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Wed Apr 07, 2010 at 08:52 PM CDT
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- The winner of Kirk Watson's Monopoly Buster contest is... Veronica Gonzalez. Runner up was Abel Herrero. Thanks to all that voted.
- I did not know that Bill White had a brother, that he was gay, and that he passed away in 2004.
- A debate over the median Texas voter as it relates to Bill White's campaign strategy. It's right and wrong. The analysis is wrong in saying that Bill White should or would worry about his left flank as he goes after middle of the road voters- the left flank needs a win more than it needs a champion in my view. Rick Perry vs the World is right in the sense that White may have not strayed much from Barack Obama- but he's wrong in saying that this makes him a liberal. I mean, come one, Barack Obama is not a liberal champion so White's pretty in line with the middle of the road. Update: A reply to my reply to his post is now up.
- Want to get 94% census participation like Yale did? Then you need to return former Austinite David Broockman to the UT campus to do it right. I guess there is value with teaching the next generation the ways of the wise when it comes to organizing. Instead, UT is sitting at around 40% in its census response rate.
- More population trends by county from Charles Kuffner which of course, with the census, affect redistricting.
- The former "Nueces" Bike Boulevard final draft from city staff has been released (I say former because it's no longer predominantly even on Nueces St). I'll probably write about this more in detail as it winds through the process but as of right now, I'd give anyone on council that wants to vote it down a free pass to kill the proposal as is. For more details and discussion you can read the Chronicle, Downtown Austin Blog, more in the Chronicle, or ATXBS.
It's kind of like what Mike Dahmus would say about taking CapMetro Commuter Rail over the 2000 light rail plan. Sometimes taking the quarter loaf instead of holding out for the real thing, really does just make you more miserable in the long run even if you are hungry now. At this point, Austin traffic is so fucked up I'd rather just live through a little more misery now and do it right late by rejecting this sad compromise of a plan.
- Outgoing UT-Austin Student Government President (and a former student of mine) Liam O'Rourke made a poor choice in vetoing an Assembly resolution in support of the Cactus Cafe... on his last day in office meaning the newly seated assembly can't simply override his veto, they'd have to draft and pass a resolution all over again. I had higher hopes for his leadership- that's disappointing.
- And totally unrelated to anything in Texas politics- the 4 murderers killins America's Gayborhoods. A sneak peek- it's The Internet, Heterosexuals, Homosexuals, & the Man.
BONUS: Early Vote file just came in for Travis County. 3,001 total votes now in the Democratic runoff. |
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