The attorney who coached me on probate for my old friend’s estate did many helpful things. One was to put the obligatory legal notice in the local paper. I figured that would be the Austin American-Statesman, but no: she said, offhandedly, as if this made perfect sense, the Austin Chronicle. That thing still around? It was, and is. More to the point, though, Does it count? It did, and does. And not just for notifications to creditors. True to my belief that progressives are the true reactionaries, this eternally-alternative, still-printed-on-newsprint free weekly has an undeniable track record for persistence. It won’t change; and in this environment, it really doesn’t need to.

So while waiting for my flight to San Diego last week, I picked up a copy. The January 30 issue, whose cover promised a long and detailed survey of the Austin City Council. Since all these charmers got into office by being voted there, as opposed to, oh, I don’t know, by parachuting out of a UFO, that may be all you need to know about Austin. The city is definitely getting what it wants. But even ideologues have to get organized, a little, and so I studied the agendas.