Art in Public Places, a program of the City of Austin’s Cultural Arts Division of the Economic Development Department, is seeking to commission a professional artist or artist team to create a permanent exterior public artwork for Republic Square Park. Professional visual artists who live and work in the state of Texas are eligible to apply. The total budget for this project is $105,000. The program’s aim is to commis­sion works of art that advance public understanding of visual art and enhance the aesthetic quality of Austin’s public places. An Artist Information Meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. April 16 at the Cultural Arts Division offices, 201 E. 2nd St. Online applications must be submitted by May 21 through www.PublicArtist.org.

Mayor Steve Adler will join other community leaders today in thanking AmeriCorps, AmeriCorps VISTA and Senior Corps participants. The event, which is part of the Mayors Day of Recognition for National Service, will include remarks from Mary Rolle, program officer for the Corporation for National and Community Service; Lisa Lucero, One Star Foundation board member; Chris Gomon, AmeriCorps crew leader; and Bobbie Neal, Senior Corps volunteer, in addition to Adler. It will take place at 1 p.m. in Council Chambers at City Hall.

As part of Earth Month, the national Parks Build Community initiative is looking to award a $20,000 grant to improve an Austin park, and Austinites get to choose which one. The event is sponsored by Disney, ABC Television Group, ESPN and the National Recreation and Park Association. Through April 30, Austin residents will have the opportunity to vote to give one of three park projects a chance to receive the $20,000 for improvements. The projects are the Battle Bend Park Basketball Court Renovation, the House Among the Trees at Zilker Park and the Nature Play at Dove Springs District Park. By going here, park supporters can vote daily for their favorite project. The one with the most votes at the end of April gets the grant.

On Wednesday, the city will hold two separate meetings to address the recently released final version of the Zucker Report. The report, which asks the city to implement sweeping changes to the city’s Planning and Development Review Department, has already had an impact. Both meetings will be held April 8 in Rooms 1-5 at the Palmer Events Center. The first will start at 3:00 p.m., and the second will begin at 7:00 p.m., with both to last a scheduled two hours. At the same time, the Zucker System consultant team will be accepting public comments through April 13. Those comments can be submitted outside of the public meetings either through email (paul@zuckersystems.com), mail (Zucker Systems, 3038 Udall St., San Diego, CA 92106) or by contacting Paul Zucker at (619) 804-1769.

At last Thursday’s City Council meeting, Council members heard a highly prepared presentation on development review, inspections and the permitting process in the city. And then, with little fuss, voted 9-0 to approve a resolution directing the city manager to “outline plans addressing reform” of those processes. The resolution asks the manager to, among other things, return within 30 days with a plan to address backlogs; provide by June 30 a detailed response to the Zucker Report; and submit progress reports on the reforms at least every 60 days. Council Members Ellen Troxclair and Leslie Pool were absent for the vote.

The Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District will hold an Ask-An-Expert Open House and Water Well Checkup on April 16 at its district headquarters. The open house, which runs from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m., will feature experts on hand to discuss Water Treatment (Absolute Water), Septic System Maintenance (Agrilife Extension), Gardening (Travis County Master Gardeners), Tree Care (Texas Heritage Tree Care), Water Quality Testing (Edwards Aquifer Research and Data Center Water Quality Lab) and, of course, Hydrogeology (Aquifer District staff). From 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., the district will also be offering water well checkups. Officials said in a statement, “Well owners in the District can preregister and pick up supplies from now until the day before the checkup. The first 50 well owners will be able to bring in their water samples … to have water screened for pH, nitrate, salinity, and bacteria. After hours drop-off available starting 5 p.m. Wednesday. Samples must be taken less than 24 hours before they are analyzed to give reliable results.” The district is located at 1124 Regal Row in Manchaca. Those interested can learn more here.

What has former City Council Member Mike Martinez been up to since leaving office? Thursday, on Facebook, he made it clear that one of his activities has not been boosting the career of George P. Bush. In a post, Martinez wrote, “Thank you to those who have called and emailed me about my name being on a list of individuals who were a part of the selection process for the awarding of the Latino Leadership Award to George P. Bush. I was NOT part of that process or decision. I certainly agree that Mr. Bush is a rising leader in Texas and the Republican Party, but, had I been involved in the process, I believe there are other long time leaders in Latino community who are deserving of such high honors. I have been working with the University for the last few hours trying to clear this issue and have my name removed from any further information involving this matter. Happy Easter Weekend!”

Austin-area first responders, including APD executive staff, will step behind the counter with Ronald McDonald and members of the 100 Club of Central Texas and the Hill Country 100 Club at 11 a.m. today for the 8th Annual Good Friday Fundraiser. The event will help support the 100 Clubs and provide awareness about the services provided by first responders. Central Texas McDonald’s Restaurants will donate part of the day’s sales to support first responders with funds for scholarships and training as well as for aiding their families when tragedy strikes. The public is encouraged to visit all 71 Greater Austin Area McDonald’s locations between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. to support the company’s in-store initiative. First responders will be at these locations during the fundraising hours to thank customers for showing their support for the cause. More information about the 100 Clubs can be found here and here.

Come Monday, as part of the City Manager’s Traffic Congestion Action Plan, Austin Police officers along with the City of Austin Transportation Department will begin enforcing the Don’t Block the Box campaign. The goal is to reduce traffic congestion on Austin’s major arterial roadways and in the Downtown Central Business District. Implementation of the campaign will include officers being present in the City’s Traffic Management Center as well as at key intersections to keep traffic flowing during the morning and evening peak travel times. Those intersections will include Cesar Chavez Street at Guadalupe Street, Colorado Street and Congress Avenue. Officers at the intersections will be looking for interruptions in the flow of traffic. They will be ticketing drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists for red-light violations, blocking intersections, failure to stop at a proper place, failure to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, driving in bus lanes and other disruptions to traffic flow. Police say “blocking the box” means that a vehicle has entered an intersection without enough room on the other side to clear it. To learn more about the campaign, go here.

Since the Austin Monitor ran a story outlining the need for more citizens to volunteer to serve on the city’s boards and commissions, there has been a big uptick in applications, according to the City Clerk’s office. On today’s Council agenda, Council Member Leslie Pool has nominated four citizens to serve, including Garry Brown to the Human Rights Commission; Brian Thompson to the Ethics Review Commission and also to the Downtown Austin Community Court Advisory Committee; William Teddy McDaniel to the Airport Advisory Commission; and Rhonda Paver, a current member, to the Early Childhood Council. Council Member Ann Kitchen has made eight nominations, including Melissa Hawthorne, a current member, to the Board of Adjustment; current member Christianne Castleberry to the Water and Wastewater Commission; Mary Ann Neely, a current member of the Environmental Board, to the Environmental Commission; Karen Hadden, a current member, to the Electric Utility Commission; Cathy Gattuso, a current member, to the Zero Waste Advisory Commission; David King to the Parkland Events Task Force; Vincent Cobalis, a current member, to the Asian-American Quality of Life Advisory Commission; and Dr. Aletha Huston, a current member, to the Early Childhood Council. Council Member Don Zimmerman has nominated Sharon Blythe to the Parks Board and to the Parkland Events Task Force; Michael Wilson to the Planning Commission; and Rebecca Forest to the Commission on Immigrant Affairs. Council Member Delia Garza has nominated Nhat Ho to the Water and Wastewater Commission. Mayor Steve Adler has nominated six people to serve in temporary positions until the new commission system starts on July 1. These include James Shieh, currently the chair of the Design Commission, to the Planning Commission; Sharon Mays and Dustin Fedako to the Sustainable Food Policy Board, Jill Ramirez to the Hispanic/Latino Quality of Life Resource Advisory Commission, and Nick Van Zandt to the Commission on Veterans Affairs.

Mayor Steve Adler has taken a stand on Facebook and urged Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and the state of Indiana to ensure protection against discrimination for members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community. Adler wrote: “As Mayor, it is my responsibility to protect Austin residents, regardless of race, gender, income, disability, age, language, status, and sexual orientation. … Austin residents and those who may come to Austin should know that discrimination will not be tolerated here. We recognize, respect, and celebrate our differences, seek value in these differences, and host inclusive conversations to actively seek justice for all residents. I will continue to lead and work with those who are willing to fight for the rights of all people, including LGBT people, to live in a community without fear and hate.” Adler linked to an article about the backlash Indiana has been facing since passing a “religious freedom law” that could allow discrimination against the LGBT community.

In what may amount to a bold leap forward, the city’s Planning and Development Review Department announced Wednesday that city building inspectors will now be carrying cellphones. According to a news release touting the change, “Previously, communication was limited to pagers and office phones. Pagers precluded two-way communication, and office phones required the inspector to travel back to the office at the end of each day to retrieve messages and return phone calls.” It continues: “With cellphones, customers can call or text their designated inspector during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. If the inspector is driving or performing an inspection and cannot answer a call, customers can send a text message that includes their name, phone number, permit number, and address in advance of a return phone call.” A list of inspectors, their email addresses and their new cellphone numbers is available online, for your convenience, on the city’s website.