Naked City

Thanks to the work of Reagan High School English teacher Vanessa Connor (see "A Shining Star Goes Dark"), the grounds of RHS will soon feature a special memorial to Ortralla Mosley, who was killed on campus March 28. Connor said she secured donations from two local businesses to make the memorial possible: Ted's Trees is donating a Bradford pear tree -- which blooms white flowers in mid-March; Dietz Memorial Co. is donating a pink granite stone to bear a special message from Ortralla's RHS friends and to be adorned with the engraving of an angel -- the symbol Ortralla's classmates chose to represent her. Connor said she hopes the memorial will be in place next week; she's planning a small on-campus ceremony for members of the Reagan dance team (Ortralla was a member) and Ortralla's classmates. Connor is very grateful to the businesses for helping out -- several local businesses refused, she said, before Ted's and Dietz responded enthusiastically to her request. "It's pretty cool," Connor said, "when people reach out like this." -- Jordan Smith

Tonight the City Council will once again take up a proposed economic development agreement for the Domain, a 42-acre, mixed-use "urban village" project in North Austin. The council was scheduled to vote last week on the agreement -- worth $25 million in property- and sales-tax rebates over the next 20 years -- but delayed its decision in order to receive more details and analysis. Domain developer Endeavor Real Estate Group is hoping to avoid another postponement: As Endeavor principals explained to the council last week, having the deal sealed will give them leverage as they talk up prospective retail tenants at this week's International Council of Shopping Centers spring convention in Las Vegas. Having a convention determine the council's schedule didn't sit well with some council members -- particularly Daryl Slusher, who has advocated delaying the vote until the city officially adopts a new development-incentive policy. Environmental groups are still opposed to the Domain package because of Endeavor's simultaneous plans to sell land it owns over the aquifer for a massive Wal-Mart. Slusher urged Endeavor officials to do more to respond to concerns about the latter project; but nothing in the development agreement as currently drafted links the Domain to Endeavor's other projects. -- Lauri Apple

This time it's Forbes: The business mag has placed Austin on the top of its list of "Best Places for Business and Careers." The Forbes survey pointed to Austin's highly educated labor pool and relatively low costs (especially of, ahem, office space), while noting that the metro area's net migration rate of 2.7% (down substantially from the peak of the boom, but never mind that) illustrates how attractive we are. The "Best Places" Top 5 is rounded out by other metros that, like Austin, are choking on boomtown growth that goes unmentioned by Forbes -- Boise, Raleigh-Durham, Atlanta, and Madison. See for yourself at www.forbes.com/bestplaces. -- M.C.M.

Federal authorities on May 8 arrested and charged 17 members of notorious gang the Texas Syndicate with a host of criminal violations including armed robbery, narcotics trafficking, and murder. It was the largest TS bust since a 1999 roundup that netted 23 gang members. APD and the Travis Co. Sheriff's Office both cooperated with the FBI to build the government's case. Authorities are still looking for two other alleged Syndicate members charged in the 44-page federal indictment. -- J.S.

Time's running out on the city's moratorium on high-residency "superduplex" construction, which expires May 29. Last week the City Council approved on first reading new rules regarding the controversial structures, which have popped up in North University, Hyde Park, and other UT-area neighborhoods. Often boxy and hideous, superduplexes typically squeeze six or more bedrooms onto single-family lots, in which 12 or more occupants (usually students) live. The rules, which still require council approval on second and third reading, would limit duplex occupancy to no more than three unrelated adults, restrict their size to 4,000 square feet of floor space, and cap impervious cover and height, among other things. -- L.A.

Two long-planned civic improvements were on the table at community forums Tuesday night. A special briefing on the Waller Creek Tunnel brought citizens up to speed on past work on the flood-control project, first proposed 30 years ago and approved by voters in 1998. The city is working with Travis Co. on potentially creating a tax-increment financing district to pay for a downsized and less-expensive version of the tunnel -- costing more than the $25 million approved in 1998, but less than the $60 million estimate that until recently appeared to have doomed the project. And the city's Mueller Redevelopment Advisory Commission heard the latest about plans to allow (or implore) Seton Healthcare Network to build its new children's hospital at the old airport. -- M.C.M.

A student activist group named UT Watch has complained that the UT Police Dept. spent $16,697 on 10 Bushmaster AR15 rifles, 10 Remington shotguns, sights for the guns, and other accessories. The group complained about the expense of the weapons and questioned the necessity: "From what I understand, the AR15 is a pretty hardcore weapon," said UT Watch member Clay Reddick. "The UTPD hasn't used a gun since the Charles Whitman killings in 1966. ... If they're planning some investigation where they need combat guns, that's concerning." Actually, Reddick is wrong -- the UTPD did not exist until 1968. (Austin police handled the Whitman case.) According to Roxanne Hodgins, UTPD's records administrator, no UT officer has ever discharged a weapon in the line of duty. -- Lee Nichols