Weekend Roundup

Funky chickens and dogs in drag: Rustle up a basket o' fun this Easter Weekend

Easter is a holiday for remembering, re-birthing and resurrecting. Some do Easter at church, some do it at brunch, and still others do it at erotic art fairs in repurposed power plants. No matter how you prefer to celebrate this weekend, you should know there are plenty of excellent options for both the observant and secular Austinite alike.

If you're not the church-going type, you might find some transcendence in the new theatrical offerings taking place this weekend. Teatro Vivo invites you to their annual Austin Latino New Playwrighting Festival at the Barrientos Mexican-American Cultural Center Thursday - Saturday. Three brilliant playwrights, Caridad Svich, Raul Garza and Arthur Marroquin, will each host staged readings of their new plays with talk-back opportunities with the playwrights afterward.

For a less traditional theater experience with an entirely different aim, head to the Off Center for Rubber Repertory's latest offering, Jubilee. With little description and even fewer inhibitions, shows from Rubber Rep are always challenging, visceral, and evocative. This is the last show from co-directors Matt Hislope and Josh Meyer before they take an indeterminate hiatus, so you don't want to miss at least one of he nights of this collaborative one-of-a-kind creation.

On Saturday, the entire city is gathering together at Auditorium Shores for the Mighty Texas Dog Walk. In order to reclaim the Guinness World Record for the largest assembled pooch convention back from the Brits, the Texas Hearing and Service Dog organization asks that you bring all of your four-legged canine friends with you for a morning of record-setting proportions. Austin crooner Nakia will even be present for entertainment and cheerleading as well.

Then, immediately following the Dog Walk, bring your pups over to South Congress for the Annual Easter Pet Parade and Benefit at Jo's Coffee. Every year, Austin dog owners are invited to dress up themselves and their dogs according to that year's theme. This year, in honor of the recently departed "mayor" of South Congress, Leslie Cochran, the theme is drag, and prizes will be awarded to the best pet costumes.

Meanwhile, all day Saturday, you have a chance to tour the backyards of adventurous and thrifty Austinites with a passion for omelets during the Funky Chicken Coop Tour. Learn firsthand about the benefits and advantages of keeping these feisty, silly birds in your own backyard as well as some of the architectural wonders that have been built to accommodate them. Think of all the egg hunts you could have with a chicken or two clucking around your home!

If that's not wild enough for you, the Octopus Club invites you to the converted Seaholm Power Plant for ArtErotica 2012, "Austin's sexiest art show." Combining offerings of art, kitsch, food and drink, this is your chance to find the perfect sexy, funny, weird or beautiful element to complement your life. Every year, the party gets bigger and better; so bring an open mind and your imagination. Maybe you'll find something new to enjoy on Easter morning.

Finally, if you're of the more traditional Easter set, you look forward to Sunday brunch. Whether it's after church or after sleeping off the night before, you've got a handful of amazing options to find carved ham and deviled eggs. Our favorites include Green Pastures, with their included Easter egg hunts for the kiddies; Hudson's on the Bend out on 620, with their specially prepared diamondback rattlesnake cakes (yum!); and the Lakeway Resort and Spa, where the Easter Bunny will be making a lakeside appearance.

Whatever you're looking for this holiday weekend, you're sure to find your Easter fix if you just look hard enough. Come Monday morning, you'll be rebirthed into the work world. Why not enjoy yourself in the meanwhile?

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Defensive Driving

Austin-based Tesla faces new probe focused on remote driving feature

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating 2.6 million Teslas.

Federal regulators have opened an investigation into 2.6 million Teslas after reports of crashes involving the use of company technology that allows drivers to remotely command their vehicle to return to them, or move to another location, using a phone app.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also said Tuesday, January 7 that Austin-based Tesla did not report any of the accidents. Tesla is under order to report crashes on “publicly accessible roads” involving vehicles being operated through its autonomous driving technology.

The new investigation follows another probe launched in October looking into the company's “Full Self-Driving” system after getting reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian. That investigation covers 2.4 million Teslas from the 2016 through 2024 model years.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

One driver filed a complaint after a crash while using Tesla's “Actually Smart Summon” technology and NHTSA is looking into another three similar incidents based on media reports, the NHTSA said. The agency is looking into 12 total incidents reported by users of the technology.

Each of the vehicles failed to detect posts and other parked vehicles, according to the NHTSA.

Regulators say the vehicles struck objects because the users had "too little reaction time to avoid a crash, either with the available line of sight or releasing the phone app button, which stops the vehicle’s movement.”

Shares of Tesla Inc. slid more than 4 percent in late afternoon trading Tuesday.

Musk has complained that U.S. regulations are too onerous and are holding back the development of self-driving cars. Ethics experts are worried that once President-elect Donald Trump takes office, Musk will push him to ease oversight of Tesla, which just suffered its first decline in annual sales in more than a decade.

Musk donated an estimated $250 million to Trump's presidential campaign and is a frequent guest at Trump's Mar-a-Lago, vetting cabinet nominees and meeting with foreign heads of state. Trump has put Musk in charge of an advisory group, the Department of Government Efficiency, that will recommend where to cut government expenses and staff at federal agencies and reduce regulation.

The NHTSA said it will look into the top speed that Teslas can reach when users deploy its “summons” technology, as well as restrictions on public roads and line of sights requirements. It also said it expects to check for any “connectivity delays" with the app that could result in increased stopping distance.

Tesla’s Model 3 owner’s manual says that its “summons” feature is designed for use only in parking lots and driveways on private property and is disabled on public roads.

The new probe covers 2016-2025 Model S and X vehicles, 2017-2025 Model 3, 2020-2025 Model Y equipped with Tesla's Full Self-Driving driver assistance system.

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