Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is cautioning travelers that, due to the return of South by Southwest and regular old spring break travel, the next few weeks are going to be very busy at the airport. In fact, tourists and trekkers should “expect a bustling and busy terminal” with “several peak days of travel including several 26,000 to 30,000 passenger days.” As Jacqueline Yaft, the airport’s CEO, explained in a press release, “The return of Austin events, Austinites and Central Texas travelers flying out for spring break and new air service offerings launching this March means that AUS will be busier than usual these months. As our teams plan and prepare for more travelers, we ask that travelers work with us to plan ahead, arrive early, trust our tips and pack some patience.” Fortunately, AUS has prepared some diversions for stressed-out travelers, including new art installations, concession offerings and live musical performances. Ray Benson will be performing at the Asleep at the Wheel Stage at Gate 19 on March 16, 1-3 p.m., and local artists the Reverent Few, Red Young and Buenos Diaz won’t be far behind him. Check out AUS’ full musical lineup for spring break.

It’s been a while, but South by Southwest is back this year and Austinites might want to brush up on the basics of spring festival season after a two-year hiatus. Some roads and parking lots will be closed, for one. We’ve embedded a basic map, but the city has put together more detailed maps that include dates as well. Those attending events should also check out the SXSW Covid-19 plan, which mandates a negative test or proof of vaccination.

Community members interested in the Asian American Resource Center may take a survey or attend a community meeting to learn more about the next phase of the facility’s expansion. The Parks and Recreation and Public Works departments, in collaboration with Trahan Architects, are launching the process of building a performing arts center. You can share input through April 3 via a community survey or attend an in-person community meeting to “kick off the process of identifying building requirements for the improvements.” The meeting will be held at the Asian American Resource Center, 8401 Cameron Road, Tuesday, March 29, 6:30 p.m.

Two upcoming virtual workshops offered by Austin Water will plumb the depths of the Aquifer Storage and Recovery project, a “water supply strategy to store available water in an aquifer for later recovery and use,” says the city utility. Attendees can learn all about ASR systems, which are already in use in San Antonio, El Paso and Kerrville and are becoming a lot more common, not just in Texas but around the world. ASR is part of the city’s Water Forward plan, a “road map for Austin’s water future for the next 100 years.” The workshops will share information that staffers have collected about ASR, solicit input on equity and affordability considerations and answer any questions that might come up. Register here for the March 24 workshop; register here for the March 29 workshop. Both workshops are from 6-7:30 p.m.

Even though the omicron surge is fizzling and Covid hospitalizations are dwindling, we’re still not tired of talking about vaccination – for the simple fact that many, many people are still not vaccinated. Luckily, Travis County, Austin Public Health and their community partners continue to host a variety of free, convenient Covid-19 vaccine distribution events, some of them in your very own neighborhood! No appointments are needed. Simply visit the handy online calendar and map to find the date, time and location of a nearby vaccine event. Austin Public Health clinics offer the Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, including third doses for the immunocompromised and booster shots. Remember to bring your vaccination card to get it updated. If you’re not vaccinated, you’re not protected from infection. It’s as simple as that.

As most everyone knows by now, the Public Works, Transportation, and Parks and Recreation departments are partnering to design and build a new car-free crossing for the eastern side of Lady Bird Lake near the Longhorn Dam. An upcoming public meeting will give community members an opportunity to get a 30 percent design update and “defining goals for site-specific public artwork for the project,” according to the news release. Civically involved citizens won’t want to miss this chance to weigh in on what has become a very closely watched process to create a very interesting pedestrian bridge. The Zoom meeting is Wednesday, March 9, from 5:30-7 p.m. Register here for the meeting, and check out the Longhorn Dam Bridge virtual open house to brush up on the project’s background.

The Downtown Austin Alliance is launching a new mural tour with a bike ride and live music at Republic Square. The March 12 bike ride will take off at noon from East Sixth and San Marcos streets. From noon until 2 p.m., live music and art will take place at Republic Square alongside the SFC farmers market. The self-guided mural tour will remain available through the rest of the year, with plans to install more downtown murals throughout 2022.

In light of Austin’s rapidly declining Covid-19 risk level that is currently settled in Stage 2, the city’s Development Services Department is ready to restore in-person services. Operations at the Permitting and Development Center will resume Monday, March 21. The city also plans to continue offering virtual services. For the most part, appointments will be available virtually and in person, Monday through Friday. As part of an ongoing effort, Wednesdays will be focused on clearing up a backlog of applications and permit requests, so no Wednesday appointments will be available for commercial intake, residential intake, land use intake, site and subdivision inspection intake, or the service center.

Interested in learning more about the CROWN Act, which protects against discrimination based on natural Black hair? Want to know more about tenants’ rights, eviction protections or wage theft? Or maybe you’d like to talk about the recent rise in hate crimes against communities of color, or what the city is doing to prevent homelessness. If any of these topics sparks your interest, consider joining one of the upcoming community conversations organized by the city’s Office of Civil Rights. These free meetings are intended to “share and gather information to ensure everyone feels protected in their space and understands what city resources are available to them. Through these discussions, community leaders hope to gather input about necessary protections people need to feel comfortable and not discriminated against in their work, educational, housing, business environments and in every space where we exist.” Register on Eventbrite for any of the virtual meetings:

• March 17, 6-7:40 p.m.
• April 13, 2-3:40 p.m.
• May 12, 6-7:40 p.m.
• June 2, 6-7:40 p.m.

Spring break is here! Sun! Fun! Unfortunately, for some, spring break means more booze-fueled celebration than is necessarily good for anyone. In an effort to reduce the chances of drunk-driving crashes and the ensuing tragedies, the Austin Police Department is conducting its DWI enforcement initiative every night from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., with an extended no-refusal period from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., from now until March 20. No refusal, as APD describes, “is an effort to enforce DWI laws, keep the public safe by encouraging drivers to make responsible decisions and to apply for blood search warrants on suspects who refuse to provide a breath or blood specimen as required by law.” In other words, suspected drunk drivers are not permitted to refuse a sobriety test. So be safe, enjoy spring break, and do your drinking at home or with a designated driver.

Candidates and campaign workers, journalists and political junkies from both Republican and Democratic parties were frustrated Tuesday night while looking for election results on the Travis County Clerk’s website. A site that has been totally reliable for many years was suddenly down for about 40 minutes. After a while, people trying to figure out who had won the early vote were directed to another Travis County site that provided the early vote information. According to an email from Travis County Clerk Rebecca Guerrero, the problem stemmed from Senate Bill 1, which, among other things, “requires video surveillance of all areas containing voted ballots to be livestreamed to the public during the election period,” she said. In order to comply with the law, the clerk’s office had been running four cameras during the early voting period. Two more cameras were added for election day, as required by law. One of the cameras was in the ballot storage vault and the other in the ballot programming room. It was too much for the county clerk’s internet server, which was overwhelmed when site traffic increased as polls closed at 7 p.m. As Guerrero explained in her email, “In immediate response, traffic was then temporarily re-directed to the county’s main site to host the election results. By the time our first run of Election Day results were posted, our team had remedied the situation and the site was back up and running.” She noted that this was the first election requiring streaming videos and the office now knows “how to best manage the rapid increase in traffic and how to best maintain the website.” Guerrero noted that, despite the initial temporary delay, “it did not impact the results being processed. Travis County elections processed and published election day returns in record time.”

Austin Animal Center is partnering with Council Member Pio Renteria to host a free drive-thru microchip and rabies vaccination clinic for pets who live in Austin and Travis County. AAC field services manager Mark Sloat explained in a news release, “Microchips are essential to getting pets reunited with their families. We have thousands of dogs getting picked up and brought to the shelter by community members, and the majority aren’t finding their way back home. We know from our animal protection officers’ work that most pets are picked up really close to home, so in addition to educating the community we’re really pushing microchipping.” City Council members are working with AAC to host microchip clinics in each Council district in an effort to get more lost pets reunited with their families. A representative from Renteria’s office explained that, thanks to microchipping and the hard work of Austin Animal Center staffers, District 3 has “one of the highest lost pet return rates in the whole city.” The drive-thru event will be held at Austin Animal Center, 7201 Levander Loop, 9 a.m.-noon, on Saturday, March 5. Dogs must be leashed and cats must be in carriers.