Naked City

Volunteers prep the venerable Wooldridge Square gazebo for a fresh coat of paint as part of It's My Park Day, sponsored by the Austin Parks Foundation. The gazebo, built in 1910, is Downtown Austin's oldest such pagoda. (Photo by Jana Birchum)

Hasta Luego, Acevedo?

Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo announced March 8 that he's been named one of six finalists under consideration for chief of the Dallas Police Depart­ment. In a statement, Acevedo said that he wanted to "make clear" that he applied for the job because it was an "opportunity that was presented to me," not one that he sought out. That said, the "lifespan" of a major city chief is between three and five years, he said, "which I am quickly approaching." Whether Acevedo, who came here in mid-2007, is using the opportunity to leverage greater job security – and perhaps a pay raise from his current $181,480 a year – remains to be seen. He works without a contract, he noted in his statement, so it's important that he keep his "options open." Still, "I want to assure the men and women of the [APD] that I very much enjoy my work with this great department," he said. "Together, we have made extraordinary progress in our efforts to make APD one of the nation's finest law enforcement agencies." – Jordan Smith

Is Death Penalty Unconstitutional?

Less than a week after Harris County Judge Kevin Fine ruled that the death penalty as applied in Texas is unconstitutional, the judge on March 9 rescinded the order – but said that he would like more information on whether the state's death scheme fails to protect against the possibility that an innocent person would be executed. Fine's original ruling quickly earned the ire of Gov. Rick Perry and Attorney General Greg Abbott, who called Fine an "activist judge." According to Texas Lawyer's Tex Parte Blog, Fine made the ruling on a motion filed by attorneys for John Edward Green Jr., who is facing death for the 2008 robbery and murder of Tina Vo in Houston. Fine ruled that the death penalty is unconstitutional because it violates the Fifth Amend­ment's right of due process. "What he's saying, and what the motion is saying, is that you can't administer the Texas death penalty fairly in Texas," Green's lawyer John Keirnan told Tex Parte after the original ruling. Predictably, that's not how Perry or Abbott sees things: The ruling was nothing more than an "act of unabashed judicial activism," Abbott said in a statement. He offered his office's support in taking "appropriate measures to defend Texas' capital punishment law" – proving, yet again, that "judicial activism" is in the eye of the beholder. – J.S.

Cell-to-Cell Service Provider

Travis County Sheriff's Office detectives have arrested and charged a TCSO corrections officer with illegally providing a cell phone to capital murder defendant Milton Gobert inside the Travis County jail. Gobert was convicted last week of the 2003 capital murder of Mel Cotton and could face a death sentence. According to the TCSO, 36-year-old corrections officer Tasha Lass was arrested and charged on March 4 with providing Gobert a cell phone (a third-degree felony, punishable by two to 10 years in prison). Lass also admitted last week to having an improper relationship with Gobert. According to press reports, Lass further revealed in testimony on Monday, March 9, that Gobert had shared with her a plan to escape from jail. At press time, in light of Lass' most recent testimony, the sentencing phase of Gobert's trial had been postponed. – J.S.

Heroin Homicide

Police say a man they had initially thought died of natural causes was in fact murdered. Gary Keith Har­vey, 57, was found dead in a home in the 2200 block of Monarch Drive on Jan. 21. Only several days later did Austin Police homicide detectives learn from witnesses that Harvey had been intentionally injected with a lethal dose of heroin; findings at autopsy were consistent with an injection overdose. Police report that the case is being presented to a Travis County grand jury but have not said whether they have made any arrests. Police are asking for anyone with information about the murder to call the homicide tip line at 477-3588. – J.S.

Cap Metro and That Quarter-Cent

Capital Metro and the city of Austin are moving closer to an agreement on how the transit agency will pay down its debt for regional mobility funding. Back in 2002, Cap Metro agreed to rebate to its member jurisdictions their share of the one-quarter-cent of sales tax Cap Metro had banked for rail transit. More than 90% of the monies were owed (and so far have been paid) to the city of Austin. However, cash-poor Cap Metro now needs more time to pay. Negotiations have been progressing, with a resolution hoped for within two weeks. At press time, the Cap Metro board of directors planned to meet Wednesday, March 10, to review financial goals, an updated budget for fiscal year 2011, and terms of an interlocal agreement with the city. Look for board action on March 22, possibly followed by City Council action on March 25. – K.G.