Headlines

The annual community celebration of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. began at 9am on Monday, at the statue in his honor on the UT campus. Marchers then journeyed to the south steps of the Capitol and ended at the Huston-Tillotson campus for the MLK Community Festival. (Photo by John Anderson)

City Council next meets Jan. 28, when there will be plenty to do: dozens of contracts, PUD zoning rules, short-term rental regs ... and oh yes, transportation network companies (aka "ridesharing"), with a showdown between a TNC-underwritten petition campaign and proposed city regulations. See "Point Austin: Thumbs Up or Down?," Jan. 22, as well as "Safety for Some" and "Council: 'Sharing' Showdown Arrives."

Ridesharing Works for Austin brought news that the group accrued more than 65,000 signatures for a petition to force a referendum to limit regulations on TNCs in Austin. That same day, Uber raised the minimum fare for local rides by at least $3 per ride.

Count 'em All: Saturday marks the annual "Point-in-Time" count of Austin's homeless population, part of a national federal effort to accurately measure the amount and conditions of homelessness across the country. The Ending Community Homelessness Coalition is working toward 600 volunteers for teams to complete the early morning PIT count, which in recent years has reflected a slow but steady decline in Austin homelessness. (See "Homeless Count Scheduled for Jan. 23," Jan. 15.)

Rail Not: Austinites still waiting for the train may have to wait quite a bit longer – Capital Metro CEO Linda Watson told the Austin Monitor this week that the failed 2014 bond election has put plans for rail on indefinite hold. "Based on that election and the plan that was presented, I don't think the community of Austin is ready for that at this point," Watson said. "And we aren't, either. We don't have another option to offer."

Deferred Action: The Supreme Court will hear the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) case this spring. The lawsuit against President Obama's 2012 executive action includes 26 states and has been spearheaded by Texas. (See "Judge Blocks Immigration Reforms," Feb. 20, 2015.)

Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an opinion Tuesday that daily fantasy sports platforms like FanDuel and DraftKings can be legally considered outlets for gambling and thus are not legal under Texas law.

Bowie Street returned to form Tuesday, as city workers removed the installation that temporarily renamed the Downtown street "David Bowie Street." On Friday, SXSW co-founder Roland Swenson revealed he was behind the stunt.

Powerball fever has given an unexpected boost to Texas schools. In the mad rush to win last week's $1.5 billion national lottery, Texans spent $244 million on tickets, $105 million of which will go into public education. It's a welcome win, but still no way to fund the state's future.