City of Austin offices and the Austin Monitor will be closed in observance of Veterans Day this Friday, Nov. 10. A complete list of closures can be found here. The city closures include administrative offices, city museums and cultural centers, the Austin Animal Center and Austin Public Library branches.

The nonprofit group Diversity Awareness and Wellness in Action has scheduled a series of grand opening events at its new headquarters on Springdale Road near Bolm Road. The group, which helps promote and support BIPOC arts and community organizations, will host a soft opening weekend running Nov. 9-12 featuring an art exhibit opening and live music. The following weekend’s events will include a series of podcast recordings, concerts and DJ nights. DAWA, which was created during the Covid-19 pandemic, has raised and distributed hundreds of thousands of dollars in aid to local marginalized communities. In its former home on West Fifth Street, it helped local artists and musicians create more than 1,000 hours of content. At the Springdale location, it will offer free studio access on Mondays and Tuesdays, with funding provided by venue rentals, donor memberships, grants and sponsorships. A complete list of events is available online.

Austin Energy is among the organizers of this weekend’s Electrify Expo at Circuit of the Americas, which will showcase the electric vehicle industry for manufacturers and EV enthusiasts. The industry day kicks off Friday, with activities for the general public on Saturday and Sunday. Participants can see a variety of EV products, including e-bikes, e-scooters, e-motorcycles, and e-skateboards, as well as full-sized vehicles. Select EVs will be available to drive on the racetrack, and a professional driver will perform drifting and sliding techniques in a Ford Mustang Mach-E 1400. The industry day panel discussions will bring together leaders from more than a dozen car makers and EV brands, including BMW, Ford, Lexus, Tesla and Porsche. Full programming and schedule details are available online.

The Austin Parks Foundation and the Parks and Recreation Department are looking for feedback on a new Montopolis playground this Wednesday. To gather information, the groups are hosting an open house filled with project information in order to weigh the public’s preferences on how the renovation of Montopolis Neighborhood Park should look. The revamp of the plan came out of feedback gathered during planning for a major overhaul of the Montopolis pool, where “the community expressed a desire for more shade around the park and a nature play area to increase play opportunities. Coupled with the need for improved drainage in the existing playground area, Austin Parks Foundation will lead the project to renovate the playground and provide the community with updated amenities and play opportunities. The renovation of the existing playground will include new play equipment, play surfacing, improved drainage, concrete walks, seating, shade, and nature play elements,” according to a press release from the parks department. Wednesday’s pop-up open house will take place at the Montopolis Recreation and Community Center from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Those unable to attend can provide feedback online through an upcoming survey that will be open this month.

This week is Municipal Courts Week, a statewide focus honoring court staff and the public services they provide. The City of Austin Municipal Court will host some helpful activities open to the public. Today from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the first-floor lobby at Austin City Hall, 301 W. Second St., a traffic safety table provides a chance to meet court staff, learn useful tips on traffic safety and get answers to questions on court services, such as educational traffic programs for youth. And if you’d like help resolving a outstanding class C misdemeanor criminal case, a prosecutor, judge and court staff will be available to do so and to help answer questions at the Terrazas library branch at 1105 E. Cesar Chavez St. No appointments needed. Spanish interpreters will be available. This mobile court event will cover two days: 2 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 8, and 10 a.m. to noon Thursday, Nov. 9. There are also options to set up a payment plan, request community service or petition for a hardship waiver.

The Trail Conservancy has announced that CEO Heidi Anderson will step down from her position at the end of the year. She has not announced what her next role will be. In the interim, COO Hanna Cofer will serve in the top spot for the nonprofit organization that oversees the Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail, which also includes 300 acres of parkland that make up Town Lake Metropolitan Park. The conservancy plans to post a permanent job listing for the position in the coming months, according to a Nov. 2 announcement. Austin Business Journal’s latest data showed the nonprofit had $2.6 million in revenue in 2020. “Heidi’s remarkable leadership not only shaped the present state of The Trail Conservancy but also laid a strong foundation for its future,” Board Chair Andy Austin said in a prepared statement. “Her dedication to enhancing the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail has been nothing short of inspirational. While we will miss her greatly, we are excited for the next chapter and remain committed to preserving this treasured community asset.”

A national report from Urban Land Institute has named Austin as No. 5 in a ranking of the top real estate markets, joining Nashville, Tennessee; Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina; Jacksonville, Florida; and Boise, Idaho, in the “supernova” category of desirable markets. Those cities are seen as strong magnet communities drawing people and companies more quickly than the U.S. average in terms of population and job growth. The report also named Austin the No. 1 city on the list of markets with the best homebuilding prospects. Austin has ranked seventh or higher in every iteration of the report since 2010. Among the “growing pains” Austin is starting to experience, the report highlights the effect of work-from-home policies on office space real estate, the rising cost of living and a rise in migration to San Antonio, Killeen and Denver. ULI will host an Emerging Trends in Real Estate event on Dec. 6 at the J.J. Pickle Research Campus.

Enrollment is open for the spring 2024 term at Austin Police Department’s Community Police Academy, a 14-week program that familiarizes members of the public with APD’s work with a stated goal to “increase the rapport between community members and police officers.” The class curriculum covers the work of different units within the department, and meetings will be held 5:30-9:30 p.m. once a week from Feb. 6 through May 14. Interested community members can apply here.

Today is the last day of early voting for the November election. As a reminder, the polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. generally, with the mega centers at Ben Hur Shrine Center, the Austin Permitting and Development Center, Millennium Youth Complex and Southpark Meadows to remain open until 10 p.m. tonight. Travis County registered voters can cast their ballots at any of the polling centers in the county. As of Nov. 1, only about 5 percent of registered voters – or 44,022 people – had cast ballots in this election, so if you’re looking for your vote to count, here’s an election that will do that. Polls will reopen on election day proper, Nov, 7, from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.

Rainfall and improved drought conditions have eased fire concerns enough that the city’s restriction on burning in parks has been lifted. The restriction, which applied to all city parkland, is no longer in effect. However, according to a press release from the parks department, “The Department is committed to protecting the City’s parks and surrounding communities and will continue to evaluate the wildfire risk on an ongoing basis. If conditions worsen and the threat of wildfire increases, a Parks Burning Restriction will be activated.”

A recent study of real estate investors finds that Austin is seen as the second-most-attractive market in the U.S. for those looking to maximize their return on investment. Moving Feedback’s new Empty Lot Index ranks Austin second behind Tampa, Florida, as the city with the greatest potential for “remarkable” real estate growth. The survey of 3,000 prospective investors was based on the prospect of developing an empty 1-acre parcel of land anywhere in the country, with the report noting: “Austin pulses with economic energy, powered by a diverse engine of technology, healthcare, and entertainment.” Nineteen other Texas cities earned a spot on the list, with San Antonio at No. 9, Edinburg at No. 10, and Sugar Land at No. 20.

TimeDone Texas, a statewide program to organize and empower Texans living with a past record, is hosting a community empowerment event at noon, Saturday, at Givens Recreation Center on East 12th Street. Organizers will help participants advocate for more progressive public safety policies. Those in attendance can also receive information about housing options, employment assistance, legal services, and other resources to help those with a criminal history move on and improve their lives. TimeDone, part of the Alliance for Safety and Justice, notes that Texas has more than 800 statutes, administrative rules, and court rules that make it difficult for those with a record to secure employment, education, or housing.