Sometimes there are butterflies, she says, but there weren’t this time. At Austin’s pocket-size Continental Club in December, 200 people had crowded in to witness the first of two charity gigs billed as “Patty Griffin & Her Driver.” They had a fairly good idea of who the “driver” was: Griffin’s boyfriend, Robert Plant. With some of Austin’s best sidemen in tow, the pair sang old Led Zeppelin songs: “Black Dog.” “Going to California.” “What Is and What Should Never Be.” A handful of others.

I am not ashamed to say that after reading the first draft of this month’s cover story on the Texas coast, by the intrepid and thoughtful Dan Oko, I experienced a fleeting hesitation about publishing it at all. Perhaps we could call a last-minute audible and put Lance Armstrong on the cover again?

Last week, the Texas A&M student legislature heatedly butted heads over a $2 fee that undergraduates and graduates are required to contribute each semester to the Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) Resource Center as part of the supplemental fees portion of their tuition.

State Sen.

A bill requiring that DNA evidence be tested prior to trial in capital cases is headed to the full Senate after quickly passing out of that chamber’s criminal justice committee.

Twitter was a-twitter this morning with the official announcement that Austin will be the third city in the country (after Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas) to see a buildout of Google Fiber. As CNNMoney explains, Fiber is a super-fast internet service that offers 1-gigabit network speeds, and includes an optional super-fast television service for an extra monthly fee, although the local pricing for these services hasn't been set yet.

AUSTIN

Spanglish 
No necesitas hablar español to enjoy Pachanga, the Latino music festival that features both mainstream acts like East L.A. rockers Los Lobos and quirky ensembles like Mariachi Mystery Tour, an eleven-piece Beatles cover mariachi band.
Fiesta Gardens, May 10 & 11, pachangafest.com

CRYPTOZOOLOGISTS TRAVEL THE GLOBE SEARCHING FOR “LEGENDARY ANIMALS”—CREATURES LIKE THE LOCH NESS MONSTER, THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN, THE TEXAN VEGAN. I RECENTLY MADE THE CRYPTOZOOLOGICAL DISCOVERY OF THE CENTURY ON A MOONLIT NIGHT IN HIDALGO COUNTY WHILE WORKING AS A FREELANCE SHEPHERD. THAT’S WHEN I DISCOVERED LARRY HERE.

JAKE SILVERSTEIN: Your new book opens with a threat that was made against your life because of your reporting on drug trafficking in Mexico. Why start there?

On the first morning after the long Easter weekend, state troopers and men wearing dark suits and scowls occupied the area outside the Governor’s Public Reception Room on the second floor of the Capitol. They would soon have company. I stood with a group of reporters, and we could hear the protesters heading our way, their chants growing louder as they closed in. The ennui of the morning was broken as TV cameramen raced to the stairs to film the scene.