SFist worried over drugstore chain Walgreens celebration of Black History Month.Gothamist was surprised that apparently New York City is the fourth most miserable city in the country, after Detroit, Stockton, CA, and Flint, MI.Shanghaiist finds out what the Chinese think of Hilary and Obama.It was with a healthy amount of schadenfreude that Phillyist reported that former Eagle, and now Cowboy (ew), Terrell Owens owes the Eagles a significant wad of cash.Torontoist is two weeks......

Photograph of the Trump Soho by Riccardo Sinti...

On the eve of ACL Fest, we're gonna turn off our laptops, put on our drinking shoes, and head over to the Mohawk, because Austinist is hosting Local Music is Sexy IV. An annual tradition since its inception in 2005 (back when the 'hawk was the Velvet Spade, and folks were still arguing over the smoking ban), Local Music is Sexy showcases a bunch of promising young Austin bands and DJs that we're most excited......

A San Antonio-area nonprofit is suing to have their chimpanzees returned from Louisiana Is someone trying to take down the Dollar General? The City of Austin has opted to extend the waterway ban on Lake Austin until Friday The Texas Department of Transportation begins inspections on possibly suspect bridges A 6-year-old girl in North Texas crashed her bike into a parked trailer and gets her head punctured by 4 inches of rebar Bars and......

While SFist cringed at the fatal dose of crime littering the Bay Area, it found solace in Hillary Clinton's San Francisco campaign headquarters opening, which featured loads of exposed mammary glands. In other news, SF Taxi Commission ruled that Satan's cab must keep its (in)famous medallion number, 666; and in an un-fashion-forward frenzy, San Francisco Fashion Week (chortle) bars bloggers from covering and getting smashed at their shows and parties, respectively. Also, they found a......

There's so much going on across the Ist-a-Verse that it's almost impossible to keep track these days. Fortunately, we do it so you don't have to! Londonist took a walk through Oliver Twist's London, thanks to a gorgeous map layer for Google Earth. They also caught up with modern-day fictional London, with the Fantastic Four and 28 Weeks Later. It was a week of insanity over at DCist. They started the week off with......

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......

The City of Austin intends to contest the ruling, issued earlier this month, that portions of the smoking ban were "unconstitutionally vague." As you might recall, U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks didn't entirely overturn the ban, ruling instead that the consequences for smoking in bars were in the hands of the smokers themselves, rather than the establishments. Today's announcement was issued by the city law department, which declared, using somewhat circuitous reasoning, that it's appealing......

Some of the smoke surrounding the vagaries of the smoking ban has cleared. U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks ruled today that some of the enforcement provisions were "unconstitutionally vague." The ruling did not overturn the existing ban, but it did state that bars must take greater measures to make sure they were in compliance with the law. It also appears bars won't face the brunt of the law if they can't get patrons to quit......

The smoking, that is; not the foosball. Some unsolicited advice to the establishment pictured here: If you're going to charge a ridiculous $9 per white Russian, that's something you might want to let your customer know before he/she orders five of them. Springing a charge like that on someone is the kind of thing that might prompt a disgruntled customer to post pictures of people smoking inside on the internet. The comment flame war......

Maybe you’re too drunk to notice, but Side Bar is celebrating its two-year anniversary. It was just in 2004 that this scrappy little bar opened and quickly became your favorite bar that you’ve never been to. Two years and one smoking ban later, Austinites have been answering the call and Side Bar is consistently proving that it’s the place to be night after night. Whether by coincidence or just plain fate, 2004 was also the......

Alright, alright. I concede. The smoking ban has not, as far as I can tell, done anything to damage any businesses. Sure, there was a down spot for a couple of months there. Some businesses, which were already suffering financially, took the ban as an asthmatic death rattle. But taps would have played soon enough, with or without the ban. The guard needed changing anyway. A re-ordering, if you will. ...

Many of Austin's bars are hurting from the smoking ban - customers for many have dropped as much as a quarter, while others may be forced to close - but several are determined to bring 'em back. News 8 reports that places like Star Bar on 6th and Freddie's on South First have taken to building up their patio spaces in the hopes of luring bar patrons with the promise of indoors comfort, outside:......

Here we go again, waving our hands through the Smoking Ban debate, continuing to spread the love around. But this time, oh this time, it feels personal. We are still sorting through stacks of reports, stats, and widely quoted data to try and make sense of all sides involved, so the detailed discussion continues to be worked out. But in the meantime: Sweet Jesus… Lovejoy’s is sounding the closing alarm. [loud, deep, mournful sigh]......

Initially, this post was going to be a rant of sorts. But while writing it, the reality of how complex the Smoking Ban truly is, hit us, violently, in the kidneys. There can be no small summary of how this affects/polarizes us. Hell, WE aren’t entirely sure how to feel about the whole thing. All we know is that eventually, whatever it evolves into will pass into acceptance and adaptations will be made accordingly......

-A judge upheld the smoking ban put in place a few months ago, but reduced the violation fine to $500. -In his "State of Downtown" address, Mayor Will Wynn reported that roughly 17,000 jobs were created last year, and forecasts that the number of poeple living downtown will rise to 10,000 within the next three years. -Several Austin companies made Inc. and Deloitte's annual list of the fastest growing private and public companies, respectively.......

-The death toll in Asia now exceeds 35,000. Various donations efforts around town are underway -- we'll keep you posted. -Jetblue's starting a new nonstop service to NYC starting late January with - get this - introductory fares only $79 each way for tickets purchased by Oct. 31 for travel between Jan. 19 and Feb. 14. We know several of you are planning trips in the winter. -AMD made out like a bandit last......

Brownie points don't cut it FEMA Director Michael Brown stepped down from his position because, according to him, too much attention was on his leadership (or lack thereof) instead of the relief efforts. Well, Brown, maybe that's because your relief efforts sucked. But, Bush didn't think little of his appointed former horse whisperer. He's quoted as saying, "Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job" when he first landed on the disaster site after the storm.......

First gas, now this? If you pay for your electricity, get ready to see an increase on your bill to the tune of $2-$3.50. The increase is the first in two years, The Statesman reports. This isn't Katrina's fault, according to James Williams, an economist in London. He says the price of fuel has more than doubled. Perry's political agenda It looks like Govenor Perry is helping others by helping himself, according to KVUE.......

Being that we grew up in New Orleans and our family still lives (lived? probably more accurate, at least for now) there and our mind is not on Austin news, we're going to skimp on the report today. Hope you understand. Local Austin news seems to be preoccupied with the hurricane anyway, so we don't feel too bad. If you want an update on Katrina's aftermath in New Orleans: East side residences (the poorest......

Smoking ban has bar owners feeling like they want a cigaretteBar owners say they will be forced to act like police when the smoking ban takes effect because they will be fined if someone is caught smoking. KXAN reports that in last night's meeting (number two of four scheduled this month for bar owners and the city), bar owners were told to avoid being fined, they must place a "No Smoking" sign at the......

Restaurant ReportAfter Saturday night, Mezzaluna will close its doors after 16 years of serving Austinites. The restaurant, which is located in the Warehouse District, hasn't been able to recover from September 11 and the technology bust, owner Reed Clemons said in the Statesman . Capitol Brasserie will replace Mezzaluna, serving French cuisine in November. We'd like ours snail-less, please. And now for the topic everyone loves to talk about, the smoking ban. As the......

Apparently, the doors are closing on downtown booze-and-dance stalwart, The Copper Tank Brewery. Rumor has it that the owners of Ringers Sports Bar will be opening a new sports bar mecca at the 504 Trinity Location. In order to cut some of their losses, The Copper Tank will be holding a public auction at the bar this Saturday. The auction begins at 10am and goes until they get rid of everything or get tired......

Hot on the tails of the smoking ban, which took one of life's difficult choices out of the hands of competent personal decision makers and put it into the hands of an unweildy beaurocracy, AUSThIN is on a crusade to make more decisions for you! AUSThIN is dedicated to improving Austin’s health and quality of life by making fat people lose weight and hence stop them from weighing down our public infrastructure and health......

Election results are in and Austin has let its true voice be heard. The overwhelming response to the polarizing and contentious debate over the smoking ban, three city council seats, education funding, and municipal elections was a resounding, "Meh, who cares?" According to the unofficial results released by Travis County, a whopping 14.29 percent of the electorate felt the urge to exercise their civic rights and participate in our little experiment called democracy. Just over......

We here at the Austinist just wanted to remind you that, if you didn't exercise your civic duty during the early voting window, tomorrow is the day to make your voice heard. Make sure you haul yourself out to your local polling location and cast your vote. In case you haven't been following along, this election includes: 1) Three City Council spots (all are at large, so everyone has a stake in this) 2)......

Let's face the plain truth about human existence: No one likes to be told what to do. Places like Austin, in particular, where there is an educated and motivated populace, send out a resounding "go f*&^ yourself" when ordered around. As Austinist is fond of telling people, this is Austin, but it's still Texas. That is why the new smoking ban is so disingenuous: it goes against fundamental beliefs we hold as a community, even......

On May 7, City of Austin voters will be asked to consider an ordinance that would make it illegal to smoke in bars, restaurants, pool halls and bowling alleys, except those establishments with a restricted permit (or lax management). Austinist--not all of us, but at least some of us--supports the smoking ban, and encourages you to vote for the ordinance. Such bans are a public health good, since they reduce the amount of second-hand......

The city is anxiously awaiting (or maybe dreading) May 7th, when Austin will be allowed to vote on the fate of cigarettes in public places. Some people are rejoicing. Some are really, really pissed off. Some bar and restaurant owners fear losing clients if the ban on cigarettes passes. A group called Keep Austin Free has formed against the ban. They even have T-shirts that read "No smoking? It’s a bar, stupid." The major opponents......

On May 7, we Austinites have a chance to vote yay or nay on a much more restrictive smoking ban that would make it illegal to smoke in any bar. Austinist thinks that there's nothing that goes with a bourbon like a cigarette and lung cancer, and will be voting against the ban. We will then continue smoking in bars until someone tears the cigarette out of our shaking, oxygen starved claws. This is Texas!......