Ian Crawford, KUT News

New Year’s Eve 2011 will look a little different in downtown Austin tonight. The bar and club scene will be about the same. But there won’t be a “First Night Austin” celebration, as there has been in years past.

In fact, this will be the first New Year’s Eve in six years where there has been no “First Night Austin” celebration. Organizers announced at the end of September that they didn’t have the money to stage the family-friendly downtown party this year. They’re hoping to be back to ring in 2012.

At a time when the Texas Longhorns football team is usually gearing up for a major bowl game, this year's post-season has been one of sudden change for the team.

Junior cornerback Aaron Williams has declared himself eligible for next April's NFL Draft.  Williams earned second-team All-Big-12 honors, after an impressive season of 46 tackles, one quarterback sack and five tackles for yardage losses.  He also forced opponents to turn the football over three times in 2010.

It's hard to envision now what the area near the proposed Formula 1 race track in southeast Travis County to look like, once it's complete.  But maybe if we saw it from the air...

Travis County Sheriff's investigators say 63-year-old John Joseph Debrecht died this morning at University Medical Center Brackenridge.  He and musician Bill Maddox were both found by deputies after a shooting early Monday morning.  Maddox, a drummer for the Eric Johnson Band in the '70s and for several other acts through the years, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The battle between the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took another step yesterday.  And it was a step toward the Feds.

The term “force of nature” can be overused. But Susan Bright’s friends say, in her case, that description may not be enough.

The poet, publisher and Barton Springs advocate lost a short battle with cancer Wednesday morning. She was 65.

Bright was also the founder of Plain View Press. It’s a publishing house for local authors, and it has turned out over 350 titles so far.

Irene Pickhardt was a friend of Bright, and remembers her deep involvement in community issues.

Former Travis County Sheriff Margo Frasier will be Austin's next police monitor. 

City Manager Marc Ott made the announcement this afternoon at a City Hall news conference.  She was one of six semifinalists seeking the city-appointed civilian watchdog position, reviewing citizens' complaints against the Austin Police Department.

Texas House Speaker Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) appointed Representative Will Hartnett (R-Dallas) to serve as "master of discovery" to determine a winner in the Donna Howard-Dan Neil race in House District 48

What better way to get one's mind off the recent cold weather than to think of the coming warm spring and the annual colorburst that is wildflower season?

Well...don't get your hopes up too high, according to a senior botanist at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. 

10:50 a.m. UPDATE--Austin Police have identified the man shot to death by an APD officer who was stabbed in the neck during a struggle in north Austin late last night.  Maurice Pierce, who was one of the men charged in the "Yogurt Shop Murders" of 1991, reportedly died at the scene near Parmer Lane and McNeil Road.  Pierce was charged in 1999 with the rape and murder of four teenage girls at a north Austin yogurt shop.   He was later cleared of the charges.

With apologies to Clement Moore, "'Twas three days before Christmas, and all through the lots, not a creature was stirring, 'cause there weren't any spots."

The economy parking lots at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport are getting full fast.  As of 12:30 Wednesday afternoon, four of the six lots regular economy lots were already full.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repealed

President Obama formally signed the bill repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."  In the signing ceremony, the President said, "valor and sacrifice are no longer defined by sexual orientation."  He also encouraged people discharged under the old policy against gays in the military to return to the armed forces. 

Texas to Pick Up Four Congressional Seats

Katz's Deli and Bar, the downtown restaurant with the iconic sign, "Katz's Never Kloses," will close January 2.

Owner Marc Katz confirmed the news for KUT this afternoon, saying that after 32 years, "It's time."  The restaurant at West 6th and Rio Grande, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last summer -- the second time in the past six years.

Katz said their last hurrah will be Christmas and New Year's weekends, but that the deli will close after the New Year's weekend.

Parking Subcommittee Meets

The city subcommittee that will explore whether to extend paid downtown parking to evenings and Saturdays met for the first time yesterday.  KUT's Mose Buchele reports that some fear that a time line to end free downtown parking has more to do with Austin’s political calendar than with good city government.

High Fire Danger = No High-Flying Fireworks

The purchase period for the state’s appliance mail-in rebate program starts today.

The last time the state did this, the website and phone lines were jammed with people trying to get in on the action. This time, consumers are supposed to buy the energy-efficient appliance first, and then mail-in a rebate application form.

The State Comptroller’s office says just over $18-million in federal stimulus funding is available for the rebates.  The program will remain open until all the funds have been distributed.