Daily - The Austin Chronicle (2024)

I just realized – Brendan Christian is also at the IAAF World Championships in Track & Field in Osaka, Japan. He is a former Texas high school state champion and state record holder in the 200 meters from Reagan High School. He ran for the Texas Longhorns a couple of years ago before transferring to the University of Houston; since he has dual citizenship, he competes internationally for Antigua.

He just ran in the semifinals of the 100 meters; unfortunately, he placed seventh, and only the top four move on to the finals.

See post below for more details on the track championships and how to watch.

If at first you only get 12% in a governor's race, try, try again.

According to today's Daily Texan, failed 2006 independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman wants another pop at Gov. Rick Perry. This time, the Kinkster would like to run in 2010 as the Democrat candidate. Possibly he's thinking that if he put together his '06 showing and the Democrat's 29.79%, they could take down the incumbent.

Of course, in classic Kinky style, he then runs through his policies. Like getting rid of the death penalty but giving convicted murderers a rope so they can hang themselves. And, of course, overturning smoking bans, which has nothing to do with the fact that he's JUST started selling his own brand of cigars.

He also probably doesn't help his case by comparing the Dems to "a bad junior high debate team." Mind you, he'd also have some pretty serious bridge-building from back during the last campaign when the *ahem* light-hearted prankster called Katrina refugees in Houston "crackheads and thugs." Which never went down well with, erm, anyone.

UT's student-run, non-profit radio station, KVRX 91.7FM, posted an untitled new recording this week by Jared Van Fleet's Sparrow House. The song was recorded during a recent Local Live session, the weekly Sunday night live program airing 10-11pm. The schedule for upcoming performances is as follows:

Aug. 26: Prom Nite
Sept. 2: Til We're Blue or Destroy
Sept. 9: ALIENS
Sept. 16: The Boxing Lesson
Sept. 23: Clap! Clap!
Sept. 30: Shapes Have Fangs
Oct. 7: The Noise Revival
Oct. 14: Foot Patrol
Oct. 21: Aster
Oct. 28: Meryll
Nov. 4: Southern Drama
Nov. 11: Reverse X Rays
Nov. 18: The Zest of Yore!

Don't forget, this Saturday is KVRX's website launch party and benefit at Mohawk, featuring Maneja Beto, Lomita, Foot Patrol, the Mercers, Fancy Feast, Peter & the Wolf, and Yellow Fever.

TODAY'S EVENTS

Community Hours at Thinkery at Thinkery

Bike Month at Multiple locations

MUSIC | MOVIES | ARTS | COMMUNITY

Well, this sucks. Andy Mormon, executive assistant to City Council member Lee Leffingwell, and one of the nicest guys down at City Hall, has announced he's taking a six-month breather from 301 W. 2nd to explore a business opportunity in … Accra, Ghana? Intriguing.

"I have a group of old friends who will be in partnership with the government on an oil exploration project and I will be establishing their base for them in Accra," says Mormon. "It should take about six months and then I'll be back." In the press release, Leffingwell says, "We’ll miss Andy while he’s gone, but I guess I can understand why someone might seek temporary refuge in Africa after a few years of working in City Hall." Thank you, the council member will be here all night … But seriously, Mormon says, "If you have never had fried pangolin, you may not understand the attraction for the continent."

Mormon will return in time for Leffingwell's reelection bid in 2008; in the meantime, former KUT alum Larry Schooler will be filling his position. The full press release is here.

The announcement that construction will commence on a new coal power plant is rarely accompanied by words of praise from environmental groups, but that’s just the case with the NuCoastal Power Corporation plant located in Point Comfort, Southeast Texas. Operators of the plant, which will utilize petroleum co*ke, a refining byproduct that burns similarly to coal, have agreed to drastically cut and offset all of its emissions of toxic mercury and climate-changing CO2.

Tom “Smitty” Smith, director of Public Citizen’s Texas Office, and Karen Hadden, head of the Sustainable Energy and Economic Development Coalition, brokered the deal with NuCoastal, essentially agreeing, in return for the reductions, not to oppose the plant’s air permit as it undergoes state approval. The coalition contends this is the first time any power plant in the nation has agreed to offset all of its mercury emissions (initially cutting output by 80% and buying credits for the remainder), and the first time a plant in Texas has agreed to offset its carbon dioxide emissions. Smith said NuCoastal will achieve its carbon reductions by supporting energy efficiency upgrades and weatherization of homes in Texas, investing in renewable energy, and shutting down an existing electric plant or separating carbon dioxide and sequestering it.

PHOTO GALLERIES