Headlines

• City Council meets today, Thursday, Aug. 25. And no, you didn't enter a time machine: On tap is a $750,000 settlement agreement with the family of Nathaniel Sanders II, who was shot and killed by an Austin police officer, as well as consideration of compensation for the city manager, a one-two punch that engendered considerable controversy when both items came before council last year – but maybe a little less so this year, as council looks to have the votes to settle. See "City Hall Hustle."

• Also before council today: public comment on City Manager Marc Ott's proposed budget and property tax rate, plus rates for the city utilities (Austin Energy, Austin Water, and Solid Waste Services). A 6pm time-certain posting means discussion won't start until then, but it's very likely council won't get to the hearings until much later. If you can't hang, a Sept. 1 meeting is devoted entirely to a hearing on taxes and fees. Budget adoption is scheduled to start Sept. 12.

• Aug. 29 marks the 20th anniversary of Austin's self-designation as the "live music capital of the world," courtesy of a 1991 resolution from City Council Member Max Nofziger and Mayor Bruce Todd. Who'd a thought that two decades later, City Hall would be sitting on Willie Nelson Boulevard?

• Travis County commissioners on Tuesday approved a redistricting plan for their precincts on a 4-1 vote, with Precinct 3's Karen Huber casting the "no" vote. Huber had argued her district was too large and sought to have a neighborhood with which she had clashed moved to Margaret Gómez's Precinct 4. Pflugerville was moved from Precinct 2 (Sarah Eckhardt) to Precinct 1 (Ron Davis), and some West Austin neighborhoods were moved from Huber to Eckhardt.

• Good and bad news for Gov. Rick Perry's presidential aspirations: While an Aug. 16 Rasmussen poll has him leading the GOP primary field, Aug. 23 numbers from Public Policy Polling show him trailing President Barack Obama 49% to 43%. See "Point Austin," "Is Perry All Hat, No Cattle?," and austinchronicle.com/perry.

• Some 300,000 gallons of partially treated sewage effluent were dumped into the Colorado River Tuesday after a chlorine leak shut down the South Austin Regional Water Treatment Plant. Austin Water recommends avoiding contact with the river east of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and asks residents with private wells to boil their water.

• Thousands of kids returned to school this week as Central Texas set a new record for triple-digit temperatures. Aug. 24 saw the 70th day of 100-degree-plus weather, breaking the previous record of 69 days set in 1925.

• SXSW injected $167 million into the local economy over the last year, up from $113 million in 2010. A new economic impact study by Greyhill Advisors shows $44.6 million in operational output (official events, day parties, etc.), while attendees spent a total of $123 million.

• The Longhorn Network launches on Aug. 26 with a special broadcast featuring ESPN College GameDay hosts. The joint ESPN/UT Athletics station still does not have a local cable or satellite provider but is rumored to be on the cusp of announcing a deal with Time Warner Cable (see "Countdown to Kickoff," Screens).

• GOP Congressman Michael McCaul is rumored to be considering jumping into the already crowded race to replace Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. When asked about his intentions, McCaul, whose district runs from Austin to Houston, issued a classic "neither confirm nor deny" statement.