Photo by city of Austin

The Violet Crown Trail boasts a new patio featuring a striking spiral design fashioned from limestone and contrasting grout colors. The patio, which is located near the trailhead at Latta Drive and Convict Hill, is dubbed the Whirlpool and is intended to serve as a gathering place and outdoor classroom for those on their way to visit Whirlpool Cave. The Austin Urban Trails Program and Hill Country Conservancy are partnering to build portions of the Violet Crown Trail, which when complete will be a “30-mile nature trail that will connect Zilker Park to Hays County,” according to a news release.

Mobile Loaves & Fishes has received a $750,000 award for affordable housing projects that will help fund the construction of the second phase of homes at the Community First! Village in Northeast Austin. The award was given to the group by Frost Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas, and it will be used to help fund a planned 310-unit expansion of the housing project that was created to shelter the chronically homeless in Austin. The expansion will include additional kitchen buildings and seven laundry, shower and restroom facilities, with completion expected in late 2023. Community First! is considered one of the most successful efforts in Austin to address the city’s growing homeless population. Last year it gained national attention when a half-dozen new homes were provided by the housing startup ICON, which uses 3D-printing technology to fabricate homes more affordably.

Improvements in education and voter access are among the top priorities identified by Austin Tech Alliance for the state’s 87th legislative session that takes place through late spring. ATA is a nonprofit group that advocates for tech-forward policies as well as those that address civic challenges. In a press announcement earlier this week the group expressed support for House Bill 557, which would create a state-funded scholarship program for science, technology, engineering and mathematics education for state residents, and HB 244, which would create grants to fund teacher education and professional development in coding and technology. The group also supports a pair of bills, HB 57 and 584, that would promote civic engagement and enact automatic voter registration upon issuance of a driver’s license or other state identification. In that vein, ATA opposes bills limiting voter access, including Senate Bill 7. The group also showed support for proposed laws around nondiscrimination, protections against harassment and making broadband connectivity more affordable.

After what was described as an extensive search and evaluation of candidates, the hiring committee for the Boulder, Colorado, City Council recommended Austin’s deputy city manager, Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde, as Boulder’s next city manager. The Boulder Council met Tuesday night and officially selected Rivera-Vandermyde. She will be the first Latina and the second woman to take over the leadership job in Boulder. According to the city’s website, her new salary in Colorado will be $290,000 a year and she is expected to start May 10. She has been Austin’s deputy city manager since August 2019. Prior to coming to Austin, she served as deputy city coordinator and city coordinator in Minneapolis, where she worked with City Manager Spencer Cronk before he moved to Austin. Praising Rivera-Vandermyde in a memo to department directors, Cronk said during her time in Austin, she worked on several key initiatives involving homelessness, public safety, equity, civil rights and resilience. Cronk said he would name an interim deputy city manager before Rivera-Vandermyde’s last day in Austin on May 8. Council Member Leslie Pool offered this comment: “I am simultaneously proud and completely undone to be saying good-bye to Nuria so soon. Leaving Austin for the Boulder city manager job is an incredible opportunity – what a great place to live and work! Nuria made her mark on Austin in short order, helming an array of the city’s big-ticket issues, always with a dedication to mission and endless empathy for the people our work touches. We all will deeply miss her steady hand, her honesty and good humor … and the Boulder community will surely be enriched by her sure leadership.”

City Council is seeking applicants to serve on the five-member Municipal Civil Service Commission, which is the ruling body on appeals of disciplinary actions by city employees. There are two three-year terms available that expire in May 2024, with an unexpired term also open that concludes in May 2023. The commission typically meets twice a month for a full day, with about 20 hours of total time commitment expected per month. Applicants should be Austin residents and qualified city voters with knowledge in human resources or labor and employment law, with current lobbyists or city employees barred from serving. Those interested can apply online or submit a resume, cover letter and supporting documentation to boards and commissions coordinator Stephanie Hall at stephanie.hall@austintexas.gov.

A 120-acre portion of the Water Quality Protection Lands will experience a prescribed burn on Thursday, March 18. Smoke may be visible southwest of FM 1826, east of Brodie Lane, east of FM 1626, and north of FM 967. Frequent, low-intensity understory fires help reduce brush and promote natural grasslands, and prescribed burns are used to mimic the natural fire cycle in a controlled way. The burns are facilitated by trained wildland firefighters. Those interested in prescribed burn notifications from Austin Water can sign up here, or follow Austin Water on Twitter or Facebook. Austin Water’s Wildland Conservation Division manages 300,000 acres in the Water Quality Protection Lands program to preserve the quality and quantity of water recharging the Edwards Aquifer, which provides water both to Barton Springs and to groundwater wells in Hays and Travis counties.

The city has extended the application period for the Austin Legacy Business Relief Grant program, with submissions open until 5 p.m. Wednesday for music venues and other creative businesses seeking assistance related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Applications were originally due on March 10, but the deadline was extended because of the disruptions caused by the severe winter weather last month that cut off power and water service throughout the city for days at a time. Applicants will learn of their eligibility status on March 29, with phase one winners receiving $20,000 grants and having the ability to receive an additional $140,000 after completing a technical assistance evaluation to help them enhance their business operations. Full information for the program is available on the city’s website.

Unemployment in Austin rose in January, though it was still lower than the statewide and national levels of joblessness, according to the latest data from the Texas Workforce Commission. The Austin-Round Rock area had a total unemployment rate of 5.4 percent in January, with 67,455 people classified as out of work and 8,200 fewer people employed than in December 2020. That figure is double the amount from January 2020 before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, during which time 31,100 jobs have disappeared locally. The statewide unemployment rate sits at 7.3 percent, while the national figure is 6.8 percent. Workforce Solutions Capital Area said two federal initiatives from the recent stimulus package – a $300 weekly increase in unemployment benefits and money for state and local governments to fund infrastructure projects – will provide needed assistance for the unemployed. “Austin is one of the fastest recovering metros in the nation and we are hopeful for our community. Still, many of our neighbors continue to weather disruption brought on by the pandemic,” said Tamara Atkinson, CEO of Workforce Solutions. “Businesses in health care, manufacturing, skilled trades and IT are hiring now, and Workforce Solutions can connect motivated job seekers to new career opportunities with local employers.”

After promising customers “an improved online experience for your business with DSD,” the Development Services Department reported Monday that the opening of its new AB+C Portal had been postponed. An email from the department stated, “Due to technical challenges, the AB+C Portal replacement project has been postponed. Based on final testing over the weekend, it was determined that a key feature was not operational. Development Services and other city staff are evaluating solutions and will reschedule the launch at a time that ensures minimal impact for our customers and stakeholders.” The new portal was supposed to improve system stability, user experience and speed of response. Customers will continue to use the current portal, which has been in operation since 2015, until further notice.

The city’s Development Services Department is opening its new customer portal today, promising customers to “expect an improved online experience for your business with DSD.” AB+C – for Austin Build + Connect – is the city’s portal for high-volume transactional activities, including applying for and paying for permits, scheduling inspections, checking project status and setting up demolition notifications. Neighborhood advocates may use AB+C as their entry point to conduct a public search for case histories of specific properties and projects, according to city spokeswoman Robbie Searcy. She noted via email that the city launched the current portal in 2015. The new portal, she said, “will improve system stability, speed of response and the user experience. The upgraded portal also sets us up to improve functionality and enhance online submittal options, all of which are planned as future improvements.” Visitors to the portal should be able to chat with Customer Service online to help navigate the new interface.

It’s the time of year when we start to cast a jaded eye on the clutter seeping forth from our closets and cabinets, and a voice, sounding suspiciously like Jacob Marley’s, whispers in our ear: It’s time for spring cleaning. Fortunately, the city’s zero-waste blog has some valuable tips to help make this dreaded annual exercise less onerous and more sustainable. Instead of just throwing everything into a giant pile destined to rot for all eternity in the landfill, we are advised to separate our discards into categories: 1) still usable, can be donated; 2) broken but could be repaired; 3) repurpose; and 4) throw it out, though maybe recycle it. The city’s What Do I Do With tool can help you figure out where to take some of these items, or if something has truly come to the end of its useful life, where to dispose of it. Learn more about how to “zero-waste” your spring cleaning here.

As warned, Attorney General Ken Paxton filed suit Thursday against the city of Austin, Travis County, Mayor Steve Adler and County Judge Andy Brown, as well as interim medical director and Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott, to overturn the local officials’ regulations requiring business patrons to wear masks while indoors. Paxton is seeking a temporary restraining order and then a temporary injunction to prevent Austin and Travis County from enforcing their rules. Judge Lora Livingston of the 261st District Court will hear the case beginning at 10 a.m., according to a spokesperson. Gov. Greg Abbott issued a declaration, effective March 10, rescinding previous state orders requiring adults to wear masks at commercial businesses and limiting the number of people who could gather at businesses such as restaurants and bars. Adler and Brown said they would continue to follow local health authority rules as opposed to Abbott’s declaration. Brown released the following statement on Thursday: “I will continue to listen to our public health authority, medical professionals and the CDC who have consistently said masks save lives. It is unfortunate the attorney general is once again failing to make the health of our community his priority.” Adler said in a news release: “Judge Brown and I will fight to defend and enforce our local health officials’ rules for as long as possible using all the power and tools available to us. We promised to be guided by the doctors, science and data as concerns the pandemic and we do everything we can to keep that promise. Wearing masks is perhaps the most important thing we can do to slow the spread of the virus. We are not aware of any Texas court that has allowed state leadership to overrule the health protection rules of a local health authority. Masks work! The Attorney General is simply wrong. So again, #MaskUpATX.”

Editor’s Note: Andy Brown is on the board of the Capital of Texas Media Foundation, the parent nonprofit of the Austin Monitor.