Headlines

Florence Briceño was one of 81 Austin residents who attended the first public hearing on the CodeNEXT land use rewrite Saturday, April 28, at the Dove Springs Recreation Center. More than 70 people spoke, mostly to air frustrations with the zoning rewrite, which is barreling toward City Council this spring. A second hearing was held Tuesday, May 1, at the Palmer Events Center. Land use commissioners must finalize code recommendations for City Council before the next round of public hearings, conducted by Council, on Tuesday, May 29, and Saturday, June 2, 10am each day, at City Hall. – S.M. (photo by John Anderson)

One Solitary Man: City Manager Spencer Cronk named interim Police Chief Brian Manley as the lone finalist being considered to permanently replace Art Acevedo. Next up: a vetting process, with community forums and stakeholder meetings. See "Putting Brian Manley to the Test."

No City Council meeting today (May 3). Members are still catching up on sleep lost during last week's marathon session. See "Council: Come Get Loopy."

Where's That Again? Council last week voted to rename two streets that were originally named after Confederate figures. Robert E. Lee Road will become Azie Morton Road, to honor the first black U.S. Treasurer (under Jimmy Carter), and Jeff Davis Avenue will be renamed after former county commissioner William Holland.

Elsewhere in Policing: The AISD Board of Trustees named Ashley Gonzalez the school district's next police chief. Gonzalez was previously deputy chief of police in Norwalk, Conn.

Please Do Vote: Travis County municipalities including Cedar Park, Round Rock, Pflugerville, Lakeway, Briarcliff, and Lake Travis ISD, all have elections on Saturday, May 5. See www.votetravis.com to see who's on which ballot.

Quite a Surprise: Latino voter mobilization group Jolt endorsed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew White over Lupe Valdez, shocking those who thought the Austin-based group would opt for the Latino candidate. Organizers said the endorsement was made following a town hall meeting at which the former Dallas County Sheriff appeared less prepared than her opponent, specifically concerning her record on immigration.

Say You're Sick: Ken Paxton wants to get in on the latest episode of Austin-bashing. The attorney general filed court papers in support of the Texas Public Policy Foundation's suit against the city's recently adopted paid sick leave policy (see "Point Austin," at right). Paxton describes the ordinance as "unlawful" and accuses Council of "disdain and blatant disregard" for state lawmakers' authority to set rules on minimum wage. Ordin­ance author Greg Casar shot back: "If the big business lobby talked to anyone besides their expensive attorneys, maybe they would understand why working parents sometimes need to take a sick day."

The Gay Panic: James Miller will serve 10 years of probation and six months in jail for the 2015 killing of Daniel Spencer. A jury found him guilty – not of murder – but for criminally negligent homicide. Miller got off easy thanks to the rarely used but still legal "gay panic" defense; his attorney Charlie Baird argued Miller panicked and acted in self-defense after Spencer allegedly kissed him.