Legislative Cocktail Hour

Texas House passes an amendment that could legalize discrimination on college campuses

By Katie Friel

05.17.13 | 11:15 am

You know that little clause at the bottom of pretty much anything that says something like, “we don’t discriminate based on gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, hair color, etc ...

The Legislative Cocktail Hour

The Legislature makes Texas the gun-friendliest state in the U.S.

By Katie Friel

05.10.13 | 9:24 am

Members of the Texas House came in to work last week with guns blazing, passing one of the most controversial bills of the session: a law that would allow college ...

The Legislative Cocktail Hour

The Legislature is just desserts: Texas has a new state cobbler

By Katie Friel

05.03.13 | 9:53 am

Things have been, ahem, a bit slow here in the Legislative Cocktail Hour. It’s kind of like that moment when you’re at a bar and you’re debating ...

The Legislative Cocktail Hour: Golf carts on the highway and changes to the Rainy Day

By Katie Friel

04.18.13 | 10:04 pm

There is no doubt it has been a tough week. But while our hearts are broken and spread from Boston to West, Tex., let us allow our minds to wander ...

From The Capitol

The Legislative Cocktail Hour: Shark fins and pecan pie wins

By Katie Friel

04.04.13 | 2:15 pm

Lawmakers aren’t the only sharks in this week’s Cocktail Hour! We have bullies on the Board of Regents and a budget that just won’t go away. Board ...

Session Talk

The Legislative Cocktail Hour: High school kids and hookers

By Katie Friel

03.28.13 | 3:40 pm

The saying is that March weather comes in like a lion and out like a lamb. Well, the opposite can be said for the Texas Legislature. In early March our ...

Session Recap

The Legislative Cocktail Hour: Coffee and buns, CPR, hit and runs

By Katie Friel

03.21.13 | 2:35 pm

So we have a new Pope and Rick Perry dodged the “will he or won’t he” campaign questions at the Conservatives Political Action Conference this weekend. But none of ...

Capitol Recap

The Legislative cocktail hour: Making you feel bad about being a bad baker

By Katie Friel

03.14.13 | 4:50 pm

While the rest of us are waiting in SXSW lines, drinking free Lone Star and hoping to run into Justin Timberlake, our dutiful legislators are still working hard. Friday, March ...

inside the capitol

The Legislative Cocktail Hour: Bath salts, budgets and phallic flags

By Katie Friel

03.07.13 | 4:08 pm

Like we promised, things are starting to get pretty busy in this Legislative Session. While we may have been nursing our post-Texas Independence Day hangovers, lawmakers in both the House ...

Session Talk

The Legislative cocktail hour: Pies, guns, civil rights and milk fights

By Katie Friel

02.28.13 | 5:15 pm

Welcome back to our weekly recap of all things Legislature. It was another raucous week at the Capitol! Just kidding. It was pretty tame. But here is what delighted us ...

Session Talk

The Legislative cocktail hour: A look at this week's happenings inside the Capitol

By Katie Friel

02.21.13 | 2:30 pm

If you’re like us, you know that the Legislature is in session. You may even know that there are Representatives and Senators and they meet in the Capitol. They ...

In-Depth Interview

Lawrence Wright on Going Clear: Reporting on Scientology, America’s most insular — and misunderstood — religion

By Katie Friel

01.23.13 | 12:39 pm

In case you missed the New York Times profile and book review, the Washington Post’s book review, the Atlantic debacle or the Rock Center segment, Austin-based Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist ...

Culture of Giving

KUT: Community-built radio for the whole of Austin

By Katie Friel

12.12.12 | 1:30 pm

In the summer of 2009, two days after I had packed up a few suitcases and moved from New York City to Austin on a whim, I was sitting in ...

Eye Candy

The dreamiest bartenders in Austin, plus dating tips from behind the bar

By Katie Friel

11.09.12 | 11:20 am

There are, arguably, two things that most Austinites are really good at: looking good and drinking booze. So we took on the arduous task (really, feel sorry for us) task ...

Trailer Food Scene

The most famous trailer park in America: The future of the South Congress lot that became a top tourist destination

By Katie Friel

10.11.12 | 1:12 pm

On a Wednesday afternoon in September, a sole production assistant was sent to the food trailer park at 1603 South Congress Avenue. Starting at Hey Cupcake! and making his way ...