Headlines

Rodney Reed is in Bastrop this week for a court hearing that will determine if an interview CNN conducted last year with Bastrop County Sheriff's Office investigator Curtis Davis – in which he suggested that Jimmy Fennell Jr., the former fiancé of murder victim Stacey Stites, may have provided false testimony as to his whereabouts the night Stites went missing – merits awarding Reed a new trial. (Photo by Jana Birchum)

City Council meets today (Oct. 12) with a light to-do list, but may get into the polemical weeds on CodeNEXT (a $2.3 million bump to the consultant contract) and perhaps "Visit Austin" (Convention and Visitors Bureau), which is hoping for approval of its FY 2018 budget and master plan. "Council: Visitors Welcome?" Oct. 13.

It's not an illusion: "Austin experienced tremendous growth between 2000 and 2015." That's one conclusion from a report by the nonprofit Urban Institute aimed at analyzing affordability solutions for low- and middle-income housing. Yet even as the population grew nearly 20%, and 69,000 housing units nearly matched it (19%), rent-burdened households increased from 41% to 48%, an effect aggravated for lower-income renters. The full report is available at www.urban.org.

If you're reading this, odds are we aren't yet involved in a nuclear war. Widespread rumors suggested that North Korea might mark its Oct. 10 Workers' Party anniversary with another missile launch or nuclear test, despite repeated warnings of retaliation from U.S. President Donald Trump. Instead, the day was marked by choral singing and displays of flowers. Until next year ...

Ken Paxton's securities fraud trial has been delayed for a third time. On Oct. 4, Harris County District Judge Robert Johnson pushed the Texas attorney general's court date until after the Court of Criminal Appeals rules on whether special prosecutor Brian Wice, who has been on the case for two years, can be paid before the trial concludes.

Meanwhile, Paxton filed a brief in San Francisco federal court this week in support of the government's right to deny abortion access to an undocumented immigrant in Texas. "Texas must not become a sanctuary state for abortions," said Paxton, shamelessly conflating two of the state's most controversial red-meat issues.

Jeff Travillion (Photo by John Anderson)

Travis County Commissioner Jeff Travillion has been named to the Capital Metro board. The Pct. 1 commissioner will replace Beverly Silas, who resigned last week. Travillion plans to serve on the board until June 1, 2018, at which point the court (including Travillion) will appoint someone else to begin a three-year term.

Early voting for the Nov. 7 election begins Oct. 23 and continues through Nov. 3, at which point the county's voting systems take a nap and return to work for Election Day, Nov. 7. Two bonds are on the ballot: a $1 billion facility improvement package brought by AISD and Travis County's $184.9 million dual-prop package benefiting transportation, parks, and conservation easements.

The Trump administration on Friday widened the rights of employers to deny women contraception insurance coverage. The Obamacare plan allowed some employers with religious concerns to opt out of providing birth control coverage, but the new policy drastically expands those exemptions and includes employers' "moral convictions." The Center for Reproductive Rights plans to challenge the rule in court.