Headlines

Town Lake Animal Center (Photo by John Anderson)

• City Council meets this week, with the continued sniffery surrounding the search for and release of members' e-mails and messages overshadowing anything of substance on the dais. See "City Hall Hustle," and "Council's To-Do List."

• Austin is deep in South by Southwest recovery mode after an estimated 200,000 people attended official and unofficial events during the Music Festival. The Austin Police Department reported 48 arrests over the last three days of the Music Festival, compared with 52 over this year's Mardi Gras weekend.

• The Austin ISD board of trustees is scheduled to receive the controversial facilities master plan at its March 28 meeting. The final document no longer contains any specific recommendations for campus closures, but task force members dissatisfied with the drafting process are expected to file a supplemental report.

Michael Williams (Photo by John Anderson)

• The House Appropriations Committee split along party lines to approve House Bill 1, the state budget for the 2012-13 biennium. Democrats voted against the bill that inflicts sweeping cuts on public school and Medicaid funding and are expected to put up a fight when it comes to the full chamber at the end of the week. For more budget news, see "Rainy Day Divisions."

• The new director of the Town Lake Animal Center stepped into her job last week, facing a lengthy to-do list and a raft of challenges in animal-loving Austin. See "The Unflinching Abigail Smith."

• Gov. Rick Perry has been fined $1,500 by the Texas Ethics Commission after failing to report several sources of income, including two years' worth of rent from his College Station house, in his personal financial statements. Between the governor's mansion and his rental property near West Lake, it's not surprising he forgot he had another home.

• Seems like a Democratic staffer in the Legis­lat­ure just earned a Christmas bonus: Democrats held up the voter ID bill for a day on Monday after a small but significant drafting error was found in the language. While its passage still seems assured, further procedural and legal challenges seem inevitable. See "Voter ID: It's Business Time."

• Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams has announced that he will step down April 2 to run for the U.S Senate seat held by Kay Bailey Hutchison, who is not seeking re-election. Several veteran legislators, including Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, are expected to run for Williams' position.