› With the May 12 election looming, City Council‘s next regular meeting is not until May 24 – but with a spate of public work sessions in the meantime, addressing departmental budget previews, urban rail planning, and the ever-popular Austin Energy rate proposals. For more, see “Council Rings the Changes.”
› Unofficial totals for the first three days of early voting in the municipal election show 6,117 residents as having cast votes in person or mailed in ballots – that’s 1.28% of the county’s registered voters, and on pace to exceed the turnout last May. Early voting ends May 8; check out our endorsements and list of polling places.
› After this week’s flurry of final forums, candidate events, and endorsements, you’ll have just enough time to catch your breath before May 14, when early voting begins (through May 25) for the May 29 Democratic and Republican primaries. It’s a different election. Really.
› The UT Sweatshop Free Coalition continued its protests over the university’s policy on Longhorn apparel production, demanding that UT join the independent Worker Rights Consortium to monitor production of its brand in foreign factories. Students held a vigil at President Bill Powers’ home over the weekend and a sit-in at the UT Tower Monday, but they left when police threatened arrests.
› With Sarah Eckhardt casting the lone dissenting vote, Travis County commissioners on Tuesday agreed to give Apple between $5.4 million and $6.4 million in tax breaks over the next 15 years as the company expands its North Austin campus with the promise of more jobs and respectable wages.
› Capital Metro‘s MetroRail Red Line has had its first fatal accident. Jeremy Barta, 32, was killed and his two children were injured on Monday, April 30, when his car was struck while driving across a private crossing over the rails.
› Cox Media has confirmed it is considering several offers for the Austin American-Statesman‘s offices and print works on Lady Bird Lake. Over the last few years Cox has dramatically reduced its Austin workforce, concentrating instead on its offices in Atlanta.
› Commissioner of Education Robert Scott is leaving the Texas Education Agency after five years as its head. He leaves a mixed reputation: A Republican who believes in public education, he championed the school accountability system which hammered struggling campuses in Austin and beyond. His final day will be July 2.
› The Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday considered during oral arguments whether death row inmate Hank Skinner should be granted DNA testing of evidence found at a 1993 triple-murder scene. Find out more at Newsdesk.
› On the first anniversary of the death of Osama bin Laden, President Barack Obama visited U.S. troops in Afghanistan and announced an accord with the Afghan government to govern the relationship after the withdrawal of most U.S. troops.
This article appears in May 4 • 2012.