Year In Review: Top Ten Austin Stories For 2016

AUSTIN, TX — There were many compelling developments in Austin that grabbed the city's collective attention — from the merely outlandish to the agonizingly tragic. By our reckoning here at Patch, the following ranked as the top ten stories that happened in Austin in 2016.

10. After what began as a routine morning visit to the dentist's office turned into a family's worst nightmare in North Austin. By noon, Daisy Lynn Torres was pronounced dead at just 14 months of age after being brought in for cavity filling. The little girl was later found to have had an adverse reaction to anesthesia, which led to cardiac arrest. A GoFundMe campaign was later launched to help defray funeral costs.

9. The election of Donald Trump to the nation's presidency via the Electoral College vote if not the popular one prompted many dissenters to hit the streets in protest. Austin was no different with hundreds of people protesting over the course of several days starting less than a day after the election. The most organized protests were staged by University of Texas at Austin students who objected to Trump's divisive rhetoric against members of the Muslim and Mexican communities as well as some of his misogynistic comments made toward women.

8. As complaints mounted against the then-candidate's defunct Trump University — detractors painting it as nothing more than a fraudulent operations solely designed to separate investors from their money — a Texas connection was found. Expanded news coverage revealed that Texas had opened up an investigation into Trump University operations within the state led by then-attorney general Greg Abbot but dropped after Trump made a $35,000 donation to Abbott's gubernatorial campaign. While the timing was suspect, officials later said Abbott had no role in the investigation. A lawsuit against the university later was dropped and Trump subsequently paid $25 million to settle three other related lawsuits.

7. Former Travis County GOP Chairman Robert Morrow gained national attention not only for implausibly winning the seat os his party's chair with no previous political experience, but for his series of outlandish tweets expressing his interesting set of beliefs. Among those unconventional beliefs were accusations of orgies that took place during former Gov. Rick Perry's tenure. He also called attention to a lawsuit filed accusing Trump of rape, later filing to run for president himself if only to call attention to the charge. With that run for higher office, Morrow unwittingly later gave his detractors an opportunity to oust him from the party ranks since one effectively resigns as GOP chairman when filling out an application as a write-in presidential candidate.

6. Mary Lou Bruner caused an awful lot of hand-wringing in Austin when she earned the right to a runoff election for the seat on the Texas State Board of Education. Which would've been all well and good, were it not for Bruner's unconventional beliefs — including her claim (devoid of evidence) that President Barack Obama once worked as a gay prostitute to pay for a drug habit. To the relief of many, Bruner failed to secure the seat after a runoff election took place.

5. The Austin-based Mulva Family Foundation donated $50 million to establish a neuroscience clinic at the Dell Medical School of the University of Texas at Austin focused on research and patient care related to bipoloar disorder, Alzheimer's disease and other conditions. The foundation established by retired oil executive and Distinguished Alumnus James Mulva and his wife, Miriam Mulva, made the considerable gift to the university less than two weeks before Christmas. Additionally, the pair made another $25 million donation benefiting cancer research at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

4. Parks and recreation officials implemented a ban on swimming at Hamilton Pool, one of the most popular watering holes, following a series of drownings and near-drownings. Like other area waterways, Hamilton Pool dynamics were altered following days of heavy rain, making swimming treacherous. Heavy rainfall caused higher water levels as well as heavier debris to form, an aftermath deemed too hazardous for swimming for recreational purposes.

3. The ride-sharing firms Uber and Lyft exited the Austin market after registered voters agreed in a referendum with city council, which argued that drivers for the companies should submit to fingerprinting background checks as other companies that transport people currently do. The ride-sharing firms' officials expressed their aversion to fingerprinting of their drivers, forcing a vote on the matter in allowing voters to decide. Their calculation proved wrong, however, when voters agreed on the need for fingerprinting. Both firms then made good on their threat and left town, opening up the market to a number of other ride-sharing firms that, while smaller than Uber and Lyft, agreed to having their drivers fingerprinted.

2. A referendum passed that could have a substantive impact on city streets. Austin voters handily approved Proposition 1, a referendum calling for the issuance of $720 million in bonds to improve road infrastructure. A total of 147,954 voters supported the measure, while 99,356 voted against.

1. The death of University of Texas at Austin Haruka Weiser on the campus sent shock waves throughout the student community and beyond. Questions related to safety, particularly at night, emerged following the freshman's death at the hands of a homeless teen. Of particular focus is the stretch of Waller Creek running through campus, a darkened portion of which is where the promising young dance student was found murdered.