• City Council meets today (Thursday), scheduled to set the maximum tax rate, consider a ban on texting while driving, and hear a host of zoning cases, including a couple of hot ones. See “Beside the Point.”
• School’s in! Austin ISD students returned to classrooms this week, with a new superintendent, a new budget dustup, and more trouble from the Texas Education Agency. See “What Will New AISD Budget Mean About Next Year’s?“
• Austin firefighters are in negotiations with the city over a new contract (early buzz: friendly so far) and in a public firefight with Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr over a revised emergency driving policy. See “Sirens at AFD.”
• Water’s out! The drought hasn’t gone anywhere, and stage 2 water use restrictions are in force. Water only once a week on designated days, and conserve as much as you can.
• Seems like the water wars are beginning – in court. San Antonio Water System is suing the Lower Colorado River Authority for $1.23 billion for breach of contract over a water-sharing agreement.
• Good time to go green: The Austin City Council has approved a reduced charge for the latest batch of Austin Energy’s GreenChoice program – current and new Batch 6 subscribers will pay 5.7 cents per kilowatt-hour for electricity powered by wind. Though higher than the current fuel charge nonsubscribers pay, that price will remain fixed, shielding subscribers from rising fuel costs over the next five years.
• The State Commission on Judicial Conduct trial of Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller concluded in San Antonio, with Keller claiming she did no wrong on Sept. 25, 2007, when she declared the court “closed at 5pm” despite a request for delay to allow a late appeal in a death penalty case – as a result, Michael Richard was executed that night at 7pm. See “Keller’s Lawyer Shifts Blame.”
• The GOP gubernatorial race between incumbent Gov. Rick Perry and challenger Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is heating up, with the Perry campaign firing daily salvos and Hutchison stumping the state and raising money after her formal entry last week.
• A federal court ruled Tuesday that a lawsuit by Latino groups seeking to end the Texas Democratic Party’s “two-step” primary/caucus system can proceed. The suit was dismissed last year, but the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals sent the case back for reconsideration.
• The unemployment rate in Texas rose from 7.5% in June to 7.9% in July. The Texas Workforce Commission estimates another 129,445 Texans will exhaust their benefits before Jan. 2, 2010.
• Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy died late Tuesday, after a lengthy battle with brain cancer. He was 77 years old and had served in the U.S. Senate for nearly 47 years.
Quote of theWeek
“I think the legacy he left was not just with the landmark legislation he passed but in how he helped people look at them-selves and look at one another.”
– Vice President Joe Biden, speaking on the death of Sen. Edward Kennedy, 1932-2009
This article appears in August 28 • 2009.