News and Announcements

Today, the 200th Judicial District Court of Travis County issued its ruling on our lawsuit. The court ruled that the site plan approval was consistent with city ordinances.

RG4N is disappointed with this verdict. But we are not done fighting.

We are merely back where we were one year ago, when neighbors resoundingly said, "No!" to this irresponsible development. And in the court of public opinion, Wal-Mart, Lincoln and the City of Austin have been losing since Day One.

Unless we continue to act, we believe the City and developers will take this ruling as a green light to continue business as usual, pursuing any and all development without regard to the wishes of or effect on neighborhoods.

We invite citizens from all over Austin who will stand up and keep fighting to come meet with us on Friday, January 11, 2008 at St. Louis Catholic Church.

Moreover, while Judge Naranjo outlined her reasoning for her ruling on the garden center issue, she gave no explanation for her ruling on most of our claims. Without such an explanation, we continue to believe that we conclusively established noncompliance with the law on our other claims.

We will further discuss the ruling and our options with our attorneys, and will have more to say on January 11th about how we plan to proceed.

This Friday marks one year since RG4N held our first big meeting. As you may recall, hundreds of people came to Grace Church of the Nazarene that cold evening to say, "No!" to putting a big box store in the middle of our neighborhoods.

What A Difference A Year Makes.

Had RG4N not brought attention to the Northcross redevelopment and raised awareness of the problems a Supercenter would cause for our neighborhoods, here's what would have happened:

Closing arguments in the Northcross trial occurred today. Here is a summary of the day and a wrap-up of the week.

Closing Arguments

Both sides gave closing arguments this morning. Doug Young summarized RG4N's case relating to drainage, traffic and public safety issues, while Brad Rockwell summarized the tree protection and garden center issues.

Lincoln's attorney Bruce Scrafford led closing for the other side, followed by Chris Sileo and finally Casey Dobson for the City.

Tomorrow (Tuesday, Nov. 13), RG4N will appear in the District Court of Travis County to argue that the Northcross redevelopment site plan is illegal.

We won't know which judge will hear the case until 9am, and the trial should begin shortly thereafter. Expect delays.

(Nov. 13 update: The case has been assigned to the 419th District Court, where it is being heard by the Honorable Orlinda Naranjo.)

We will present our case Tuesday and Wednesday. The City will present its side on Thursday and into Friday. Both sides will give closing arguments on Friday.

Last Thursday, Allandale Neighborhood Association (ANA) appeared in court to request a summary judgment to block the Northcross redevelopment. Today, their request was denied.

The ruling on ANA's motion does not affect a claim RG4N made about the proposed garden center nor does it affect RG4N's other three claims. We remain confident that we have a winning case. We expect a huge turnout at Feisty Fest this Sunday afternoon at the Triangle as our supporters from all over Austin send a message to the City that "business as usual" is not acceptable anymore.

It is still not a done deal.

RG4N has opened a new storefront on eBay. It's called—appropriately enough—the "Wal-Mart isn't Weird" store. You can find it here: http://stores.ebay.com/Wal-Mart-Isnt-Weird

With your support, the store can provide significant funds towards our lawsuit. So, please help us get it rocking and rolling.

The RG4N Bazaar and Thrift Sale is this weekend.

It's not too late to donate items. Check your closets. Look in your garage. You know you have something you can give to RG4N to sell at the bazaar.

Then on Saturday morning, come by the Encore Records parking lot and check out the bargains.

Check the event calendar for details.