The timeline for implementing the South Central Waterfront Regulating Plan has been extended once again, according to a memo from Planning Department Director Lauren Middleton-Pratt. In the memo, she explains that at an Aug. 24 meeting with members of the development community, her department heard concerns that “the Regulating Plan, as presented, would not be adequate to meet current and future market demands, would create obstacles to development, and would not achieve the vision of the South Central Waterfront Vision Framework Plan. To better understand the concerns of the development community, focused meetings will be held in mid-October.” A meeting with an advisory board working group two weeks later brought to light additional concerns that “some of the proposed community benefits could be exclusive and not available to the public.” In order to get more time to iron out these details, the original schedule that would bring the plan to City Council in December has been scrapped. The new timeline will allow for revisions and community comment through the end of this year, new presentations to city boards and commissions in January and February of 2024, and an anticipated Council vote in March or April of 2024.

The Sanchez Elementary Green School Park has been spruced up, and a celebratory ribbon cutting will mark the changes at 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 27. The park is the last in a series of pilot sites in the Green School Parks program that was funded by a grant from Cities Connecting Children to Nature. It was funded, in part, by an ACL Music Festival Grant from Austin Parks Foundation and completed with their support, Austin Independent School District and the Austin Parks and Recreation Department. According to a press release about the ribbon cutting, the park now “combines nature play, new trees, an outdoor classroom, and traditional park amenities for an experience that is enjoyed by both children and adults alike. A playful circuit of balance logs, stump jumps, stepping stones, and a play bridge encourage movement, balance, and agility all while engaging with natural materials.”

Pulitzer on the Road is pulling in to Austin Central Library next month for a discussion about storytelling. The Library Foundation and PEN Across America have teamed up for a moderated discussion between author Hernan Diaz and journalist Eli Saslow about telling stories in different genres, “the crucial aspect of truth in journalism as well as historical fiction; American loneliness and omnipotence; whose narratives get told and prioritized, and how they bring their characters to life on the page,” according to a Library Foundation press release. The event is free and open to the public and will take place at the Austin Central Library Gallery at at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 16. Tickets are available here.

The renovation of 1970s-era tennis courts and the pro shop near Patterson Park just off Airport Boulevard will be celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the coming weeks. The Burnett “Blondie” Pharr Tennis Center now meets accessibility requirements and has refurbished courts, plus energy-efficient sports lighting, among other improvements. On top of that, local artists Rakhee Jain Desai and Melissa Knight convened with community members for ideas on their on-site sculpture “Harmonic Strings,” which was inspired by the energy and camaraderie of tennis. The ribbon-cutting ceremony is set for 10 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25, at 4201 Brookview Road. Learn more about the Pharr Tennis Center renovation here.

Community members are invited to come together for Día de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, on Saturday, Nov. 4 – the 16th annual celebration of this beloved tradition presented by the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (ESB-MACC). The large-scale festival celebrating the lives of ancestors, family, friends and public figures will be at the Pan American Recreation Center, 2100 E. Third St. Guests can enjoy hands-on children’s activities, art activations, vendors, food trucks, and a collective community altar. MexAmeriCon – the only Latine-focused comic con in Central Texas – will present its afternoon showcase of Mexican American and Latinx artists who create comic books, graphic novels, zines and pop art. The event will also offer sugar skull decorating, large-scale art installations by Las Piñatas ATX, a live lotería bingo game and face-painting. The ESB-MACC, in collaboration with Oakwood Cemetery, the Long Center, and Parks and Recreation facilities, will also offer free public pop-up events before and after the festival. Día de los Muertos, the day that loved ones can return, is Thursday, Nov. 2. The Alma y Corazon Ceremony takes place from 5:30 to 8 p.m. that day at the Oakwood Cemetery, 1601 Navasota St., with an altar presentation, ceremony and talk from Mariana Nuño Ruiz McEnroe, author of “Dining with the Dead,” on rich culinary traditions in Mexico associated with Día de los Muertos. There will be guitar music and complimentary hot chocolate and tamales while they come together to share their stories. All are invited to pay respect to the individuals buried in Oakwood Cemetery. For more on the collective ofrenda (altar), what to bring and more details on these ceremonies and events, visit the city’s rundown here.

Mayor Kirk Watson has indicated progress on the search for a new city manager. On Monday, Watson posted an update to the City Council Message Board explaining that the Council committee tasked with finding a search firm will be recommending Mosaic Public Partners. The committee is made up of Watson, Mayor Pro Tem Paige Ellis and Council members Chito Vela and Leslie Pool, but the selection of a search firm will require approval by Council as a whole. Watson had previously said that a search firm would be approved by Council in August or September of this year, with an ultimate goal of having a new city manager in place by September 2024. “The Committee reviewed multiple responses to the RFQ, interviewed four national firms (three in person and one virtually) and evaluated references before deciding to make this recommendation. Mosaic Public Partners is a national search firm with broad experience in recruiting public sector officials, including previously recruiting positions for the City of Austin. Among other factors the Committee considered in making this recommendation was Mosaic’s commitment to an open, transparent process that involved a robust public process,” Watson wrote. A transparent process would stand in contrast to the previous city manager search, which was initially held in secret before becoming public. Mosaic is also leading the search for Austin Water’s assistant director of operations. Currently, the city manager position is being filled on an interim basis by former city manger Jesús Garza, who replaced Spencer Cronk after his firing in February 2023. Council is expected to vote on the recommendation at its Oct. 19 meeting.

Austin Independent School District, Austin Public Health and other community partners will host “Boo to the Flu” this Saturday, Oct. 7. The event will feature free seasonal flu vaccines for those six months and older, in addition to “games, treats, and community resources.” No insurance, ID or proof of residency will be required. “Going to the doctor to get a shot, especially when you’re taking a kid, isn’t always fun. This event is looking to change that,” said APH Director Adrienne Sturrup in a statement to the press. “Our nurses are the best in the business and they’re raring to go and get your families the vaccines they need to have a safe rest of the year.” The event will take place on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Allison Elementary School, which is located at 515 Vargas Road.

The annual Zilker Holiday Tree Art Contest is on! Young artists between the ages of 5 and 10 are invited to enter their best original drawing of the Zilker Holiday Tree before Nov. 1. The top three artists from each category (junior and senior) will take part in the lighting of the tree in addition to their public recognition. Drawings can be submitted online or by mailing the Austin Parks and Recreation Department at 200 S. Lamar Blvd., along with an entry form in English or Spanish. Contest rules also stipulate one entry per child, and that all artwork fit in an 8.5-by-11-inch flat frame and be done on paper of a normal “paper thickness.”

Local media isn’t the only group with questions about the recent appointment of a new head of police oversight. The appointment of Gail McCant, which was made without a promised national search, is the subject of a City Council Message Board post that asks interim City Manager Jesús Garza why the process unfolded as it did. Council members Zo Qadri, Chito Vela, Jose Velasquez, Vanessa Fuentes, Ryan Alter, Alison Alter and Mayor Pro Tem Paige Ellis had all asked for an explanation on the message board as of Wednesday evening. “Our offices have had the opportunity to work with Gail McCant during the preparation and passage of the recently passed (Austin Police Oversight Act) implementation ordinance, and we look forward to having her as the next director of the Office of Police Oversight. We found her professional, transparent, and accessible every time we reached out to her,” wrote Council members Qadri, Vela, Velasquez, Fuentes and Ryan Alter. “However, we were surprised there would be no national search for her role, as had been previously stated. Given the significance of this role and the high-profile nature of the office, why was the decision made to forgo a search and instead appoint the OPO director from within the City of Austin? We hope the City Manager can further explain his thinking on this decision, not only for our own understanding but for the understanding of the public who we all serve.” Though Garza is currently on vacation, he announced the appointment via memo on Sept. 29.

A mural commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Onion Creek flood that devastated Onion Creek neighborhoods will be unveiled at 10 a.m. Oct. 28 at Onion Creek Metropolitan Park, 8652 Nuckols Crossing Road. Mayor Kirk Watson, City Council Member Vanessa Fuentes and Travis County Constable George Morales will speak at the ceremony, taking place at the site of the mural near the intersection of Vine Hill and Onion Creek drives in the park. Onion Creek flood survivors participated in a series of focus groups with artist Alonso Estrada to collaborate on the mural, which is inspired by an ancient Native American myth of a wild white horse that inhabited Onion Creek. The mural tells the story of the community members who survived as they struggled to save their neighbors from floodwaters. Following a second flood in 2015, the city offered buyouts to relocate residents and return the flood-prone area to nature. The Austin Parks and Recreation Department invested $4 million to establish Onion Creek Metropolitan Park, completed in 2019. Austin-based artist Alonso Estrada was chosen in an open call to complete the mural. It was produced by PARD’s Dougherty Arts Center staff in partnership with the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center, the Watershed Protection Department, the Office of Resiliency and community service organization GAVA (Go Austin Vamos Austin).

The city’s Food Justice Mini Grants program has awarded $3,000 grants to 25 organizations that focus on positive change in Austin’s food system. “To create lasting change, we must empower those working toward food justice,” said Zach Baumer, the city of Austin’s interim chief sustainability officer, in a statement to the press. “Through these grants, we are hoping to foster a stronger, more equitable food landscape across our community.” The grant program, which was launched in 2020, “funds projects and programs that help build transformational change around how food moves from the fields to our forks,” according to a press release about the awards. That press release also listed the recipients in full as:

• ATX Free Fridge
• Austin Mutual Aid
• Carol’s Kindness
• Casa Anormalidad
• Central Texas Young Farmers Coalition
• Community Coalition for Neighborhood Stability (CCNS), in partnership with Go Austin Vamos Austin (GAVA)
• Dove Springs Proud
• El Buen Samaritano
• Farmshare Austin
• Govalle Elementary School
• Keep Austin Fed
• Latinas en el Hogar Empoderadas, in partnership with Go Austin Vamos Austin (GAVA)
• Mariposa Family Learning Center
• More Than Welcome
• Multicultural Refugee Coalition
• Neighborhood Molino
• North Austin Muslim Community Center (NAMCC)
• Our Shared Kitchen, Inc.
• Out Youth, in partnership with SWEET
• Partners for Education, Agriculture and Sustainability (PEAS)
• Sunday Lunchbox
• Teen Mom Tender Start
• Trinity Center
• UT Outpost
• WorkingGroup512

Tuesday’s normal work session, at which City Council members hear presentations from staff and ask questions about items on Thursday’s Council agenda, was canceled. Surely this is not the first time, but the Austin Monitor staff does not remember when that has happened before. When asked for an explanation, city spokesperson Shelley Parks said via email, “The reason the council work session was cancelled is due to the fact that there wasn’t a presentation scheduled, no Q&A’s, and no pulled items.” Two Council staff members said the same thing. Thursday’s meeting should be short, with only 41 items on the agenda.