Since the Chronicle profiled Debra Monroe back in May, the novelist and Texas State prof has received good notices for her memoir On the Outskirts of Normal: Forging a Family Against the Grain, and the news gets even better: The book will be featured in the August issue of O: The Oprah Magazine.

It pays to be a loyal customer, especially in communities like Austin where the small town vibe is part of the allure. It also definitely pays to be fearless enough to bargain.

Austinite Zach Anner wants to be the next daytime talk show star and by all indications, he has a serious shot.

As the city readies its public forum on the city budget tonight, City Manager Marc Ott releases preliminary recos for another omnibus package, the November transportation bond election. Looks like it's happening after all! So is TDH, below the fold.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled yesterday that minor drug possession does not automatically warrant the deportation of otherwise law-abiding legal immigrants.

The 2010 edition of the Girls Rock Camp Austin starts this week, a summer camp of sorts for girls 11-17 who want to learn how to play instruments. Of course, a by-product of the camp is the friendships the girls make, and the bands they form throughout the week.

The second annual wannabe-ACL, aka Houston's Free Press Summer Fest, had its moments, with the Flaming Lips, Slim Thug, and Girl Talk all making me want to blank my blank-ies.

We've touched on most the hot topics at last week's City Council meeting, but lost in the hubub was council's hearing of the Waller Creek Master Plan. Since the Hustle is for the kids, let's take a look at the impact the plan could have on the live music scene along Red River.

Alison Bechdel's Dykes to Watch Out For presents an argument toward the end of the series' run: This generation's civil rights issue has and will continue to be the struggle for gay and lesbian equality. The next generation's will be the civil rights struggle of the transgendered.