Naked City

A young boy steps aboard the new MetroRail at an open house Feb. 14 at the Plaza Saltillo Station at Fifth and Comal in East Austin. Capital Metro is holding a series of open houses to familiarize riders with the train. See www.capmetro.org for a complete schedule. (Photo by John Anderson)

Naked City

• Californians, Here They Come? With unemployment in many California cities now in the double digits and Austin-Round Rock holding at a relatively low 5.2%, according to December 2008 figures recently released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, another influx of lifestyling Californians appears likely. Of the 20 metro areas nationally that reported the highest unemployment rates, 12 were in California. Who wouldn't rather live in Austin than in desert-locked cities such as Bakersfield, Chico, Stockton, or Fresno anyway (especially with unemployment there around 12%)? Florida and the upper Midwest, hurting just as badly, could also send transplants our way, despite the softening of the local high tech job market. Brian Kelsey of the Capital Area Council of Governments notes: "In 2002, when we were losing tens of thousands of well-paying computer and semiconductor jobs, our regional population still increased by 30,000 people. … As long as smart, talented people want to live here, our economy is going to be just fine." A bright note: All those newcomers should help support local housing values, another area where Austin is strong. – Katherine Gregor

• One Hundred Trees for Pease On Saturday, Feb. 21, Pease Park will be 100 trees greener, thanks to the volunteer efforts of the newly formed Friends of Pease Park. In cooperation with the Austin Parks Foundation and the city's urban forestry division, the organization has raised $18,000 for plantings, as well as a drip-irrigation system to water them. From 9am to noon, the organization will lead a volunteer planting of the donated trees. "Pease Park is dangerously close to losing its canopy," said Friends of Pease Park founder Richard Craig in a press release. Between "last year's unprecedented wind and hail storm and the tremendous damage due to overuse and unchecked erosion, a great many trees in Pease are close to dead. That's why it is so important that we plant the next generation of shade trees now." The urban forestry division contributed 84 trees, and the Old Enfield Homeowners Association and others supplied another 16 for what the friends hope will become an annual volunteer event. For more info, contact Richard Craig, 925-5306. – Michael King

• Shelter Makeover The Austin Humane Society is still in the running for becoming one of America's top remodeled shelters. As of press time, the agency's ranking had risen from September's low point, 51, to between 4 and 5, in ZooToo.com's second annual Shelter Makeover Contest. ZooToo, a social networking site for pet lovers, will award a million-dollar makeover to the winning shelter or rescue group in a three-phase contest. During the first phase, which lasts until mid-March, AHS fans may participate in a variety of activities, thus ensuring the agency maintains a high ranking. AHS must stay in the Top 20 to move to the second phase, in which ZooToo officials will conduct site visits to determine 10 finalists. In April, America will vote online to determine the winner. "The grand prize would be used to improve the quality of life for our shelter pets, increase the number of animals we can serve, and increase the number of adoptions," said Lisa Starr, AHS marketing director. "AHS is depending on the Austin community to visit ZooToo.com and designate AHS as the shelter you would like to support." For more info, see www.zootoo.com/makeover. – Patricia J. Ruland

Brewers Want Equal Rights

The push to allow Texas microbrewers to sell their products on their premises has returned to the Capitol. Senate Bill 754 and its twin, House Bill 1062 – authored by Wendy Davis and Lon Burnam, respectively, both of Fort Worth – would allow brewers who produce at least 1,000 barrels a year of "ale or malt liquor" to sell on-site. A similar bill two years ago died in committee. On-site sales are currently allowed for winemakers but not beer producers, a double standard that rankles brewers. "Texas produces some of the finest beer in the world, and Texas breweries deserve a fair playing field in the commercial market," said Bur­nam, noting that Rahr & Sons Brewing Co. is located in his district. The bill also would benefit the Austin area – Live Oak, Indepen­dence, and (512) Brewing are all located here, and Real Ale is in nearby Blanco. Texas' other microbreweries are Saint Arnold in Houston, Southern Star in Conroe, and Franconia in McKinney. "I believe that local breweries are an important part of the business community in Austin," said Austin Rep. Elliott Naishtat in declaring his support for the bill. – Lee Nichols

Important Eye-Glazers to Watch

Austin Sen. Kirk Watson has filed a raft of state budget- and finance-related bills that he hopes will make sure the right money is going to the right agencies. "Budgets glaze eyes like doughnuts," he admitted, but "I really think nothing in government's as important." The bills mix spending proposals, such as a constitutional requirement to fully fund the Children's Health Insur­ance Program, with structural reforms, such as moving the agency oversight process of Texas Perform­­ance Reviews from the Legislative Budget Board back to the comptroller's office. Watson also wants to increase budget transparency and end all diversions of dedicated funds, as well as placing appropriations and budget information online. – Richard Whittaker

Keller Comeuppance

One year and five months after Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon "Killer" Keller gave the one-fingered salute to the U.S. Constitution by shutting the courthouse door on condemned Texas inmate Michael Richard, state Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, has filed House Resolution 480 calling on the Texas House to impeach her for "gross negligence" and "willful disregard" of her official duties. On Sept. 25, 2007, Keller refused to hear Richard's appeal challenging the lethal injection method of execution, claiming the courthouse doors close at 5pm. Richard was executed that evening. – Jordan Smith

Developers Win Again

Last week, the years-long legal battle over a Hays Co. subdivision's wastewater discharge permit lurched to its conclusion. The Texas Commission on Environ­ment­al Quality essentially agreed to a settlement that the Belterra development had struck with several of a long list of opponents, including the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District and the Lower Colorado River Authority. The city of Austin, Hays County, and downstream landowners had fought the terms of the settlement, which still permitted 350,000 gallons of effluent to be pumped into Bear Creek and, ultimately, into the Edwards Aquifer. Andy Barrett, who represented the subdivision, said: "We believe it is important to recognize that the vast majority of the treated effluent will be reused to irrigate the open spaces in the subdivision. Paired with the strict water-quality protections required in our permit, our innovative approach to wastewater management will benefit both the residents of Belterra and the conservation efforts of the Texas Hill Country." But Kirk Holland, general manager of the BS/EACD, was much less sanguine. "We have mixed emotions about it. If there's not going to be a downright denial of the permit, this is probably the next best thing." – Jacob Cottingham