Headlines

A rollerblading alien bedecked in tiger print cruises down Red River – just another day at last week's SXSW. (Photo by Sandy Carson)

› There are some controversial items on the City Council agenda today (March 21): how quickly to move forward on an Austin Energy independent governing board, whether Council must bow to the attorney general's opinion on "vested land rights" vs. the city's ordinances on project termination, and codifying Downtown development rules. See "Council Notes" and "Zone Defense," p.16.

› Although attendance at the South by South­west Festivals has increased, arrests by Austin Police Downtown during the three Fests declined significantly this year. According to preliminary APD numbers, there were 126 arrests Downtown from March 8-16, down 44% from 2012. The number for 2013 will likely increase slightly once arrests made early March 17 are tallied.

› Former Texas women's track coach Bev Kearney filed a formal discrimination complaint against UT last week with the Equal Employment Oppor­tuni­ty Commission and Texas Work­force Commis­sion. Kearney was asked to resign or be fired after the discovery of a consensual intimate relationship with a student in 2002; she charges discriminatory treatment compared to other UT staff.

› Arguments began March 19 in the trial of Mark Norwood for the 1986 murder of Christine Morton. Christine's husband, Michael, was wrongfully convicted and spent nearly 25 years in prison before being released in 2011.

› The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that Colton Pitonyak, convicted of the 2005 murder and dismemberment of Jennifer Cave, will be allowed to argue that the state withheld exculpatory evidence from his defense demonstrating that Laura Hall was actually responsible for Cave's murder. See "The Unex­plained Death of Jennifer Cave," Sept. 7, 2007.

› The case of Fran Keller, convicted of sexually assaulting a child left in her care at a home-based day care she ran in the 1990s, is slated for a hearing March 22. Keller is appealing the nearly 20-year-old conviction, arguing in part that medical testimony suggesting the 3-year-old girl had been assaulted was scientifically inaccurate.

› At press time, the Texas Senate is expected to vote on SB 1, their $195 billion draft budget for the next biennium. Democrats argue it does little to restore 2011's devastating cuts. Meanwhile, the House is still drafting their own plan, and the two will be merged in conference committee.

› U.S. Senate majority leader Harry Reid dropped Sen. Dianne Fein­stein's proposal for a ban on assault weapons from the gun control proposal heading to the Senate floor. Reid said it didn't have the votes, and bill supporters suggested the real aim was to pass universal background checks – for which there is no visible GOP support.

› U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius this week announced that 71 million additional Americans who have private health insurance are now receiving preventative services at no out-of-pocket costs thanks to coverage requirements of the Affordable Care Act. That includes an additional 5 million in Texas.