With only three days of early voting left, 6.11 percent of registered Travis County voters, or 33,751 people, have participated in the Dec. 16 runoff election so far. Tuesday, 3,591 of those voters visited polling stations. As has been common this election, the busiest locations for voting were the Ben Hur Shrine and the Randalls grocery stores at South MoPac and William Cannon Drive and at Research Boulevard and Braker Lane.

According to a memo from City Manager Marc Ott, changes precipitated by the departures of Deputy City Manager Michael McDonald, Chief Animal Services Officer Abigail Smith and Government Relations Officer John Hrncir are coming. They include a shift of reports among Assistant City Manager Rey Arellano — set to pick up Public Safety duties — Anthony Snipes and the Manager’s Chief of Staff Ray Baray. Chris Noble will step in as the interim chief animal services officer, and City Attorney Karen Kennard — a Texas Municipal League vet — will take the lead role on the City’s Governmental Relations team heading into the 2015 legislative session. In the memo, Ott classified the shift as a “transition plan” to ensure business continuity. He indicated that a longer-term staffing plan is under evaluation.

Travis County Commissioners voted Tuesday to hire J. Keith Pinckard, M.D., Ph.D., as the county’s chief medical examiner. Commissioners chose Pinckard after a nationwide search, following the Aug. 18 resignation of former Medical Examiner David Dolinak, M.D. Pinckard, who will make $270,000 a year, will report directly to the Commissioners Court. He will inherit a demoralized staff and an overloaded and outdated forensics facility that was declared to be beyond capacity almost a decade ago. Commissioners recently approved going forward with plans to build a new $27 million, 51,000-square-foot Medical Examiner building, but have not announced a date for its completion. Pinckard, 46, is currently the deputy chief of the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, a statewide medical examiner system. He received his M.D. and Ph.D. from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis in 1998. He will begin his job at Travis County March 1.

A group of national labor leaders plan a rally today to get out the vote for mayoral candidate Mike Martinez. The event, which takes place at Parque Zaragoza at noon, is free and will feature Laborers’ International Union of North America President Terry O’Sullivan; American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees President Lee Saunders and International Association of Firefighters’ Harold Schaitberger, as well as Martinez himself.

Early voting for the Dec. 11 Council runoff election posted 3,146 ballots Monday, just 0.57 percent of registered voters. That brings early voting totals to 30,207, or 5.47 percent of registered voters. Top vote-getting sites continue to be the Randalls at Braker and Research, the Randalls at William Cannon and MoPac and the Ben Hur Shrine Temple. Low turnout sites include the County Tax Office in Pflugerville and the Parque Zaragosa Recreation Center. A mobile voter van will be stationed at Austin City Hall and the Travis County Courthouse for the rest of the week. Early voting continues through Friday. For more information, go to the Travis County Elections page.

The City of Austin will mark its 175th birthday Dec. 27, but Mayor Lee Leffingwell has already begun celebrating with two events planned for today. The first event is a reception at 12:30 p.m.  at City Hall, where Leffingwell and Austin History Center Manager Mike Miller will say a few words about the history of Austin and cut the city’s birthday cake. The Austin History Center is also hosting a reception at 6:30 p.m. to open its new exhibit “Austin 175: From Cabins to Skyscrapers.” The mayor will join Dr. Jeff Kerr, author of the recent book “The Embattled Birth of Austin,” to share some stories from Austin’s past and thoughts about its future. The History Center is at 810 Guadalupe Street.

Passenger growth continued at Austin Bergstrom International Airport in October, as passenger traffic increased 11 percent compared to October 2013.  The airport has seen increased passenger traffic for 57 out of the last 58 months. In October, most of the major airlines serving ABIA saw an increase in boardings. Southwest, the largest carrier, saw a 4 percent increase; American saw a 9 percent increase and United had a 15 percent jump. Passenger activity for the first 10 months of 2014 was also up 7 percent over January-October 2013. Cargo operations were flat for October, with international air cargo up 259 percent.

The Imagine Austin Speakers Series will continue Wednesday, with series taking a look at “integrating nature into the city.” Panelists Ming. E. Kuo, Patrick Murphy and Laine Cidlowski will discuss why integrating nature into a city is important, why green infrastructure is important and the history and current challenges of Austin’s environmental policy, among other things. The event takes place at the Joe C. Thompson Conference Center, 2405 Robert Dedman Drive, from 7 to 9 p.m.

With just a little more than a week left until the Dec. 16 runoff election, almost five percent of those registered to vote in Travis County have done so. To be specific, 27,061 people have voted in this election so far, which is 4.9 percent of the voters registered in the county. In terms of total voting numbers, the Randalls at Research Boulevard and Braker Lane and the Randalls South Mopac and William Cannon Drive continue to lead the pack, having seen 3,489 and 2,818 respectively. For more information, go to the Travis County Elections page.

Austin bicycle advocacy group Bike Austin has issued their endorsements for the December 16 runoff. According to their website the group based their picks on “each remaining candidate’s commitment to livable, safe streets for walking and bicycling in Austin. These candidates support a network of protected bicycle lanes, a bigger, better bike share system and safer streets for pedestrians.” Give that criteria, Bike Austin endorses Mike Martinez (Mayor), DeWayne Lofton (District 1), Sabino “Pio” Renteria (District 3), Greg Casar (District 4), Jimmy Flannigan (District 6), Jeb Boyt and Leslie Pool (District 7), Ed Scruggs (District 8) and Mandy Dealey (District 10).

Starting this week, Austin dog owners will be able to find their dogs using facial recognition software. On Thursday, the Austin Animal Center and other animal shelters in the area will announce their partnership with Finding Rover — an app that assists owners in finding their dogs. Both owners and those who find lost dogs can use the app to return lost animals to their homes. In a news release from the city, Chief Animal Services Officer Abigail Smith said her department was thrilled that the app had selected Austin as its launch city, and that the technology would help reduce the number of animals entering the city’s shelter.

After more than 60 years of operating the Town Lake Animal Center, the city is finally moving all the way out. Austin’s Animal Services Department has been using the facility as an overflow animal adoption center since it moved to the new location at 7201 Levander Loop. But a recent state inspection that found the shelter did not meet minimum standards was the final straw, and, according to a city news release, “continued use of the facility is no longer an option for overflow kennels.” At their last meeting, City Council members voted to renew the Austin Pets Alive! lease on TLAC while the Lamar Beach Master Plan is developed. In order to find homes for the 58 dogs currently at the shelter, the Austin Animal Center is offering all adoptions for $25. Those who adopt dogs over 40 pounds will receive a free crate if they adopt through this Sunday, and the adoption special runs through Jan. 4. Adoption fees are waived for pets 7 years of age and older. The Austin Animal Center, 7201 Levander Loop, is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.