Texas’ new election law, Senate Bill 1, imposes several new restrictions on voting, just in time for the March 1, 2022, primaries. The League of Women Voters of Texas, Texas Impact and Texas LULAC are hosting a webinar to help Texas voters understand how the new laws will impact them. Register in advance for the meeting and the confirmation email will contain the link to join the meeting. Tuesday, Jan. 18, noon.

As the Austin skyline changes, so does the network of streets below – at least temporarily. New development in the city is causing several associated travel lane closures. Two lanes of West Sixth between Colorado and Guadalupe streets will close until 2025 as a 60-story office and residential tower rises at 311 and 321 W. Sixth St. to replace the existing BBVA bank building. A covered walkway will allow pedestrians to pass through the area safely. Meanwhile, East Cesar Chavez Street will close Jan. 21-23 from Waller to Comal to accommodate a tower crane for the 1515 Cesar Chavez development. Traffic will be detoured to East Sixth Street. As the Transportation Department explains, “westbound traffic on East Cesar Chavez Street will reach East Sixth Street by turning north on Waller Street, and eastbound traffic will reach East Sixth Street by turning north on Comal Street.”

With the omicron variant romping and stomping across Texas, health officials are doubling down on their pleas to the unvaccinated to get fully vaccinated without further delay. Travis County, Austin Public Health and their community partners continue to host a variety of free Covid vaccine distribution events every week. It couldn’t be easier: Simply check out the handy online calendar and map to find the date, time and location of a convenient, nearby vaccine event. No appointments are required. People receiving their second dose, third dose or booster shot should bring their CDC Covid-19 Vaccination Record Card so it can be updated.

Covid-related staffing shortages, combined with difficulty filling open positions, have struck the Austin Animal Center. Starting Jan. 23, the shelter will be temporarily closed to the public on Sundays. It will remain open for adoptions and reclaiming lost pets from Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and for intake of animals Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Owners looking to reclaim a lost pet on Sundays can contact 311 and ask for assistance from an animal protection officer. The Austin Animal Center is putting out the word that it is hiring for several positions. Interested candidates may apply through the city of Austin website.

Many Austinites who live near the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport aren’t too happy about AUS’ proposal to site a jet fuel storage facility in their neighborhood. In an effort to calm frayed tempers, airport leadership will be hosting a virtual community information meeting and question-and-answer session. The 2040 Master Plan process identified the need for a new airplane fuel facility, to be located on airport property adjacent to U.S. Highway 183. The project is scheduled to begin construction this year and will be owned and operated by the airlines that service AUS. The Federal Aviation Administration gave the go-ahead after approving an environmental review for the facility. Find more information about the project at SpeakUpAustin.org/AUSFuel. The meeting will be on Saturday, Jan. 29, 3-4 p.m., via Zoom.

On the first day of early voting for City Council’s District 4 seat, the Austin Central Labor Council endorsed Chito Vela, a former labor leader. CLC also endorsed Travis County Precinct 2 Commissioner Brigid Shea for reelection and Dyana Limon-Mercado for Travis County Clerk. Shea and Limon-Mercado will be on the Democratic primary ballot along with their opponents on March 1. The Central Labor Council recommended a number of candidates whose districts stretch beyond Austin, including Greg Casar, Lloyd Doggett and Claudia Zapata for Congress. The group recommended Erin Zwiener in Texas House District 45 and Lulu Flores in House District 51. (Here is the entire list of endorsements.)

Austin Environmental Democrats also announced the outcome of their online vote, noting that only candidates receiving 60 percent of the group’s vote would be endorsed. While Vela came close to the 60 percent threshold required, he fell short at 58.5 percent. The runner-up in that race was Monica Guzmán with 36.9 percent of the vote. The same was true of the race for Texas House District 51. Although Lulu Flores garnered 58.6 percent of the vote, it was not quite enough for the endorsement. The group did endorse longtime U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, who easily bested two opponents in the primary race for Congressional District 37, winning 93.4 percent of the vote. Casar, who is stepping down from his City Council seat to run for Congressional District 35, won 40.6 percent of the AED votes, while state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez received 31.3 percent and Rebecca Viagran of San Antonio came in third with 26.6 percent of the vote. The group also endorsed state Rep. James Talarico, who has been redistricted out of his home district and is running for the seat being vacated by Rep. Celia Israel in Texas House District 50. The group also unanimously endorsed John Bucy, the incumbent in Texas House District 136. Members also endorsed Travis County Commissioner Brigid Shea for reelection, but split their votes between longtime Precinct 4 Commissioner Margaret Gómez and her opponent, Susanna Ledesma-Woody, giving the pair a rare dual endorsement. Rebecca Bell-Metereau, the incumbent for the State Board of Education Place 5, also received the group’s endorsement.

The city’s Economic Development Department is accepting applications for the Austin Music Disaster Relief Grant, which provides one-time $2,000 grants to professional musicians, independent promoters and music industry workers facing economic hardships due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A news release from the city explains that this latest round of the grant program expands the eligibility criteria “so more professional musicians, promoters and workers qualify for support as our music industry continues to rebound” from the effects of the pandemic. Veronica Briseño, chief economic recovery officer, said, “The $2.3 million available this year builds upon the $1.5 million we distributed in 2020 to ensure workers in this vital sector can afford immediate needs like rent and groceries.” The application deadline is Jan. 28 at 5 p.m.

The Parks and Recreation Department has announced that trail access under Barton Springs Road will be closed while crews do tree work at Zilker Park through Wednesday, Jan. 12, from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Pedestrians and cyclists crossing Barton Springs Road are advised to use the crosswalk west of Barton Creek.

Early voting begins today for the Jan. 25 special election to fill the District 4 City Council seat being vacated by Greg Casar, who is running for Congress. This election is limited to registered voters who live in District 4, in North Central Austin. There are only three early voting locations, open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday and noon-6 p.m. on Sunday: 

Early voting ends Jan. 21. The early voting locations will be closed Monday, Jan. 17, in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Jan. 14 is the deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot. To vote by mail in Texas, you must be registered to vote, 65 years or older, sick or disabled, out of the county on election day and during early voting, or in jail but otherwise eligible to vote. You can find more details about the special election, including sample ballots and election day polling locations, at the website of the Travis County Clerk.

Photo by Klearchos Kapoutsis, made available through a Creative Commons license.

Omicron is causing all sorts of problems in the labor force, with restaurants closing their doors and flights being canceled as more workers are sidelined by Covid. Austin Pets Alive! is suffering from such a severe staffing shortage that the nonprofit issued an emergency bulletin begging community members to step up and provide foster homes for homeless dogs until APA’s staffing levels return to normal. As an APA spokesperson told KXAN Friday, the shelter is in “crisis mode” and welcomes aid from both new and approved fosters. Start by filling out this emergency dog foster matchmaking form. If you’re new to fostering, you’ll be asked to complete a foster application before you are matched with a mutt.

Due to “delays with sourcing parts for mechanical repairs to the well pump,” Deep Eddy Pool was not able to reopen over the weekend, as was previously announced. The pool closed last Tuesday to allow workers to complete repairs to the well pump. With the ETA for the parts unknown, no new reopening date has been announced. Barton Springs, Bartholomew, Big Stacy, and Springwoods pools are open in the interim.

Jennifer Virden, the only official candidate for Austin mayor so far, has loaned her campaign $300,000, as she reported in an official filing with the Office of the City Clerk earlier this week. She also has a total of $46,670.88 in contributions. But you would never guess that from the press release her campaign put out declaring that she had “raised” over $346,000 so far in her campaign. According to her campaign finance report, Virden loaned her campaign $300,000 on Dec. 20, 2021. Regular contributors are limited in what they can contribute, generally to $400 per person. Lobbyists are prohibited from giving City Council campaigns more than $25. James and Betty Skaggs, who regularly support Republican candidates, particularly those who want to build more roads, donated $400 each. Lobbyist Pete Winstead, on the other hand, contributed $25. Virden is not shy about proclaiming herself to be against much of what the current City Council has done. On her website, the real estate broker says she is opposed to the “transformational change” of society that current city leaders support. On the other hand, Virden supports “fully staffing our police department, compassionately triaging our homeless population, enforcing the ban on public camping, and enacting real property tax relief.” Austin has already granted homeowners a 20 percent homestead exemption, the maximum allowed by state law. Other possible candidates for mayor include Council Member Kathie Tovo, former Mayor Kirk Watson and state Rep. Celia Israel. Mayor Steve Adler has not announced his plans, but does not seem inclined to seek reelection and would need to collect signatures to do so. The election will be on Nov. 8, 2022.