Naked City

On June 4, Austin members of the National Treasury Employers Union (Chapter 247) held an informational picket outside Internal Revenue Services facilities in South Austin. The NTEU opposes management's planned elimination of the Automated Collections System night shift, scheduled for July. IRS management says the change is necessary for service; the NTEU calls it a violation of labor-management agreements and unnecessarily disruptive of employees' lives. (Photo By John Anderson)

Quote of the Week: "It's clearly a time of searching reappraisals by smart editors and journalists to assess how we do our jobs." -- Statesman Editor Rich Oppel, pulling his chin over The New York Times scandal in remarks dispatched across the globe by the Associated Press. (Note to Rich: While you're searching, maybe you can find that coal-gas dump.)

Brewster McCracken delivered a shellackin' to Margot Clarke, winning the Place 5 City Council run-off with 64% of the vote. See The Big Mac Attack for more details.

The City Council voted 4-3 to approve a controversial smoking ban -- while at the same time sowing the seeds of its destruction. See Tobacco-Free Triumph Goes Up in Smoke.

The 78th Legislature has left town -- but they'll likely be back before you know it, to wrestle with the re-redistricting beast. Meanwhile, the saga of the Killer-D Manhunt gets stinkier and stinkier. See How Can We Miss Them If they Won't Go Away?.

Today at the City Council: Gus Garcia's last meeting features final approval of the Seton/Children's/Mueller deal (see Seton's getting the Kids); the official death and rebirth of Smart Growth (see Sons of Smart Growth); the downzoning (five years after it was first proposed) of Balcones Recycling in the Holly neighborhood (see Making Recycling Illegal?); and a review of City Manager Toby Futrell's compensation package. (In a normal year, she'd get a raise. Unlikely this time.) The swearing-in of the new council is Monday, June 16, 6:15pm, at the Palmer Events Center.