Headlines

Staff photographers John Anderson and Jana Birchum were at the March for Our Lives rally last Saturday. See austinchronicle.com/photos for a full gallery. (Photo by John Anderson)

No City Council meeting this week – the next is April 12 (work session April 10), when several council members will be out of town, making an effective quorum a bit unpredictable. But budget deliberations begin in earnest Wednesday, April 4, with the annual staff budget forecast.

So much labor news this week that we couldn't fit it all into the issue. Scope austinchronicle.com/daily/news for more on Item 47, the police staffing ordinance – the subject of much debate.

Anti-CodeNEXTers At It Again: In a letter to city and county officials, four frequent ­critics of the CodeNEXT process accuse Planning Commission Chair Stephen Oliver of violating state and local conflict of interest laws – specifically charging that Oliver is "using his position as PC Chair to influence CodeNEXT's brewery regulations to profit his clients and business." Oliver is the principal architect at OPA Design Studio, which specializes in local breweries. (See "Public Notice," March 30.)

The State Supreme Court rejected Adam Reposa's attempt to appeal his contempt of court finding, essentially putting an end to that pursuit.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the appeal of death row inmate Brandon Daniel, who murdered APD Officer Jaime Padron in 2012.

Confirming one inevitable risk of campaigning – too many highway miles – Con­gress­ional District 21 Democratic nominee candidate Mary Wilson and her campaign manager Emily Isaac were rear-ended March 22 en route to a Hays County candidate forum. The campaign reports "no serious injuries"; Wilson faces Joseph Kopser in the May 22 run-off.

Can't Beat 'Em? Manor ISD Trustee and former HD 46 candidate Ana Cortez threw her support behind Chito Vela in that district's run-off against Sheryl Cole.

If there's a racist political map to defend, the Trump team is there. Solicitor Gen­er­al Noel Francisco asked the U.S. Supreme Court to help Texas argue for its discriminatory electoral maps when the court hears the case on April 24. He says the DOJ has a major interest in "the proper interpretation" of the Voting Rights Act's safeguards against the improper use of race in redistricting.

Census experts question the addition of a "citizenship" question to the 2020 U.S. Cen­sus survey as unnecessary and potentially skewing the information, especially in states (e.g., Texas) with a large proportion of immigrants. Rice Uni­ver­sity sociologist and former Census Bureau director Steve Murdock said, "Specific states ... [including] the fastest-growing states with the largest number of both residents and undocumented persons are likely to be affected disproportionately."