Headlines

• President Barack Obama's speech Tuesday marked the formal end of the war in Iraq, an operation that began more than seven years ago and resulted in the deaths of many thousands of Iraqis and more than 4,400 U.S. troops. Though nearly 100,000 American troops have now left Iraq, almost 50,000 will remain as a "transitional force."

• City Council doesn't meet this week. Members return to the dais Sept. 13, when they will adopt the 2010-2011 city budget. Questions regarding the finances of the city utilities – Austin Energy and Austin Water – continue to rankle; see "City Hall Hustle," and "All Things Budgetary ... and WTP4."

• Council chambers were invaded last week by the Bag Monsters, who are marauding cross-country to raise awareness of disposable plastic bags' environmental impact. Each monster's outfit is made of 500-700 bags, the amount an average American uses in a year. The monsters were joined by local environmentalist Paul Robbins, who renewed a call for council to ban the bags. Follow the monsters at www.bagmonster.com.

• The Formula 1 United States Grand Prix has released the draft design for its planned Austin track, due to hold its first race in 2012; see "Track to the Future."

• Capital Metro's MetroRail Red Line trains will be running overtime today (Thursday), but that doesn't mean you can ride them. The transit agency is conducting off-hour test runs with future expanded service in mind, but for today, riders must stick to the regularly scheduled rush-hour trains; see "Naked City."

• Staff at UT's Center for Asian American Studies fear their department, and others specializing in ethnic and gender studies, may be sacrificed to Gov. Perry's attempts to slash up to 15% of the state's general revenue spending. Although 16% of UT students are of Asian descent, UT's administration is considering either consolidating or closing those programs.

• The Texas Youth Commission's board has preempted an investigation into the state's youth jails by unanimously approving a vote of confidence in Executive Director Cherie Townsend on Aug. 27. Four civil rights groups have requested a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into 10 TYC facilities.

• The Environmental Protection Agency has again rebuked the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, this time for TCEQ's proposed changes to its New Source Review program. This is the third official disapproval handed down to TCEQ this year by the federal agency.

• The specter of the last governor's election is looming over the governor's current re-election hopes as District Judge John Dietz awarded $2 million to Perry's 2006 Democratic challenger Chris Bell (r); Bell sued the Republican Governors Association over $1 million in illegal campaign contributions to Perry.

Quote of the Week

"Operation Iraqi Freedom is over."

– President Barack Obama, speaking from the Oval Office on Tuesday, Aug. 31