Headlines

• The University of Texas regained some sense of normalcy Wednesday after a gun-wielding student, Colton Tooley (pictured), caused a campuswide panic when he fired several rounds before turning an AK-47 on himself; no one else was struck by the flying bullets, police said. Tooley was a high-achieving 2009 Crock­ett High School graduate.

• City Council heads east today (Thursday, Sept. 30) for its regular meeting (10am start time) at the George Washington Carver Museum & Cultural Center, 1165 Angelina. See "Running the Numbers," for what's on the agenda.

• You know what they say about the best-laid plans, but let's not venture down that path in view of all the local and regional planning under way as we write; see a roundup in "Res Publica," and check out what Austin is up to in "Comp Plan Combo Platter."

• What better time than now to plan for the future of water? A Texas water symposium, sponsored in part by the Hill Country Alliance, takes place at 7pm today (Thursday, Sept. 30) in the auditorium of the state Capitol. This is the first in a series of such events, so check www.hillcountryalliance.org for more details.

• Hurry, hurry! Monday is the last day to register to vote in the Nov. 2 election. Forms are available at various locations (see "Naked City"), or online at www.traviscountytax.org.

• Austin Energy's new general manager, Larry Weis, began his first week on the job Sept. 27, replacing Roger Duncan in the top seat, kept warm in the interim by Assistant City Manager Robert Goode, who returns to his ACM duties.

• The city of Austin has achieved recognition for energy efficiency by the national arm of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives. The city won the award for developing a citywide Climate Action Team of departmental reps who develop and implement plans to make city operations carbon-neutral by 2020.

• Austin celebrates National Night Out, a crime prevention event, on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 6-9pm; residents across town are encouraged to turn on their porch lights, lock their doors, and spend time outside with their neighbors, sharing food, stories, and fun. See www.cityofaustin.org for info.

• Here's a downer: The poorest 20% of Texans pay the highest proportion of their income in taxes, according to a new report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Due to Texas' reliance on property and sales tax, the lowest-paid workers give 12.2% of their income in state and local taxes, while the wealthiest 1% pay a quarter of that amount.

• Gov. Rick Perry's plans to ignore the media may have clashed with his ambition for higher office. After addressing a Sept. 23 luncheon hosted by the National Conference of Editor­ial Writers, Perry refused to take questions. In an open letter, conference president Tom Waseleski told Perry, "If you had hoped to make a positive impression on this national press group, I must tell you that you utterly failed."

Quote of the Week

"Criminals are uncer­tain which potential victims can defend themselves."

– John Lott, author and concealed gun advocate who, scheduled to speak at UT the day a student opened fire on campus, relocated his talk to Brave New Books