The State of Texas: March 14, 2014

Photo of the Day

Up in the sky, it’s a phone number, an Illumanati code … or just Pi. Plenty of Austinites were fascinated and/or confused about the numerical series that appeared above the city. Cleverly named “Pi in the Sky,” a Florida aerial advertising company was trying to celebrate March 14, Pi Day (3.14, get it?):

Forever Stamp Friday

The United States Post office unveiled a new stamp in Austin yesterday, honoring Jimi Hendrix. The guitarist’s own sister was in town to help launch the snail-mail accoutrement. Like the music icon himself, expect the stamp’s cost to get inflated over the years:

Important List of the Day

Austin might be the silver screen capital of Texas, but Houston has its own history of movie cameos. Here’s the Houston Press’s list of the top films set in H-Town.

Daily Roundup

Aftermath — Details of the horrific South By Southwest crash have been steadily emerging. The names of the two dead and 23 injured (some in critical condition) have been released and a suspect now faces two counts of capital murder. The suspect, a Killeen resident, was reportedly expected to perform in a show himself the night of the incident. The suspect was said to be fleeing a soberiety checkpoint and led police on a chase. He busted through a street barricade and ran numerous pedestrians over, but it’s not clear if this was truly an “intentional act.” The incident made national news, and even the New York Times weighed in with a piece that claims Austin is doing some soul searching. Not of the lives lost, but whether SXSW has “become too big and too rowdy, and has it lost the original spirit of what it intended to be. …It is a question that, on a larger scale, could be applied to Austin itself, which has long struggled with how to grow and prosper while retaining the laid-back, hipster-meets-hippie culture at the heart of the city and the festival’s identity.”

Protective Parent — “A Harris County grand jury will decide what, if any, charges will be filed against a Spring father accused of fatally shooting a 17-year-old boy he found in his teenage daughter’s bedroom,” according to the San Antonio Express-News. The daughter had let the boy sneak into the house. “Her father told investigators he heard noises coming from his daughter’s bedroom about 2:30 a.m. and went to investigate.” The most surprisingly thing, again, is that the father has not actually been charged with anything. “It is not uncommon in Harris County for grand jurors to decide if a crime was committed in fatal shootings that may have self-defense claims or other legal issues.” His defense, apparently, depends on whether he truly feared for his life.

Roaming Coyotaje — It almost reads like the subplot of a Texas/Mexico True Detective. According to the AP, the FBI is saying that a border patrol agent found dead in his Mission “is responsible for the kidnapping and assault of three females who were in the country illegally.” Two of the woman had escaped the house, which prompted law-abiding officials to investigate. It’s suspected that the deceased agent shot himself, but officials have yet to release too many details about the case. “It was not clear where the alleged abductions took place,” according to CNN, which also notes that the agent may have been on duty when committed his crimes. “The FBI said it is investigating the incident as a kidnapping and assault.”

The Google City — San Antonio takes another step toward becoming a city of the future. Yesterday, the “City Council approved an important real estate contract with Google on Thursday and implored the company to officially select San Antonio as a market for its super-high-speed, fiber-optic network,” according to the Express-News. The contract allows the company to set up 12-by-26-foot communication structures throughout the town should Google decide to come to the Alamo City. Which is the kind of the embarrassing rub of a deal that all but has city officials groveling salivating. “Google officials continue to stress that none of the 34 cities in nine metro areas has yet been selected for the network, Castro repeatedly has said he’s confident San Antonio will become a Google Fiber city.”