March 27, 2009 - The Austin Chronicle

Naked City› POST-RACIAL OR POST-TRAUMATIC?Pretty much since Barack Obama hit theground running all those primaries ago,we’ve had the privilege of witnessing punditsbloviate about our now presumably“post-racial” society. While realities on theground have hardly had time to catch upwith the ennobling act of electing our firstAfrican-American president, some questionsaround race and ethnicity do seemto have taken on a new urgency. What, forinstance, will folks too young to rememberDo the Right Thing make of the ideas ofPortland State Univer sity professor Joy DeGruy (pictured), authorof Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America’s Legacy of EnduringInjury and Healing? A onetime social worker, DeGruy applies theoriesof individual traumas and adaptive behaviors to the socialtrauma of slavery and its legacy. Meanwhile, Austin Bahá’í haschallenged local college students in an essay contest with thetheme Establish ing Race Unity: Personal Steps to Move theWorld. DeGruy and contest finalists will meet up at the thirdannual Louis Gregory Symposium on Race Unity on Thursday,April 2, at Huston-Tillotson University (11:30am-5pm, King-Seabrook Chapel, 900 Chicon). And while the theme is unity,don’t expect a singular vision: “Each essayist tends to have apretty unique perspective,” says Simonetta Rodriguez, whoserves on the symposium’s planning committee. – Cindy Widner› WHAT TO DO ABOUT TECOLOTE? Travis Co. commis sionersremain deadlocked for another week on what to do about the waterstarvedTecolote Farm, a popular family-run organic grower east ofAustin. Katie and David Pitre have been rallying their many fansand supporters for months and appear on the verge of getting thecounty to help them with a severe water shortage that’s cripplingthe farm. Judge Sam Biscoe on Tuesday introduced a resolutionthat would have the county “sharing” water with the farm and layingpipes from the county wells in East Metropolitan Park to thefarm. In exchange, the Pitres would provide produce for the TravisCo. Jail in Del Valle and no longer hold the county responsible fortheir dry wells. For nearly a year the Pitres have been assemblingdata and hydrology reports that cite the two massive county wellsin the nearby park as the proverbial straw that broke the local aquifer’sback. Commis sioners had questions about the cost to thecounty and the value of the produce, as well as the precedent suchaction would set. Informed of the delayed decision, Katie Pitre said,“I’m just sorry that Judge Biscoe worked so hard on a very simplesolution and that we’re drawing it out more, but I’m also hopefulthat they’ll come around.” The item is expected to return to nextweek’s agenda.– Jacob Cottingham› NEW PLACE TO PLAY The Trust for Public Land presented adeed to the city of Austin on Wednesday for 14 acres of newparkland in the Barton Creek Greenbelt. TPL recently acquiredthe land in the Gaines Ranch area to protect it from developmentand preserve it as open space. (To hike, bike, or jog onnearby trails, use the Gaines Ranch Greenbelt entrance, locatedon the MoPac Expressway South access road at the Capital ofTexas Highway North exit.) The gift is one of a series made byTPL to create the Barton Creek Wilderness Park and expandthe greenbelt for public use.– Katherine Gregorres publicaTHURSD A Y 26HUMAN RIGHTS CONFERENCE featuresthree days of lectures, workshops, and otherspecial events exploring the “intersection of academicsand advocacy.” Thu.-Sat., March 26-28.UT campus, Mezes Hall (Rm. 1.306) and TexasUnion. Free.www.utexas.edu/law/conferences/human-rights-at-ut.F R IDA Y 27MOBILE LOAVES & FISHES STREETRETREAT Spend a few days without food, water,or money, and find out what it’s really like to behomeless. For details, see www.mlfnow.org/streetretreat. Fri.-Sat., March 27-29.HILL COUNTRY GROWTH Land-use planner,site designer, and author Randall Arendtdiscusses the rapid growth of the Hill Countryand the economic benefits of conservation-baseddevelopment. 9am-4:30pm. Lady Bird JohnsonWildflower Center, 4801 La Crosse, 828-0076.$35. www.hillcountryalliance.org.NEWSSATURDA Y 28AUSTIN PROGRESSIVE COALITION CANDI-DATE FORUM Meet the City Council candidates.9am-noon. UT campus, Graduate School of Business,21st & Speedway, Rm. 2.122.EARTH HOUR WITH CHRIS RILEY Enjoymusic and smoothies while you schmooze with CityCouncil Place 1 candidate Chris Riley.8:30-11:30pm. Daily Juice Cafe, 4500 Duval St.NEIGHBORFEST The Neighborhood Housingand Community Development Office gathers citydepartments and nonprofits to help you learnabout important topics such as lead poisoningand consumer credit counseling. Face-painting, amoon walk, and other activities keep things festive.10am-1pm. Palm Elementary, 7601 Dixie.SHAKESPEARE, POLITICS, AND WOMENA public forum where theatre meets politics.Speakers include former UT women basketballcoach Jody Conradt, Rep. Donna Howard, CityCoun cil Member Randi Shade, and others. 8pm.Curtain Theatre, on the estate of Richard Garriott,14 T H E A U S T I N C H R O N I C L E MARCH 27, 2009 a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o mCIRCLING THE WAGONSLocal pols start sorting candidatesBY W ELLS DUNBARIn that most peculiarly American ofsports, NASCAR, the athletes are coveredhead-to-toe in their endorsingbrands. What would it look like locally ifour politicians were, too?In the mayor’s race, Lee Leffingwellwould be the most heavily patched.Counting one dual endorsement from theAustin Lesbian/Gay Political Caucus,the outgoing Place 1 council memberhas collected all the group endorsementssave one. It’s perhaps not surprisinghe’s taken all Democratic groupendorsements, as Leffingwell’s staff isthe most closely aligned with local Ds.There was even a minor kerfuffle overthe McCracken camp not filling out allthe endorsingDems’ surveys,which didn’t bodewell for his chances.To counter this, BrewsterMcCracken has taken to collectingendorsements from local celebrities,exemplified by the fundraising screeningof Dazed and Confused this week,arranged by director Richard Linklaterand the Alamo Drafthouse’s Tim League.And there are several major endorsementsyet to come, notably those of theAustin Neighborhoods Council (occurringat press time) and the Statesman, whichappears to be McCracken’s to lose. (Theeditorial board resumed its fact-free anti-THE ENDORSEMENT SCORECARDMayor: Lee Leffingwell (LL), Brewster McCracken (BMC), Carole Keeton Strayhorn (CKS)FOR MORE DETAILS AND EVENTS, SEE COMMUNIT Y LISTINGS , P.66.on Lake Austin off City Park Road. Call 474-8497for tickets. $35. www.austinshakespeare.org/drupal.SI SE PUEDE! MARCH & RALLY March fromthe Pan Am Rec Center to the Mexican AmericanCultural Center, and, in the spirit of Cesar E.Chav ez, demand social and economic justice forall. 9:30am. A.B. Cantu/Pan American RecreationCenter, 2100 E. Third, 472-9921.S U NDA Y 29MARCH MADNESS WITH CHRIS RILEY Yetanother chance to meet the Place 1 council candidate,hosted by the ATX Socialites. 2-4pm. TheHub, 3815 Dry Creek Dr. www.chrisforaustin.com.STATE LEGISLATIVEEDUCATIONAL FORUMState Rep. Rafael Anchía(r) discusses voter ID legislation.4-6pm. First UnitedMethodist Church,1201 Lavaca. Free.www.davidhasissues.com.cityhallhustlePlace 1: Perla Cavazos (PC), Chris Riley (CR) Place 5: Bill Spelman (BS)Place 2: Mike Martinez* (MM), Jose Quintero (JQ) Place 6: Sheryl Cole* (SC), Sam Osemene (SO)*incumbentsLL BMC CKS PC CR MM JQ BS SC SOCentral Labor Council Austin Firefighters Association Austin Tejano Democrats noneBlack Austin Democrats Capital Area Progressive Democrats Mexican American Democrats South Austin Democrats North by Northwest Democrats Stonewall Democrats of Austin Texas Environmental Democrats Building Owners and Managers Assoc. Small Business Group of Central Texas Austin Lesbian/Gay Political Caucus Austin Police Association Austin-Travis Co. EMS Employee Assoc. Capital Area Asian American Democrats none Capital City Young Democrats Circle C Area Democrats League of Bicycling Voters Sierra Club (Austin Regional Group) West Austin Democrats Tim LeagueRichard LinklaterRobert RodriguezMayoral candidates David A. Buttross and Josiah James Ingalls have not received any endorsements.Leffingwell jeremiads this week,baselessly insinuating that MarcOtt’s days were numbered ifLeffingwell wins.) And to some surprise,Carole Keeton Strayhornsnagged an endorsement fromboth the Building Owners andManagers Association, still smartingover Leffing well-sponsored waterconservationregulations and perhapsalert to Strayhorn’s cut-the-budget rhetoric,and the Small Business Group,which also endorsed Place 6 long shotSam Osemene.In Place 1, the other closely contestedrace, Perla Cavazos and Chris Rileycontinue to split endorsements almostevenly (although Cavazos’ nod from theCentral Labor Council, representing 23separate unions, allows her to swell hernumerical count over Riley). Neither theDem clubs nor public safety providersmoved in blocs to either candidate. It’spossible the pending endorsementscould tip the tight race.There are fewer surprises in theremaining races. Unchallenged Place 5contender Bill Spelman racks ’em up,except when groups aren’t endorsing inuncontested races (e.g., the CapitalArea Asian American Democrats). Place2 incumbent Mike Martinez has steamrolledlate-registering challenger JoseQuintero. Quintero was, however,endorsed by the Mexican AmericanDemocrats, an Eastside-centric clubthat apparently harbors a grudge againstMartinez. Living up to its name, MADalso endorsed Osemene over SherylCole in Place 6. The Austin TejanoDemocrats elected not to endorse inPlace 6, signaling pockets of dissatisfactionwith the council member’s meekperformance and opposition to singlememberdistricts.Oh, and in case you’re wondering,look for the Chronicle’s endorsements inlate April. Early voting starts April 27. For more race reporting, visitaustinchronicle.com/hustle.MONDA Y 30CLEAN ENERGY MARCH/LOBBY DAY Jointhe march to the Capitol to push for legislativeaction on climate change. 9am. Huston-TillotsonUniversity, 900 Chicon.PUBLIC FORUM ON POLICE BLOOD WITH-DRAWALS A panel – Police Chief Art Acevedo,City Council Member Mike Martinez, and others– discusses training police to draw blood in theevent that a driver refuses a Breathalyzer. 6-8pm.Council Chambers at City Hall, 301 W. Second.T U E S D A Y 31JOHN GIBLER The author ofMexico Uncon quer ed discusses thedivisions in wealth between Mexico’srich few and destitute millions.7-9pm. Monkey Wrench Books,110 E. North Loop, 407-6925.SOCO SMALL BUSINESSHAPPY HOUR with special guest Chris Riley.Yep, that’s right: City Council candidate for Place 1.6-7:30pm. Tesoros Trading Co., 1500 S. Congress.