Top 10 - The Austin Chronicle

NEWSTop 10 Local Stories by the News s taff1) Wheels oF Clay The heroic/anti-heroicsaga of local legend lance armstrong cameto an ignominious end, as the weight of evidenceand testimony that the cycling kinghad doped – and organized his teams to doso – became overwhelming. He may remain alocal hero for philanthropy, but his name carriesa huge asteriskfire aftermath in bastropforever.2) PoliCe Monitor Between the New Year’sWest Campus slaying of esme Barrera, therare shooting death of an Austin Police officerin the line of duty, and the very publictakedown of the yassine enterprises clubs,Chief art acevedo and his department drewplenty of attention this year. See “Top 10Criminal Justice Stories,” p.18.j o h n a n d e r s o nafter much controversy, austin hosted itsfirst formula One race in November.3) More WtP4 The controversial Watertreatment Plant no. 4 continues to makeheadlines decades after its original bondpassage – this time with cost overruns andcontinued delays in construction. See “Top10 Environmental Stories,” p.16.4) ForMula one no. 1 Despite much politicalcontroversy and anticipatory hand-wringing,the November Circuit of the americasrollout was a tribute to the event, race fans,and the prep work of city and county agencies– dramatically reconfirming Austin’splace among world-renowned cities, if notnecessarily creating the bump that was anticipatedfor local businesses.5) MediCal Breakthrough In November,Travis County endorsed a property taxincrease to help fund a medical school andMedicaid programs, committing the region totransform local health care – withObamacare, major victories for the socialsafety net and local prosperity. See “Top 10Election Stories,” p.17.6) no idea One year after entering into acontract with idea Public schools, the newaisd board of trustees decided to cancelthat arrangement, citing poor results andcontinued neighborhood frustrations. See“Top 10 Education Stories,” p.14.7) Workers rising The Workersdefense Project celebrated its 10th yearwith important victories for higher employmentstandards – wages, safety, training – forcity business incentive programs, in additionto its ongoing fights for workers stiffed oncontractor wages. Happy birthday!8) so long, south laMar After decades ofhosting such local gems as Ray Hennig’s Heartof Texas Music, Bitch’in Threads, and theAlamo Drafthouse, the south lamar Plazashopping center cleared out this fall in preparationfor a major makeover by developersGreystar and architect Michael Hsu. Look forthe anchor Drafthouse to reopen in the thirdquarter of 2013, just in time for Fantastic Fest.9) leslie CoChran, r.i.P. In March, thelongtime local icon and Downtown raconteurfinally succumbed to years of life on theedge, having come to symbolize both Austin’s“weird” uniqueness and the city’s inability tofully address the homelessness issue,which continued to stymie local officialsseeking both particular and comprehensivesolutions. If the economy continues toimprove, expect new initiatives in 2013.10) deadly roads The number of trafficfatalities on Austin roads this year – 78 atthe time of this writing – vastly surpassedlast year’s total (just 54) and our 10-yearaverage of 60. The majority of this year’sdeaths involved someone under the influenceof drugs or alcohol.Top 10 City Council Stories by Michael KiN g1) distriCts! After seven tries over manyyears – and a bitter campaign between competingversions – Austin voters finally decidedit’s time to end the at-large Council systemand elect 10 members from actual districts.Now the real fun begins – drawingand-quarteringfollowed by a whole new waveof 2014 campaigns.2) May to noveMBer roManCeAmong several election changes, votersopted to move municipal elections fromspring to fall because, like misery, voters lovecompany – and the November turnout is severaltimes that of May. Next question: Canwe endure long ballots?3) oPen Meetings settleMent Afternearly two years, County Attorney David Escamillafinally ended the great open Meetingsscandal, which involved discussionsamong Council members that ran afoul ofstate restrictions on “walking quorums.”Escamilla called it an institutional failure, andthe city instituted new procedures to preventfuture violations.4) What’s My inCentive? Council agreedto performance-based incentive agreementswith apple inc., visa inc., and acouple of lesser players. The city (and state)argue that the jobs, economic returns, andwage and safety standards are a net gain;opponents insist it’s a mug’s game of corporateextortion and welfare.5) short-terM reaCtion Among the hottestpublic arguments was the one overshort-term rentals, by which homeownersrent out their houses for big city events – ormaybe more. Council adopted rules thatopponents call too weak and neighborhoodthreatening,and implementation will likelybring battles back to the dais.6) Burning a rate Plan After 17 years ofbreath-holding, an austin energy rate planshuffled toward Council to be born. Nobodywas happy with the final product – mostespecially out-of-towners who will appeal tothe state Public Utility Commission – but thatmight just mean it was the best that couldbe designed under the circumstances.7) sPelMan in aBsentia CouncilMember Bill spelman’s perennial schedulingcrunch took a dramatic turn in Augustwhen he underwent successful surgery forpancreatic cancer. For a few weeks, otherheadline disputes seemed relatively trivial –and Mayor Leffingwell filled in cheerfully asPowerPoint maven.8) Mo’ Money For the first time in severalyears, the city budget news came in just abit more optimistically, with a little more togo around to city parks and libraries. There’sstill a structural imbalance between publicsafety expenses and … everything else, butthe city has weathered bad times fairly well.j a n a b i r c h u m9) Mystery train One of the mostimportant stories was the whistle thatdidn’t blow – as Mayor Leffingwellannounced that, once again, theNovember bond package would notinclude funding for an urban rail system:“too many unanswered questions.”Listen for that lonesome whistlein 2013.chuck Ragland demonstratesagainst short-term rentals infront of city hall in august.10) aniMal Planet After a couple of years ofwrangling over “no-kill” matters, Council decidedto lease the old town lake animal Center toaustin Pets alive! as a secondary center for animalrescue in addition to the new shelter onLevander Loop. The details are complex – and thecontroversies still rumbling – but Austin’s animalfriendlybona fides were reconfirmed.12 T H E A U S T I N C H R O N I C L E JANUARY 4, 2013 a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o m