Headlines

Photo by Jana Birchum

• While City Council takes the week off, there was a trickle of additional e-mail-related open meetings developments: On Tuesday, Council Member Bill Spelman released three messages sent from his University of Texas account, and at a work session, council directed staff to begin work on ways to archive business-related messages sent on personal accounts, further action on which may occur at council's April 7 meeting.

• Also on tap at that April 7 meeting: Council is set to name a firm (or firms) to meet the city's long-term recycling needs from finalists Balcones Resources and Texas Disposal Systems. See "City Hall Hustle."

• AISD Superintendent Meria Carstarphen's management style is receiving plenty of plaudits from the business and grant-donating community, but one of her recommendations, to slash 1,000-plus jobs – which the board approved Monday – has drawn strong community opposition, along with a facility master plan, also submitted to the board Monday. See "Final Blow: AISD Approves Job Cuts."

• Everyone has an idea about how the city could run more efficiently – now you can share it with everyone! The city has launched a new online forum for folks to pitch their proposals at www.speakupaustin.org.

Thousands who turned out for a Save Texas Schools rally in March couldn't prevent the inevitable layoffs in districts across the state and in Austin – a decision the Austin ISD board made Monday. Meanwhile, the Texas House is expected to consider a budget bill Friday that could further affect education funding. See "Final Blow: AISD Approves Job Cuts." (Photo by John Anderson)

• House Bill 1, the House draft version of the state budget, is scheduled for a floor debate on Friday, April 1. As of March 29, nearly 400 amendments had been filed in an attempt to blunt the sweeping cuts to jobs and public services.

• It looks doubtful the Legislature will be able to solve the state's $27 billion shortfall before the session ends on May 30. Harvey Kronberg of Quorum Report has reported that Gov. Rick Perry will call a special session for July 11 if the budget cannot be settled to his pleasure.

• It was reported this week that Dillard's settled its lawsuit against Highland Mall, allowing the department store to terminate its lease. The Dillard's Clearance Center will now close at the end of May, leaving the mall without a single large anchor tenant.

• Central Health, the agency overseeing health care services for low-income county residents, needs to fill the vacancy on its board of managers created by former board secretary Bobbie Barker, who resigned March 24. Applicants can apply through the city until April 8.

• Strange bedfellows time, as Environment Texas and the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club have been joined by the Texas State Rifle Association to protest plans to close up to seven state parks through budget cuts. Fiscal conservative lawmakers thinking about future endorsements now face a quandary: Upset the tea party or upset the gun lobby?

• Hudspeth County Attorney Kit Bramblett was apparently joking when he said Willie Nelson would have to sing "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" to the court as part of his sentence for his November 2010 pot bust; the judge hearing the case says Bramblett's joke "got out of hand."