› City Council meets today (Thursday) with some high-profile business: potential revisions of the short-term rental ordinance (in effect only since Oct. 1), a new PUD proposal for Lady Bird Lake, and, on a more celebratory note, the selection of the winner of the Waller Creek redevelopment design competition. See “Council: Time for Some Halloween Horrors.”
› Early voting starts Monday, Oct. 22, and runs through Friday, Nov. 2, for the Nov. 6 elections. See a list of polling places and endorsements, and “Breaking Down the Ballot,” if you need a refresher.
› In related news, the Texas secretary of state on Tuesday released an iPhone and Android app for Texas voters. The app, SmartTXVoter, includes such helpful information as voting dates, ballot amendments, and a feature that encourages users to remind their friends and family to vote.
› The Legislature mourns the loss of state Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, who died Oct. 16 from complications from his liver transplant. A quiet giant of Texas politics, Gallegos sealed his reputation when he fought a 2007 voter ID bill from his sick bed. Literally: He had his hospital bed wheeled into the Senate so he could vote.
› Lance Armstrong announced Wednesday that he’s resigning from his role at the Livestrong cancer charity. This news comes just a week after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency released its report alleging Armstrong led a massive and systemic doping scheme as a cyclist.
› Police are investigating the death of a white man in his early 20s found dead in the creek behind the Austin Music Hall on Oct. 13; the department has ruled the death was not “suspicious,” but anyone with information should call the Austin Police Department‘s homicide tip line at 477-3588.
› Less than a month after he was no-billed by a Travis County grand jury, APD Officer Chris Allen has been terminated by Chief Art Acevedo for using deadly force in violation of department policy. See “Austin Officer Fired for Shooting at Fleeing Suspect,” Newsdesk blog, Oct. 16.
› Excluding Planned Parenthood from participation in the Women’s Health Program is expected to lead to a rise in unintended pregnancies, according to a recent report released by George Washington University. For more, see “Without Planned Parenthood, Texas Women’s Health in Jeopardy,” Newsdesk blog, Oct. 17.
› Barack Obama and Mitt Romney faced off Tuesday night in the second of three presidential debates. The president was more energized than at the last debate, but Romney stole the post-debate memes for claiming that as governor of Massachusetts he had “binders full of women” he sought to appoint.
› The Travis County Sheriff’s Office Brown Santa needs 40,000 square feet of warehouse space with at least four loading docks for Santa and his helpers to accept donations and assemble packages. Call Mary Rodriguez at 698-2813.
This article appears in October 19 • 2012.