This Saturday, May 11, a new bilingual exhibition called “Carros y Cultura: Lowriding Legacies in Texas” opens at the Bullock Museum in celebration of lowriding culture in Texas. In Spanish and in English, it highlights lowriding communities through artifacts, interactive experiences and lowrider cars and bicycles from San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Laredo, Pecos and more. The exhibit, which will be on view through Sept. 2, includes a pristine, gold-plated ’63 Chevy Impala and a 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme customized with an image of famed Mexican ranchera singer Vicente Fernández, plus a 1972 Schwinn Fastback customized as an homage to Whataburger. It will trace the origins and elaborate artistry of lowriding, beginning with the Mexican American community in California after World War II, and follow its ties to the Chicano civil rights movement. Today, lowriding competitions and car clubs are found all over the world. Programs and events celebrating lowriding culture in Texas will be offered throughout the run of the exhibition, including talks with experts, children’s activities and teen workshops. On July 7, H-E-B Free First Sunday will be a day for free exhibit admission from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and lowrider-themed activities from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, visit TheStoryofTexas.com/lowriders.

The city’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Office will be hosting a training on emergency preparedness in partnership with Austin Fire Department Wildfire Division, Ascension Seton and Go Austin/Vamos Austin (GAVA). The two-hour class, which is free and open to the public, will teach emergency preparedness with a focus on wildfire. Participants who complete the course will receive a free weather radio and emergency preparedness kit (in addition to pizza and beverages). To attend the training at the Spicewood Springs Branch Library from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 9, RSVP here.

Travis County voters have not shown much enthusiasm for the May 4 election. As of Sunday, only 21,742 registered voters had cast ballots early – just 2.43 percent of the county’s registered voters. Today is the last day to cast a ballot early in the Saturday election to choose members of the Travis Central Appraisal District Board of Directors. You can find a list of early voting locations throughout the county here.

Outside of Austin, there are six areas that will be considering disannexation from the city on the May 4 ballot. That includes Lost Creek, which would owe Austin more than $7.7 million for amenities the city has provided. Voters in five other areas will also have a chance to vote on disannexation, outlined here.

The city of Lakeway’s ballot has a $22 million bond proposition as well as races for mayor and City Council. Voters in Leander will consider whether to allow collective bargaining rights for firefighters if a majority of employees favor representation by an employee association. Voters who live in the Eanes and Elgin school districts also have the opportunity to consider new school board members. Voters in Webberville will choose a mayor and two commissioners for their council.

Unsurprisingly, Lakeway voters have been among the most likely to vote, along with those in West Lake Hills and Bee Cave. Find more voter information at VoteTexas.gov.

To celebrate May Day, the Austin Democratic Socialists of America is hosting a union-focused labor fair and concert. The job fair, which will feature opportunities from local unions like IBEW, TSEU and AFSCME, will take place on Saturday, May 4, from noon to 7 p.m. at Batch Craft Beer and Kolaches. According to a press release from Austin DSA, “There are an array of opportunities for everyone, from recent high school graduates to experienced professionals. Job hunters can enjoy live music by local bands Pony Soprano, Medieval Snails, Ama, Gummy Fang, and Provoked Emotions.” This event is free and open to the public. Anyone interested can RSVP here.

This Saturday, May 4, the Black Leaders Collective will be holding a summit “dedicated to fostering positive change in the educational landscape for school-aged children in Travis and Williamson counties.” The “State of Black Education” summit is the result of a collaborative effort between parents, guardians, students and educators and is free and open to all. Those under the age of 18 require parental or guardian permission to attend. The event will take place from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the Norris Conference Center on West Anderson Lane. For more information and to register, visit blackleaderscollectiveatx.com/sobe.

As part of the “Journey with AUS” expansion program, the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport will hold an open house at the Montopolis Recreation Center this Saturday. The open house, which will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., will have information about the airport, its expansion and employment opportunities, among other things. The event is free and open to the public and will feature food, live music, vaccines and family-friendly activities. Spanish interpretation will be on-site. “This will be our second annual community Open House. We’re carrying on a commitment to fostering meaningful relationships with airport neighbors,” Ghizlane Badawi, chief executive officer for AUS, said in a statement to the press. “On the heels of our busiest year on record and with years of improvement and expansion projects ahead, it is an exciting time for the airport. We want to continue to share our plans with the community, provide updates as we reach major milestones, answer their questions, and bring them along as we shape the future of AUS.”

In an attempt to make crossing the street safer, a new safety and mobility pilot project is underway on Shoal Creek Boulevard at Treadwell Boulevard. The crosswalk, which also has enhanced markings, is illuminated when a pedestrian is crossing. According to a press release from the city’s Transportation and Public Works Department, “About 75 percent of all pedestrian traffic fatalities in the United States occur at night, according to the Federal Highway Administration, and adding or increasing lighting can reduce nighttime pedestrian crashes by 42 percent.” Those who have experience the lit-crosswalk pilot project themselves are invited to complete this survey about the experience.

Credit: Transportation and Public Works

The Watershed Protection Department will recognize winners of its flood safety video contest with a ceremony, spotlighting their contributions to flood safety awareness. It will be held at 6 p.m. today at the Asian American Resource Center, 8401 Cameron Road, Austin, TX, 78754. Jorge Morales, director of the Watershed Protection Department, and Paul Yura, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service, will speak at the event before the winning videos are screened. Additional parking will be available at 1520 Rutherford Lane. Those who plan to attend can RSVP to becca.villarreal@austintexas.gov. For more information on the contest, visit austintexas.gov/flood-safety-contest.

The recent renovation of Brush Square Park includes a new permanent stage constructed specifically for the annual O. Henry Museum Pun-Off World Championships, and this year’s contestants will be the first to compete on this “New Stage of Word Domination.” For 47 years, punsters have gathered in Austin for a battle of wit and wordplay in honor of famous wordsmith and short story writer William Sydney Porter, better known as O. Henry. The internationally renowned spoken word competition focuses on the art of the pun – and is considered one of Austin’s oldest “weird” events. This year’s event is set for 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 11 at Brush Square Park, 409 E. Fifth St., behind the O. Henry Museum. It’s free to the public, and no ticket is required for admission. Additional details about the event can be found on the official Facebook event page.

While it could be argued that budget season is a year-round affair at City Hall, things are about to start in earnest. To get ready, Mayor Kirk Watson has posted a schedule for this year’s process, which will end in an adopted budget on Aug. 14, 15 or 16. According to Watson’s City Council Message Board post, the staff budget will be presented at a City Council work session on Friday, July 12, which will also launch the “Council Budget Questions” process that will be available online for the public to view. Council will hold additional budget work sessions on July 24 (which will include public comment) and July 30. The next month, a public hearing will take place at 3 p.m. Aug. 1, when a tax rate will be adopted, and work sessions are currently scheduled for Aug. 6 and 8. City Council voting on the budget will take place at one of the meetings scheduled Aug. 14-16. “Adopting the FY25 Budget is one of the most important decisions this Council will make. I hope by outlining the timeline and process, we can work in an efficient and collaborative manner while achieving our shared goal of making the City of Austin a great place to live, work and thrive for all members of our community,” Watson wrote.

City Council is poised to make another bundle of changes to the Land Development Code in an effort to make development easier and housing less expensive. Last week, the city scheduled two more open houses to help get the word out about those changes, which would reduce minimum lot sizes, change compatibility standards and create new development standards near future transit and in central South Austin, among other things. The new meetings will take place 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, May 6, at Anderson High School and 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 8, at the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center. The changes are on a fast-track back to Council, with meetings scheduled chockablock in the meantime. The amendments will be at Council on May 16 and May 30, with downtown parking and the ETOD amendment to Imagine Austin to be heard at the second meeting.

Austin is currently in that time between plants being dead from a freeze and plants being dead from the sun, which can be an inspirational (and costly) time of year for anyone with a green thumb or a dream. It’s also a time that the city wants residents to be aware of the many resources it offers to gardeners through its Grow Green program. According to a press release reminding us all about the program, its educational materials include:

• 23 Grow Green fact sheets on big-picture and pest-related topics
• Rebates, free stuff and grants to help your garden grow
• Landscape design, installation and maintenance information, including demonstration gardens and design templates
• Native & Adapted Plant Guide for Central Texas
• List of Grow Green landscape professionals who have completed the training series
• Pest information (integrated pest management)
• Drainage solutions

“As spring breathes new life into our gardens, the Grow Green program stands ready to support Austinites in their quest for sustainable, vibrant landscapes,” Denise Delaney, environmental program coordinator for the Watershed Protection Department, said in a statement. “Our diverse educational resources and community engagement initiatives aim to empower individuals to become stewards of our environment while creating beautiful, resilient gardens that thrive harmoniously with nature.”