› Today is the last City Council meeting before the July break, and it looks it – 152 items and plenty to raise sand: the rail and road package, a move to opt out of “Secure Communities,” plus personnel reviews of the city manager and the city auditor. Might roll over into Friday.
› On Tuesday, Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole released a statement saying that the city and the Waller Creek Tunnel engineers had worked out a “cost neutral” solution to the Capitol View Corridor problem on the intake structure that will maintain the project’s schedule. At press time, city management had not confirmed the agreement.
› A grand jury concluded its review of the March 2013 shooting of John Schaefer by APD Officer Jonathan Whitted and declined to issue an indictment. According to a statement released by the Travis Co. District Attorney’s office, witnesses confirmed that Schaefer (who had reported shooting an aggressive dog) refused to put away his handgun and pointed it at the officer, who shot him twice in the chest.
› Austin Democrat Eddie Rodriguez has been appointed vice chair of the new House Select Committee on Economic Development Incentives, a new body called by Speaker Joe Straus to examine whether Texas should keep offering business incentives.
› As the Chronicle goes to press, Judge Lee Yeakel is holding the latest hearing in the never-ending gerrymandering lawsuit: This time, he and two other judges will hear evidence on what population measure – total adult population or eligible voters – should be used to draw the maps.
› On Monday, Judge Yeakel struck down a 2012 city ordinance requiring pregnancy resource centers to post signage clarifying they do not offer medical care. The ruling stated that the law’s wording was too vague and could lead to discriminatory enforcement.
› Pour one out for the Pour House: The Burnet Road pub closes on June 29, and the 4-acre site will be cleared for a new mixed-use development, including 343 apartment units and a new, smaller home for the pub.
› Bad news for Attorney General Greg Abbott, as Administrative Judge David Peeples rejected his call for Judge John Dietz to be recused from the school finance trial. Peeples ruled that, although Abbott’s office claimed collusion, there was nothing wrong with Dietz’s communications with lawyers for the 600 school districts currently suing the state.
› The situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate amid calls for more U.S. military action, despite public and official resistance. Austin Congressman Lloyd Doggett told the House, “This Congress has a constitutional obligation to approve military action before any president decides to shoot first and ask questions later.”
› Farewell to a Longhorn: Eli Wallach, the New York Jewish actor who became famous playing Mexican bandits, UT-Austin Class of 1936, passed away on June 24, aged 98.
This article appears in June 27 • 2014.