Headlines

Never one to ignore an opportunity for some symbolism and a good prop, County Judge Sarah Eckhardt showed up to last Thursday's State of the County address with a "feminism" mug – a white mug with the definition of "feminism" shown on its side. Eckhardt made sure at the beginning of her address to position the mug just right so the definition would be clear to viewers. For more on the State of the County, see "Eckhardt: The State of the County Is ...," Feb. 12. (Photo by Jana Birchum)

Sick Pay, No Soccer: Expect a lively debate at today's City Council meeting (Feb. 15) over dueling paid sick leave proposals – one by Greg Casar, another by Jimmy Flannigan. There will be no debate on soccer stadiums – staff report has been withdrawn, no date specified for return.

A Koch Brothers-backed lobbying group has mounted opposition to Casar's proposal. The National Federation of Independent Business has lobbied CMs to oppose the measure.

The Alamo Drafthouse was hit with a fresh wave of bad publicity following a deep-dive published last week by Splinter (of Gizmodo Media Group). The piece, penned by Austinite Dan Solomon, reports on the theatre chain's "long history of minimizing sexual assault and harassment."

City staff released the third draft of CodeNEXT Monday evening at City Hall. Consult­ants described the new version as a re-framing of the current mapping, with less density in single-family neighborhoods, more on transit corridors, but overall a sizable increase in housing capacity. See "Introducing CodeNEXT Draft Three," and "Public Notice: Here Comes the Spin," Feb. 16.

New details concerning the officer-involved shooting that occurred on Avenue G in late January: Police say Christopher Giles was in town from New Mexico due to an obsession with Megan Turney, a former Rooster Teeth host who lived in the home with her husband, Gavin Free. Richard Whittaker has more in "ATX Film News," Feb. 16.

Let Her Film: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick recently told a conservative group that he doesn't want a film based on Wendy Davis' 2013 abortion bill filibuster shot in the Senate chambers. "They have already disgraced it once," he said. Funny, we were going to say the same thing about Dan Patrick!

Senator Ted Cruz cast the lone vote against a GOP motion to open debate on an immigration proposal that could help DREAMers achieve citizenship. The Canadian-born Cruz is the son of a Cuban refugee, and sees formidable opposition on this in 2018 from progressive Democrat Beto O'Rourke.

Speaking of DREAMers, a federal judge in New York has temporarily blocked Trump's decision to end the DACA program by March 5. The ruling, coupled with one out of California last month, means DACA recipients can renew their status.

Boats Not Rising: A new report by the Austin Community Foundation – "When Hispanics Rise, Austin Rises" – concludes that progress for Central Texas Latinos continues to lag behind local benchmarks. Among the headline issues: the poverty rate for Hispanics is three times that of whites; the regional per capita income is $32,000/year, $17,000 for Hispanics; one in four working-age Hispanic adults have no primary health care provider.