Save Austin’s Cemeteries is an organization dedicated to preserving city-owned historic cemeteries through documentation, preservation and education and promoting them as local and state cultural resources. Its Spring Tour is a chance to learn about the cemeteries with drop-in history tours. Join in from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 20, at the Oakwood Cemetery, 1601 Navasota St. The event is free and open to the public and has ample free parking. The Oakwood Cemetery was established in 1839 and is a City of Austin Historic Landmark, a Historic Texas Cemetery and on the National Register of Historic Places. The Spring Tour coincides with a new digital exhibit by the Oakwood Cemetery Chapel, “To Fight Fires,” which details the history of the Austin Fire Department from the early 1800s to the present day. An Austin Fire Department truck will be on-site from 10 to 11 a.m.

On Tuesday, the Lower Colorado River Authority announced plans to add a second generating unit to the new peaker plant being built in Central Texas. The addition will double its energy production at the new natural-gas plant in Caldwell County and serve as a source of additional power when demand threatens to outstrip the power supply. The new plant will be named Timmerman Power Plant after LCRA Board Chair Tim Timmerman, who has been an advocate for the plant during his tenure. Timmerman has served on the board since 2008 and as chair since 2011. Each of the peaker plant units can supply up to 190 megawatts to the grid, which translates to more than 100,000 homes during peak demand. Construction for the second unit will begin this spring, and it is expected to be in service in 2026. The first unit, which is currently under construction, should be complete by next year. “To keep the Texas economy moving, we need more affordable, reliable power, and that’s why plants like these here in Central Texas are so incredibly important,” Gov. Greg Abbott said at a ceremonial groundbreaking at the plant site. “When grid demand is at its peak, these plants will quickly provide power for the grid even as we set new demand records for power every single summer.”

Austin’s Earl J. Pomerleau Pocket Park will be officially welcomed into the world today with a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate its completion. Austin Parks Foundation, Austin Parks and Recreation Department and Windsor Park Neighborhood Association have teamed up to officially open the Earl J. Pomerleau Pocket Park with a free, open-to-the-public celebration at 1906 Patton Lane at 4 p.m. today. The 2-acre park project began in 2018 and has been open to the public since July. This March, with the help of a donor, its pavilion was completed. The project is the result of a joint effort between the host organizations and funded through ACL Board Designated Funds, an Urban Forestry Grant and city parkland dedication fees. The new park includes a playground, picnic areas and a loop trail in addition to the pavilion.

This Thursday at 9 a.m., City Council and the Planning Commission will hold a joint meeting to consider changes to the Land Development Code. The changes, which are detailed here, are part of an update aimed at creating more housing by revising compatibility standards and reducing minimum lot size for single-unit developments, among other things. Thursday’s meeting will feature an overview of the changes as well as a public hearing, with additional public hearings at the April 23 Planning Commission meeting and the May 16 meeting of City Council. In addition, the city will hold two open houses. The first will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. on April 17 at Austin Central Library. The second meeting will be virtual, from 10 a.m. until noon. Speaker registration for Thursday’s joint meeting can be found here.

This Thursday, April 11, the city will host its annual Career Expo at the Palmer Events Center. The event is designed to provide opportunities for anyone seeking a job, and to offer a chance to network with employers and other work resources. According to a press release about the event, “The Career Expo will include several City departments, private employers, state agencies, higher education and technical schools, temporary staffing agencies, and many smaller businesses with skilled, customer service and labor job openings. There is no cost for job seekers to attend, and a professional photographer will be onsite taking headshots of attendees at no charge.” For reference, last year’s expo had about 100 employers present, with more than 4,000 jobs available. Registration is online at AustinTexas.gov/CareerExpo.

The city is raising parking fees at Zilker Park, transitioning from the current $7 flat day fee to a $3 per hour rate staring May 25, 2024. In a memo to City Council, parks Director Kimberly McNeeley explains the change is expected to increase vehicle turnover and give the department more information about how long people are staying at the park, which will help in future parking plans. Despite the fact that a full day of parking will now cost more, McNeeley wrote that “PARD’s current data shows that many visitors park for less than two hours, making this change a reduction in fees for those who visit the park in shorter increments.” Parking funds collected in the park go directly to support maintenance and improvements within Zilker. In the memo, McNeeley also explains that a peak-season shuttle to off-site parking will return this year, in addition to a new circulator shuttle in the park. “The details of each program are being finalized and will be announced next month. It is important to note that there is no identified sustainable funding source for either the internal circulator or the off-site parking shuttle. Shuttle service funding availability is evaluated annually and allocated if feasible,” McNeeley wrote.

Waterloo Greenway will unveil a new vision for Sir Swante Palm Neighborhood Park at a pair of community feedback sessions on April 25 and 27. The design is a culmination of more than six months of outreach that involved feedback from more than 2,000 community members who shared input on future amenities, natural areas and an identity for the park. April’s events mark the final official chance for community input before the anticipated groundbreaking in 2026. The sessions will take place on:

• Thursday, April 25
  Martin Middle School (1601 Haskell St., Austin, TX 78702) from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, April 27
  Eastside Early College High School (900 Thompson St., Austin, TX 78702) from 10 a.m. to noon

Both events are free and open to the public, with snacks and refreshments provided.

The Animal Services Office has a new “Urgent Placement” section on its website that features dogs that face significant barriers to finding homes. A memo from Chief Animal Services Officer Don Bland to City Council explains that the list is modeled on KC Pet Project’s list. The Kansas City, Missouri, shelter – which is also no-kill – “found that providing concise, easy-to-digest information was the best method” to find placements for potentially at-risk dogs, according to Bland. “The list’s primary goals are to: 1. Identify the dogs that have significant barriers to adoption and facilitate their placement into appropriate foster or adoptive homes (and) 2. Notify stakeholders of which dogs could potentially be at risk of euthanasia,” wrote Bland, who emphasized that the normal euthanasia process that requires noticing at least 48 hours in advance would be followed, if necessary.

For the 13th year, the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center is hosting La Mujer: A Celebration of Women, this time at the women-owned Cathedral Art Gallery at 2403 E. 16th St. from 1-6 p.m. Sunday, April 21. The annual event aims for women in Austin’s Mexican American and Latina/o/x/e community to be seen, heard and empowered, with mental health and wellness programming from organizations such as Contigo Wellness and Austin Public Health, a BIPOC-centered marketplace by Frida Friday ATX, and visual art exhibits curated by Monica Ceniceros of the Cathedral. Indoor activities include a sound healing workshop with Andrea Cortez from the Mind, Body and Music Center, a rebozo (shawl) workshop with Irasema Reza-Bailey from Manos Magicas and a somatic writing workshop with poet and author Leticia Urieta. Outdoors, there will be food trucks and aguas frescas; an all-day artisan marketplace; free hands-on children’s activities; an “open pitch” for Austinites to speak about their business, craft or organization; and an open mic for music and poetry. Workshops and keynote require pre-registration; all other activities will be open to all attendees with no RSVP or ticket required. There will also be sound and movement and weaving family activities with Creative Action. Pre-register for indoor workshops at AustinTexas.gov/MACCLaMujer or on Eventbrite.

In a memo sent to City Council, interim City Manager Jesús Garza announced that he has made interim Airport Chief Executive Officer Ghizlane Badawi’s position permanent, noting it was “imperative to bring stability to the AUS team now as we move forward in earnest with several key projects.” To wit, over the next few months, Council will consider billions of dollars in improvements to the airport as part of an ongoing modernization and expansion that is currently underway. Garza also announced a new human resources director for the city. Susan Sinz, who has served as HR director in the city of Largo, Fla., since 2003, was appointed to the position.

Texas remains one of the most dangerous states for people being killed in traffic crashes. In 2023, 105 people died while riding bicycles statewide. In response, the volunteer group Austin Ghost Bike Project installs white memorial bikes near the scenes of fatality crashes. The organization – along with Safe Streets Austin and Farm&City – is calling upon Austin, Travis County and Texas elected officials to reduce vehicular fatalities and serious injuries across the state to zero. All three groups urge government officials to:

1) Increase efforts to solve these and many other unresolved cold cases;
2) Increase the scope and speed of installing protected bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure; and
3) Commit to eliminating deaths and serious injuries on our roadways.

“Enough is enough,” said Adam Greenfield, advocacy director at Safe Streets Austin. “People should not be dying while moving around on Austin’s streets. It’s time for elected leaders at all levels to take the fight against the epidemic of vehicle-related deaths and serious injuries in Austin to the next level. We must take action to rapidly eliminate these tragedies on our streets.” The International Ride of Silence is scheduled for 7 p.m. May 15 at City Hall, where Austinites will join thousands of cyclists around the world to bike silently in honor of victims of traffic violence. Cyclists are welcome to join the short, slow and silent ride that will stop by several ghost bikes.