Headlines

Travis County judge Democratic nominee Sarah Eckhardt addresses supporters at Whisler's late Tuesday night. (Photo by John Anderson)

› City Council meets today (March 6) with a less than bulky agenda made thinner by postponements and Mayor Lee Leffingwell's absence (off on a London junket); nevertheless, grandfathered development rights and the Fiesta Gardens/Festival Beach master plan are scheduled for public hearings.

› The mayor is in England to confirm the "sister city" relationship with the London borough of Hackney (approved last week) – actually, British Airways offered him a ride Monday evening on the new Dreamliner nonstop service to London, and he couldn't turn it down.

› There was anger at some ballot boxes Tues­day, as some Travis County voters found themselves casting provisional ballots. Bad weather led the county to delay the start of voting until 11am, and extend hours until 9pm. However, all votes cast after 7pm were provisional, a fact few knew when they headed to the polls.

› By this morning, the dust should have settled on Tuesday's primaries, and the die is cast for a November gubernatorial showdown between Wendy Davis and Greg Abbott. See a postmortem on Tuesday's local contests.

› The extended voting hours made for a long night for County election watchers. The early returns allowed for early celebrations in the commis­sioner races, but Andy Brown didn't concede the Travis County Judge race to winner Sarah Eckhardt until midnight.

› Austin Firefighters Association President Bob Nicks said Tuesday that he is "encouraged" that an item that would have Council agree to a consent decree between the city and the Dept. of Justice concerning firefighter hiring practices has been indefinitely delayed, while all the parties involved move into mediation (see "AFD Hiring: Smoke or Fire?" Feb. 28).

› Laissez les bons temps rouler – so long as you appoint a designated driver: Austin Police made 39 DWI arrests over the no-refusal Mardi Gras weekend – including a Friday afternoon bust made by Chief Art Acevedo.

› SXSW Interactive announced a major virtual addition to its lineup: Edward Snowden, currently in exile in Russia after his massive leaking of U.S. and UK security documents, will speak via video-conference on March 10 on the need for technologists to push back against surveillance culture.

› The Texas Bar Association's Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel has accepted a prosecutorial misconduct complaint filed in January against former Burleson Co. DA Charles Sebesta by Anthony Graves, who spent 16 years in prison for a multiple murder he did not commit, a conviction based on perjured testimony. Sebesta has 30 days to respond, after which the OCDC has 60 days to issue its decision (see "Holding Prosecutors Accountable," Jan. 31).

› Jen Sorensen, whose strip runs in the Chronicle every other week, won the Herblock Prize for editorial cartooning March 4 – the first woman to win the prestigious award.