Photo by lilapants ln flickrPatrol car video footage that documents the final, pleading calls of police shooting victim Kevin Alexander Brown was made public by the city of Austin yesterday according to The Austin American-Statesman. "Please turn me over," Brown asks repeatedly from the distant background of the grainy video. His last request falls on deaf ears. "I'm gonna die," he says to the officer who shot him. The cop in question, Sgt. Michael Olsen,......

Photo of the Walls Unit gurney from Britannica Student Encyclopedia 25 Years of Lethal Injection: What Have We Learned?Friday, December 7Texas Prison Museum (map) This Friday marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the first execution by lethal injection in the United States. Naturally, Texas, along with the city of Huntsville -- sometimes referred to as the "execution capital of the world"-- took this honor. With executions effectively on hold in Texas while the U.S. Supreme Court......

Comic from ToothPasteForDinner.com State science curriculum director Chris Comer says she was forced to resign today according to the Austin-American Statesman. She walked away from her nine-year career with the Texas Education Agency amid accusations of insubordination and misconduct, both of which appear to be connected with her apparent bias against the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to the theory of evolution. The senior adviser on statewide initiatives, Lizzette Reynolds, who previously served......

Usually, street closures around the Capitol hail the arrival of one of Austin's many street festivals, where you can listen to a wishy-washy blues-rocker do his best to channel Stevie Ray Vaughn while you eat a turkey leg amongst a sea of fanny-packed families and homemade jewelry vendors. But once a year it means it's Texas Book Festival time. As literary events go in this town, it is the big one. For two days......

Austin writer, journalist and musician Lance Hahn died Sunday afternoon. He had been in a coma since collapsing during dialysis treatment on Friday, October 12th. Lance was 40. His contributions to the punk scene both in Austin and internationally are too many to list. He was the creative force behind Cringer and the prolific, self-described "anarcho-situationist pop-punk" band, J-Church. His chops on the guitar eventually landed him the job as Beck's guitarist in 1994. He......

Austinist is asking you to keep an eye out for a young lady who went missing over a week ago in South Texas. Jessica Birge, age 25, was last seen on August 11, 2007 in New Braunfels at the Gruene Outpost River Lodge at around 10:00pm after tubing the Comal with friends. She was last seen wearing a pink bikini and can be identified by a unique scroll tattoo on the back of her neck.......

Last Friday, Governor Rick Perry's office made it public that our Governor has vetoed -- among many other laws that have come to his desk from the Legislature this year -- House Bill 3457, a simple bill that sought to grant the State of Texas the power to prohibit the drivers of diesel school buses from allowing the engine to idle while the bus is parked "at a school or school event." The bill was......

Today, Governor Rick Perry officially recognized that when it comes to filmmaking, cash does indeed rule everything around us. After months of determined effort from the Texas Motion Picture Alliance, the Texas Film Commission, Rep. Dawnna Dukes and Sen. Bob Duell, Perry signed the dotted line on House Bill 1634, freeing up some $20 million in incentives to lure production crews--and the myriad jobs they generate--to the Lone Star State. The gaming industry also scores......

As that old state tourism advertisement used to say, "Everything's bigger in Texas." Assuming you're speaking in stereotyped generalities, this is mostly true. The state itself is big, first of all. That's verifiable (with maps). The same goes for lots of stuff inside the state, like ranches, state fairs, trucks, steaks, livestock shows - you can find some really big versions of these things in Texas. We even have the 10-gallon cowboy hat, which is......

From the beginning of Time, it is said, carrion-eating birds have often been the bane of existence for many. Arabian legend tells us, for example, that the Bedouin of the desert have long seen the arrival of vultures as ill-fated prophecy, portending naught but certain doom. So too it is has always been for cowboys on the range in our home state of Texas, who have always associated circling buzzards with certain death and calamity.......

Remember a couple of weeks ago, when we reported that Tom "The Bugman" Delay had gone on the Charlie Rose Show and stated categorically that students should be allowed to carry guns on college campuses to protect themselves from Virginia Tech-esque scenarios? Remember how most of us laughed and laughed, writing off Mr. Delay's suggestion as just "more of the same" from another silly extremist? Well, stop laughing and put on your thinking caps; this......

“Currently, students' voluntary religious expression is being treated as second-class speech, and sometimes worse, in public schools. School children are being censored and reprimanded at school, leaving them in fear of punishment for their religious beliefs. Due to hostility toward religious expression, children are being forced to defend their First Amendment rights in courtrooms all across Texas, and throughout the nation. “School districts' practices and policies continue to violate the free speech rights of students,......

Senator Dan Patrick (Houston) – evidently the resident jackass of the Texas Senate, judging by his recent antics – has done it again. A few days ago, Patrick invited mockery and ire from his fellow Senators by suggesting that he can cut the Texas state budget by over $3 billion, something that no other organization or public figure has been able to do as of yet without also proposing to cut many important social......

Yesterday, on the floor of the Texas House of Representatives, Rep. Warren Chisum (R-Pampa) raised House Bill 2685, a bill that seeks to encourage couples to undertake "education courses" that would provide them with "the skills necessary to resolve marital conflicts, which will make for stronger marriages that are less likely to end in failure." Under this bill, Texans will be faced with an ultimatum under the law: take a State-designed marriage counseling course, or......

For those of you with the good sense to stay away from political news of late, you may want to actually pay attention to this one. As you are no doubt aware, somewhat-interested citizen, the Texas Legislature convenes every two years. During this six-month gallivant through the time-honored traditions of glad-handing, grand-standing, good-timing, soap-boxing and general ballyhoo, various bills are brought up for debate and possible passage. Thousands of bills are filed every session, but......

Those of you who breathe and/or can't stand the thought of deformed, three-eyed amphibians taking over Texas may want to read several recently published New York Times articles on TXU, the corporation that had planned to build 11 coal plants throughout the state. Interested in a buyout, investors Texas Pacific and Kohlberg Kravis just completed several weeks of negotiations with the corporation that brought prominent environmental groups like Environmental Defense and NRDC into the......

Sen. Rodney Ellis (D-Houston) will soon present Senate Bill 368 in the Texas Legislature, a bill that would create a statewide smoking ban if passed. The bill is essentially the product of diligent efforts by the anti-smoking interest group Smoke-Free Texas, a health-minded group seeking to prohibit smoking in all “public places” throughout the entire state. S.B. 368, if passed, would circumvent all other municipal smoking bans, such as the one here in Austin. It......

Gov. Rick Perry gave his Inaugural Speech last Tuesday after being sworn in as the longest-serving governor in Texas history. The speech was filled with wondrous imagery for Texas’ future, a soliloquy pregnant with strength, hope and a vision of unity for all Texans. Then, later that evening, in an unexpected political move, Gov. Perry decided to contradict nearly every major point in this speech by hiring Ted Nugent (aka, “The Nuge,” “Uncle Ted,” “Terrible......

The U.S. Census Bureau has released some new 2005 numbers analyzing the national population. This batch includes more localized information for cities and states. According to this most recent census, Texas ranks 6th among states with the most people living in poverty, and 36th among states with the highest median household income. Median household income: • U.S. – $46,242 • Texas – $42,139 • Travis County – $48,026 Percentage with incomes below the poverty......

The Texas state park system has long been seen as the "family jewel" of our state and a great source of pride for all Texans. Yet the park system is presently under threat, due to a serious lack of financial resources. Despite Gov. Rick Perry’s ardent public support for the foundering Texas state park system – managed by the under-funded Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) – it now seems quite clear, thanks to the......

As you may have heard, Schlitterbahn Waterpark – the massive expanse of water rides, germ-infested tube-streams and jaundiced kiddie pools in New Braunfels, Texas – may be the focus of a new MTV reality show, Waterpark, in which the park’s employees – mostly adolescents from 16 to 22 – will be put under the lens. The show represents an effort by MTV to attract a younger demographic of viewers. Schlitterbahn has reportedly agreed to filming,......

Any native Texans out there? Or anyone who has one of those "I wasn't born in Texas, but I got here as soon as I could" bumper stickers? Or are you a Texan now stuck somewhere else? Tracy Smith, a grad student at UC Davis, is doing her dissertation on Texanness (or rather, the essence of being Texan) and needs your help. Some questions she needs answered: What do you think it means to......

The Don't Mess With Texas slogan, created in 1986 for the Texas Department of Transportation, is a candidate for Advertising Week's Favorite Slogan award. The ad campaign, created by Austin design agency GSD&M, was developed to help reduce littering on the roadways of Texas. Although popular within Texas, we'll have to wait and see how popular it is nationwide once voting is completed on September 29th. Others in the running include: “It Takes a......

Today is Texas Independence Day, which used to be an official holiday, and now is just a day in Women’s History Month. Seriously though, those of us who have lived in Texas for most of our lives remember March 2 as Texas Independence Day, even if we don’t get the day off. We are not always brimming over with pride for our state, but today we'll think of the things we love about Texas......

Independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman took the stand on behalf of convicted killer Max Soffar. Soffar is convicted of killing three people during a Houston robbery at the Fair Lanes Windfern Bowling Center. His first conviction and death sentence were overturned on appeal. Friedman met Soffar while writing an article for Texas Monthly magazine. The author interviewed Soffar and exchanged letters with him during the inmate's years on death row. Kinky testified that he......

Texas has filed its first - and probably not its last - lawsuit against a data broker and his companies for marketing consumers' private phone records. The companies in question are USA Skiptrace, AMS Research Services, Inc. and Worldwide Investigations Inc. Apparently, USA Skiptrace charges its customers $125 to get consumers' phone records, which includes the number of calls made and received, duration of calls, and dates and times of calls. Good grief. Feel......

Lt. Gov. Dewy announced that Feb. 14 will be the runoff election date in the House District 48 race. It will be Democrat Donna Howard against republican Ben Bentzin, and the blood will flow my friends. It's real; it's raw. It's the House District 48 showdown! The governor's race is already getting spicy! Independent candidate Carole Strayhorn says that she is against private school vouchers. In fact, Strayhorn has accused Gov. Ricky of dismantling......

In the race to represent House District 48, Democrat Donna Howard and Republican Ben Bentzin made it through Round One on Tuesday and will meet in a runoff election to see who will replace Todd Baxter in the Texas House. Democrat Kathy Rider and Libertarian Ben Easton finished third and fourth and are now free to vote for Donna Howard. She received 49.5% of the vote, against Bentzin's 37.8 % which might shock some......

Bob Hudgins is back home and he could not be happier. The native Texan (born in Witchita Falls) left his position as deputy director of the Illinois Film Office and headed back to the Lone Star State to take over as the head of the Texas Film Commission after his friend Tom Copeland retired from the post. Copeland, who left the Commission about six months ago, holds Hudgins in high regard and lobbied for......

Texas - A lobbyist hired by the Texas Office of State-Federal Relations once worked closely with DeLay cohort Jack Abramoff. The lobbyist, Todd Boulanger, was a member of what was known as "Team Abramoff" (lawyers are so creative) while they were working at a law firm together. We won't bore you with all the details, but essentially Todd worked with Abramoff as registered lobbyist for Indian tribes who were coerced into "donating" money in......