Daily News - The Austin Chronicle (2024)

Daily News

The City Tackles E.D.

Entertainment Districts, that is. The city of Austin’s live music task force is meeting again this Wednesday to discuss said districts – so maybe Red River can get its own due. To bulletin-spam all your MySpace friends with the info, peep the press release below:

Live Music Task Force to hold public hearing on entertainment districts(Austin, TX) The City of Austin’s Live Music Task Force will hold its third public hearing from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, June 4, 2008 at Austin City Hall, 301 W. Second Street, in the Boards and Commissions Room.The purpose of the public hearing is to receive citizen input on issues surrounding entertainment districts.Created by Mayor Will Wynn and the Austin City Council in January 2008, the task force is evaluating the state of live music in Austin. The 15-member task force is comprised of musicians, venue owners, promoters and neighborhood representatives, and has formed four subcommittees to review specific areas related to live music.

2:03PM Mon. Jun. 2, 2008,Wells Dunbar Read More | Comment »

Early Voting Begins Today

Early voting for the June 14 city council run-off between Cid Galindo and Laura Morrison begins today and runs through June 10. Click here for a list of early voting locations.And please, please, please: GO VOTE! What happened to all that wild enthusiasm that jammed the polls for the Clinton/Obama primary? Granted, Morrison is not Clinton and Galindo is no Obama, but what happens in local politics arguably will have an even greater effect on your life than most decisions emanating from the White House. Are you sick of urban sprawl? Are you worried that yuppie newcomers are driving up your property taxes? Do you think rail is a boondoggle? How do you feel about Austin crime? Garbage collection? Traffic? Whatever your position, this is where you make your voice heard on those serious issues.Or not. While 227,493 Travis County voters showed up for that May primary, only 35,830 Austinites returned to select their city council last month. That's a pathetic 8.45% turnout. History indicates the run-off turnout will be even lower. In a city of about three-quarters of a million people, it's shameful that only 10,000 or 20,000 may decide who gets to lead us. Go study up on the candidates and participate in your democracy!

12:01AM Mon. Jun. 2, 2008,Lee Nichols Read More | Comment »

Vermont Votes Hemp

On May 29, Vermont became the second state to legalize industrial hemp farming when Republican Gov. Jim Douglas allowed H.267 to become law without his signature. The bill creates a regulatory scheme similar to that enacted in North Dakota, the first state to reauthorize agricultural production of the non-narcotic cousin of marijuana.Under the new law, farmers must be licensed by Vermont's Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets; hemp must be grown from seeds provided by the ag secretary, on land the secretary has approved for hemp production. And farmers must agree to submit to random inspection by the ag department and/or state police.

5:52PM Fri. May 30, 2008,Jordan Smith Read More | Comment »

TODAY'S EVENTS

Girl, So Confusing: Charli XCX vs. Lorde Dance Party

Volstead Lounge

Angelina Martin at Cap City Comedy Club

MUSIC | MOVIES | ARTS | COMMUNITY

Texas and the Numbers Game

While the eyes of the politerati are set on next week's primary states for settling the Democratic presidential nomination, there's a statistical possibility (read "long-shot") that the whole shooting match could come down to the Texas Democratic Party Convention next weekend.Howso? Well, according to CNN's latest estimates, Obama still needs 42 delegates to clinch the nomination. Out of next Tuesday's primary states, Montana only has 16 pledged delegates and South Dakota 15, while non-state Puerto Rico (living in the political equivalent of 'good enough to date, not good enough to marry') which goes to the polls Sunday only has 55. Texas, however, has 67 pledged delegates (and four supers) yet to be locked down: they'll be apportioned on the day of the convention, following the preferences of delegates when they sign in.Depending on how the remaining primaries break, and whichever way the party's rules committee settles the whole Florida and Michigan (aka the "party rules are for other people" states), and which super-delegate wants to be the one that puts the candidate over the top, that could mean it gets settled next weekend at the Austin Convention Center. And in this campaign season, stranger things have happened.

4:55PM Fri. May 30, 2008,Richard Whittaker Read More | Comment »

Richies for Obama

Big news (and bad for the Clinton crowd): Texas Democratic Party chair Boyd Richie and his wife Betty Richie, both superdelegates, have officially endorsed Sen. Barack Obama.But why is this latest paired announcement so important? Because, with a week to go before the state convention, the party head honcho has made a definite statement, and tied the two presidential candidates in declared Texas superdelegates (14-14, with 4 hold-outs.) While he talked about his "great respect for Senator Clinton and her Texas supporters," Boyd reiterated what many other observers have said: that Obama has a better grass-roots campaign that can be turned into the essential get-out-the-vote operation, and that benefits other Democrats running in November.Which is something the Clintons might have a difficult time arguing against. After all, having a Clinton in the White House didn't have such a great down-ballot effect in the Congressional elections in 1994. Or 1996. Or 1998.So, the question now is whether the Clinton campaign and its proxies will accuse the Richies of being traitors or of driving away the Hispanic vote.See below the jump for Boyd's full statement.

9:00AM Fri. May 30, 2008,Richard Whittaker Read More | Comment »

Daily News - The Austin Chronicle (7)

Cravey Goes Camping

It ain't exactly Al Gore's beard, but check out Place 4 City Council candidate Robin Cravey's thoughts on his unsuccessful run. His biggest regret? "The many hours I spent in meetings, when I could've been out hiking!" Uhh, has he seen how long your average council meeting lasts nowadays?

11:44AM Thu. May 29, 2008,Wells Dunbar Read More | Comment »

NEWSLETTERS

Meet the Candidates. Again.

For anyone who missed any of the slew of candidate forums during the first round of council elections: Never fear, the run-off is here! The City of Austin Ethics Review Commission will be hosting a Place 4 run-off candidate forum tonight (Thursday, May 29) at 6:15pm, in the Council Chambers. Expect special guest appearances by Laura Morrison and Cid Galindo.The public is "encouraged to attend" the event, which will be moderated by the League of Women Voters of the Austin Area. For anyone without the time or inclination to hunt for downtown parking, the whole thing will be carried on Channel 6.Further info on the election can be found at the city's election pages, and, of course, our own elections page.

9:25AM Thu. May 29, 2008,Richard Whittaker Read More | Comment »

Democrats and Abbott Settle in Voter Suppression/Fraud Case

Don't you love it when everyone wins? Dueling press releases from Attorney General Greg Abbott and the Democrat-affiliated Lone Star Project are both spinning a settlement agreement between the AG and the Texas Democratic Party as victories for their respective sides.In 2006, six individuals and the TDP filed suit in federal court alleging that Abbott was enforcing a provision of the Texas Election Code too tightly. The provision forbids an individual from possessing another person's ballot, and Abbott prosecuted 26 cases. But the six plaintiffs in this case shot back by saying that they were merely trying to deliver the mail-in ballots of a friend or relative, and that the law was overbroad. They also noted that the majority of the Republican AG's prosecutions were against racial minorities, and all of them were against Democrats – and thus, they charged, this was more about suppressing and intimidating Democratic voters than preventing fraud. (Click here for a more detailed rehashing.)Today, the suit was dismissed in Marshall by District Judge T. John Ward after a settlement was reached. Abbott's press release claimed that this was "the latest in a string of victories for the State of Texas, which consistently maintained that its efforts to protect the integrity of the elections process were entirely constitutional," while the Lone Star Project's statement was headlined "Plaintiffs Win Favorable Settlement in Abbott Vote Suppression Case."

4:33PM Wed. May 28, 2008,Lee Nichols Read More | Comment »

Daily News - The Austin Chronicle (10)

Farewell, Joe Allen

Texas Democratic Party chair Boyd Richie has released a tribute to Rep. Joe Allen, D-Baytown, who died on Saturday, aged 68.

Today, Texas laid to rest Joseph Hugh Allen, an honorable man who dedicated his life to bettering his community, state, and nation. As a family man, legislator, and businessman, Joe always put the interest of others before his. His time on this earth was far too short and his presence will always be missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends during this difficult time.

The oft-times bow-tied former state rep (and later vice-president of government affairs for Enron) represented the Harris district for 13 years. starting in 1966. He was most famous in Democratic circle for being part of the Dirty Thirty that fought to oust House Speaker Speaker Gus Mutscher. Mutscher was accused of being a dictator in the House, and finally ended up doing five years probation after being found guilty of accepting a bribe.

12:12PM Wed. May 28, 2008,Richard Whittaker Read More | Comment »

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