• After publicly deliberating for months, former Texas Monthly Publisher Mike Levy announced he would not run for mayor. See “Point Austin.”
• City Council is recovering from a contentious meeting last week. Among the decisions: delays on the Wildflower Commons development and a proposed $250 million solar energy farm. See “Later for Wildflower Commons” and “City Hall Hustle.”
• President Barack Obama signed the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on Tuesday – the historic legislation is expected to bring approximately $5.4 billion to Texas public schools, including $41 million to Austin schools, over the next two years.
• Space oddity: A bright, fiery streak flickered in the Austin sky Sunday, prompting wide speculation and online buzz. Crashing satellite debris? A plummeting spacecraft? The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday the fireball was a meteor. (See, that’s what they want you to believe!)
• The Balcones Canyonlands Preserve received the avian equivalent of VIP status last week when the National Audubon Society, Audubon Texas, and BirdLife International designated it as a Global Important Bird Area because of its role in protecting the nesting sites of the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler and Black-capped Vireo.
• Our rural neighbors, Bastrop and Caldwell counties, have asked the governor to declare a state of emergency brought on by killer drought conditions – the worst in recent history, officials say.
• The city is presenting $20 million in suggested budget cuts at a town meeting tonight (Thursday). Cutting back library hours, shuttering a city-run day-labor site, and postponing public-safety cadet classes are among staff’s proposals. Give your input tonight, Feb. 19, 6pm, at the Mexican American Cultural Center (600 River St.), before the cuts are finalized.
• The East Cesar Chavez neighborhood will be creating a local historic district with some help from a $10,700 grant it received Tuesday from the Heritage Society of Austin and the Holly Good Neighbor Program.
Quote of the Week
“We’ve told the developer that the project submitted, as is, is not approvable.”
– City Council Member Randi Shade, following City Council’s decision to postpone until Aug. 20 a public hearing on the proposed Wildflower Commons development in the Barton Springs Recharge Zone
This article appears in February 20 • 2009.