1. City's Park and Recreation Board gets two free VIP passes and a free parking pass for Austin's popular musical fest ACL. Director Colin Wallis the tickets are for work purposes only, he explains how it's an opportunity to understand the biggest event in the city so afterward they can have a talk about it. Rick Cofer, a board member declines the tickets saying he felt uncomfortable taking the tickets and that it doesn't seem necessary, saying he's presence isn't worth  $800 expense. Don Zimmerman also forgoing the ACL passes saying he thought there was a policy preventing him from accepting the tickets, board members and city officials aren't allowed to accept "any gifts or favor that might reasonably tend to influence that individual in the discharge of official duties." Sabine Romero expressing in an email that it's OK for mayor and council members to accept the passes because they're in the the ethics and compliance division of the city's law department. Council member Ann Kitchen said that the tickets are appropriate but she anticipates using them. Ora Houston gave her passes to to 311 operators who are filling in at her office as a "thank you." I think it's a nice perk maybe the VIP passes are a little over welming, but other wise I think it's appropriate.

2. The state of Oklahoma has implemented a stay on all death-penalty executions because they're finding it harder to go through with the executions as they struggle to obtain use limited supplies of suitable drugs. Prisons In Texas and Virgina improvise by trading drugs used in lethal injections. Ohio is buying a drug no longer avaliable in the United States from overseas. Tennessee Prison officials are authorized to use the electric chair if lethal drug is unavaliable.