Photo courtesy of supersassafrasThe city's Urban Transportation Commission is currently at a crossroads over the future of our quickly-expanding pedicab businesses. As we discovered from The Texan over the weekend, two transportation commissioners are each recommending very different resolutions, hoping to strike a balance between a growing business of bicycles and a growing city whose streets seem to be getting a bit more cramped. There are five registered pedicab companies currently operating in Austin: PediChad,......

UN reports: Poorest people are most at risk through climate change. Dick Cheney's heart (ha) may be in trouble. In California, they drink sewage. Sort of. Russian hipsters carefully ignore Stalin, long for the good old days. Speaking as a nation wearing Native American t-shirts, we could teach them a thing or two about revisionist history... Living in the city makes your breasts denser. (This is not a metaphor, and it could be dangerous!)......

Same thing, another week. As you move on to the next line on the calendar, you're still out there trying to make a connection. Sadly you let most of them slip by without saying a word. We understand, no one wants to be overzealous and get shot down. If only you had some place to find a second chance. Oh yes, Missed Connections. If only you had someone to sort through and find the......

At least that's according to Travel + Leisure magazine, which just released its annual rankings of America's Favorite Cities, as based on a survey taken by over 60,000 people. Austinites are ranked as the fourth Most Attractive, and first in "Overall" characteristics. The results, presented from both the visitor and resident's perspective, also give a pretty accurate general indication of how we feel about the state of things here, from what we're most jazzed about......

An industrial crane toppled this morning in the 900 block of Red River Street. No one was hurt when the crane fell, police said. Red River Street between 9th and 10th was shut for about two hours but reopened shortly after 11 a.m. The site under construction is near the Sheraton Hotel and is a four-story apartment building. Update: (10:40am) The Austin American Statesman has reported that the crane is not one of the giant......

Remember back in those halcyon summer days, when kids with spike-swoop haircuts would sulk over to your house on their skateboards, kick-flipping the whole way, bangs covering everyone’s pot-reddened eyes, just to bask in your glory as Thrasher’s newly claimed “heir to the Hosoi throne”? Man, those were the days. The chicks, the sponsorships, the Jimmy Z woody, all the righteous goodness. Remember that? No? Of course not. That's probably because like the rest of......

Longhorn football player James Henry has been suspended indefinitely from the team after being charged with felony counts of retaliation and tampering with physical evidence. Police say the charges are in connection with the alleged armed robbery involving former Longhorn football player Robert Joseph. Court records indicate that Henry, 19, confronted witnesses on behalf of Joseph, who was arrested June 27th on aggravated robbery charges. Police say that Joseph called Henry from jail the......

Austin is full of small, out of the way places that we have grown to love. These aren't the big name restaurants that everyone already knows about or the restaurants in the warehouse district or downtown locations. In fact, two of them are in nondescript strip malls, and one is surrounded by giant safety cones. These places offer up good (and in the case of Tomo, great) food in locations away from the city center.......

An earthquake in Indonesia brings fears of possible tsunami in Indian Ocean. One year into serving as Japan's Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe is resigning. Another government shakeup: Putin is dissolving Russia's current government in preparation for upcoming elections. Aviator Fossett still lost, but six other lost planes have been found in the search for his plane. US Senate will hold hearing on toy safety today. Doesn't Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson deserve better than playing Carrie......

Three British soldiers killed by American friendly fire in Afghanistan. A new database will crack down on uninsured drivers. Former astronaut Nowak appears in court. Lawmakers to probe safety at Utah mine. Texas parks receive financial boost. Love hurts. Is finding a new place to live in Russia more painful than having fire set to your private parts?......

Opposite Day Safety First (Eat A Finger Peach Look Music): Austinites Opposite Day have been cranking out weirdo punk music for six years now, and Safety First is the band's third album, which makes them "official." Like most punk bands, the majority of songs last around two to three minutes. And while Opposite Day is definitely punk, the album's 17 tracks explore motley styles, ranging from hardcore to acoustic to experimental to Incubus-esque, all with......

At the upcoming August meeting, the city council will discuss an ordinance placing rules and regulations in place for BYOB businesses. If customers are allowed to bring in their own alcohol to a club/restaurant/place of business, that business will be required to obtain a permit. To obtain the permit, businesses must: provide security guards, close at or before 2:15am, and not allow alcohol in the parking lot. This is most likely a response to such......

*The views expressed in Truesday are those of the author and do not represent Austinist as a whole. Thank heavens.* -The Editors Last week I stressed the whole “stage” thing. You know, that it’s all important to seize la dia and shit, and that you only live once, yadah-yadah-yadah. And yeah, for serious, it’s important as hell to take your stage. I can’t stress that enough. Voyeurism holds the benefits of safety and anonymity,......

From the tallest skyscraper in the City of Brotherly Love to Canadian tourism copywriting brilliance, here's what you should know from our -ist cities: This week, Phillyist took a gleeful listen to the White Stripes' exciting new release, watched in awe as their new tallest skyscraper was finally completed, found a cheaper way to get to Gothamist, invented a tasty new dessert, and brought back their Craigslist Round-Up feature with a bang. Bostonist watches......

Austin Humane Society, the largest nonprofit no-kill pet shelter and adoption center in town, recently suffered a tremendous setback: yesterday, the facility's A/C system abruptly shut down. A subsequent inspection found the system to be broken beyond repair. "Our air conditioning unit died," said AHS representative Lisa Starr to KXAN. "Went kaput." The center is installing a temporary mobile A/C unit today, but this solution won't work for the long term; even now, the animals......

Texas state troopers at the Department of Public Safety (DPS) proudly announced yesterday that they managed to seize a record number of drugs in 2006. All told, an estimated $335.9 million worth of drugs were confiscated during routine traffic stops. Most of the loot, as you can see in the slideshow above, was as cleverly hidden as possible, often stashed in tar machines, wrapped around tires, or stored in the axles of pickup trucks.......

New Visions/Works in Progress: Bringing Texas to the Latino Film Map. Hideout Upstairs Cabaret, 11 AM A new program section at the festival, New Visions/ Works in Progress showcases films that are looking for production or completion funds, as well as case studies that represent examples of Latino or indigenous filmmaking in Texas. These projects are brought to the consideration of investors, producers, distributors, and artists with the goal of fomenting industry participation and......

The Texas Observer is releasing a fascinating story this week about a new intelligence database called the “Texas Data Exchange” (aka, “TDEx”). The stated purpose of this database is to catch criminals, hunt down terrorists and allow law enforcement agencies throughout Texas to share valuable information. Close to $4 million has been spent so far on this behemoth, and it’s already chock full of records. Now, the existence of this database is hardly news; such......

In response to yesterday's killings on the campus of Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia, The Univeristy of Texas will darken its tower starting tonight through Thursday, April 19. All flags on campus will also be lowered to half-staff through Sunday, April 22. In addition, UT Student Government is currently planning a candle-light vigil to take place on Monday, April 23. Although the time is yet to be determined, plan on it starting sometime......

Earlier this week, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers stumbled upon a mammoth marijuana shipment bound for Houston. Officers stopped the tanker truck that was carrying the stash during a routine traffic check in Jim Hogg County, perhaps because of the vehicle's "fictitious markings." They were probably shocked to discover that the truck contained nearly 9,000 pounds of weed. The driver, Reynaldo Hovey Jr of South Texas, now faces federal drug possession charges.......

The City of Austin has convened a new Street Smarts Task Force, whose mission will be to make this burg more bike-friendly. The Task Force (which, despite its nifty name, will not wear nifty matching uniforms) promises to investigate recent cyclist fatalities; figure out ways to make commuting and traveling more bike-friendly (important, onaccounta our city's little congestion problem); and put together a biker/motorist safety education initiative. More here. Image from daniel_bryant on Flickr......

For those of you brave enough to drive into downtown this week, Austin Police Department wants to warn you about fakester parking attendants: The Downtown Area Command would like to advise the public that there are subjects wearing “safety glow vests” and pretending to be valet parking attendants for the entertainment district. Vehicles are parked on public streets in marked spaces and drivers are being charged a parking fee. Individuals who come to the entertainment......

We should probably preface this whole thing by saying that we absolutely love Don McKellar. And not in a cute, innocent, forgivable way—in a nerdy, fawning, obsessive kind of way. And so while much of the following interview does relate directly to Reg Harkema’s new film Monkey Warfare (which Don is in, and which will be screening at SXSW), we also couldn’t resist occasionally veering way off topic, randomly blurting out years worth of pent-up......

Microsoft rolled into town yesterday on its Family Gaming bus, stopping at the state capitol as part of a national marketing campaign showing off "appropriate gaming and entertainment choices for their family." The "Safety is no game. Is your family set?" campaign sees the software giant partnering with Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Best Buy to teach parents how to limit their kids' exposure to raunchy video games and movie content. "With success......

Not content allowing rival Whole Foods to monopolize the spotlight after last week's Olive Tapenade fiasco, Central Market is pulling its entire stock of Izze Sparkling Fruit Juice from Texas stores, after a customer in Southlake discovered glass fragments in one of the bottles. According to the Statesman, while all Izze products have been removed from Central Market shelves, no recall has been announced. "We believe this is an isolated incident and we're thoroughly investigating......

If you didn't already have the day off of work or school courtesy Martin Luther King, Jr, you probably do now courtesy Mother Nature (or the rapture, your choice). Even the MLK parade is canceled! Austin roads are wet and slippery, the temperatures are dropping, and everything is going to get worse before it gets better. If you absolutely can't stay home today, please take a minute and familiarize yourself with the Emergency Conditions......

A billowing American flag against a pitch background opens this compelling story of a Seattle grandmother, Bev Harris, who started asking questions after presidential candidate Al Gore managed to get negative votes (-16,022, to be exact) in Volusia County, Florida in 2000. After a media distraction over "hanging chads" and other discrepancies, the overall results in Florida effectively lost the election for Gore. As simplistic as it sounds, Harris made a search engine find......

So we come to the end of our series. Remember you can vote early through Friday, or of course you can wait to vote until Election Day next Tuesday. Proposition Seven in ballot lingo:“The issuance of $58,100,000 in tax supported General Obligation Bonds and Notes for constructing, renovating, improving, and equipping public safety facilities, including, without limitation, a public safety training facility, police stations, emergency medical services buildings and facilities, a municipal courthouse, an......

City safety rankings coincidentally reflect MLB standings...St. Louis was recently named the Most Dangerous City in the US while Detroit was only in 2nd place. MySpace is not so MySpecial anymore. Online Christmas Shopping could be more costly than playing Spider Solitaire at work. An Oklahoma man was killed in his attempts to scare the Haunted Hayride passengers; we can't say his attempts failed. Vaseline is only one way to make your pumpkin last......

Reeling from the nomination as the #1 Party School in the nation, students at The University of Texas are hard at work peeing on street corners, throwing up during class and passing out on the steps of The Church of Scientology. And in recent years, we've been lucky enough to have a record of these acts, thanks to the folks over at the UT Police Department. The boys in blue release a bi-weekly campus-watch......