? Like dorks can’t party?
Almost Persuaded
Let’s Make Cute Stuff – Baby Stuff
Voting Is a Right
Ellis shoots down GOP talking point
Trustees on a Timer?
House Public Ed committee discusses term limits for school board trustees
Poking More Holes in Fraser
Did voter ID law raise or suppress turnout in Indiana
Dems Zero in on Voter ID Author
Watson, Shapleigh attack Fraser
About Priorities
House tackles charity fraud, but white collar crime subcommittee not exactly snowed under
Van de Putte: It’s About Voter Suppression, Not Fraud
San Antonio senator slams GOP motives.
South by So Real 09
Rapping with Matt Sonzala about SXSW hip-hop
Voter ID: Abbott Says Won’t Testify
Senators debate how rules of “committee of the whole” will work
‘I Don’t Know What More I Can Give’
The final four on RuPaul’s Drag Race
Senate Dems Want Abbott to Testify
Attorney general spent millions investigating voter fraud in 2006, turned up little
See the MLS Champs Up Close
The Columbus Crew will be holding training sessions all week at St. Edward’s
Some Warm-Up Quotes on Voter ID
Brennan Center report highlights “voter fraud phantom”
Senate: Same Committees, Fewer Meetings
Upper chamber clears already light schedule before voter ID bust-up
Everything You Need to Know About Voter ID
A program to help guide you through Tuesday’s Senate meeting
HUST FM: Remix and Match
Controversy on the Statesman’s editorial page – plus, Strayhorn jams out!
The Cup Doth Not Floweth Over
Why the sexually oriented business surcharge won’t pay for real sexual abuse survivor programs, and never could
Dirty Tricks in Voter ID Debate?
Anchia suspicious of voter impersonation allegations
Vinyl by Vinyl West
It’s always Record Store Day here
Video of Houghton Calling Gilbert a ‘Bigot’
TxDOT commissioner assails anti-toll activist
We ALL Killed Jenny Schecter
Now I have watched exactly 2 episodes of the L-Word.
Who Killed Jenny Schecter?
The L-Word comes to an end, lesbians cry.
Bill Would Mandate Nurse-to-Patient Ratios
NNOC says its legislation stronger than Howard’s
APD Mourns Death of Veteran Officer
Sgt. Kenny Wilson died today
TxDOT Puts Lipstick on the Pig
Commissioners approve spending stimulus money, insult the public
That’s No Spelled Y-E-S
Statesman editorial rewrites Stop Domain Subsidy history: Leffingwell’s staff furious
SXSW KGSR
On-air performances day and night
A Painter Passing Through
Gordon Lightfoot’s Bass solo
Mensah-Bonsu Called Up to Toronto
Once a Toro and Spur, now a Raptor
State of Wonderment
The Texas Biennial’s first outside curator describes what he saw in Lone Star art
Phases & Stages
Neko Case Middle Cyclone (Anti-) Lifting off as if Judy Garland just clacked together her sparkling red shoes, Middle Cyclone powers up Neko Case’s rapturous howl while shards of femme fatale whiz about a musical jet stream of newly ancient Americana. Bookending the LP opener with “My love I am the speed of sound” and…
On Tap: Voter ID Rumble
Voter ID debate returns to the Senate floor
‘Skate! A Night at the Rink’
Forklift’s skating party disguised as a modern dance show returns to the rink
Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience
The tween music sensations take to the big screen.
Mr. Brown Will Come to Town
Comic-book creator Jeffrey Brown is a featured guest at this year’s Staple! The Independent Media Expo
Phases & Stages
U2 No Line on the Horizon (Universal) Dublin’s home brew never made a bad album, but it’s nursed plenty of hangovers: sophomore slump October, Joshua Tree runoff Rattle and Hum, Achtung Baby backwash Zooropa. In the wake of U2’s rebirth after 2000’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb…
Stop the Discharge
Bills would prevent development discharge into aquifer
The Common Law
Volunteer Legal Services – Free Weekly Legal Clinic
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
The director of Doom takes on another video-game franchise, this time one about a female martial artist seeking justice.
New in Print
Local author and poet Dave Oliphant translates Chilean anti-poet Nicanor Parra
Phases & Stages
Sam & Dave The Original Soul Men (Historic/Hip-O) Even as Motown marks 50, Harlem’s Apollo Theatre survives at 75, and Gamble & Huff now brand “T.S.O.P. (The Sound of Philadelphia),” Southern cousin Stax continues its rebirth both contemporarily with last year’s Steve Cropper & Felix Cavaliere slam dunk, Nudge It Up a Notch, and historically…
City Rejects FixAustin Charges
City allays concerns about decreased animal shelter capacity and an animal crematory
Food-o-File
A fire is put out at the Belmont, while Ate Cafe, La Tavola, and the Mighty Cone start blazes of their own
Watchmen
Although this hotly anticipated film has ideas galore, it remains bizarrely cold and uninvolving.
The Hightower Report
Who’s Making Our Medicine?; and Blackwater Metamorphosed
Live Shots
Stubb’s, March 1
Winter Soldier in Austin
Iraq and Afghanistan veterans shared their stories when the Winter Soldier hearings came to town
Event Menu
Your local food events for March 7-11
The Class
There’s no climactic rendering of “To Sir With Love” in this French classroom drama, just pedagogy in action, exquisitely observed.
We Were Promised Jet Packs (and a Whole Lot More)
When will technology catch up to the movies?
Live Shots
Stubb’s, Feb. 28
Meet the New Superintendent to Be
Superintendent finalist gets quick introduction to Austin
¡Viva Mariachi!
Spice up your evenings with Austin mariachi
Gloves Off
The perils of being a female blogger
Crossing Over
Bloggers parlay their online success into print
The View From Minnesota
St. Paul surprised by Carstarphen’s decision to head south
After a Fashion
Stephen has already tried burning it at both ends, so that’s not it …
Don’t Fret the Technique
‘Guitar Hero’ goes mobile
Mexican Food 101
Whether your cheese is white or yellow, Austin’s embarrassment of Mexican food riches is only matched by its love of barbecue
The Super Meets Her Public
Early signs are good for new superintendent
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
Utah loves porn, cheesy larva, and more
Stats Man
FiveThirtyEight.com’s Nate Silver on the state of the nation
Eye of the Media Storm
On the block, the Statesman fiddles while the industry burns
City Counseling: How Many Librarians Equal One Firefighter?
Fire Department budget cuts
To the Nines
Previewing the 2009 Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards
Don’t Be Hatin’
How the Internet helps us all to get along … or not
Our Lips to God’s Ear
What the new Statesman might do
Reefer Madness: Treatment Works
Bill would divert low-level drug offenders from prison and save a bundle of money
How to Speak Geek
SXSW Interactive has landed. Can you talk the talk?
Generation Overshare
What happens when the line blurs between our online and offline lives?
Central Texas Barbecue Crash Course
Austin sits along the geographic and cultural line where the American South ends and the American West begins. Our location along the Chisholm Trail, between the hardscrabble ranchland to the west and the rich Blackland Prairie farmland to the east, contributes to our identity as one of several definitive American barbecue regions. We can trace…
Bike Master Plan Hits the Street
The public is now weighing in on details of the plan, which goes to council in May
Headlines
• The Austin Independent School District has selected Meria Carstarphen, superintendent of public schools in St. Paul, Minn., as the sole finalist to replace retiring Superintendent Pat Forgione. See “Meet the New Superintendent to Be.” • Highland Mall Death Watch: Dillard’s announced it will close its two Highland Mall stores this year, dealing a massive…
Jimmy Leets World
Graffiti Research Lab’s James Powderly takes technology to the street
Day Trips
The Fort Boggy State Park wildlife area mixes recreation with a tranquil landscape
Cool City: Solar Subtleties
Cost of solar array depends on how you look at it – and when
Naked City
News briefs from Austin, the region, and beyond
Web Prez
Crafting campaign, inside and out
Gay Place
South by is sooooooo gay …
Leaky Lurie and the Memo Mayhem
Want to follow the most recent shelter controversy through its every twist and turn? Start at www.fixaustin.blogspot.com, where FixAustin.org aired its concerns about a city animal crematorium and reduced shelter capacity in a Feb. 23 blog post titled “Industrial Animal Incinerator at East Austin Shelter Site?” Then read David Lurie’s subsequent letter to City Council…
Res Publica
Events for good citizens, March 5-12
Arts Review
Yellow Tape’s over-the-top, rockin’ homage to sci-fi is damn entertaining and funny
Off the Record
Exploring international affairs at SXSW 09 with Canada House and Dart Music, plus the triumphant return of the Reality Sandwich to the Hole in the Wall
Point Austin: Give Perry a Brain Scan
Governors who reject federal stimulus money need their heads examined
Winter Soldier Video
Footage of panel discussions and IVAW’s march to City Hall
The Gospel Truth
Maria’s Taco Xpress 2529 S. Lamar, 444-0261 www.tacoxpress.com Sunday, noon-2pm Maria Corbalan’s shrine to trippy folk art and fantastic Mexican food features the Gospel Brunch every Sunday, “hippie church” for the locals, a mainstay of Austin’s Bubbaland elite. Music might be the Imperial Golden Crown Harmonizers, or it could be roots or reggae. Whoever is…
Arts Review
Conspirare gave a balanced, brilliant performance of this jewel of sacred choral music
One Pol’s Stimulus Is Another’s Crack Cocaine
When it comes to the stimulus, state lawmakers split along party lines
City Hall Hustle: The Unopposed
Candidates like uncontested elections, but it’s a roll of the dice for the citizens
Page Two: Wild & Free
South by Southwest kicks off a week from the cover date of this issue, with SXSW Film’s opening movie screening that night. There are so many great films and interesting events, and so much outstanding music, that I’ll focus here on only a few recommendations and suggestions for the next couple of weeks. SXSW Music…
Ballroom Dancing
Not all the music industry linchpins coming to South by Southwest 2009 are musicians
Arts Review
The great flutist made Dell Hall his home and seemed to be playing for old friends
Dutton Retreats on Swap Squabble
Fighting for the right to switch committee seats
Conspirare
A PBS special puts you right in the midst of this celebrated choral ensemble
Playing Through
Pops Mensah-Bonsu makes the leap from the Austin Toros to the San Antonio Spurs
TV Eye
Opposites attract in a new mystery series starring a crime writer and a cop
Phases & Stages
Morrissey Years of Refusal (Attack/Lost Highway) “I’m doing very well,” croons Morrissey in surging, anti-anti-depressant opener “Someting Is Squeezing My Skull” before confessing: “The motion of taxis excites me. Will you peel it back and bite me?” The sun crashed down on Cromwell’s empire long ago, but Morrissey, his iconic baritone now aged into a…
LegeLines
Big week for the Travis Co. Democratic delegation, as bills by local state reps finally make it to committee: Donna Howard and Eddie Rodriguez have House Bill 772 (putting State Board of Education meetings on the Internet) in House Public Education alongside HB 552, which Rodriguez co-authored and deals with disciplinary programs for at-risk students……
‘Monty Python’s Spamalot’
The debonair leading man sheds his suavity to play the comically clueless King Arthur
Luv Doc Recommends: Geeks Who Drink Pub Quiz
It’s a good thing you spent all that time, money, and effort earning that college degree. So maybe you don’t use your bachelor’s degree in applied anthropology as often as you’d like to in your job as a phone support specialist, but at least you get it when your officemate wears his “Jews for Cheeses…
