Headlines


Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 4 – the anti-immigrant "sanctuary cities" bill – into law on Sunday evening, right around the time that most Texans were sitting down to enjoy their dinners. The governor scribbled his name at his office desk, and aired the signing on Facebook Live, where he could make known that he approved of such a hateful, unconstructive law without actually encountering dissenters or probing questions from the press. (Instead, Abbott only had to withstand the petty assault of angry emojis showing up on the live feed.) SB 4 goes into effect Sept. 1, unless legal challenges to its constitutionality are able to gum things up. For more on that, see "The Challenge to SB 4." (Photo by Jana Birchum)

City Council Meets today, May 11, from 2-5pm, with a light workload (25 Items). But they may fuss over reserve money for Fire Department overtime, and ponder the shadow of the Lege. See "Council: UnLocal Control."

Paxton Sues City/County: Among those Council worries is a lawsuit filed this week by state AG Ken "I Am Not a Crook" Paxton, who is suing the city, Travis County, all City Council members, Sheriff Sally Hernandez, and anybody else he can accuse of disrespecting federal immigration authorities. See "The Challenge to SB 4."

CodeNEXT Mapping 1.1 came out this week, with "corrections" to the draft mapping posted online at www.austintexas.gov/codenext, and a hint of what the affordable housing incentives might look like presented to Council. See "Public Notice."

Interim Police Chief Brian Manley fired Officer Carlos Mayfield last week, for tampering with confidential records from a rape case. See our story online for details.

An Officer-Involved Shooting on Trinity Street Sunday morning remains under investigation. On Monday, the department identified 24-year-old Landon Nobles as the deceased, and confirmed that Sgt. Richard Egal and Cpl. Maxwell Johnson were the two officers involved.

Uber Under Investigation: A Depart­ment of Justice criminal investigation into Uber's law-evading app called "Greyball" – which would hide drivers from suspected law enforcement where the company wasn't operating legally – has reportedly reached Austin, reviewing their operations here.

SB 4 Travel Advisory: The national ACLU issued a Texas travel advisory to warn of the consequences of SB 4, the anti-immigration legislation that targets "sanctuary cities." You may encounter illegal arrests, racial profiling, and demands to show papers, the group cautions.

Trump Cans Comey: On Tuesday afternoon, President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, purportedly because of his mishandling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation – and if you think that's the reason, we've got a bridge in Moscow for sale, cheap.

Muslim Americans Targeted: Hate crimes against Muslim Americans have skyrocketed 584% from 2014 to 2016. A report released Tuesday by the Council on American Islamic Relations suggests Trump's anti-Islamic, "toxic political rhetoric" is partially to blame.

Remembering President Flawn: Former University of Texas President Peter Flawn passed away this weekend. He was 91.

Democracy Now! City Coun­cil Member Greg Casar joined Amy Goodman on news program Democracy Now! Tue., May 9, to discuss AG Paxton's lawsuit against the city over SB 4, and his recent arrest while staging a sit-in at Gov. Greg Abbott's offices.

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