Headlines

On May 1, Public Citizen hosted a rally to call attention to two issues "threaten[ing] our core democratic values": current campaign finance laws, and laws restricting the right to vote. (Photo by John Anderson)

Early voting for the May 7 Proposition 1 election ended Tuesday with a remarkably high turnout, and Uber and Lyft's spending at $8.1 million (with a bullet) facing off against numerous public interest and activist groups hoping to defeat the company-drafted proposition. For a snapshot of the spending, pro and con, see "Money Doesn't Talk, It Swears," April 30.

Accusations of illegal campaign tactics by pro-Prop 1 forces were amplified on Wed., May 4, as Our City, Our Safety, Our Choice called for an investigation by the D.A. and the feds. For more, see Daily News.

City Council meets today (May 5) with a relatively light agenda that might go underwater: Austin Water has proposed revised watering regs and a Drought Contingency Plan, and at work session Don Zimmerman and Ellen Troxclair took a dim view of both, especially once-a-week watering restrictions. Meanwhile, the FY 2017 budget cycle has already begun. See "Council: What Drought?"

APD Officer Mark Manley was indefinitely suspended after an Internal Affairs investigation concluded that he got drunk at a Halloween party, made racist remarks, and charged at and knocked to the ground the woman hosting the party. He was also charged with a Class A misdemeanor by Cedar Park Police. Last Wednesday, before the termination was official, CLEAT issued a statement accusing Police Chief Art Acevedo of "making a rush-to-judgment decision" on the case.

The Public Safety Commission unanimously approved a recommendation to City Council Monday to consider how Austin Police can better identify transgender and gender nonconforming individuals, in the wake of Monica Loera's death in January, after which Loera was initially identified by her male birth name.

Robert Springsteen continues to seek to clear his name in the 1991 Yogurt Shop Murders. His attorneys went to court April 27 to ask that Texas' 3rd Court of Appeals overturn the Travis County District Court's denial of a declaration of actual innocence. For more, see "Springsteen Seeks New Day in Court," May 4.

Bye, Ted! The junior senator from Texas will not be America's next president. After a routing by Donald Trump in the Indiana primary, Cruz said he no longer sees "a viable path" to the GOP nomination. See "Cruz Quits Presidential Race," May 3.

Texas prisons must allow Muslim inmates to grow beards (up to four inches long) and wear religious skullcaps, a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday. Inmate David Rasheed Ali filed suit seven years ago arguing the rules prevented him from practicing his religion; the appeals court upheld his rights, finding the prohibition violated a 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.