Headlines

Students at East Austin College Prep, a charter high school operated by a division of Southwest Key, staged a walkout Monday to protest the school's considering budget cuts that would lead to teacher layoffs – a conflict tied into the ongoing woes of the Austin-based nonprofit, under fire for its role in family separations and its CEO's enormous salary. See "Southwest Key Faces Student Walkout," Dec. 21. (Photo by John Anderson)

Adios, Erwin Center? Today (Thursday, Dec. 20) the UT System Board of Regents is set to approve a deal with L.A.'s Oak View Group to build and manage a new arena to replace the Frank Erwin Center. The new stadium, comparable in capacity to the Superdrum, will nestle on Red River south of the Myers Track and Soccer Stadium; the Erwin Center will be taken down to make room for phase two of the Dell Medical School.

Gustavo "Gus" Garcia, Austin's first elected Hispanic mayor, activist for civil rights, and trailblazer as commissioner, school board trustee, and City Council member, passed away this week at 84. "Farewell and 'Gracias' to Gus Garcia, Austin Trailblazer," Dec. 21.

APD Audit Complete: After a week of radio silence, Austin Police finally confirmed: The Department of Public Safety is compiling the information discovered during their audit of the police department's sexual assault case clearance rates. Though an exit briefing was expected by Dec. 7, APD now says they will receive "a formal letter of findings" sometime in January. Then the department will have 30 days to respond.

Chuck Smith, CEO of LGBTQ+ advocacy group Equality Texas with a 15-year tenure, stepped down from the position Monday. Samantha Smoot – who's worked for Texas Freedom Network, Planned Parenthood Federation for America and the Human Rights Campaign – has taken over as interim executive director, effective immediately.

Loyalty Oath Lawsuit: Bahia Amawi, a speech pathologist for the Pflugerville ISD, has sued the district and the state in response to the nonrenewal of her contract, after she refused to promise not to "boycott" Israel. Rep. Phil King, who authored the bill imposing the requirement, said it was aimed at "discriminatory commercial activity," not personal decisions. See "Lawsuits Challenge Pro-Israel Loyalty Oaths," Dec. 21.

Soccer Is Coming: Precourt Sports Ventures announced it has finalized its partnership with the city of Austin to build a soccer stadium at McKalla Place and bring Major League Soccer to the city. Groundbreaking is scheduled for 2019 with the opening to take place in 2021. See "City and Precourt Sign Agreement to Bring Soccer to Town," Dec. 21.

Mini Muralists Wanted: The city's new Artbox Program has grant funding to pay artists up to $1,000 to beautify metal traffic signal control cabinets on street corners around town. Apply by Sunday, Dec. 30, at www.minimurals.org/austin.

Schwertner Gets Off? UT-Austin completed its investigation into allegations that state Sen. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown) sexted a student against her wishes. The report found it "plausible" that Schwertner could have sent the messages but could not draw a firm conclusion either way, largely due to his failure to cooperate.