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- U.S. accuses six landlords of rent price fixing. See which apartments they own in Austin.
- Austin ranks 5th in major cities vulnerable to wildfires
- Objections arise over Project Connect’s plan to use parkland
- Advocates urge immigrants in Austin to plan – but not panic – over new Trump orders
- Council Member Krista Laine opts to discontinue District 6 field office
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Rainey Street Trailhead gets ribbon-cutting, community celebration
The Trail Conservancy has scheduled a ribbon-cutting and community celebration for the grand opening of the Rainey Street Trailhead, part of the Ann & Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail. The $1.1 million project connects the trail to Rainey Street and includes seating areas, a stage, natural tunnels and mazes, and other amenities to serve visitors to the area. The ribbon-cutting will take place at 8 a.m. Friday, with appearances by Mayor Kirk Watson and City Council Member Zo Qadri. The community celebration will take place 9-11 a.m. Saturday and will include family-friendly games, music by Bidi Bidi Banda and appearances by assorted University of Texas football players, with UrbanSpace donating 10 percent of all food sales to cover maintenance costs for the area.
Steiner Ranch evacuation route opens today
Travis County officials and Steiner Ranch denizens will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony today to celebrate a new way to get out of the community. “Steiner Ranch Area Evacuation Route B” will provide an additional means of egress at the intersection of Prairie Clover Path and Flat Top Ranch Road in the event an evacuation is required. “By building this second evacuation route, we are improving the safety of Steiner Ranch and Montview residents in the case of fires or other disasters. This is part of how we make our community more resilient in the face of growing climate disasters. I’m grateful for the work of our Travis County staff, area residents, ESD 6, and many other partners,” Travis County Commissioner Brigid Shea said in a statement to the press. Today’s ribbon-cutting will take place at 10 a.m. at the intersection and will feature comments from Shea, community members and representatives from the county’s Transportation and Natural Resources Department and Emergency Services District 6.
Austin is seeking its next youth poet laureate
Applications for the 2024 Austin Youth Poet Laureate program are now open to Austin-area residents ages 13 to 18 who care about artistic excellence and social activism. The program aims to identify and uplift young writers and leaders, and the Austin youth poet laureate and finalists will have numerous opportunities and platforms to share their voice, leadership and love of the city. The deadline to apply is Sept. 1, and the Library Foundation is offering a series of free online and in-person workshops to help young poets develop their applications. Applications and more information can be found at austinlibrary.org. The program is a partnership between the Library Foundation, the Austin Public Library and the National Youth Poet Laureate Program led by Urban Word.
Meet the new city museum boss
The city has selected its finalists for the Museums and Cultural Programs Division manager position, who will ultimately oversee the operations of the city’s museums and cultural spaces. To further narrow the field, the Parks and Recreation Department will host an online meet and greet (registration here) from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 11, when attendees will get the opportunity to learn more about the candidates and provide feedback.
Help preserve Austin’s tree canopy
As part of Austin’s HOME Initiative, the city is looking for ways to preserve its (nonprotected) trees and increase tree planting in the city. And they are looking to residents to help craft recommendations, incentives and planting requirements. Right now, the city is penciling out its recommendations and looking for feedback through a webinar that will take place 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. July 16. Registration can be found here. This public feedback will be used in crafting recommendations to City Council in the fall. Additional questions about providing feedback can be directed to dsdcommunications@austintexas.
Austin Animal Center is not accepting animals for now
Effective July 2 and lasting until appropriate kennel space is available, Austin Animal Center is temporarily closing its intake in response to critical capacity issues, with more animals coming in than going out. Intake is functioning on an emergency and case-by-case basis, only for animals with life-threatening injury or illness or those presenting a clear public safety risk. “Between June 24 and June 26, we took in 149 dogs and cats and only 124 left during that same timeframe,” Chief Animal Services Officer Don Bland said. “This has been an ongoing pattern that has led to us having more animals than we have kennels. We started this morning with 24 dogs and 5 cats without an appropriate kennel.” In a statement to the press, the shelter emphasized its mitigation efforts to increase capacity and avoid closing down intake – including waiving adoption fees, publishing an urgent placement list, spending $5,000-6,000 per week to place 24 dogs in boarding and hiring for two temp positions to assist with foster program coordination. For more information on fostering and adopting, visit austinanimalcenter.org. AAC is open for adoption and reclaim 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Sunday, and all adoption fees are currently waived. If you need assistance with an injured animal:
- Call 311 to report that you need help with a sick or injured animal and ask to speak with an animal protection officer.
- Wait for the officer to pick up the animal. Do not take the animal to the shelter.
- If you have found a loose pet that is not injured, visit AAC’s Lost and Found Pet website for guidance.
Celebrate independence with the city
The Austin Symphony Orchestra and the city of Austin will hold their 47th Fourth of July celebration this year. The evening is free and will take place at Vic Mathias Shores and the Long Center, with fireworks beginning at 9 p.m. (The event itself kicks off at 4 p.m.) The evening will include food and drink, live music in addition to the symphony performance and, of course, fireworks. Attendees can bring blankets and chairs, but nonservice animals should be left at home. Road closures around Auditorium Shores will be in effect around 7 p.m. to ensure safety. Those closures include sections of South First Street and West Riverside Drive. In addition, roads in the Bouldin Creek neighborhood will be open to local traffic only. There is a road closure map and table of closed streets on the city’s event web page. All roads will be opened by midnight. Lady Bird Lake downtown will be closed to all watercraft from 8 p.m. to midnight. More information and VIP options can be found at starspangledfest.com/july-4.
ACC to hold Lockhart annexation hearing tonight
This November, voters will get the chance to decide whether the Lockhart ISD territory will join the area served by Austin Community College. Tonight, ACC trustees will discuss the pro and cons of joining the district and their proposed service plan in a public hearing. The annexation hearing will take place at 5:30 p.m. at the Lockhart Independent School District Gerry Ohlendorf Performing Arts Center and will be livestreamed on the college’s website. In return for paying taxes to ACC, residents will have much lower costs for attending the college. During tonight’s public hearing, ACC officials aim to inform the public about their options and answer questions about annexation. According to a press release from ACC, “The college proposed a service plan for Lockhart ISD designed to grow with the community and meet changing workforce needs. This plan includes providing expanded career and technical training, working with the school district in support of its early college high school, occupying a short-term workforce and general-education space located in close proximity to Lockhart High School, and ultimately developing a permanent ACC presence in the community after deep consultation with the community on their future economic and educational needs.” Trustees will officially add the issue to the November ballot in August. More information from ACC, including the service plan and tax information, can be found here.
Chito Vela announces campaign kickoff for District 4 seat
District 4 City Council Member Chito Vela plans to kick off his reelection campaign at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Knomad Bar, 1213 Corona Drive. Vela, who won a special election to replace Greg Casar when Casar was elected to Congress, was reelected in January 2022 with more than 59 percent of the vote. Vela prevailed against opponents Monica Guzmán, who came in a distant second, and Jade Lovera, who came in third. Both Guzmán and Lovera have designated campaign treasurers again this year to run against Vela. Vela has worked with other Council members to change Austin’s zoning and housing policies. Some community members, such as his opponents in this race, do not agree with those policies, while others applaud them. In January, he reported raising more than $63,000. The next report is not due until July 15, but every candidate is hoping for more funds to show they have momentum at that point. Vela is an attorney who specializes in criminal and immigration law. He served on the Planning Commission before his election to Council.
Happy Midsummer, y’all!
The city’s Parks and Recreation Department will hold its third annual Midsummer Festival this upcoming Saturday, June 29, at the Old Bakery and Emporium downtown from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. The festival is free to attend and will feature Swedish treats, a flower crown-making station, a Swedish maypole, hair braiding and face painting and (of course) live music. In addition to the festival proper, the event will also be the setting for the unveiling of a new mural painted by Ruben Esquivel. The mural is part of the Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation’s Writing on Walls program and the city’s parks department and is the first to be painted on the historic Old Bakery and Emporium. “As part of the Old Bakery and Emporium’s Midsummer Festival, the Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation is excited to celebrate the mural installation,” said Raasin McIntosh, VP of Active Urbanism, Downtown Austin Alliance. “The Foundation is honored to work with the Old Bakery Emporium to bring a mural to life honoring the rich history of the area. Writing on the Walls is dedicated to creating art in public spaces in downtown Austin, and we look forward to celebrating the mural with everyone at the Midsummer event.”
City opening $13M in grants for artists, creative orgs and businesses
The Economic Development Department is gearing up for the application process for the next round of Thrive and Elevate grant programs, offering $13 million in awards for local artists and arts organizations. Elevate awards range from $15,000 to $80,000 for arts groups, individual artists and creative businesses. Applicants must have at least one year of cultural or arts programming experience in the Austin-Round Rock area. Thrive grants provide $85,000 to $150,000 to help sustain and grow local arts organizations. Approximately 35 grants are expected to be awarded. Applications open on June 25 and must be submitted by July 23.
AISD to host job fair this weekend
Austin Independent School District is holding a job fair to connect job-seekers with classified careers in the district. The fair will showcase administrative, transportation, food service, warehouse, law enforcement, facilities and grounds maintenance and custodial work on Saturday, June 22, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders. The event will be an opportunity to talk to hiring staff and learn more about potential careers at AISD. Would-be attendees are invited to RSVP here.