The Spanish ambassador to the United States will be in Austin today and Thursday to visit with state and local officials and give a speech or two. Ambassador Ramón Gil-Casares is a former assistant secretary of state and foreign policy adviser to Spanish Head of Government J.M. Aznar. He will travel accompanied by Houston-based Enric Panés, the consul general of Spain in Texas. Gil-Casares plans to meet with several state officials, including House Speaker Joe Straus; Rep. Rafael Anchía, chair of the International Trade and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee; Austin Mayor Steve Adler and others. Gil-Casares will address the Austin Council on Foreign Affairs Thursday, where he will discuss the economic and political situation in Spain, and the state of relations between Spain and the U.S. He will also meet with leaders of several Spanish businesses that have investments in Texas.

The Lower Colorado River Authority will hold an open house April 22 to help educate the public on proposed enhancements to the Mansfield Dam Low Water Crossing Recreation Area. LCRA aims to complete planning and design for the 41-acre recreation area this spring, and construction is expected to begin in 2016. All are invited to learn more and offer feedback from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. April 22 at the Travis County West Service Center, 4501 Highway 620 North. Presentations are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.

City of Austin Chief Information Officer Stephen Elkins has been named one of the top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers of 2015 by Government Technology Magazine. Each year, the publication honors 25 people in the public sector who have encouraged creativity and “transformative projects” in information technology. Elkins has been the city’s CIO since 2010. According to a statement from the city about his accomplishments, Elkins “has championed a transition toward shared services, open data, and streamlined IT processes and projects throughout the city. Elkins has supported partnerships with Code for America and embraced the value of hackathons to spur IT innovation at the city. He has also been fostering regional cooperation with Corpus Christi, Houston, Fort Worth, Harris County and other local governments in Texas to tackle common issues such as cybersecurity, vendor management and public-safety dispatch. This past year, the city’s IT organization amassed more than a dozen awards and achievements under Elkins’ guidance, including winning five Public Technology Institute awards for work supporting the mission of the City of Austin.”

The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization transportation policy board selected Austin City Council Member Ann Kitchen on Monday as its official appointee on the Capital Metro board of directors. Kitchen, who also chairs the Council’s Mobility Committee, will complete the term of former Council Member Mike Martinez, which expires June 1, 2016. She will join Council Member Delia Garza, who filled former Council Member Chris Riley’s place in March, as Council’s elected official representative. The transportation board also reappointed Momark Development LLC President Terry Mitchell, whose term was set to expire June 1, as CAMPO’s appointee with at least 10 years of experience as a financial or accounting professional.

City Council Member Don Zimmerman made it extra clear Monday that he would not back down on Rebecca Forest, his appointment to the Commission on Immigrant Affairs. Council Member Greg Casar has asked that Zimmerman reconsider that appointment and added an item on this week’s Council agenda that proposes the appointment be rescinded. A news release from Zimmerman’s office notes that Forest’s statements at a Texas tea party rally were rated “true” by Politifact Texas. In that same statement, Zimmerman says, “I’ve known Rebecca Forest for more than a decade. She is a well-educated District 6 constituent who is qualified for the Immigrant Affairs Commission, ‘to maximize the benefits to local immigrants under existing laws.’ Ms. Forest, if serving as a member of the Immigrant Affairs Commission, would differentiate between ‘illegal immigration’ and ‘legal immigration,’ a distinction most District 6 and many Austin constituents support.” The news release continues, “CM Zimmerman notes that policies such as in-state college tuition and “sanctuary city” rules regarding illegal immigrants incentivizes more illegal border crossings and empowers criminal cartels which profit from human trafficking, which endangers human lives in the process.” In addition, Zimmerman’s appointment to the Parks and Recreation Board, Sharon Blythe, is signed up to speak about “City Issues” during this week’s Council meeting. Blythe has had conflict with the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, and her appointment was postponed by Council.

In order to complete sidewalks, the construction that’s underway along Cesar Chavez Boulevard will move farther into the street. As a result, the temporary bikeway on Cesar Chavez, located between San Antonio Street and Shoal Creek, will be closed until 2016. As a detour, the city is offering pedestrians and bicyclists the use of Third Street, but with a warning: “There is substantial construction activity occurring along 3rd Street at this time and the city urges bicyclists and pedestrians to proceed with caution.”

At 685 feet, the Independent is slated to be the new tallest building in Austin. The 58-story project will feature 370 condo residences in a 950,000 square-foot development located at the corner of West Third Street and West Avenue. In 2010, the City of Austin and Constructive Ventures (co-founded in 2004 by Perry Lorenz and Larry Warshaw) entered into a master development agreement for the 1.7-acre site, which is the former location of the Austin Energy Control Center. Condos in the Independent will range in price from mid-$300,000 to more than $3 million. Units will be 675 to 3,485 square feet each.

Image courtesy of Rhode:Partners/Neezo

Mayor Steve Adler will hold his first State of the City address tonight. The event will take place at the Austin Independent School District Performing Arts Center and will also feature AISD Superintendent Dr. Paul Cruz, a musical performance by Max Frost, poetry by Christopher Michael and “A Vision for Austin’s Future” by AISD student Valentina Tovar. Though the event is free and open to the public, tickets are now only available for the waitlist. Of course, the Austin Monitor will be there to relay anything you might have missed. The AISD Center is at 1500 Barbara Jordan Boulevard.

District Senior Hydrologist and Aquifer Science Team Leader Brian Smith of the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District presented a study finding to board members Thursday, briefing them on the hydrological analysis associated with the Electro Purification wells headed to Hays County. Besides the findings, however, Smith also addressed rumors of acid fracking. He said the district has heard that plans to use the technique are in the works for Electro Purification because the company is trying to figure out ways to pump more water out of its seven wells. At the rates it is currently projecting, wells would pump 2.47 million gallons per day, but the company’s contracts are for 5.3 million. “So they’re either going to need more production out of these wells, more wells, or both,” Smith said. Acid fracking is a way to get more production. Much of it would be neutralized when the acid comes into contract with the limestone, but Smith was concerned about the activity occurring in a karst aquifer.

The city is planning a panel discussion Tuesday to give the public more information about Accessory Dwelling Units, or ADUs. Audience members may ask questions of the panel, which will comprise the chief appraiser of the Travis Central Appraisal District, the president of the Austin Neighborhoods Council, a builder of affordable secondary units and a University of Texas professor who specializes in secondary housing/affordability issues. The meeting is set for 5 p.m. Tuesday at Town Lake Center, 721 Barton Springs Road. Currently, the Planning Commission is scheduled to discuss ADUs at its April 28 meeting. The proposed code amendments it will consider are available online.

Starting Wednesday, AARP Texas will offer Austin residents opportunities to meet and talk with City Council members.  The “Meet Your Council Member” events aim to promote conversations about how Austin can become an even greater place to live for people of all ages. This week’s meeting will be with District 5 Council Member Ann Kitchen. Other meetings are set for May 20, with District 8 Council Member Ellen Troxclair, and May 29, with Austin Mayor Steve Adler. The events are free and open to the public, though seating is limited in most cases. Attendees are encouraged to RSVP by calling 877-926-8300. This week’s meeting will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the South Austin Senior Activity Center, 3911 Manchaca Road.

Mayor Steve Adler released a video April 3 accepting San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor’s open challenge to participate in the annual H-E-B Community Challenge, presented by health advocacy organization It’s Time Texas. Competing mayors must outline health-focused policies that their city councils have passed, take a wellness pledge and, of course, upload a challenge video. Individuals, schools, businesses, community organizations and faith-based organizations can also participate and win points. According to its website, the contest runs through Sunday and the communities that top each population bracket win a trophy, a street banner and a $1,200 grant for a local school. According to Taylor’s video, San Antonio has won first place in the metro category for two years running. The competition began in January and Austin is currently in second place, but trailing its neighbor to the south with a little over half the number of points. In his video, Adler appears determined while he does an unusual fitness routine and says, “We’re coming after that trophy!”