Cover Stories
A Long, Watt Summer
The citywide Kill-a-Watt Challenge kicks off
Viridian Ventures
Take nothing but pictures; leave nothing but carbon footprints?
Making Out With Marianne Faithfull
Through the fog with Marianne.
Lightning Pick Up a Win and a Draw, and More
The Austin Lightning had a good weekend despite the rain – a 2-0 win over the El Paso Patriots Saturday, following a 1-1 draw against Laredo on Friday. Jared Chandler scored in each game, and Beto Papandrea had assists each night. Both games had to be moved to Vista Ridge in Cedar Park, due to…
DPS Troopers Score Big in 2006
Last year, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers set new all-time high records for the amount of drugs seized and the number of drug traffickers busted during routine traffic stops, the agency reports. Troopers seized nearly 48 tons of pot, three tons of cocaine, and 267 pounds of methamphetamine; in all, troopers pulled in an…
Kalmbacher Hotdogging Again
Former City Council candidate stuffs it.
Houston to Turner
Has his allegiance to Tom Craddick already cost Sylvester Turner the speaker race?
Daryl Janes, R.I.P.
Austin journalist Daryl Janes has passed away.
Looking for Promotion (Updated)
Which Dem wants to be House Speaker?
Yawn… or ‘Gay Place’ Not Above Polack Jokes?
Tinky Winky making gay news… again?
My Parliamentarian’s Playin’ Tricks on Me
Ron Wilson’s down with the Geto Boys.
Tickets on Sale Now for the Texas Title Fight
Tickets are currently available for the Texas Title Fight featuring super lightweight Gilbert Vera and fellow pugilists Parke Davidson and S’Kati Katz. Katz is the wife of Katz’s Deli owner Marc Katz and will be making her second professional appearance in the ring. Tickets available from all Texas Box Office outlets or by phone at…
Real Price Cuts? Now That Would be Shocking
Did Rep. Dunnam really kill an electricity rate rebate bill, or a PR stunt?
Charles Nelson Reilly, 1931-2007
TV and theatre bon vivant Charles Nelson Reilly has passed away.
Ron Wilson: Ballin’!
The assistant parliamentarian runs with the Clover Gs.
¡Ahora Le Pronuncio Esposa y Esposa!
Cutting edge Barcelona is the site of bridal shop with new twist.
Sweat in Your Crack: The Schadentrack
A sweaty, itchy look at this summer’s freaky discs.
Bringing Back the Gold
Which Austin legislator was called freshman of the year?
Sine Die Part 2: The House
The House ends the 80th session like it has been for weeks: divided, fighting over the rule book, and pointing fingers at Speaker Craddick.
Quote of the 80th Session
What does Sine Die mean?
Sine Die Part 1: The Senate
How did the session end in the eastern chamber of the Lege?
Penitentiary With Jamaa Fanaka
Penitentiary With Jamaa Fanaka Starring Leon Isaac Kennedy. Director Fanaka, a psychotronic favorite, will be present for this special Weird Wednesday. Fanaka will also attend the 9:45pm screening of Welcome Home Brother Charles. Penitentiary Kicks off Fanaka’s series of films about “Too Sweet,” an unjustly imprisoned boxer who uses his fists for justice – and…
Me and My Shadows
Who are the two new figures looming behind Speaker Tom Craddick?
Stretching Definitions
Speaker Craddick is finding that everyone can play the parliamentary rules game.
No Sleep ‘Til Tenure
Top 10 percent survives, but academic reformers may have a new target.
‘Mr. Speaker, You Are Here Because We Put You Here’
In a show of grand theatrics, Rep. Haggerty holds his own vote on Tom Craddick and busts the House quorum.
Meet the Temp Boss, Same as the Old Boss
Rep. Dunnam takes Turner to task for being too much like embattled Speaker Craddick.
Keel and Wilson Unify the House
Speaker Craddick may have found a real use for his parliamentarians – they may be more hated than he is.
Struggling Wranglers Entertain Philly at the Drum
To say the 3-8 Wranglers are struggling is like saying chocolate tastes OK. Losing on the final play of the game at home against Orlando last week was a blow that knocked the breath out of fans and players alike. Maybe the middle-of-the-pack 5-6 Philly Soul are the perfect candidates for win No. 4. It…
Let’s See a Boy Do That
Let’s See a Boy Do That: Reflections on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Revolving Door Lets Craddick Allies In
“First thing we do, get rid of the lawyers. Then appoint our own.”
Thousand Year Craddick
Is there any way to get rid of Speaker Craddick? Craddick doesn’t think so.
Darth Craddick
Does Speaker Craddick scream “Unlimited power!” in his sleep?
Dummy
From the fine folks at PinkDome, this picture truly sums up what’s happening right now in your Legislature.
Anti-Craddick Forces in Full Revolt (Updated)
Holy smokes – the House is in full meltdown tonight, following Speaker Tom Craddick’s announcement that he might not (update: won’t) recognize a motion to vacate his chair, nullifying any challenge to him. To howls, he left the House at rest after the announcement, just recently reconvening at 11pm. In the interim, the House parliamentarian…
Riddle Knocks Down the Shield
Texas’ journalism shield law bill dies with a whisper.
Compare and Contrast
Why has the Senate Finance Committee chair suddenly become so up-beat about the budget?
One Rule for Him
Has the president softened his line on the 9/11 hijackers?
Scoot Inn Hosts Veggie-Hot-Dog-Eating Contest
We really have no idea who Mike Litt is, but the Scoot Inn (1308 E. Fourth) hosts the first-ever veggie-hot-dog-eating competition Saturday at 1pm. Special local guests include the Famous Vegan Firefighters (www.engine2.org), the grub will be provided by the Hot Dog King, and the goal is to stuff as many of the meat-free dogs,…
Rains on Richards Parade, Does Stop Ceremony
Congress Avenue parade canceled, but renaming ceremony still scheduled
Letters @ 3AM
No class can cultivate what a writer most needs, the gift I call the ‘talent of the room’
Guiding With Porpoise
The Expedition School’s Kimery Duda is out standing in her field …
Profitable, but Clean
AE’s Duncan pushes for new power paradigm
The Hightower Report
Vacation on Warming Island; and A Chocolate Mess
After a Fashion
Stephen goes green and manages to work both Maureen and Scarlett O’Hara into the same bit
A Green Travel Glossary
A glossary of definitions pertaining to the field of Green Travel
Clean-Tech Leaders
A few of the clean-tech start-ups recognized at the Clean Energy Venture Summit include: • AgiLight Holdings Inc., San Angelo: Solid-state lighting design and manufacturing company that focuses on light-emitting-diode lighting. The company focuses on two distinct markets: signage and architectural lighting, and microlighting. LED lights are said to use as little as 10% of…
Beyond ‘The Electric Company’
Can a bunch of toddlers watching television save the world?
Day Trips
Five quick getaways in Central Texas to recharge the internal batteries without draining the gas tank
AE & Plug-In Hybrids: Power Coming and Going
Electric cars could both run clean and boost our power supply
Chewing Up the Scenery
Last thoughts on Planet Earth
Soccer Watch
Lightning play twice at home this week, and more
Kill-a-Watt Challenge at a Glance
Who? You must be an Austin Energy account holder to participate; Austin Energy will be compiling and quality-assuring all the data. Prizes will be awarded for: Homeowners • Renters • Businesses • Neighborhoods Where? Read the rules and enter the challenge online at: austinchronicle.com/watt. When? Prizes will be awarded after each month’s results are tallied.…
Needle-Exchange Bill Barely Hanging On
State Rep. Dianne White Delisi all but kills legislation that would let local health departments establish one-for-one anonymous needle-exchange programs
Paramount Theatre Summer Film Classics Series
May 24-Sept. 9
TCB
The bottles and cans keep piling up, but two venues catch green-building fever; a local pirate plunders the music business; and Kelly Clarkson now employs the entire Austin music scene in some capacity
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
Camels have come a long way, baby
How to Kill Your Watts
The list below offers a glimpse of the many energy-saving tips provided on the Kill-a-Watt Challenge Web site, where you’ll also find links to rebates, loans, and tax credits for home-energy improvements as well as resources for renters and businesses. 1) Use Austin Energy’s free online energy audit to find out how much energy your…
AISD’s Johnston and Webb: Test Score Role Reversal
TAKS scores for district’s two most struggling schools confusing
The Go-To Guy
Meet ME TV’s Paul Saucido, if you haven’t already
Green on the Go
For Austin Green Art, every day is Earth Day – or eARTh Day
The Common Law
Title Insurance – the basics
If You’re a Viper
From ‘La Cucaracha’ to Snoop Dogg and Willie Nelson: P-O-T
Reefer Madness: ‘Let’s Embarrass Ron Paul’
Libertarian/Republican presidential candidate discusses hemp farming and other ‘crazy’ ideas
The Wizard of Gore Returns
Herschell Gordon Lewis releases his inner Herschell Gordon Lewis
Inner Worlds We Inhabit
Denise Prince Martin’s photographs transport us to places within where the unspoken waits
Contributing Factors
Solutions happen one consumer – or farm or restaurant – at a time
The Pot 10!
Pot 10 Old-Timey Tokin’ Tunes 1) “Willie the Weeper,” Frankie “Half Pint” Jaxon 2) “Muggles,” Louis Armstrong 3) “Reefer Man,” Cab Calloway 4) “You’re a Viper,” Stuff Smith 5) “Gimme a Reefer,” Bessie Smith 6) “That Cat Is High,” the Ink Spots 7) “Save the Roach for Me,” Buck Washington 8) “Sweet Marijuana Brown,” Barney…
On the Lege
When suffering the Lege, just remember: It could always be worse
DVD Watch
The Documentaries of Louis MalleCriterion Eclipse Series 2, $79.95 When we last left Louis Malle (“DVD Watch: 3 Films by Louis Malle,” June 9, 2006), he was hitting on the wrong side of truth: fiction. Now, as if the French needed their own available-on-DVD Eddie Murray, Malle switch-hits at the storytelling plate and again plays…
Dan Dietz: The exit interview
As local playwright Dan Dietz prepares to leave Austin for a teaching gig at Florida State, he talks about his experience here and what he sees happening down the road
Green Restaurant Goals: The Challenges in Austin
The challenges in Austin
Texas Platters
Road to AustinAuditorium Shores, May 19 Stephen Bruton, breezing onstage in a vintage Porsche, looked thin, pale, his movie-star charisma nevertheless undiminished by recent treatment for throat cancer. His silvering mane, topping Ray-Bans and Man in Black attire, matched his boyish smile. The nucleus of his longstanding band, rhythm tandem Brannen Temple and Yoggie Musgrove…
Naked City
Quote of the Week “I respect the Speaker and his family, but I believe the House has to be governed from the middle.” – Rep. Patrick Rose of Dripping Springs, announcing that he will no longer be one of the few Democrats supporting Tom Craddick as speaker of the House. Quoted in the Quorum Report.…
TV Eye
If Kermit could see this
Andy St. Martin: Break on through to the other side
For nearly two decades, Andy St. Martin has been making large, mixed-media paintings, and a recent run of sales and new solo exhibition suggest he’s finding an audience
How Green Was My Alley
Local restaurants grown their own
Texas Platters
Stefanie Fix isn’t from Austin, and that’s easy to surmise upon hearing her new CD, Crooked Smile. That’s because Austin singer-songwriters, especially the women, have a bit of self-consciousness about them. It’s road-well-traveled and tough to come close to what the best have done before. Fortunately, Fix doesn’t seem the least bit intimidated and saunters…
Community Stewardship Awards
Now that Central Texans have envisioned what we want for our region, are we making it happen? Keeping that issue in the public spotlight is one purpose of the annual Community Stewardship Awards, given out by Envision Central Texas. This year’s awards, announced May 18, “honor visionary people, projects and processes that are helping to…
Capitol Briefs
• A bill granting meet-and-confer contract negotiations to Austin’s rank and file, non-public-safety employees, looks dead in the water. House Bill 2184, which would let municipal employee union American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees represent the city’s workers in bargaining, seemed destined to pass the Senate until Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, intervened. No Senate…
Ruth Denney: Remembering Ruth
Ruth Denney, the powerfully influential theatre educator who passed away March 26, will be remembered in a memorial service on May 27
Recycling for Biodiesel Down on the Farm
What happened when Kim Alexander met Luis Centeno
Texas Platters
Joe ElySilver City (Rack ‘Em) There’s a youthful, grinning Joe Ely on the cover of Silver City. The disc doesn’t contain old recordings, though, only old songs. The now-60-year-old Austin firebrand wrote them in the late Sixties/early Seventies but recently revisited them at his home studio with just guitars, harmonica, percussion, and occasional accordion from…
Happenings
May 24-30
The Page Turner
In this quiet, French revenge film, a creeping malevolence wreaks havoc on an otherwise normal bourgeois family.
Arts Review
For fans of the contemporary musical, City Theatre Company’s production of the Jason Robert Brown revue Songs for a New World is a welcome opportunity for fresh, engaging entertainment
With a Twist
The Austin Wine Festival, May 26-28
Texas Platters
Bruce RobisonIt Came From San Antonio (Premium) With Bruce Robison’s track record (“Desperately,” “Travelin’ Soldier”), surely It Came From San Antonio is already circulating ’round Music Row, where publishing reps strip-mine their in-boxes for that next introspective No. 1 smash. So put bullets next to acoustic alienation duet “What Makes You Say” and Warren Zevon-ish…
Morrison for Council?
Austin Neighborhoods Council’s Laura Morrison considering run for City Council
Zoo
Filmmaker Robinson Devor sadly sabotages his own attempt to bring the practice of bestiality into the light.
Arts Review
The animated personality of painter Andy St. Martin shines through all the careful color fields he creates in the abstracts populating his new solo show at 4 walls fine art
In Person
Georgeanne Brennan
Texas Platters
Jimmy LafaveCimarron Manifesto (Red House) Employing Woody Guthrie’s arrow and Bob Dylan’s bow, Jimmy LaFave hits an Austin City Limits/KGSR bull’s-eye with the singer-songwriter’s seventh studio album, No. 2 for Minnesota’s Red House. Bittersweet/nostalgic songs pray and play around folk, rock, and country, proving the Austin strummer’s continued mettle as composer and performer (three covers…
APD Idol: Top 5 Countdown
Five contenders still standing in contest for police chief
After the Wedding
An expat Danish aid worker in Mumbai returns to Copenhagen to meet with a benefactor, only to discover that the world is even smaller than it seems.
Arts Review
Basim Magdy’s “The Common Deceit of Reality” questions the scientific and historical postulates we derive from partial evidence, but parts of the installation undercut the whole
Food-o-file
One man’s green issues are another man’s Foie Gras Cotton Candy
Texas Platters
Michael FracassoRed Dog Blues (Little Fuji) Michael Fracasso will always be a songwriter’s songwriter even though his high, delicate tenor sometimes distracts from the intensity and intricacy of his compositions. Things aren’t drastically different on his sixth disc, as the local veteran again demonstrates an uncanny ability to write tunes that seem instantly familiar. Red…
Taxi Fracas Finalizes
Lone Star Cab Co. prevails on third and final reading at City Council, awarded city’s newest taxi franchise despite competitor’s best efforts to bring it down
Shoot Out at Lokhandwala
Maverick lawmen chase Mumbai extremeists in this new Bollywood film.
Readings
Thoreau, like many of the modern-day nature writers, had a cause. Graves sees himself as a writer who chooses a subject.
Event Menu
May 25-31
Texas Platters
Maryann PriceThe Real Deal (Catfish Jazz) By rights a reflective affair – Price’s husband, manager, and local music historian Tary Owens passed in 2003 – The Real Deal is hardly a somber one. Tracking the Austin swing dowager’s career from Baltimore’s Peabody Conservatory to freshly minted “Nothin’ Dries Sooner Than a Tear,” these 14 songs…
KXAN for Sale?
Parent company of local NBC affiliate KXAN-TV announces plans to explore sale of company, as market forces continue to pummel local television industry
Page Two: A Personal Journey, Part 2
Nashville, Coconut Grove, and points in between
Keepin’ It Jungle
Austin company plans an eco-colonial retreat in Mexico
Point Austin: Green Is as Green Does
Saving the planet begins at the grassroots
Oops!
Our latest batch
The ‘Austin Chronicle’ Green Guide
phantom austinchronicle.com/green
Cool City: Water Utility Flows Green
Daryl Slusher hops from Austin Energy to Austin Water Utility to serve as first assistant director of environmental affairs and conservation
Beside the Point
We know what won’t be going in at Webberville … at least for now
Luv Doc Recommends: Emissions From the Monolith 9
The weather has been suspiciously nice so far this year. Makes you wonder if part of the arctic ice shelf calved off and is bobbing around somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico. Austin is many things in the month of May, but very rarely is it ever pleasant. Regardless of the size of your rent…
