April 15, 2013 @ 7:30pm •
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In Case You Missed It: April 13-14
Stories you might have missed over the weekend:
(Photo by Jenni Jones for Austin American-Statesman - More photos of Art City Austin on Saturday)
- Charles Akin stood tall for dignity and calm during the scary days of Austin school segregation: The now 80-year-old African-American man who grew up in segregated East Austin and in 1973 became the first principal of L.C. Anderson High School in white, affluent, West Austin. Anderson High was the focal point of court-mandated integration in Austin.
- Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg was arrested early Saturday morning for drunken driving. The story developed over the weekend, with Lehmberg apologizing and saying she would remain in office, then writing a letter Sunday night to prosecutors saying she would plead guilty.
- Granting of some bonds comes through backdoor practice, with no prosecutor input: The Statesman Investigates team looks at the backdoor practice by which newly arrested defendants in Travis County can be released on bond.
- Whole Foods pushes forward on product labeling: Analysts say Whole Foods’ standards for food labeling appear to be the most stringent in the industry on subjects from genetically modified ingredients to animal welfare and seafood sustainability.
- 17 years after beauty queen’s murder, her mother and police still seek justice: Our sister paper The Palm Beach Post reports on an Austin woman who again traveled to Boca Raton, Florida this year, the city where her daughter was found stabbed to death in 1996.
- Texas falls short in providing lawyers for poor defendants: Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson noted in his recent biennial address to the Texas Legislature that Texas ranks 48th in per capita spending on indigent defense
- UT Professor says US should destroy North Korean missiles: In a New York Times op-ed this weekend, Jeremi Suri, a public affairs and history professor, urged the U.S. to take action.
March 21, 2013 @ 1:36pm •
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(File photo by Laura Skelding)
83rd Texas Legislature: We’re half-way there: With Monday marking the mid-point of the 2013 session, the Lege is kicking into full gear. Here’s some of what’s shaking at the Capitol:
- Convictions based on bad science target of two bills: In the wake of multiple exonerations, a new bill would allow courts to overturn convictions if certain new findings became available.
- With CPAC closer, Cruz secures place as conservatives’ rising star: The junior Senator told the party’s faithful that “we are winning in Washington” during the conservative conference.
- Conflict between UT president, regents taking new turns: A battle is brewing between the powers at UT; Ralph Haurwitz has more.
- Controversial bill would open door for more charter schools: With over 100,000 students on charter school wait lists, legislators debate whether increasing access to charter schools will help or hurt the state.
- Senate panel moves quickly to close loophole in state hit-and-run law: After the Nestande case, it became clear that leaving the scene of an accident if drunk carried a smaller penalty than staying and calling for help. Now, lawmakers look to change that.
- Hospitals dispute who should pay for needy patients, with taxpayers in the middle: $175 million is needed to take care of poor and uninsured hospital patients in the state, but where should the money come from?
- Environmental bills make rounds at Legislature: Pending bills include a ban on all plastic bag bans, an added fee for miles driven by electric cars to make up for a lack of gas taxes and mandating the partial use of renewable energy for utilities.
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