The city is celebrating its opening of Assembly Hall in East Austin. The space was renovated through help from the Economic Development Department’s Family Business Loan Program (FBLP), which offers low-interest loans to small businesses via a partnership between the city and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This project transformed the Don Limon Mexican Restaurant and Bakery into an event space that includes a catering kitchen and audio-visual facilities with the help of $1.5 million from the city. The venue, which created 49 new jobs, is managed by the team behind nearby Fair Market. “The opening of Assembly Hall exemplifies our commitment to revitalizing East Austin and supporting local businesses,” Sylnovia Holt-Rabb, director of the Economic Development Department, said in a statement to the press. “We are excited to see this space become a community hub where residents can gather, celebrate, and engage in various activities. This project showcases our dedication to fostering economic growth and enhancing the quality of life for all Austinites.”

Austin Independent School District is holding a job fair to connect job-seekers with classified careers in the district. The fair will showcase administrative, transportation, food service, warehouse, law enforcement, facilities and grounds maintenance and custodial work on Saturday, June 22, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders. The event will be an opportunity to talk to hiring staff and learn more about potential careers at AISD. Would-be attendees are invited to RSVP here.

Anyone can still weigh in on the how they’d like the Interstate 35 expansion to take shape. Specifically, the city is asking Austinites how they envision the caps and stitches that will span the highway. The platforms will bridge the road and could include amenities like parks, buildings and art exhibits. Even though they won’t be constructed for a decade or so, the planning is taking place now. To that end, a survey about what amenities will be included is open to the public until Friday, Aug. 2. To learn more about the overall project, residents can catch up via the OF35 Virtual Open House.

Go Austin/Vamos Austin, which has secured a city contract to create a retail food cooperative in East Austin, is conducting a membership drive to help move forward with the location in Del Valle. Members who pledge $50 during the drive through July 15 will be able to vote to elect the executive board, run for the executive board, receive special member discounts and take part in product development and skills-building classes, with the option to sell products at the co-op. The group is seeking 300 new members by the end of the drive and is also conducting a $100,000 capital campaign.

Austin’s Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management will host an emergency preparedness pop-up event from 4-7 p.m. Tuesday at the Spicewood Springs Branch Library on Spicewood Springs Road. The first 25 households to attend will receive an emergency supply kit and can stock up on free supplies including lanterns, glow sticks, personal cooling supplies, weather radios and battery-powered chargers. City staff will also provide tips and best tactics to stay prepared in the case of an emergency situation. HSEM typically hosts the events on the third Wednesday of each month, but Wednesday’s observance of Juneteenth caused the rescheduling of this month’s session.

The Progress Pride Flag will fly over the Travis County Administration Building for the fourth year on Tuesday, June 25, with a flag-raising ceremony open to the public 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. County Judge Andy Brown will raise the flag, which features rainbow stripes and a chevron of white, pink, light blue, brown and black to symbolize transgender rights, people of color and those living with or lost to HIV/AIDS. The ceremony, at 700 Lavaca St., will include remarks from Brown, the Travis County Commissioners Court and Travis County LGBTQIA+ leaders. To attend, RSVP here.

Bringing the east side community together for 66 years, the Pan Am Hillside Summer Concert Series is planned for 6-9 p.m. every Tuesday in July at the Oswaldo A.B. Cantu Pan American Recreation Center, 2100 E. Third St. Put on in partnership with the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center, the free concert series has been a much-loved tradition in East Austin over decades, showcasing the music and culture of Austin’s Mexican, Mexican American, Chicano and Latino/a/e/x communities. Musical performers include Willie “The Kid” Cantu & the Starlight Band, George Mercado, Janie Balderas, the Tiarras, and Ruben Ramos & the Mexican Revolution. Food trucks on-site will sell refreshments, a community resource fair will have giveaways and there will be free children’s activities. Bring lawn chairs, blankets and coolers, and find the complete lineup of musical performers at AustinTexas.gov/HillsideConcerts and check @ESBMACC for updates.

A better score on floodplain standards from the Federal Emergency Management Agency means Austinites could save money on flood insurance. FEMA has upgraded Austin’s score in the Community Rating System from a 6 to a 5, meaning that a 25 percent discount will be available for most flood insurance policies in Austin issued or renewed on or after Oct. 1. Previously, the highest discount available to Austin residents was 20 percent. The rating system is meant to encourage communities to go above and beyond the minimum standards. Flooding is not covered by homeowners or renters insurance. Because Austin is in the middle of Flash Flood Alley, the city recommends purchasing it separately – and has made significant investments to reduce flood risk to protect lives and lessen property damage. According to FEMA, the new discounts result from those flood mitigation activities, such as floodplain mapping, preserving open space, stormwater management and higher regulatory standards. The average annual flood insurance premium in Austin costs $670. Federally backed flood insurance is available to all Austin residents.

The Red River Cultural District has announced that 14 music venues and concert spaces have signed on to participate in this year’s Hot Summer Nights three-day music festival. The run of free performances featuring all local artists will take place July 18-20. Participating venues are:

• Cheer Up Charlies
• Chess Club
• Creek & Cave
• Elysium
• Empire Control Room & Garage
• Flamingo Cantina
• Liberty Lunch
• Mohawk
• Stubb’s Bar-B-Q
• Swan Dive
• The 13th Floor
• Valhalla
• Vaquero Taquero
• Waterloo Park

Hot Summer Nights, which was launched in 2017, is the summer counterpart to January’s Free Week, when clubs in the RRCD host free concerts as a way to attract patrons in the post-holiday touring lull. Participating artists, which will be announced soon, are compensated via support from an assortment of sponsored and community partners. The RRCD is still working with city staff and City Council members to secure funding – possibly up to $300,000 – for the organization that was approved by Council earlier this year.

The issue of how to fund climate projects has been a long-standing conversation, and this week Austin Outside, a coalition of nonprofits and businesses advocating for healthy and lively outdoor spaces, has weighed in with a letter on its stance. The coalition wrote to the mayor and City Council members to throw its support behind the environmental impact plan recommendations made by the Joint Sustainability Committee, the Office of Sustainability and Council Member Ryan Alter’s office. The letter emphasizes maximizing the bang for the city’s buck regarding the “$1.7 billion backlog of authorized but unissued general obligation bonds from prior elections,” asking for “a thorough return-on-investment analysis” plus a “comparison and ranking of each project’s urgency based on its ability to reduce CO2 emissions and its ease of implementation.” It pointedly asks, “Which projects are ‘shovel ready?’ Which projects can use funding mechanisms that are more readily available to the City? Which projects will need anti-displacement strategies to protect current residents?” Ted Siff, board president of Austin Outside, signed the letter, which was endorsed by the coalition’s board.

The Joan Means Khabele Bathhouse Rehabilitation Project at Barton Springs Pool got another funding boost last week when Barton Springs Conservancy contributed an additional $450,000, bringing the conservancy’s total amount of private contributions to $3,834,000. Pooling donations from One Skye Foundation, Powell Foundation, Still Water Foundation and Susan Vaughan Foundation, the funding will support the Parks and Recreation Department’s construction contract for the bathhouse project. On Thursday, City Council members Paige Ellis, Ryan Alter and Leslie Pool participated in a check presentation ceremony.