Free Republic

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - A judge on Wednesday dismissed murder charges against two men awaiting retrial in the 1991 slayings of four teens at an Austin yogurt shop, after prosecutors admitted they weren't ready to take the case to a jury. Robert Springsteen was sent to death row in 2001 after he was convicted in capital murder slaying of one of the girls. Michael Scott had been convicted in her death previously and sentenced to life in prison. Both convictions were overturned when the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals said Springsteen and Scott were unfairly denied the chance to cross-examine...

"Joe Arpaio, who calls himself "America's toughest sheriff," has gone rogue. Consumed by ego, accused of racial profiling, and running roughshod over the federal government, this incurable media hound is flirting with another title: "outlaw."

A University of Texas at Austin staff member who checked into the hospital over the weekend has died of the H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu. Linda Duran, 42, worked at UT for 15-years as a service worker. The university says she had underlying health problems but they would not say what. Funeral serves were set for Friday October 2 at Weed-Corley-Fish Chapel at 10 a.m. This is the first known H1N1 death at UT. Last week, more than 1,000 students came into the student health center -- 92 of those were confirmed flu cases. Since the beginning of...

In Austin, so many parents are rushing their children to the Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas with swine flu symptoms that the hospital had to set up tents in the parking lot to cope with the onslaught. In Memphis, the Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center emergency room got so crowded with feverish, miserable youngsters that it had to do the same thing. And in Manning, S.C., a private school where an 11-year-old girl died shut down after the number of students who were out sick with similar symptoms reached nearly a third of the student body. "It just...

Protesters organize outside democratic fundraiser in Austin9/19/2009 5:53 PM By: News 8 Austin Staff House Speaker Nancy Pelosi attended a democratic fundraiser in Central Austin Saturday. Her visit was met with a small group of grass roots protesters, who said while they are glad she is visiting the Texas Capitol, they are not happy with her policies. They said Pelosi has lead unprecedented excesses of the federal government, and has shown a lack of respect to the American people. "We think that all politicians need to be more responsive to the people and we're asking both republicans and democrats to...

Heads up Texas Freepers. Today, between 1-4 p.m., MoveOn.org will be busing in union thugs to hold a "protest" regarding the passage of Obamacare. This event will take place on the South side of the state Capitol in Austin. Anyone who can counter these "paid volunteers?" please show up at this meeting to demonstrate how Texans really feel about this government takeover of our health system. If you cannot attend, take a little time to contact a few friends who might be able to.

Jesus is the greatest example of a friend. (John 15:13), "There is no greater gift that anyone can give that a man would lay down his life for another".

It took a couple of pints of Shock Top ale, but eventually Danyelle Price knew what she wanted to ask her pastor about the book of Psalms...Price, 31, was sitting in the Tavern bar with about 20 members of an after-church gathering called Austin Inklings and hosted by Immanuel Church. Like several other groups in Austin, the Inklings pair drinking with spontaneous dialogue about faith. Price said she thinks such groups should be called "Christians like beer, too."

Early Friday morning, Barbara Frische said she woke up to the sound of glass breaking inside her East Austin home. She called police but didn't learn what had shattered the double-paned window in her 4-year-old son's room until after police arrived. Officers showed her a brick with a note attached: "Keep Eastside Black. Keep Eastside Strong." "It's the first time anything like this has ever happened to me," said Frische, who is white. She has lived in her house on 13th Street for about 10 years. The incident doesn't fall under the hate crime category, which is a classification of...

"Police are investigating a brick with an offensive message thrown into the window of an East Austin home. The brick, thrown through a 4-year-old boy’s bedroom window, read “Keep Eastside Black. Keep Eastside Strong.” The homeowner, Barbara Frische, who is white, said she has lived in the home for 10 years. “It’s the first time anything like this has ever happened to me,” she said. Police have not classified this incident as a hate crime, said Austin Police Sgt. Richard Stresing, because hate crimes target an individual specifically because of an identifying characteristic, like race. Police say the incident has...

Dr. Howard Dean’s fans come out for the big Democratic summer shindig As Tom Andrews, the director of the leading national antiwar coalition, began his speech at the Maine Democrats’ big outdoor summer shindig in Falmouth, John Baldacci signaled his bodyguard/driver to move the large, dark SUV up the driveway. The vehicle soon hid in the trees, its engine quietly humming. At first, the governor seemed to be paying attention as Andrews, the former First District congressman, launched into rousing tales of how the country, under President George W. Bush, had gone "from peace and prosperity to war and recession."...

Some fantastic news to report on thanks to the hard working efforts of national blogger Mike Stark and Firedoglake who have been canvassing Washington, DC for progressive members of congress that will stand up for a public health care option and demand that it must be part of Obama's health care reform. After a 4 minute walk with Doggett in DC, he became the 12th member to pledge to do just that.

To meet ambitious renewable energy goals, city must find a way to pay for them. Austin's electric utility could soon reverse a long-standing practice of selling wind, solar and other renewable energy only to customers who choose to buy it, four Austin City Council members and a mayoral aide said this week.

Proposed 'amnesty' would offer forgiveness of most accummulated fees and fines, but scofflaws would have to pay the overdue tolls and get a TxTag. Central Texas toll scofflaws could get a pass on paying much of $56.1 million in late fees and fines under a still-in-the-works "amnesty" policy set for a vote July 30 by the Texas Transportation Commission.

Despite the dreams of mush heads, alternative energy sources remain economically marginal, meaning they cost a lot. The latest experiment in selling "green energy" is running into consumer price resistance in ultra-liberal Austin, TX. Marty Toohey of the Austin American-Statesman reports: "For the past decade, Austin's ambition to become the world's clean-energy capital has been best exemplified by one effort: GreenChoice, a program that sells electricity generated entirely from renewable sources such as wind." Now the nationally renowned program is struggling to find buyers - the latest allotment is 99 percent unsold after seven months on the market - and...

Electric utility chief says separate charge for renewable power may need to be rolled into all users' bills. By Marty Toohey For the past decade, Austin's ambition to become the world's clean-energy capital has been best exemplified by one effort: GreenChoice, a program that sells electricity generated entirely from renewable sources such as wind. Now the nationally renowned program is struggling to find buyers — the latest allotment is 99 percent unsold after seven months on the market — and Austin Energy is looking for ways to bring down the rising costs. But those are short-term talks. Austin Energy officials...

"You're the problem!" one crowd member hollered. "You voted for TARP," yelled another. Boos interrupted Cornyn, who won his second term last year, after he said: "This is a day of celebration, the day we celebrate our Founders, who defied empires and declared their independence."

The man known as Joe the Plumber said in an Austin speech Friday that in his profession, if you don't do the job right, you'll get called back to fix it. So why, he asked, do Americans allow politicians to "mess up the job?"

The man known as Joe the Plumber said in an Austin speech Friday that in his profession, if you don't do the job right, you'll get called back to fix it.

Sky Saxon, founder of the brilliant ’60s garage band the Seeds, died Thursday morning at St. David’s Hospital. The newly minted Austinite, born Richard Marsh, was hospitalized Monday with what doctors suspected was an infection of the internal organs, but cause of death has not yet been released. Saxon fell ill last Thursday, but performed at Saturday at Antone’s with recent Austin collaborators Shapes Have Fangs. Sky’s wife Sabrina Saxon posted news of his passing on Facebook this morning: “Sky has passed over and YaHoWha is waiting for him at the gate. He will soon be home with his Father....

Local jeweler/businessman DARES to strike a blow against David "the perv" Letterman. Check out how the snarling hoards dive in on the comments section. They're threatening to drive him out of bizness....http://www.russellkormanjewelry.com/events.html

The city of Austin, Texas, has begun requiring homeowners to conduct energy-efficiency audits before they can sell their house, a move it says provides a model for cities and states seeking ways to push energy conservation. With its new law effective last week, Austin joined at least two other U.S. cities -- San Francisco and Berkeley, Calif. -- that require the audits, which can include a review of a home's air-conditioning and heating systems, insulation and air-tightness, and generally cost owners from $200 to $300. [Chart] Municipalities across the country are forging policies to encourage more energy-efficient buildings, particularly in...

Nearly a decade ago, after making a donation to a volunteer-run radio station in Austin, Texas, local librarian Red Wassenich was asked why he chose to support a broadcaster with penchant for playing strange crooner music. "Because it keeps Austin weird," he said. Since then, the phrase "Keep Austin Weird" has become the city's official rallying cry against the establishment of large chain stores near mom-and-pop shops-- more generally, for maintaining the city's eccentric feel. The city may be weird, but perhaps more redeeming is that it's also bargain to live there: Austin is the place where people pay the...

You know what state needs more smart fortwos? Texas. That must have been Daimler's thinking before approving an expansion of the car2go carsharing service there. Daimler started car2go in Ulm, Germany last October and it will be coming to Austin, Texas - that little blueberry in the big red cherry pie of a state - this fall. There are now more than 200 fortwo cdi models that anyone in Ulm, visitor or resident, can rent by the minute, hour or day, 24/7. Costs range from 19 euro cents a minute to 9.90 euros an hour to 49 euros a day....

Few places have received more accolades in recent years than Austin, the city that ranked first on our list of the best big cities for jobs. Understanding what makes this attractive, fast-growing city tick can tell us much about what urban growth will look like in the coming decades. Austin's success is not surprising since, in many ways, it starts on third base. Two of its greatest assets result from the luck of the draw; it's both a state capital and home to a major research university. Our ranking of the best cities for job growth includes many college towns--from...

CBS 42 spoke to one man boarding a bus for Mexico at the Austin Greyhound station Tuesday. Cristov Leuman said he’s not overly concerned, since he’s not traveling to Mexico City. Leuman acknowledges, though, he'll change his habits during his ten day stay in Mexico. "Normal things like shaking hands, kissing people on the cheek could be dangerous now," said Leuman, who teaches in Mexico and regularly travels between Austin and Guadalajara. "So this could also mean we are becoming more separated. We will have less communication than we did normally." Despite the government’s travel warning – some health officials...

Austin Texas Tea Party Photos

Texas and Arizona are considering bills to ban cities from enacting "sanctuary policies" that discourage them from enforcing federal immigration laws. Witnesses testified Wednesday before a Texas Senate committee for a bill aimed at "sanctuary cities" like Austin and Houston that tell police officers to avoid determining the immigration status of those they deal with, the Houston Chronicle reported

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The Austin Texas Tea Party Part 1 was a great success!! It was held this morning at Austin City Hall. We had some great speakers and a great turnout! When Governor Rick Perry showed up to speak the crowd was cheering and chanting SECEDE, SECEDE! Pictures can be seen here --> AUSTIN TEA PARTY

Austinites plan 'tea parties' as part of nationwide protests By Danny Yadron AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Wednesday, April 15, 2009 A band of outraged Austinites will re-enact the Boston Tea Party today. The group, expected to number in the hundreds, will rally at the state Capitol to protest what some call runaway spending in Washington. They will then march to Lady Bird Lake to recreate the famous 1773 protest. But it will be a far cry from the infamous protest of the American Revolution, organizers admit. Empty boxes labeled with the name of the once heavily taxed beverage will be thrown into...

AUSTIN — Alegria Arce Hibbetts of Austin got a letter in late March saying that she might be dead. Or more specifically, the Texas secretary of state’s Texas Election Administration Management system indicated she was a “possible deceased voter.” She had 30 days to prove otherwise, and she wasn’t sure how to do that — the response form allowed only for a family member to sign off on her death. There was nowhere to check “I’m alive,” said Hibbetts, 74, who lives just north of the University of Texas. “I don’t know where they got that information.”

Task force seeking ways to divert non-emergencies away from emergency rooms. By Mary Ann Roser AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Wednesday, April 01, 2009 In the past six years, eight people from Austin and one from Luling racked up 2,678 emergency room visits in Central Texas, costing hospitals, taxpayers and others $3 million, according to a report from a nonprofit made up of hospitals and other providers that care for the uninsured and low-income Central Texans. One of the nine spent more than a third of last year in the ER: 145 days. That same patient totaled 554 ER visits from 2003 through...

Saturday morning a live WWII era hand grenade was found amid piles of debris in the backyard of a central Austin, Texas residence. Area neighbors found the grenade while removing the remnants of a collapsed garage as part of a community outreach/ assistance program for elderly property owners. Local authorities were notified, the area blocked off by police, some nearby residents evacuated and the Austin Police Department bomb squad brought in to identify, contain and dispose of the munition. The grenade was safely detonated by the APD bomb squad in a nearby empty lot at 50th Street and Harmon Avenue...

Transportation officials in Texas are scrambling to prevent hackers from changing messages on digital road signs after one sign in Austin was altered to read, "Zombies Ahead." Chris Lippincott, director of media relations for the Texas Department of Transportation, confirmed that a portable traffic sign at Lamar Boulevard and West 15th Street, near the University of Texas at Austin, was hacked into during the early hours of Jan. 19. "It was clever, kind of cute, but not what it was intended for," said Lippincott, who saw the sign during his morning commute. "Those signs are deployed for a reason —...

Ronnie Earle's legacy as Travis County district attorney If Ronnie Earle were a fisherman, he might spend time talking about the ones that got away. Others certainly do. Earle, who officially vacated his post as Travis County district attorney on Thursday, might be remembered most for the failed prosecutions of some of the biggest names in Texas politics. Indeed, his short-term legacy will be influenced heavily by unfinished business. Yet to be resolved are indictments that caused former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay — the no-compromise conservative firebrand — to step down. Then, of course, there are the unresolved Yogurt Shop...

Delays keeping display at Mueller redevelopment from lighting up. Electric blue and 16 feet tall, the metal sunflower sculptures installed along Interstate 35 near 51st Street are catching plenty of stares these days. But the biggest and most expensive public art project in Austin's history is catching few rays because of delays in the installation of the solar panels that eventually will light the artwork and send excess power to the city's grid. The SunFlower art display is part of the Mueller redevelopment project, a 711-acre public-private partnership between Austin and the project's master developer Catellus. Catellus donated $500,000 for...

The State Department investigation into how and why the passport files of three presidential candidates were breached is scrutinizing an employee at a Virginia-based company, which is headed by an adviser to Barack Obama’s campaign. The Washington Times, which broke the news Thursday that Obama’s files were improperly accessed, reported Saturday that the State Department inspector general’s internal probe will include polygraph tests of supervisors to determine whether there was a political motive behind the breaches. The article said a focal point of the probe will be an employee who works for The Analysis Corporation and is still with the...

Just got a call from Syncro. The Tour is in San Antonio now. Will be in Austin tonight at 5:00 pm at the Wal-Mart Supercenter, 1030 Norwood Park Blvd and in Houston tomorrow at noon at the Wal-Mart Supercenter, 4810 Highway 6 N #A. Bring your flags and support the troops signs. Sponsor a care package for our troops! The Tour continues on to Baton Rouge and Mobile on Thursday, and on to Tallahassee and Jacksonville, FL on Friday!

Last week, Barack Obama made some extraordinary statements. And some of them were not made from behind “the Podium of the President-elect.” In a not-so-widely publicized interview with journalists from the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune, Mr. Obama answered questions on a wide range of issues, most notably, how he intends to deal with what he calls “the Muslim world.” Early on, Mr. Obama was asked “do you anticipate being sworn in as Barack Obama, or Barack Hussein Obama?” This is an interesting question on a variety of levels. Over the past two years, I have uttered Mr....

Famed Blues guitarist Jimmie Vaughan tells about his involvement in the movement to restore our constitutional republic. Guitar Player magazine called Jimmie Vaughan "a living legend." He's one of the most respected guitarists in the world of popular music. He started playing guitar when he was 13, and his mother said of his immediate adeptness, "It was like he played it all his life." His fans aren't just "fans"; they include other guitarists and musicians of significant renown, including Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and his brother, the late Stevie Ray Vaughan. He is that good. But...

MAF Announcing Honoring Heroes at the Holidays IIMove America Forward is thrilled to announce that we are bringing back Honoring Heroes at the Holidays to honor our troops again this Christmas and holiday season! Last year, MAF introduced Honoring Heroes at the Holidays and traveled to cities all over the country. We were so excited by the results that we had to do it again for 2008! Our troops deserve to know that we love and appreciate them! Starting December 13th, we’ll once again be hitting the road to take our message to the people of America who want to...

Union members want a contract on their terms, without regard for the residents of Austin. They have forgotten who pays the bills. In rejecting a fair and generous contract, the Austin Firefighters Association is engaging in a kind of political extortion to maintain high pay and perks while preserving an outmoded culture at the fire department. That culture has for decades resisted the kind of change Austin leaders have demanded as a way of integrating the department into the greater Austin community. The department is, and has been, a closed club that does not look like the city or reflect...

The Austin Planetarium is now investigating some strange sights in the sky - caught on tape. An astronomy expert is calling them unidentified flying objects - UFOs. Some men who live in a Central Austin apartment building say they've seen bizarre things in the sky for months, but lately it's been more frequent. The men recorded their sightings on home video. Experts from the Austin Planetarium visited the apartment building area Friday night to see if they could also spot the objects

Texas politicians who support toll roads won't have Sal Costello to kick them around anymore. Costello and his family moved to a small town in Southern Illinois this summer. He announced it on his blog Sunday, quietly, an adverb seldom associated with Costello in the past. Costello, if you're new around here or have forgotten, was a Southwest Austin graphics designer who in 2004 made a warp-speed trip from obscurity to notoriety after politicians pushed through a plan to build seven more toll roads. The plan included putting tolls on three roads that were already under construction using nothing but...

One of the most recognizable grandmas in Austin appears to be running for mayor — again. Carole Keeton Strayhorn , Austin's mayor from 1977 to 1983, filed paperwork Wednesday appointing a campaign treasurer for a mayoral bid in May 2009. The filing with the city clerk's office allows Strayhorn to begin raising and spending money on a mayoral campaign, but it does not officially place her name on the ballot. It's the latest shuffle in what has been an already crowded field of potential candidates lining up to take Will Wynn's mayoral seat in 2009. Current Council Members Lee Leffingwell...

The man accused of arranging for the killing of 32 bison on a neighbor's property struck a deal this morning in which he'll face minimal or no jail time but will have to open his wallet wide. Jeffrey Scott Hawn, CEO of Seattle-based software firm Attachmate, pleaded guilty to a class 3 felony of criminal mischief and to a misdemeanor charge of cruelty to animals in Park County Court. At his Jan. 28 sentencing he could get up to two years of probation and up to 10 days in Park County Jail. Four generations of the Downare family, in cowboy...

Put a fork in it. That’s what two Texas politicians recently said about the controversial Trans-Texas Corridor. “Everybody in Austin knows it’s dead. Everybody across the state knows it’s dead. It’s just something to be talking about,” House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, said at a debate in Midland on Oct. 19, according to a published report. But folks fighting the corridor here in Central Texas call it election season bluster. “Yes, they are still planning to do it,” said Mae Smith, Holland mayor. “That’s nothing but political talk. I don’t believe anything Mr. Craddick says, or any politician says prior...

AUSTIN, MN (KTTC TV) -- With just ten days to go before voters hit the polls, U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken hit the campaign trail today. Franken teamed up with former Vice President Walter Mondale as the two made their rounds around southern Minnesota. The duo rallied supporters in St. Paul before driving the bus down to Austin Franken and Mondale got off the bus and shook hands with supporters and signed plenty of autographs. Today marks the anniversay of Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone's death, and Mondale compared Franken's enthusiastic attitude to Wellstone's. Mondale says, "He's got the guts to...