Res Publica

Thursday25

BLACK HISTORY MONTH DINNER with special guest Travis County Sheriff Greg Hamilton. 7-9pm. Raindrop Turkish House, 12400 Amherst #108. RSVP: 947-7505 or [email protected].

DAVID CRAIN FUNDRAISER Supporters of this district court candidate gather to raise some dough. 5-7pm. Law Office of Sandra Ritz, 902 Rio Grande. RSVP: 637-7268. $50. www.judgedavidcrain.com.

CRISIS AND COMMAND: THE HISTORY OF PRESI­DENTIAL WAR POWER Former U.S. Department of Justice official John Yoo (one of the Bush administration guys who wrote legal opinions justifying waterboarding and other delights) is in town to discuss his latest book. 5:30pm. UT campus, LBJ School of Law, Charles Francis Auditorium. Free.

LIVE UNITED FILM SERIES features a PBS Front­line special on the economic meltdown; discussion follows. 7pm. Alamo South Lamar, 1120 S. Lamar, 472-6267. Free. www.handsoncentraltexas.org.

SACRIFICE FOR JUSTICE A talk from immigrant rights activist Rama Carty, whose detention at the Port Isabel Detention Center spurred an investigation by Amnesty International. 7pm. Resistencia Bookstore, 1801-A S. First, 416-8885. www.resistenciabooks.com.

THE ART OF CONSERVATION DEAL-MAKING Luncheon hosted by Hill Country Conser­van­cy. 11:30am. Green Pastures, 811 W. Live Oak. $30. RSVP: www.hccfeb2010lunchnlearn.eventbrite.com.

Friday26

CONGRESS AVENUE SYMPOSIUM Is Congress Avenue as great as the world's greatest streets? Explore this and other questions at a luncheon and design charrette with the Downtown Austin Alli­ance. Charrette: 8-11:30am (free); luncheon/panel discussion: 11:30am-1:30pm ($35). Stephen F. Aus­tin Hotel Capital Ball­room, 701 Congress. RSVP: [email protected]. www.downtownaustin.com.

EARLY VOTING ENDS Avoid election day lines on March 2! (For voting locations and endorsements, see "'Chronicle' Endorsements.") austinchronicle.com/elections.

Saturday27

MARCH AGAINST HATE Speak out against last week's hate crime in which two Shady Ladies softball team players were brutally beaten by GLBT-haters near City Hall. The march is from Oilcan Harry's, 211 W. Fourth, to City Hall, 301 W. Second.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS FORUM Dr. Jim Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at UT, discusses the art of political polling. 11:30am. First Unitarian Universalist Church, 4700 Grover, 452-6168. Free.

SECRET WORLD OF DAY LABORERS Dick Reav­is reads passages from his book, Catching Out, about his travails as a day laborer. 7pm. Monkey­Wrench Books, 110 E. North Loop, 407-6925. Free.

Sunday28

PAUL RUSESABAGINA A talk from the real-life hero of Hotel Rwanda and author of An Ordinary Man. 6:30pm. St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, 14311 Wells Port Dr., 635-3411. Free. www.staopen.com.

Monday01

AUSTIN CYCLING ASSOCIATION brings APD Chief Art Acevedo in as local cyclists ask questions and share concerns. 7pm. One Texas Center, 505 Bar­ton Springs Rd., 974-3251. Free. www.austincycling.org.

Tuesday02

ENGAGE SPEAKER SERIES Texas Tribune Editor-in-Chief Evan Smith and former George W. Bush strategist Matthew Dowd discuss whether it's true that Texas suffers under a Democratic president – and what to expect in November. 7:30am. Chez Zee, 5406 Balcones, 499-0435 x111. $25 ($20, members). www.leadershipaustin.org.

AU GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING The Americans United of Austin screen a documentary about the separation of church and state and discuss the issue. 7pm. Yarborough Library, 2200 Hancock, 280-6950. Free. www.au.org.

Thursday04

REPUBLICS OF FEAR A two-day conference on violence in Latin America. Thu.-Fri., March 4-5. Texas Union, Santa Rita Room 3.502, 24th & Guadalupe, 232-2415. Free. www.utexas.edu/cola/insts/llilas.

Ongoing

ELECTION DAY WORKERS NEEDED If you're a registered Travis County voter, the county clerk needs your help bringing in all those votes on election day, Tuesday, March 2. Call the Travis County Clerk's Elections Division at 854-4996 to learn more.