Children and their parents will be thrilled to learn that the Kids Block Party is returning in-person to the Austin Central Library after last year’s all-virtual event. This Library Foundation indoor/outdoor event “celebrates children, literacy and learning through play, with indoor and outdoor activities for kids aged toddler to tweens.” Along with musicians and yoga, the party features storytelling, arts and crafts, “friends from Austin Spurs, goody bags, and more.” The block party marks the launch of the library’s summer experience program for kids and adults called Austin Completely Booked, which includes “reading challenges and other experiences throughout the community over the summer. Attendees will be able to download an app or receive paper forms for logging summer reading and tracking challenge completion to earn prizes.” Find a full schedule of events here. Saturday, May 14, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Austin Central Library, 710 W. César Chávez St.

City Council has approved a $65,000 grant to fund a study on coronavirus in cats. The Austin Humane Society and Austin Animal Center, partnering with Texas A&M and the Texas Department of State Health Services, will examine whether there are coronaviruses “circulating or mutating among animals that could potentially pose a risk to humans.” AHS’ Dr. Katie Luke said in a news release, “There is still a lot we don’t know about coronavirus and how it mutates, so we hope this study will help to identify best practices moving forward, and help understand potential sources of mutated viruses that affect human health.” How will it work? “The subjects for the study will come from Travis County’s Community Cats program, and will only contribute a throat swab during their spay/neuter procedures. After that, “The samples will be sent to Texas A&M, where experts will determine if coronavirus is present. If the virus is detected, they will run more specific tests to identify whether it’s feline coronavirus, SARS CoV-2, or a different coronavirus. Positive samples for SARS CoV-2 will be sent to the National Veterinary Diagnostic Lab for confirmation and gene sequencing to identify if there are mutations. Finally, the Texas Department of State Health Services will assist in reporting the findings to the CDC.”

Eight months after the school opened to students in August 2021, East Austin’s Sánchez Elementary School is celebrating its grand opening today with a parade and a tree planting in honor of Earth Day. The new, modernized $25 million campus was funded by the 2017 bond program. According to AISD, “The school was one of the district’s first to introduce two-way dual language education – fitting because the school’s namesake, George Sánchez, was a pioneer in bilingual education.” Friday, April 22, 8:30 a.m. parade, 9:30 a.m. grand opening ceremony, Sánchez Elementary, 73 San Marcos St.

On Wednesday, the board of directors of the Austin Transit Partnership chose Greg Canally as interim executive director. Canally, the agency’s current CFO and chief development officer, will take over May 2 from Randy Clarke, Capital Metro president and CEO, who has been serving as ATP’s first executive director. In a news release, Veronica Castro de Barrera, chair of ATP’s board of directors, praised Canally, saying, “Greg will provide the steady leadership and smooth, effective and efficient transition that ATP – and all of Austin – need as we work to implement voters’ vision for this program. This will be a critical year for ATP, along with our partners at the city of Austin and Cap Metro, as we all work together to deliver on the promise of Project Connect.” The board also approved a resolution requesting that City Council and the Capital Metro board consider amending ATP’s articles of incorporation to add Capital Metro’s president and CEO or their designee as a non-voting ex officio board member “to foster and promote enhanced collaboration and communication among the parties.” The resolution also asks Castro de Barrera and ATP Board Member Tony Elkins to work with ATP staff to develop a recommendation for the board on how to pursue a leadership search for the permanent executive director.

Maybe you’ve heard (or maybe not), the city of Austin has a special called election coming up on Saturday, May 7. There is only a single proposition on the ballot and that is Prop A, which asks: “Shall an initiative ordinance be approved to 1) eliminate enforcement of low-level marijuana offenses; and 2) ban the use of ‘no knock’ warrants by Austin police?” Early voting for the election starts Monday, April 25 and ends May 3. Your last day to request a ballot by mail is Tuesday, April 26. Remember, in order to vote by mail in Texas you have to be out of the country on election day; sick or disabled; 65 or older; or incarcerated but otherwise eligible to vote. (Sorry, we don’t make the rules.) Here’s a list of early voting polling locations in Travis County. Before heading to the polls, brush up on voter identification laws to make sure you have the required ID.

A group of seasoned multimodal advocates have joined up to create a new nonprofit aimed at building “a movement to transform Austin’s streets, bikeways and trails into safe, vibrant and equitable places for people of all ages and abilities to walk, bike, roll and gather.” The group, named Safe Streets Austin, is the result of merging Bike Austin, Walk Austin and Vision Zero ATX into one group that will advocate for safe, multimodal transportation in Austin. The group announced itself earlier this week, saying, “Austin is widely recognized as a dynamic, world-class city. As it grows in size and complexity, the need for a resilient, responsive transportation system has become a necessity. Austin, like most American cities, is largely automobile-centric, creating undue challenges for many community members, especially those that lack economic resources. A robust and safe active transportation system would offer better choices for all Austinites.” Find more information about Safe Streets Austin on its website.

As we all bitterly know, Austin Resource Recovery suspended its large brush and bulk collection back in February because of staffing shortages brought on by Covid. Since then, Austinites have been waiting impatiently for the service to resume, as pieces of shrubbery and tree limbs and old freezers and other embarrassing things pile up behind their houses. ARR is still coping with a shortage of drivers (ARR is hiring drivers!), but thanks to help from a contractor, the agency is resuming bulk/brush collection starting Monday, May 2. Those who missed a collection during the suspension will be first in line to get a pickup. Curbside customers will receive a notification postcard in the mail a couple of weeks before their next collection is scheduled. You may also visit the online calendar of scheduled services or download the Austin Recycles app. If you’ve gotten used to disposing of your own bulky stuff at the Hornsby Bend plant, by all means continue using that method. And of course, if you have unwanted items that don’t seem to fit any other collection criteria, you can always consult ARR’s handy What Do I Do With… tool. Unlike most things these days, it has an answer for everything.

Though not yet in use by the city of Austin, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has released its 2022 Income Limits. The median family income for the Austin-Round Rock MSA is now $110,300, up from $98,900 in 2021. Why is this important? Aside from being another indicator of Austin’s frenzied growth, the city and the county both use MFI to calculate affordability for housing. So, somewhat affordable housing for those earning 80 percent MFI would be built for a family of four with an income of $88,250, which is now considered “low income” by HUD. A family of four at 50 percent MFI, or $55,150, is considered “very low income” for the area. That said, the city and county have yet to adopt the new numbers. That might take a few weeks.

Local artists Rejina Thomas, Ruben Esquivel and Taylor Davis have been selected to create a floating wetland installation on the Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail and Lady Bird Lake this spring. The Common Waters installation “will explore themes of community, creativity, environment, and collaboration. It will incorporate artistic components as well as serve an ecological function,” according to a city news release. The installation is part of the trail’s Arts+Culture plan, a partnership with the Parks and Recreation Department, the city’s Art in Public Places program and the Trail Foundation. With the help of environmental artist Stacy Levy, the three artists will collaborate to design and test models for the temporary art installation. The completed piece will be unveiled at the Arts + Culture Celebration on May 14.

Motorists, cyclists and pedestrians attempting to travel northbound on Azie Morton Road will notice that a partial lane closure is in effect while crews perform work in the area near Barton Springs Road. The street is still open to southbound travelers coming from Barton Springs Road onto Azie Morton. According to the Transportation Department’s traffic advisory, the temporary closure “is only in effect during active construction and will occur only on select days during this period.” The work should be completed by April 27, “barring weather delays or other unforeseen circumstances.” Keep your eyes peeled for traffic cones, detour signs and flaggers while in the area.

Following a federal court order, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has halted its January 2021 order requiring masks on pubic transportation and at public transportation hubs, though it “continues to recommend that people wear masks in indoor public transportation settings at this time.” In response to the ruling, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport issued a statement saying it “awaits further direction and guidance from the federal government regarding enforcement and will communicate any impacts to passengers and staff accordingly. In accordance with public health advice issued by Austin Public Health, AUS continues to encourage travelers to wear masks. Travelers flying should connect directly with their airline for more information about airline mask policies on aircraft.”

As foretold in the 2014 Aquatic Assessment, Gillis Pool will be closed for this summer swim season. A memo from Parks and Recreation Director Kimberly McNeeley explains that at last estimate in 2018, the cost of replacing the pool was $3.7 million. “Estimates today would likely far exceed the 2018 amount,” she notes. “The department aquatics maintenance team conducted a routine inspection and discovered that the entire operating system must be replaced before the pool can reopen. Without replacement funding currently available, preliminary repair and replacement costs are estimated to exceed $300,000. The timeframe for repair is estimated to take between six and 18 months.” Gillis Pool is located at 2504 Durwood St., near the intersection of West Oltorf and South First streets.