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Former (and eternal) first lady Michelle Obama, dressed in orange to match the room, at her Frank Erwin Center appearance to promote her book Becoming. Guest moderator Rachael Ray, a longtime friend of the Obamas and SXSW fixture, provoked gasps in the audience when, in her introduction before FLOTUS took the stage, she cast Austin as a city where sexism and racism simply do not exist. (Photo by Jana Birchum)

Look Who's Back! No, you're not hallucinating the fall of Rome; those lanyarded eager hordes are just this year's recurrent wave of South by Southwest pilgrims, arriving for orgies of panels, films, performances, podcasts, "brand activations," and more. Austin's premier spring Festival runs March 8-17, snarling traffic and sensibilities with the latest in everything pop, political, cinematic, comic, athletic, fashionable, or cannabinaceous.

Expect Some Delays: City Council meets today (Thurs., March 7), still yet to crack open the next chapter in the neverending story that once was CodeNEXT. City Manager Spencer Cronk asked at Tuesday's work session that Council provide more clarity on eternally vexed questions – parking, density, compatibility, etc. – before he returns with a revised process.

Under the Dome: The initial bill filing deadline for the 86th Texas Legislature falls tomorrow (Fri., March 8) at the session's 60-day mark, with the major issues – school finance, property tax caps – already headed toward the House and Senate floors. Much time remains to fight over reproductive rights, health care, and whether to bother protecting the environment.

In Sobering News: Just in time for festival season, city/county nonprofit Sobering Center Austin on Sabine Street reports that in its first six months of operation, it has diverted 1,026 publicly intoxicated people from jail and/or the ER to overnight "safe sobering," saving an estimated $335,000 in medical service and law enforcement costs. They are "gearing up" with additional staff and an "overflow plan" in advance of Austin's "largest hospitality event."

Lanier, Oh Dear: Austin ISD Trustee Ann Teich made quite clear at Tuesday's board meeting (March 5) that she and (she says) her constituents and the campus community do not want to rename Lanier High School, despite its current namesake's Confederate ties and despite the Board of Trustees' commitment 13 months ago to do so, prompting some angst among her colleagues.

Some Came Running: Now that ex-U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso, has taken himself out of the 2020 Senate contest against John Cornyn, the undeclared Dem front-runner in the race appears to be Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, whose twin brother Julián (former SA mayor and U.S. housing secretary) is running for president – maybe against Beto. Former state Sen. Wendy Davis is urging Joaquin to take the plunge but is considering running herself if he does not.

Trust. Respect. Access. Those were the key messages of a broad coalition of reproductive rights and justice advocates who launched their "proactive legislative agenda" at the Capitol Wednesday (March 6). More on this story online.