As part of an ongoing effort to help prepare our community for emergencies, Austin’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management will host a pop-up at the Ruiz Branch Library from 4-7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 21. HSEM representatives and other staff members will be on hand to offer information, tips and supplies. In addition, the first 25 guests will receive an emergency supply kit that contains things like lanterns, glow sticks, cooling supplies, chargers, weather radios and guides. The event is part of a monthly series, held on the third Wednesday of the month in each Council district.

For the second year in a row, the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican-American Cultural Center’s ¡Viva México! celebration will take place at another location while the ESB-MACC is closed for renovations. The Oswaldo A.B. Cantu/Pan American Recreation Center, at 2100 East 3rd St., will host this Austin tradition that pays tribute to both Mexico’s Independence Day and to the diverse cultural traditions of Austin’s Mexican, Mexican-American, Latino, Chicano and Tejano community. From 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, the hillside will come alive with mariachi music and folkloric dance performances, family-friendly art activities and a vendor market. From 4 to 10 p.m., a free shuttle bus will make trips to and from Rudy Mendez Recreation Center to the Pan American Recreation Center to drop off people who park in the neighborhood around Rudy Mendez Recreation Center. Some neighborhood parking can be found around the Pan Am Recreation Center. It is an alcohol-free event. For more information and the schedule of events, visit AustinTexas.gov/VivaMexico.

Applications are open for the city Equity Office’s 2024-25 Equity Mini Grant Fund, offering support for local grassroots organizations that prioritize immigrant advocacy (meaning refugees, asylees, undocumented people, parolees, etc.), solidarity with unhoused people and anti-displacement/displacement prevention. The mini grants of $10,000, $20,000 and $30,000 are intended to reduce challenges for smaller organizations to help amplify their work and keep the focus on community. “The ideal applicant plans to or currently works to improve disparities and incorporates lived experiences of people most impacted at the center of every phase of the work. Strong applicants include organizations and grassroots groups working together on the same issues,” according to a statement from the city. The application window closes at 11:59 p.m. Oct. 15, and all applicants will be notified of decisions by late December 2024, with fund awarded starting in late January 2025. Applications are accepted in both English and Spanish, and for broader language access, reach out to equity@austintexas.gov or 512-974-1797 by Sept. 15. For more information about the program, visit www.austintexas.gov/department/grant-programs.

The Asian American Resource Center will be closed to the public next week from Monday, Aug. 19, through Friday, Aug. 23. It will reopen on Saturday, Aug. 24, at 10 a.m. During the closure, which is taking place to perform routine maintenance, no programs or events will be held. More information about the closure and the center can be found here.

Waterloo Greenway Conservancy announced the return of its free, family-friendly community programming this fall. On Tuesday mornings at 10, Sept. 17 through Oct. 15, the park will host its “Morning Glories” educational series that “provides hands-on activities and programs to promote literacy, bilingual storytelling, music, dance, cultural learnings, and nature play,” according to a press release. The scheduled events include stories for Hispanic Heritage Month, and World Bollywood Day with partners like the Austin Public Library, Monarch Sanctuary Project, Texas Book Festival and Asian American Resource Center. The park will also host yoga on Mondays at 6 from Oct. 21 to Nov. 25, and workouts for those 50 years or older on Thursdays from Sept. 5 until Nov. 21. This year’s events also include a Día de los Muertos festival, opera in the park and, of course, Creek Show. More information on Waterloo conservancy programming can be found here.

Austin Parks Foundation has added to its course of free fitness, play, movies and art programs for all ages. The foundation announced new dates for Fitness in the Park with Habitat Retreats, which will hold Monday Movement sunrise yoga at 7 a.m. followed by a swim at Barton Springs. The group will also host a series of playdates in partnership with Creative Action in various parks during September, October and November. Kids can also partake in nature-inspired art projects with Painting Pandas through the new Art in the Park series this fall. And, finally, APF announced two new dates for its popular Movies in the Park, with plans to show Barbie at Mueller Lake Park on Friday, Sept. 13, and The Grinch at Balcones District Park on Thursday, Dec. 5.

The Dougherty Arts Center is currently accepting applications for ceramic artists for its visual artist residency program. The program offers space, facilities and professional contact intended to help develop recipients as artists, with benefits that include studio space, access to kiln firing and glazes, and promotion through Dougherty’s digital presence and a resident exhibition. “This is a work exchange program where resident artists are expected to create outreach opportunities within the community such as teaching workshops, giving public presentations, critiques, and monitoring the Dougherty Arts Center’s independent study program and open studio hours. Residency terms are six months, renewable up to a total of two years,” a press release from the city explains. Applications are open now through Sept. 15 at 11:59 p.m. and can be found here.

Council Member Paige Ellis took to X on Tuesday to declare that she was “fighting to keep pools affordable and accessible for all” after word got out that this year’s budget included increased fees for Austin pools. Ellis explained that, during today’s budget hearing, staff would bring forth an amendment to keep fees at the current level. She told the Austin Monitor that her aim was to not increase any pool fees this year. Under the current budget proposal, pools with entry fees would see an increase from $5 to $8 for adult residents and annual passes would increase to $270 from the current range, which is $180 to $255.

Pete Winstead, 84, one of Austin’s best-known civic leaders, passed away last week after a battle with cancer. Winstead was a founding member of the Winstead PC Law firm, which started in Dallas in 1973. The firm expanded to Austin as well as Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, the Woodlands, New York City and Charlotte, N.C. Winstead and his wife, Tomi, moved to Austin in 1987 and Pete became involved in a variety of organizations. He was appointed by Gov. George Bush as the first chair of the Texas Turnpike Authority in 1997. He also played a leading role in the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, the Real Estate Council, the United Way, St. Edward’s University, the Greater Austin Crime Commission and KLRU Public Television. He also chaired a $50 million capital campaign for the Dell Seton Medical Center at the University of Texas. His firm also touted his work when the firm helped take the Dell Computer Corp. public in 1988. There will be a service to honor Pete’s life next Monday, Aug. 19, at the Four Seasons Hotel, 98 San Jacinto Blvd., Austin, Texas, from 4 to 6 p.m., with the ceremony beginning at 5 p.m.  In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Pete Winstead Endowment for Student Scholars at the UT Austin Dell Medical School or to the charity of your choice.

AISD will be providing free breakfast and lunch for all students at 77 of its 116 schools this school year. Funding for the meals comes though the federally funded Community Eligibility Provision program, which serves students enrolled in low-income areas free of an application process or documentation. Students that attend schools not served by the CEP program can still get free or reduced-cost meals, but they will have to go through an application process that can be found here, or be directly certified through other programs. According to a press release from AISD, the schools participating in the CEP program are:

Pre-K and Early Childhood Centers: Uphaus ECC

Elementary Schools: Allison, Andrews, Barrington, Blackshear, Blanton, Blazier, Boone, Brown, Campbell, Casey, Cook, Cunningham, Dawson, Galindo, Govalle, Graham, Guerrero-Thompson, Harris, Hart, Houston, Jordan, Joslin, Kocurek, Langford, Linder, McBee, Menchaca, Norman-Sims, Oak Hill, Oak Springs, Odom, Ortega, Overton, Padron, Palm, Pecan Springs, Perez, Pickle, Pillow, Pleasant Hill, Rodriguez, Sanchez, St. Elmo, Travis Heights, Walnut Creek, Widen, Williams, Winn, Wooldridge, Wooten, Zavala

Middle Schools: Bedichek, Burnet, Covington, Dobie, Garcia YMLA, Lively, Marshall, Martin, Mendez, Paredes, Sadler Means YWLA, Webb

High Schools: Akins ECHS, Crockett ECHS, Eastside ECHS, Garza Independence, GPA at Navarro, GPA at Travis, International, LBJ ECHS, Navarro ECHS, Northeast ECHS, Travis ECHS

Other Campuses: Alternative Learning Center, Rosedale School

After 60 years in operation, Decker Dam at Walter E. Long Lake is getting an upgrade. According to a press release from the city, Austin Energy will replace the gates and anchors for the dam, which were designed and installed in 1967. “Almost 60 years later, it’s time to improve and upgrade that equipment, bringing it up to current regulations and specifications, increasing safety and protecting a local gem for the future,” notes the release. At the moment, Austin Energy is drafting the requirements for the upgrade, with an anticipated start date in 2025 and an expectation the project will be wrapped up sometime in 2027. To prepare for the project, the city is going to let evaporation lower lake levels to 550 feet. Once the levels are below 554 feet, boat ramps will close, though lake access will remain for shore-launched boats, like kayaks.

In an attempt to make impending electrical grid failures easier for the public to understand, city officials unveiled a new color-coded chart on Monday. The chart, which can be seen below, illustrates ERCOT grid conditions with information on what to do at each stage. The chart ranges from green, which represents normal conditions and “everyday conservation,” to red, which indicates there is an ERCOT Energy Emergency Alert 3 and asks residents to put emergency plans into use. “As our air conditioners work harder and harder, ERCOT grid conditions can turn on a dime,” Mayor Kirk Watson said in a statement to the press. “You may remember that last year we had 12 energy conservation notices when ERCOT asked us to reduce our consumption – sometimes with very little advance notice. Actions by residents and businesses during those hours helped all of us avoid the worst. Our community coming together to conserve means that the lights – and AC – can stay on.” Watson and Austin Energy officials stressed that, even under the best conditions, everyone should practice conservation, which can have an impact on overall grid stability.