Alas, Manitas! The sign on the door says it all – Las Manitas Avenue Cafe, an Austin landmark for a generation, may have closed its doors for the very last time to make way for a new hotel. On Tuesday, customers were taken aback by a closed sign and a gutted interior. At press time, it was uncertain whether owners Lidia and Cynthia Pérez would follow through with plans to reopen the restaurant nearby. Credit: Photo by John Anderson

• After pledging a solid $2.3 billion for an East Texas biomass plant last week, City Council skips a session, gearing up for final passage of the 2008-09 budget. See “City Hall Hustle.”

• Gustav‘s a pisher! The latest hurricane to threaten the Gulf gave a last-minute pass to New Orleans, although nearby towns suffered damage, heavy rains threaten flooding … and new storms are forming a line in the South Atlantic.

• The Republican National Convention got off to a subdued start in St. Paul, Minn., with scaled-back speakers, a couple hundred arrests (including a few journalists – see “Arrest Fest at the RNC“), and a video speech from President Bush. See “Point Austin.”

• It’s so cold in Alaska: Gov. Sarah Palin‘s VP nod unleashed a blizzard of revelations. An investigation is examining whether she tried to fire a feuding relative from the state troopers, while ties to an Alaskan secessionist group have emerged, along with the unplanned pregnancy of the sex-ed-opposing pol’s daughter.

Quote of the Week

“She’s not prepared to be governor. How can she be prepared to be vice president or president? Look at what she’s done to this state. What would she do to the nation?” – Alaska Senate President Lyda Green (Republican), on GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin

This article appears in September 5 • 2008.

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