Scouts and their families join up at the Capitol on Feb. 6 for the 67th annual Boy Scout Parade and Report to the State of Texas. Delegates from each council enter the House of Representatives to detail their good deeds of last year. Credit: Photo by Jana Birchum

City Council meets today (Feb. 11), with a special BONUS meeting Friday afternoon – when they hope to move forward on the citizens’ Uber/Lyft initiative election, and perhaps the mayor’s alternative solution. For today’s highlights, see “Put This in Your PUD and Smoke It!“

Early voting in the Democratic and Repub­lican primaries begins Tuesday, Feb. 16, and runs through Feb. 26 (election day is March 1). See our endorsements page, and get more info at austinchronicle.com/elections and www.traviscountyclerk.org.

Details emerge concerning the Monday morning officer-involved shooting in Northeast Austin that resulted in the death of 17-year-old David Joseph. Initially saying it was “too early” to disclose whether the teenager had a weapon, APD has since confirmed Joseph was unarmed. For more, see “APD Releases Name of Officer Involved in Shooting.”

City Council voted to approve a $600,000 settlement payment to the parents of Larry Jackson Jr., shot by since-retired APD Det. Charles Kleinert in July 2013. Jackson’s parents, Larry and Billie Mercer, filed a lawsuit against the city in Sept. 2013. See “Kleinert’s Case Dismissed,” Oct. 29, 2015.

Travis County Assistant District Attor­ney Erika Hansen was arrested and charged with a DWI Sunday morning around 1:30am after crashing her car into a parked vehicle on East Seventh Street. Hansen, 37, reportedly had a blood alcohol level of .19, more than twice the legal limit.

Dawnna Dukes faces an abuse of office investigation by the State Auditor’s Office over accusations she forced staff to work on nonlegislative matters. The Pflugerville state representative, whose district covers East Austin, claimed via Facebook that these are just the complaints of a disgruntled ex-employee.

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport set a new passenger record in 2015, at 11.9 million passengers, an 11% increase over the previous record year of 10.7 million.

Democratic and Republican primary voters hit the polls in New Hampshire Tuesday, with Donald Trump leading the Republican field and Bernie Sanders defeating Hillary Clinton.

Sen. Ted Cruz, who placed third in the New Hampshire GOP primary, is under fire for a mailer his campaign sent to voters in multiple states – including Texas – with a fake check in it, which Democrats argue breaks state law. He’s already taking flak for an Iowa mailer falsely claiming the state keeps voter scores.

This article appears in February 12 • 2016.

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