� City Council adopted the new city budget on Monday; with that behind them, they’ll skip the regular meeting today (Thursday) and will next meet Sept. 23 to consider social services contracts, an amendment to the Domain agreement, Waller Creek, Airport Boulevard, and more. See “City Hall Hustle,” for a budget breakdown.
� Portions of hiking trails, bike lanes, and a section of Cesar Chavez Street north of Lady Bird Lake will close for the weekend to allow for extension work on the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge. The new northwest arm of the bridge will allow peds and cyclists to cross Cesar Chavez without getting flattened. Work starts at 8pm Friday and continues through the weekend.
� The Austin Police Department confirmed Sept. 14 that the body of Jennifer Ring was recovered from Lake Austin, bringing the total number of fatalities caused by Tropical Storm Hermine to eight. Ring died when her Lexus SUV was swept away by floodwater into Bull Creek.
� Islam alert! The right-wing bloc of the State Board of Education is crafting a resolution calling for limits on references to Islam in world history textbooks. For more on the SBOE heading into the November election, see “Taking Politics Back to School.”
� Here’s a first for UT-Austin: White students no longer make up the majority of first-time freshmen, with their numbers topping out at 47.6%, compared to more than 51% a year ago. Hispanic and African-American freshmen enrollment is up but still lags behind the state’s ethnic diversity.
� The family of Nathaniel Sanders II is suing the city alleging breach of contract and fraud in the wake of City Council’s rejection of a $750,000 settlement of a federal lawsuit the family filed after the fatal police shooting of Sanders. The Sanders’ attorney, Adam Loewy (r), filed the lawsuit Wednesday in state district court.
� Gov. Rick Perry‘s self-imposed deadline to dodge the proposed debate in the governor’s race, to be hosted by Austin’s KLRU, expired after press time Sept. 15. Perry said he’d be a no-show unless Democratic challenger Bill White released old tax records not required by state or federal election law. See austinchronicle.com/newsdesk for news on whether Perry folded.
Quote of the Week
“Let me plead guilty to shameless symbolic politics.”
– Council Member Bill Spelman, acknowledging he didn’t have the votes to carry his amendment to cut Water Treatment Plant No. 4-related water rate increases
This article appears in September 17 • 2010.