Austin Resource Recovery is extending its curbside recycling program to accept all hard plastics in its blue recycling carts for pickup at no extra cost.  Resource Recovery officials say that in addition to plastic bottles and containers, items such as buckets, lawn chairs, laundry baskets, pet carriers, milk crates, non-battery operated toys, totes and lids, tubs, flower pots and trays, dish drainers and trash cans will now be collected. However, plastic foam, plastic bags and plastic wrap are still not allowed. Recyclables are picked up on a biweekly basis and taken to one of two local facilities, Balcones Resources or Texas Disposal Systems, where they are processed and sold to manufacturers. For recycling guidelines, curbside collection schedules and a complete recycling guide, go to austinrecycles.com.

Members of the South Lamar Neighborhood Association were seen around City Hall this week as they waited to talk to Council members about how to name a new park at 3000 Del Curto Road. Council voted 4-3 in June to name the park the Thomas Lasseter Neighborhood Park after a man who lived on the property in the 1960s. Carrie Lasseter, Tom Lasseter’s daughter, has fought to get the park named after her father, a high profile Austinite who served in both World War II and the Korean War. Members of the neighborhood association worked to get the property designated as a park and feel their efforts should be acknowledged with the name South Lamar Neighborhood Park. However, it seems unlikely that any of the Council members who voted for the Lasseter name will change their minds today. Fortunately, the public hearing on the matter is closed, so perhaps the item won’t take too long on what may be a very long day.

Austin’s Stonewall Democrats met Wednesday night to consider endorsements for six of 11 city races on the November 4 ballot. The group endorsed Ora Houston for District 1; Greg Casar and Katrina Daniel for District 4; and Ann Kitchen for District 5. They also endorsed Jimmy Flannigan in District 6 and Ed Scruggs in District 8. They issued a dual endorsement for Tina Cannon and Mandy Dealey in District 10. According to endorsements chair Rich Bailey, the group will meet again Sept. 4 to consider endorsements in Districts 2, 3, 7 and 9.

Today’s Council agenda includes two contentious zoning cases that have sparked valid petitions from their respective residents. The developer of the Overlook at Spicewood Springs wants to build an 18,000 square foot building, but neighbors are seeking to cut that down to about 10,000 square feet. There is also a disagreement over how close the building will be to the front of the property. It’s possible there could be a compromise or a last-minute postponement, but it’s unlikely the developer will want to roll the dice on such a large project … White Lodging, represented by Armbrust & Brown attorney Richard Suttle, is seeking a zoning change from CBD to CBD-CURE at 619 Congress Ave. The company, which is currently building a JW Marriott hotel a few blocks south of this location, is attempting to get approval for the change despite a total lack of parking. The owner of the property next door, which houses the Hideout Theater, is concerned the construction will put her tenant out of business. It’s possible Council will instruct the parties to go away and come back when they have reached an agreement.

Reyne Telles, media manager for the city’s Public Information Office, has accepted the position of executive director for the Department of Communications and Community Engagement with the Austin Independent School District. Telles is a seven-year veteran at the city and most recently has served as director of communications for Mayor Lee Leffingwell. “I am thankful for the opportunity, excited and know that the challenges will be great,” he told the Monitor on Wednesday. City Manager Marc Ott said, “I wish Reyne the best of luck, thank him for his nearly seven years of service to the City of Austin and look forward to working collaboratively with him in his new role.” Telles has a Bachelor of Science in communication from Eastern New Mexico University and is currently pursuing a master’s degree from the University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs. Telles will start with AISD on Sept. 29.

Friends of Amy Everhart, who has worked as Mayor Lee Leffingwell’s policy director for the past five years, gathered at the mayor’s office Tuesday night for a farewell celebration. Everhart is starting her new job next week as director of government relations for Hahn Public Communications. “I will probably be working on a lot of the issues that I’ve been working on here: transportation, water, energy, that kind of thing,” Everhart said. “It’s been five years, and this has been my favorite job so far.” Everhart explained that she entered city politics by running the successful 2005 campaign of Jennifer Kim, and then worked in Kim’s office for a few months. In 2006, she managed the successful campaign of Mike Martinez. “After that I just did campaigns for a few years,” she said. Everhart worked for both the ACLU and the Sierra Club before joining Leffingwell’s mayoral campaign in 2009. She said her new position will bring her to City Hall frequently, so she won’t lose track of many of the people she has worked with. Leffingwell said he was happy for her but also described her departure as “bittersweet.” He said he would not hire anyone to take over as policy director because, with him having only four months left in office, the job would be “not much of a career opportunity.”

Austin Bergstrom International Airport passed a major milestone in July, logging a record one million passengers traveling through the Barbara Jordan Terminal that month. The airport has experienced passenger growth for 54 of the last 55 months, since January 2010. It is on track in 2014 to pass its 2013 record of 10 million passengers. Part of the reason for the increase has been the addition of flights at the airport. In just the past few weeks, Virgin America announced it is adding a new nonstop flight to San Francisco, Delta is adding a new nonstop to Los Angeles International (LAX),  American is also adding a flight to LAX, and Southwest is planning nonstop service to Cancun, Mexico. In recent months, several new airlines have begun flying into ABIA, including British Airways, Aeromar and Allegiant Air.

The Austin Parks and Recreation Board heard a presentation Tuesday evening on revisions made to the proposed Special Events Ordinance. Under the revisions, neighborhood block parties would not fall under the ordinance. Instead, block parties would require a separate permitting process that would be easier to get than a permit under the Special Events Ordinance. Most of the other revisions discussed  involved definition changes. The Parks and Recreation Board had little discussion on the item.

Travis County Commissioners will consider action today on an agreement that would bring funding to the county for continued buyouts of flood prone homes in the Timber Creek neighborhood. County voters approved a $3.9 million bond to act as a county match for a $10 million federal buyout program in 2005. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced in early 2014 that it would fund $12 million more during the fiscal year toward the project. The county has been buying properties in the Timber Creek area since 2007 and has exhausted its county match. If commissioners vote to enter into the agreement, the county would be reimbursed for any buyout expenses past the $3.9 million match.

Central Health, Travis County’s health care district, will bring its proposed Fiscal Year 2015 budget of $270.8 million to Commissioners Court today. The district will also present its proposed 12.64-cent tax rate, which is lower than last year’s 12.9- cent rate. Central Health’s Board of Managers is in charge of adopting a budget each year, but the county is responsible for approving its tax rate. Central Health works to provide health care to low-income Travis County residents and operates the University Medical Center-Brackenridge Hospital and Trauma Center.

Council members have a few items to chew on today during their work session ahead of Thursday’s Council meeting. That includes items from Council Members Kathie Tovo, Laura Morrison and Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole, who are sponsoring a resolution asking city management to bring back an ordinance by Dec. 1 that would establish a small homestead exemption. That exemption, according to the resolution, would result in “not more than a $5,000 tax exemption” for local homeowners. Some members of the Council may point out that such a tiny exemption might save the average taxpayer about $25 a year but cost the city perhaps as much as $3 million. It seems like an item made for the political season.

Kerry O’Connor, the city’s new innovation officer, is seeking $180,500 to provide “end to end innovation management services.” According to the backup material for this item, the professional services contract with BrightIdea Inc. of San Francisco would help the chief innovation officer to “mobilize energy, create momentum and drive toward viable ideas and projects to further the city’s goal of being the Best Managed and Most Livable City.” The software package, aptly named Innovation Suite, is touted as the latest software package for “innovation administrators and idea contributors.”