Nina Hernandez

Next Saturday, seven local schools and libraries will team up to host Maker Mania. From 9 a.m. to noon on Feb. 4, Lanier High School’s library (1201 Payton Gin Road) will be transformed into a mini literacy fair with booths, reading resources and tools made from recycled and upcycled materials. The hope is that the […]

Last year, the city didn’t quite get the results it was hoping for when it hosted a series of intimate discussions about important issues in community spaces around town. In a year (between May 2015 and July 2016), the city of Austin, Capital Metro and the Austin Independent School District hosted 200 such talks and […]

Last week, Mozilla announced the winners of its Gigabit Community Fund, which provides grants to local entities in Austin, Chattanooga and Kansas City. The Austin Monitor is among the 19 groups set to receive $241,000 to implement a 16-week pilot program. The Monitor‘s project is an online mock City Council to help engage middle- and […]

Yesterday, Mayor Steve Adler announced that Austin is one of the 10 cities that have been chosen to participate in the PeopleForBikes Big Jump Project. The Colorado-based PeopleForBikes, a nonprofit that promotes cycling, is running a three-year program that will help communities work to achieve one common goal: a boost in bicycle ridership. The city […]

A project that will put new kennels, adoption visitation rooms, play yards and other infrastructure in the Austin Animal Center’s Levander Loop campus began this week. Designer/builder SpawGlass will manage the $5.9 million budget, which comes from a 2012 bond and funding that City Council allocated in the 2016 budget. Construction is due to go […]

The Austin Independent School District is in the middle of revamping its Facility Master Plan, the document that outlines current and future uses of district facilities. Public input is essential, so AISD has a series of meetings planned in the next month, complete with refreshments and child care. This week, meetings will be held at […]

Yesterday afternoon, some music-loving news junkies were momentarily energized by the news that Janet Jackson would be appearing at an Austin Independent School District event this morning. Sadly, the Janet Jackson scheduled to speak at the AISD Choice Rally – an event to promote the specialized programs the district offers – is not the well-known […]

Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Texas’ appeal to reinstate its 2011 voter ID law, which the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals found violated the Civil Rights Act back in July. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton responded quickly with a statement expressing disappointment in the decision, though he remains confident the case will […]

That’s right. The second most wonderful time of the year – no, not Thanksgiving – arrives yet again. Free city of Austin mulch, created from local leftover Christmas trees, is available starting at 9 a.m. this Thursday, Jan. 26. Drop in to the Zilker Polo Fields with your own tools and storage containers to pick […]

This Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Austin Animal Center is taking over the corner of Gibson Street and South Congress Avenue. Meet potential new family members and enjoy live music, shopping, giveaways and more courtesy of the shelter’s partnership with Zappos.com. The Nevada-based clothing website is undertaking a road trip […]

Austin’s Conversation Corps – an effort on the part of the city, the Austin Independent School District and the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (and executed by nonprofit Leadership Austin) to engage citizens on important issues – was recognized last week for its strides in innovation. The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard’s […]