An allegation that nonprofit Save Austin Now stepped into PAC territory while gathering signatures to reinstate the homeless camping ban lacks evidence – for now. An evidentiary hearing at Wednesday’s Ethics Review Commission meeting was postponed when the nonprofit’s counsel could not attend. The commissioners will now hear evidence for and against the allegation on March 10, pushing a final hearing to April at the earliest. The complaint, brought by political consultant Mark Littlefield, received a preliminary hearing last month, but the affair was light on evidence. “You know it when you see it,” Littlefield said. Save Austin Now denies wrongdoing. If more evidence is coming, we’ll hear about it in March.

Yesterday, some city services – parks and curbside pickup – were disrupted due to inclement weather. With the threat of winter weather continuing through next week, Austinites can stay on top of park closures by visiting the parks department online. Anyone whose curbside service was disrupted by the weather is asked to leave their items to be collected out, with an assurance that they will not be cited by the Code Department. Numerous, non-weather closures are planned for Monday due to the Presidents Day holiday. A full list of those closures can be found here. Though the Austin Monitor isn’t much impacted by unseasonably cold weather, aside from not liking it much, we will be taking a break from publishing on Monday and will return on Tuesday.

Lady Bird Lake Boardwalk (Photo by The Trail Foundation)

Architecture buffs, visitors to the city and adventure-seeking perambulators will welcome the news of a brand-new online tour of Austin architecture. Happy Trails, the second self-guided tour from Guide to Austin Architecture, “follows the fascinating, obscure histories of landmarks along the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail to trace downtown Austin’s lakefront revitalization over time,” according to the news release. Ingrid Spencer, the executive director of AIA Austin and the Austin Foundation for Architecture, said, “We wanted to share our love for this trail and provide a new experience to Austinites during these strange times. So many landmarks on the trail have incredible stories – from the monumental to the mundane.” The 10.2 mile trail, which has 14 stops, was produced by local architect Bud Franck, with help from The Trail Foundation. Happy Trails debuts today.

Common Ground for Texans’ next panel will explore the timely topic of election integrity and voting rights. “As we view the issues through different lens, can we agree on definitions to move forward with solutions and strategies? Examples of areas that are likely to come up are: vote-by-mail, online voter registration, placement of polling places, voter ID.” The confirmed panelists – “both conservative leaning and progressive leaning folks,” are Rose Clouston, voter protection officer with Texas Democratic Party; Jennifer Richmond, the founder of TruthInBetween and a member of Braver Angels Central Texas Media Action Group; and moderator Mike Ignatowski, board member of Common Ground for Texans. Saturday, Feb. 27, at 2 p.m. via Zoom. Visit the CG4TX website for registration info.

The National Endowment for the Arts has awarded Austin ISD’s Creative Learning Initiative a $100,000 grant to support access to the arts. This is the fifth time the initiative has been awarded this grant. Among other things, the grant will support elementary school drama and dance instruction, partnerships with community arts groups and professional resources for AISD teachers. John Green-Otero, the coordinator of the Creative Learning Initiative, said in an announcement about the award, “Receiving this prestigious grant allows us to better provide all kids with equitable access to the arts and creative learning. As an Initiative, we strive to advance the rigor, relevance and relationships of the arts and education for all AISD students and it is an honor to be with this select group of people doing such amazing work.”

Photo by Alan Schmierer made available through a Creative Commons license.

The February entry in Balcones Canyonlands Preserve’s Wild Neighbors series unrolls a subject close to every Texan’s heart: the armadillo. Originally hailing from Mexico, these armored insectivores ambled over the border sometime in the mid-1800s and decided to hang around. Dr. Pamela Owen, the associate director of the Texas Memorial Museum, will “explore the fossil record, biology and ecology of the nine-banded armadillo – our wild neighbor and cultural icon.” You’ll never look at these beneficial (they eat wasps!) and fascinating (they can jump straight up in the air!) mammals the same way again. Register here for the webinar on Friday, Feb. 26, noon-1 p.m. If you can’t attend the live event, it will be recorded and archived on YouTube with the rest of the Wild Neighbors speaker series.

Austin was downgraded to Stage 4 of Austin Public Health’s Covid-19 Risk-Based Guidelines on Monday. Though the change represents a decrease in severity of the pandemic locally, the health department still urges caution. According to the city, the current recommendations include:

• Higher-risk individuals (those over the age of 65 and those who have chronic medical conditions) should stay home, except for essential trips such as buying groceries or seeking medical care.
• Lower-risk individuals should avoid social gatherings, any gatherings greater than 10 people, and non-essential travel.
• Businesses and restaurants voluntarily operate at a reduced capacity of 25-50 percent.
• Schools voluntarily limit attendance at sporting events to players, coaches and parents.

Austin moved into Stage 5 on Dec. 23, 2020, after a spike in cases spurred by holiday gatherings. More information and updates about the pandemic can be found at AustinTexas.gov/COVID19. “As the pace of vaccinations hopefully continues to rise and people continue to stay safe, we can keep moving this community in a positive direction,” APH Director Stephanie Hayden-Howard said.

The city, Capital Metro and Austin Transit Partnership are seeking qualified individuals to join an 11-member advisory committee that will offer advice on issues surrounding Project Connect and equity. The advisory committee, which will include six community members appointed by a nominating committee, will meet monthly. According to the announcement, the committee will provide counsel on the following topics:

• Design features of the system, particularly those that are intended to serve people with disabilities or people who need to use the system in different ways (such as parents traveling with strollers)
• Community involvement and communications during the environmental process
• Transit-supportive anti-displacement tools and strategies to deploy
• Creation of Key Performance Indicators related to equity

Learn more at CapMetro.org/Get-Involved. The application is open until Feb. 28.

Tomorrow is a big day for Norman-Sims Elementary School – it’s the long-awaited (virtual) grand opening of the new modernized campus. Principal Wendy Mills and AISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde invite the entire community to celebrate via Zoom webinar or watch live on AISD’s Facebook page. According to the news release, a host of improvements to the campus “will allow students to be active learners in 21st-century educational spaces. They will use technology and learn collaboratively in the newly designed classrooms.” Mills called the virtual event, which includes a student reenactment of the school’s namesakes, a tour and a ribbon-cutting, “the next step in a bold new beginning for both the school and our community.” Thursday, Feb. 11, 10:30 a.m. RSVP here.

City Council members have plenty to consider at their meeting today, and if there is not sufficient agreement on items to put before voters on May 1, they will have to come back Wednesday and Thursday to firm up the ballot. In addition to items calling for a special election on the citizen-initiated ordinance that would reinstate criminal penalties for camping in public areas, Council will also consider several charter amendments from the group that wishes to change Austin’s form of government to a strong-mayor system. Austin firefighters have also petitioned Council to place an item on the ballot requiring the city to participate in binding arbitration on firefighter contracts. None of those things come as a surprise since citizens have been collecting signatures on petitions for several months. The surprise item is from Council Member Greg Casar, who proposes a charter amendment he says “would give City Council and the community the opportunity to make the (Office of Police Oversight) even stronger and more independent moving forward through future discussion and Council ordinance.” In a statement released Monday, Casar noted that the cities of New Orleans and Seattle each have police monitors governed by independent boards. As there is likely to be considerable discussion about the timeliness of this item, Casar wrote in a City Council Message Board post, “In most cases, I would prefer more time for community conversation before putting a charter amendment on the ballot. Since the citizen petitions have triggered a charter election, we may not have the opportunity to alter the charter again for two years, given state law. I don’t want to let the moment pass us by. Further, this charter amendment is different. It creates the *option* for Council to create more independent structures, but the charter amendment does not dictate the future path.” He thanked Council members Alison Alter, Vanessa Fuentes, Pio Renteria and Mayor Pro Tem Natasha Harper-Madison, who co-sponsored the item “for discussion.” In order to avoid coming back for meetings on Wednesday and Thursday, an item must receive seven affirmative votes to be placed on the ballot. If an item receives only six votes, Council will have to reconvene to consider the matter again.

The Austin Independent School District is considering $1,000 “retention incentive benefits” for full-time staff and $500 payments for part-time staff. AISD trustees will vote on the benefits at their Feb. 11 meeting. A press release from the district explains that the bonuses are a way to recognize outstanding work throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. If approved, the money will be distributed in March to employees earning less than $150,000 a year. The measure is supported by Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde, who has “prioritized the need for this additional monetary award as staff continues to persevere through the many challenges of serving students during the pandemic,” according to the press release.

The Lone Star State’s most congested roadway is finally going to get some relief, though nobody can quite agree on what that will look like. The I-35 Capital Express Central project, aimed at improving mobility on I-35 through Central and Downtown Austin, is in the works and plenty of people have had plenty to say about the project. The Texas Department of Transportation is in the process of reviewing comments submitted by more than a dozen city of Austin departments and several thousand Austinites. TxDOT will hold a virtual public scoping meeting from Wed., Feb. 24, to Thu., March 25, “to provide stakeholders an opportunity to view the project presentation and provide comments.” Read the Monitor’s coverage on the topic here, here and here.