Headlines

Senate staffers survey the wreckage after state Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, banged his gavel through a glass table in an attempt to silence a public speaker during testimony on Senate Bill 415, which would ban the safe and common second-trimester abortion procedure known as dilation and evacuation. For more, see "Lege Lines: Toxic Masculinity Drops the Hammer," Feb. 24. (Photo courtesy of Alexa Garcia-Ditta)

No regular City Council meeting this week, although members received an update briefing on CodeNEXT Wednesday afternoon ("zoning and process regulations"), and some are busy with public events. The next regular meeting, Thurs­day, March 2, will include a heavy zoning agenda, including the return of the Austin Oaks PUD.

A historic settlement last week: Council approved a $3.25 million settlement with the family of David Joseph on Thursday. In turn, Joseph's family has agreed to cease any other legal efforts against the city. The 17-year-old was shot and killed by former APD officer Geoffrey Freeman last February.

Norma McCorvey, the "Roe" in the historic 1973 U.S. Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, died of heart failure on Saturday at an assisted living center in Katy. McCorvey, who in 1969 sought an abortion in Texas, served as the anonymous plaintiff in the landmark case legalizing the medical procedure, yet later in life underwent a religious conversion and became an anti-choice activist.

Lifestyle Over Long-form? A Monday story from the Columbia Journalism Review suggested that Texas Monthly may be headed in a new direction under new Editor-in-Chief Tim Taliaferro – one built on lifestyle stories and coverage of live events instead of political reporting and long-form journalism. "Texans don't care about politics," the CJR quoted Taliaferro. In a tweet, the 33-year-old EIC said that quote was "taken so far out of context." He disputed much of the article's sentiment in an editor's note published Tuesday.

Richard Linklater and GSD&M are behind a new digital ad released by the ACLU of Texas and Legacy Community Health that exposes the bigotry of SB 6, Texas' anti-trans bathroom bill. The comical "I Pee With LGBT" ad – featuring two transgender Texans and others using the restroom – reminds that the bill isn't as much about privacy as it is about discrimination. Watch it at www.ipeewithlgbt.org.

severe storms swept through Austin overnight Sunday, spawning several tornadoes and leaving 30,000 people temporarily without power.

Mayor Steve Adler was one of many mayors across the country who, on Wednesday, participated in a National Day of Action to protect the Affordable Care Act. If Congress follows through with their threat to repeal the ACA, 168,000 Travis County residents will be left without health insurance.

Gary Cartwright, a Texas Monthly writer and editor for nearly 40 years, died Wednesday morning. He was 82.