Headlines

This may look like any other groundbreaking ceremony but last week's dirt-turning event marked the long-awaited start on construction of the city's new Central Library at 710 W. Cesar Chavez. Voters approved the $120 million project in 2006. Library director Brenda Branch, center, is joined by Mayor Lee Leffingwell, City Council members and other city officials at the March 30 event. (Photo by Jana Birchum)

› City Council meets today (June 6) with an agenda of some things old (postponed items on emergency medical services, ridesharing, and the University Neighborhood Overlay) and some things new (parental leave for city employees, possible landlord registry for code enforcement). See "Are You Reddy for This?."

› The fate of Eastside Memorial looks set to be decided today. Education Commissioner Michael Williams is scheduled to rule by June 6 on whether Austin ISD can move forward with its plan to partner with Johns Hopkins, or if he will close the campus this fall. At their meeting Monday night, the Board of Trustees promised Williams that they would close the school themselves if it gets an unacceptable rating in any year through 2016.

› County Judge Sam Biscoe on Monday selected lobbyist Bruce Todd to the interim Precinct 2 commissioner seat vacated by Sarah Eckhardt, who is pursuing a run for county judge in the 2014 election. The former Austin mayor and ex-county commissioner is anathema to many Eck­hardt supporters. See "Then There's This."

› Framed by music from Bill Oliver and the Heart­less Bastards, former Travis County Democratic Party Chair Andy Brown formally declared his own candidacy for county judge at Threadgill's Tues­day evening, saying he would lead the fight to keep doing things "the Travis County way."

› The short special session is getting longer, as House and Senate redistricting committees announced that they are holding hearings around the state. See p.16.

› As of press time, the Austin Police Depart­ment has nabbed 33 suspects as part of their Operation Safe Assistance effort to crack down on Downtown open-air drug markets. With the aid of High Activity Location Observation (HALO) cameras, the APD issued 70 arrest warrants for 50 individuals, for crimes carrying jail sentences ranging from 180 days to 20 years.

› Big city changes: Beginning last weekend, Austin dialers need a "512" or "737" prefix on all local phone numbers, and several of the city's hike-and-bike and greenbelt trails were opened for 24-hour use, in a pilot program to help develop the multi-modal transportation grid.

› The Austin Marathon gets a new sponsor this year: Freescale Semiconductor takes over from the Livestrong Foundation. The local tech firm was the race's original sponsor from 1991-2006.

› Joyce Adejumo, Eastside activist, founder of Mitchie's Gallery, and a longtime supporter of the arts, passed away May 27 of pulmonary emphysema. She was awaiting a lung transplant, and had become an advocate for organ donation.

› A new ACLU report ranks Texas among the top states for marijuana possession arrests. It also found wide racial disparity in enforcement. Although the feds estimate that whites and blacks use pot at roughly the same rate, blacks were more than twice as likely than whites to be cuffed for possession.