City Council members will continue their policy workshops today with a morning session on Infrastructure and Capital Planning Policy and an afternoon discussion about CodeNEXT. The first session will run from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. Featured speakers will be: Mike Trimble, Capital Planning Officer; Howard Lazarus, Public Works Department Director; Dave Anderson, Former Chair of the Planning Commission and Member of the Bond Oversight Committee; Dave Sullivan, Chair of CodeNEXT Citizen Advisory Group; Nelson Linder, President of Austin Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); Mona Gonzalez, Executive Director of River City Youth Foundation, Dove Springs Neighborhood. The session will also feature five “other voices” from the city: Jeff Scott, Engineer; Mary Gay Maxwell, Environmental Board; Tom Hegemier, RPS Group; Andy Johnston, HALFF; Michael Barrett, University of Texas; Linda Krueger Powers, Rundberg Neighborhood Area; Brian Almon, Rundberg Neigborhood Area; August Harris, Covenant Financial Solutions LLC, Seeds for Change Consulting LLC. The second CodeNEXT workshop will run from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. During that session, Council members will hear from: George Adams, Assistant Director, Planning and Development Review Department; CodeNEXT Consultants — Opticos Design; James Nortey, Member, Planning Commission; Stephen Delgado, Owner, Texas Engineering Solutions; Jim Duncan, Former City Planning Director; Kelly Weiss, Executive Director, Habitat for Humanity; Michael Hsu, Architect, Michael Hsu Office of Architecture; Eleanor McKinney, Landscape Architect, Inc.; Melissa Neslund, RECA; Joyce Basciano, Austin Neighborhoods Council; Karen McGraw, Karen McGraw Architect; Brennan Griffin, AURA.

Due to the threat of inclement weather, Capital Metro opted Sunday to detour some of its bus routes today to avoid elevated roadways and bridges. Bus routes 2, 275, 331 and 350 will be detoured, and some stops along the route will be closed. The detours begin at the start of service today and will continue until further notice. Customers can refer to the CapMetro website, GO Line at 512-474-1200, CapMetro app, Facebook and Twitter​ (@CapMetroATX) for updates.

An exchange on the City Council message board showed that, despite the dawn of geographic representation, it probably remains safe to refer to Zilker Park as “Austin’s Park.” Early this week, Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo informed her colleagues that she would be moving forward with a resolution to assess the impact of events on the city’s public parks. Council Member Leslie Pool voiced her support the next day, and closed her message by identifying herself as the Chair of the Open Space, Environment and Sustainability Committee. Council Member Ann Kitchen also indicated her support, as did Council Member Ellen Troxclair, who wrote, “Since Zilker Park is in District 8, I have been meeting with constituents, with city staff, and researching this issue as well. In addition to the impact of events on our parks and surrounding neighborhoods, I am hoping to compile related information, like how many days per year our busiest parks are open to the public, how many events are free to attend versus require tickets, etc. Thank you!” This prompted a re-response from Kitchen, saying she appreciated the chance to work together on the issue and reminding Troxclair that her district also had an interest in Austin’s biggest downtown park. She wrote, “Thanks Ellen. I have been meeting also, since District 5 represents the neighborhoods on the east side of the park. There’s a number of our districts that touch on Zilker Park and Lady Bird Lake.”

Environmental Board Chair Mary Gay Maxwell raised concerns at Wednesday’s meeting that the proposed City Council committee meeting schedule will divert attention from Environmental Board meetings by superseding live broadcasts on the ATXN cable channels. Though Council will have to adopt its new committee schedule at next Thursday’s meeting, the current proposal would schedule those meetings every Monday and Wednesday between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. in the Council chambers at City Hall. The Environmental Board currently meets at 6 p.m. on the first and third Wednesday of each month in the Council chambers, so it would also likely need to find a new location. “One of the things that we might want to do as individuals, you might want to contact (anybody you know on Council) and talk to them about the value of having our board be televised in real time,” Maxwell said to her fellow board members. “People do look at our board meeting, and this is the way we get information about the environment of Austin out to a larger group of people.” Maxwell also requested that the city clerk give a presentation to the Environmental Board at its next meeting about the new committee structure and schedule. Both the Board of Adjustment and the Historic Landmark Commission currently meet in Council Chambers on Monday evenings, and the Zero Waste Advisory Commission meets every other Wednesday. But those panels have not met since the committee schedule was unveiled.

Questions about the use of Code Department funds arose during the Neighborhood Issues policy deep-dive at City Council on Thursday. After remarks about allocating resources to expand the number of code compliance officers, Council Member Sheri Gallo asked whether the department paid for recent commercials about code enforcement officers. Code compliance spokeswoman Candice Cooper confirmed that the department paid for the ads as part of a public education campaign. The city’s official YouTube channel, austintexasgov, hosts a Code Department playlist with 12 videos. Gallo’s comment followed a panel discussion that encompassed short-term rentals, occupancy limits and accessory dwelling units. The Code Department regulates concerns related to those housing units, including parking, noise complaints and trash.

Same-sex couples are allowed to marry in 37 states, but Texas is not one of them — except for one Austin couple, who wed Thursday morning under extraordinary circumstances. Following a ruling on Tuesday by Travis County Probate Judge Guy Herman saying that Texas’ prohibition on gay marriage is unconstitutional, a Travis County couple who have been together for 31 years filed suit seeking an order that would allow them to marry. On Thursday, District Judge David Wahlberg heard the case and granted a temporary restraining order against Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir, which, in effect, ordered her to issue a marriage license to Sarah Goodfriend and Suzanne Bryant. Because Goodfriend has been battling cancer and is considered to be in fragile health, Wahlberg ruled that the restraining order was the only option that would prevent “the damage and the continuing harm” that the state’s prohibition on same-sex marriage would remedy. The judge also granted a waiver of the normal 72-hour waiting period. The couple were married in a ceremony in front of the Travis County Clerk’s office shortly after receiving their license. At the same time, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was trying to prevent same-sex marriages. Paxton applied for and the Texas Supreme Court granted a request to stay the two court rulings that declared the law unconstitutional. Paxton asserts that the granted marriage license is void, but DeBeauvoir said, “I have every reason to believe that the actions I took this morning were legally correct based on the trial court’s order, and that the license my office issued was then and is now valid. There is no further action for me to take at this time.” Attorney Chuck Herring, a former chair of the Travis County Democratic Party, represented Goodfriend and Bryant. Last night, Democrats celebrated while Republicans gnashed their teeth over the Travis County rulings. It seems unlikely that there will be more same-sex marriages in Texas before June, when the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on the issue. But we thought that yesterday also.

The Lower Colorado River Authority is officially an octogenarian. The nonprofit public utility’s board of directors and staff celebrated the occasion at Thursday’s board meeting, followed by a special ceremony at the Agricultural Museum in the Capitol. General Manager Phil Wilson said that he is proud to be part of “an organization with such a long, rich history of serving our state” before launching into a brief history lesson. “On Nov. 13, 1934, Texas Gov. Miriam ‘Ma’ Ferguson signed legislation creating the LCRA. Eighty years ago today, on Feb. 19, 1935, we opened our doors for business,” he said. “Eighty years ago, the LCRA was created to improve the quality of life for Central Texans and people throughout the Colorado River basin. Today, LCRA continues to enhance the lives of the Texans we serve through water stewardship, energy and community service.” The LCRA has authority over the lower Colorado River and the Highland Lakes, which include reservoir lakes Travis and Buchanan. It also generates power, owns transmission lines, operates parks and recreation areas and provides flood management services.

Update: This morning, Sarah Goodfriend and Suzanne Bryant were legally married in Austin, after a Travis County judge ordered the county clerk to issue a marriage license…Even though Travis County Clerk Dana de Beauvoir was not on the verge of issuing marriage licenses to those seeking to marry their gay partners based on a local judge’s decision, Texas Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton decided Wednesday that the state should intervene in a Travis County case involving that issue. On Tuesday, Travis County Probate Judge Guy Herman ruled that Texas’ prohibition on gay marriage is unconstitutional. He did so in a probate matter and his ruling would not have applied outside of Travis County. Equality Texas called on De Beauvoir to begin issuing such licenses Wednesday. However, acting on advice from the Travis County Attorney’s Office, De Beauvoir declined to issue those licenses. In 2014, U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia of San Antonio also found Texas’ ban violated the Constitution. However, he issued a stay of his own order so that the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, and eventually the U.S. Supreme Court could rule on the matter. Arguments are scheduled for April on several states’ gay marriage bans with a decision likely this summer. Paxton’s decision to seek a stay by the Texas Supreme Court of an order that is not being followed should be seen as political theater.

Details, and stories, about the demolition of East Austin piñata store Jumpolin continued to emerge Wednesday. It is clear that a temporary use permit for a South by Southwest event was submitted to the city. It is clear that, as KXAN reported, crews en route to the demo ruptured a gas line. Also, the piñata store has been demolished, and a fairly comprehensive early report of the controversy is available on Culturemap Austin. But, overall, it soon became apparent that the case was a complicated one that Austinites saw as symbolic of the changing nature of the city. Over at the Burnt Orange Report, Katherine Haenschen pointed to the denial of a parking variance as the root cause of the demolition. On Saturday, KUT reported that the building’s owner, Jordan French, “plans to ‘rent the existing commercial space to a green-conscious non-profit or a low-impact consulting firm.’ He also said that the shop owners received eviction notices in ‘October, December (twice) and January.'” As for what is happening now at 1401 East Cesar Chavez, last night the Austin American-Statesman reported that the store owners had filed a lawsuit against the building owners.

This month, to celebrate the four-year anniversary of Austin’s status as the country’s largest “no-kill city,” the Austin Animal Shelter will offer free rabies vaccinations from 8 a.m. until noon Saturday at 7201 Levander Loop. According to a news release about the event, almost 30,000 pets have been saved since the city became no-kill in 2011. And in January 2015, the city achieved a 95 percent live animal outcome rate, the highest since no-kill status was achieved.

City Council members will take a look at two more aspects of city governance today. This time, the morning will kick off with a talk on “Education Support” from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. The discussion will feature:

Susan Dawson, executive director, E3;
Gina Hinojosa, president, Board of Trustees, Austin ISD;
Dr. Kelly Crook, superintendent, Del Valle ISD;
Dr. Richard Rhodes, president, Austin Community College;
Sue Carpenter, SuccessBySix and ReadyBy21;
Former Texas State Rep. Kent Grusendorf;
David Dunn, Texas Charter School Association;
Allen Weeks, Austin Voices;
Ken Zarifis, Education Austin;
Tamala Barksdale, former AISD Board Trustee;
Jennifer Carson, president, Austin Council of PTAs; and
Mary Schmid Mergler, Texas Appleseed.

Then, from 12:30 until 2:30 p.m., Council will look at “Neighborhood Issues: Code Compliance and Current Issues” and hear from:

Carl Smart, director, Austin Code;
Greg Guernsey, Planning and Development Review Department;
Amy Hartman, AURA Board Member;
Carole Lee, former president of the Austin Neighborhood Council;
Heather Way, Director of Entrepreneurship and Community Development, University of Texas School of Law;
Barbara Scott, Colony Park Neighborhood Association;
Paul Hilgers, Austin Board of Realtors;
Frank Harren, Coldwell Banker United, Realtors;
Pete Gilcrease, Friends of Hyde Park;
Austin Rentals Alliance;
Nuria Zaragosa, member of the Planning Commission; and
Joan Bartz, vice president, University Hills Neighborhood Association.

City Manager Marc Ott announced the appointment of Shannon Jones as the new director of the city’s Health and Human Services Department on Tuesday. Carlos Rivera, who served as HHS director since 2011, resigned on Feb. 6, effective April 6. His brief letter to Assistant City Manager Bert Lumbreras gave no reason for the resignation. Rivera declined to speak to the Austin Monitor, and Lumbreras was not available for comment Tuesday. According to Ott’s memo, Jones has been with the city since 1999 and has served as deputy director for the department since 2011. According to information from the city, Jones holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Pittsburgh and has completed coursework toward a Ph.D. in management and policy from the University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston. In his memo, Ott said that Jones has “a proven track record with our organization.” The memo indicates that Jones had recently planned to retire, but reconsidered to take the position as the department’s director.