Headlines

Volunteers at St. Martin's Church receive training by Tina Griego to conduct the annual homeless count and survey last Saturday, Jan. 24, sponsored by the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition, or ECHO. The data is used to measure the number and characteristics of people who are homeless on a local and national level. (Photo by Jana Birchum)

City Council meets today (Jan. 29) in the first regular meeting of the new 10-1 Council, with decisions expected on structural reorganization and office budget adjustments, along with the usual brace of public hearings – but no zoning cases. See "Diving Right In," "Council: Between the Cup and the Lip," and "A Modest Proposal," Jan. 30.

The new Greek government has an Austin connection: Yanis Varoufakis, visiting professor at UT's LBJ School of Public Affairs, was named Greek finance minister under anti-austerity Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. In a statement, Varoufakis said, "As the next finance minister, I can assure you that I shall not go into the Eurogroup seeking a solution that is good for the Greek taxpayer and bad for the Irish, Slovak, German, French, and Italian taxpayer."

Paul Cruz officially became the new AISD superintendent on Jan. 26. Formerly the superintendent of Laredo ISD and a deputy commissioner at the Texas Education Agency, Cruz served as interim superintendent after Meria Carstarphen resigned in 2014.

Rick Perry is still headed to court in his felony case for abuse of power. On Jan. 27, Judge Bert Richardson rejected a dismissal motion from the former governor's legal team arguing that his actions were within his constitutional powers. Travis County commissioners have also now approved an extra $200,000 to continue the prosecution over his veto of Public Integrity Unit funds.

Attorneys for schizophrenic death row inmate Scott Panetti filed a supplemental brief with the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday, following Panetti's Dec. 3 stay of execution. It argues that the federal district court erred in refusing to appoint counsel or approve funding for a mental health expert and investigator, and details Panetti's plan for filing an appeal in federal court that claims he's currently incompetent.

SXSW week may be a little quieter after the City of Austin announced a 25% reduction in temporary events permits from March 13-22, in an attempt to control the growing sprawl of unofficial events around the main festival. The new policy, issued Jan. 23, also tightens curfews for such events.

Turns out Raul Munguia didn't retire from law enforcement so much as accept a new gig. The longtime APD asst. chief left Chief Art Acevedo's side last week, but recently accepted a job as chief of police at UT-Rio Grande Valley.

Texas Civil Rights Project filed a series of lawsuits Tuesday that implicate prison guards in Huntsville's Estelle Unit on charges of brutal violence and abuse, often at the expense of the blind and disabled. At the lawsuits' core are two inmates, Otis Talbert and Larry Hastings Jr., both of whom were allegedly nearly beaten to death by prison guards "with a vendetta."