Tai Moses

At last count, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had confirmed at least 173 cases of monkeypox in the United States. Monkeypox, also known as orthopoxvirus, is an extremely rare viral disease that is closely related to smallpox. Humanity has eradicated smallpox thanks to … wait for it … an extremely effective vaccination program! […]

You may already be seeing Public Works crews in your area, working on seasonal street maintenance in neighborhoods around the city. The annual sealcoat treatment is intended to improve “hundreds of lane miles of neighborhood streets in every Council district around Austin,” according to the news release, in an effort to “help preserve Austin’s streets and […]

Following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation that kids 6 months through 5 years get vaccinated for Covid, Austin Public Health is expanding its vaccination program to include this age group. Dr. Desmar Walkes, Austin-Travis County health authority, said in a news release, “This vaccine expansion comes at a critical time when we’re […]

In a desperate bid to get animals out of the overcrowded shelter and into their forever homes, the Austin Animal Center is waiving its adoption fees “until further notice.” The space crisis at the shelter, which has 1,081 dogs and cats currently in its care, has become so dire that 23 dogs don’t even have kennels […]

The Lower Colorado River Authority is inviting a wide swath of community organizations to apply for grants from its Community Development Partnership Program. While most of the grants are for $25,000 or less, there are several grants of up to $50,000. “Eligible organizations include volunteer fire departments, emergency responders, local governments, schools, libraries, civic groups, museums and other […]

Most Austinites have learned the bitter truth that parking at Barton Springs on the weekend is nigh on impossible. So the news of a free weekend shuttle service, starting this Saturday, June 25, should cause great jubilation within the populace. The shuttle bus – a pilot program from Parks and Recreation – will run every […]

While Travis County’s Community Level is described as low, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s weekly update, the numbers are so close that Austin Public Health is asking community members to “err on the side of caution by following medium guidelines if you are at risk in order to drive down the case […]

A number of city offices and public facilities will be closed Monday in observation of the Juneteenth holiday, which commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people in Texas. Monday closures include city rec centers, senior centers, museums and cultural centers; Austin Energy customer service and call centers; Austin Public Health testing and vaccine sites; Austin Public […]

The city’s Office of Sustainability is offering a mini-grant program in an effort “to support communities in their efforts to grow, sell, and eat healthy food.” Grants of up to $3,000 will be available for eligible nonprofits, schools, businesses, homeowner associations, faith-based groups and grassroots initiatives. Lucia Athens, chief sustainability officer, said in a news release that creating a more […]

The Elisabet Ney Museum is hosting a new art exhibit called Secret Place, which the museum describes as a “site-specific installation created to be a meditation on the internal solitude inherent to the immigrant experience.” Rehab El Sadek, a U.S.-based Egyptian multimedia artist, created the installation from sculpture, photography and ordinary objects to demonstrate the “fragility of individual […]

Capital Metro is holding a webinar for community members who are interested in getting a comprehensive overview of the proposed subway stations for Project Connect’s Blue and Orange lines. The discussion will cover what the community needs, the technology required to construct tunnels, and the planned accessibility and safety features of the 28.2-mile light rail […]

The board of directors of the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District declared a Stage II alarm drought at their June 9 meeting. According to the news release, Lovelady Monitor Well and Barton Springs, two groundwater wells that are considered to be the district’s “drought triggers,” went below their triggers in late May and early June, […]