The city has named two local artists as Austin Creative Ambassadors for the third quarter of 2014.  Judy Jensen is a visual artist who specializes in reverse paintings on glass. She is currently working on a multiyear project in a 19th century Buddhist temple in Mae Hong Son, Thailand, to replace paintings which were damaged by the 2004 earthquake.  Also named was Usha Akella, who is the author of three books of poetry. Her poetry has been translated into several languages and has recently won awards at Struga Poetry Evenings in Macedonia and Siir Festival in Turkey. The Creative Ambassadors Program is managed by the Cultural Arts Division of the Economic Development Department. Program officials say it is intended to “open new avenues of dialogue and opportunity between Austin and markets worldwide.” The city accepts applications from Austin artists who are traveling overseas in promotion of their own work. Check the city website for more information.

Environmental organization Clean Water Action announced Monday night that it was endorsing Mike Martinez for Mayor. David Foster, Texas Director for Clean Water Action, released the following statement: “Clean Water Action believes that Mike Martinez has accumulated the depth of experience working with city staff and the community to make him uniquely suited to lead the City of Austin at this critical juncture of its history. He has earned our trust and we encourage our members to vote for him.” Foster said the other major candidates for Mayor, Sheryl Cole and Steve Adler, “would probably serve the city well as mayor.” However, he added, “We ultimately chose Mike because of the experience he has gained from six years’ service on the council, his demonstrated support for deepening Austin’s commitment to clean energy and water efficiency, his ongoing efforts to keep water and electric bills under control, and not least his grit.” Martinez was one of four Council members who supported building Water Treatment Plant 4, which will go on line soon. However, according to Foster, Martinez admitted that the decision to build the plant was based on inaccurate assessments by city staff of lake levels and per capita water usage. Also Monday, the Austin Firefighters Association announced that it was endorsing Greg Casar for City Council District 4. Firefighters had previously said they would wait until the runoff to make an endorsement in that race. Firefighters president Bob Nicks said, “Greg Casar has proven that he can succeed against any odds, previously as an advocate for working families and now as a candidate. We are excited to join over 40 other endorsing organizations in supporting Casar for City Council.”

The Austin EcoNetwork will introduce its Election Navigator today. Out just in time for voters to study before early voting starts Oct. 20, the Election Navigator is a research tool available to the public. EcoNetwork officials said that producing the site took months of surveying public priorities, researching data, building tables and analyzing candidates’ answers to environmental questionnaires. It covers topics such as water, energy, transportation, food and forest, zero waste, climate change and general leadership issues. More information and a video and preview screen shots can be found on the Indiogogo campaign. EcoNetwork will unveil the Election Navigator at 10:30 a.m. at the Sustainable Food Center Demo Kitchen, 2921 E 17th St.

The Austin Monitor and our partners at KUT, KXAN, the Austin Chronicle and Univision will complete our Ballot Boxing series of City Council candidate forums this week. On Wednesday, we will hear from the candidates for mayor of Austin at 7 p.m. at the University of Texas Belo Center for New Media, 300 West Dean Keeton St. We have invited all of the mayoral candidates. It is the final event in our series of Ballot Boxing campaign forums. Tickets to the event are available here. A video of the forum will be posted on the Monitor site soon after the event. Click here to find more information.

The Parks and Recreation Department and the Cemetery Master Plan team want to hear from the community about burial options and other aspects of Austin’s municipal cemeteries. Citizens can link to the surveys through the city website. The Cemetery Master Plan process began in early 2014 and is the first planning effort for Austin’s historic municipal cemeteries. The plan will addresses issues related to historic preservation, tree care, management and policy as well as heritage tourism and educational programming. Austin’s historic municipal cemeteries include Austin Memorial Park Cemetery, Evergreen Cemetery, Oakwood Cemetery, Oakwood Cemetery Annex, and Plummers Cemetery. The Parks and Recreation Department has scheduled its fourth community meeting to discuss the plan on Nov. 3 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Zilker Botanical Gardens, 2220 Barton Springs Road.

The drought continues to take a toll on water storage in the Highland Lakes, according to a report presented to the Water and Wastewater Commission last week by the Austin Water Utility. According to AWU’s Theresa Lutes, the combined storage in lakes Travis and Buchanan is 695,000 acre feet of water, which is about 35 percent of normal capacity. However, she said, those numbers are unlikely to improve as  inflows for the period of January through September of this year are the fourth driest in the history of the lakes.  She said at the current rate — without significant inflows — storage in the lakes could fall below the 600,000 acre-foot threshold in February or soon thereafter, triggering additional restrictions on water use. One bright spot, she told the commission, was that forecasters were predicting a 60 to 65 percent chance of an El Niño weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean this season, which would normally brings wetter conditions to Central Texas.

The Planning and Development Review Department has planned a community meeting to discuss current Accessory Dwelling Unit  regulations and possible code amendments to reduce regulatory barriers to the units. Accessory Dwelling Units — also known as granny flats, alley flats or secondary dwellings — are small apartments or homes that share the same lot as a larger dwelling. Examples include an apartment above a detached garage, or a small guest flat in a backyard behind the main house. The meeting stems from a City Council resolution to create an ordinance that reduces barriers to the development of units less than 500 square feet in size. The meeting — the second in a series — will be held Oct. 20 from 7 to 9 p.m. in Room 325 at 505 Barton Springs Road.

The Austin Asian American Resource Center is marking its first year this week by profiling its programs. With its first year of service completed, the center’s major programs include the RICE, or Recreational and Intergenerational Community Education Program, which was established in June 2014 and offers intergenerational activities, meals, senior wellness and life skills classes that reflect Asian-specific needs and cultural preferences; the RICE Senior Lunch Social, which also began in June 2014 and now has 206 registered participants. Since June, the program has served more than 1,100 meals; a new Community Exhibits Program launches in October and will showcase Asian-themed works from eight Austin artists. Works will range from sculpture, calligraphy, photography and painting. The AARC Community Garden was launched Sept. 27 as part of the “Be the Change Austin” national day of volunteer service. Volunteers from across Austin will help establish the new garden. Additional programs are planned through 2015, including a bilingual story time, children’s musical workshop, the Planet Music free concert series and the Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month celebration. For more information, go the center’s Web page.

The Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District unanimously approved an extension Thursday on a well drilling permit for an artificial lake at an amusement park. The board had previously issued a 2 million gallon permit for Quest ATX, a recreation park that offers cable wake boarding and other activities. However, the park’s operators say that the 2013 Halloween floods filled the lake with polluted floodwaters and it needs to be refilled with fresh water. The permit extension is for one year. The park is located on FM 1625, south of Austin Bergstrom International Airport.

An influx of dogs, puppies, cats and kittens to the already overburdened Austin Animal Center this week has prompted officials to waive adoption fees for all animals through Sunday. Officials report that on Oct. 7 alone, more than 50 animals entered the shelter system. Due to the high number of intakes, the center is confronting a capacity crisis with a deficit of approximately 85 kennels for large- and medium-size dogs.  Center officials remind pet owners who have lost a pet recently to immediately check the Austin Animal Center. The center will also be waiving reclaim fees for all altered pets returned to their owners through Oct. 12. The Austin Animal Center, 7201 Levander Loop, is open daily from 11 a.m.  to 7 p.m. The adoption special also applies to all pets at the overflow kennels at Town Lake Animal Center, 1156 W. Cesar Chavez St.

Hays County officials are planning a meeting to develop a Roadway Character Plan for FM 150, from near Arroyo Ranch Road northwest through Driftwood to RR 12 in Dripping Springs. County Commissioners Will Conley and Ray Whisenant will host the meeting to share information about the roadway and gather ideas from the public about the cross-county road as changes are phased in to improve mobility and safety. Improvements are expected to be phased in over 10 to 20 years. The meeting is set for Oct. 16 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Thurman’s Mansion, 17900 FM 1826 in Driftwood. The presentation will begin at 6:30 p.m. Go online for more information on the Roadway Character Plan, or contact Concept Development & Planning at 512-533-9100.

If you have ever wanted to be a tree hugger, your chance is coming up. The city, TreeFolks and more than 70 volunteers will be planting 80 native trees and mulching existing trees at Boggy Creek Greenbelt in honor of Arbor Day 2014.  The event will celebrate Arbor Day and the City of Austin’s 23rd year as a Tree City USA community. There will be activities, live music, an Arbor Day proclamation and lots of family fun, including tree planting, tree ID tours, and seed ball making. The event is 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 18 at the Boggy Creek Greenbelt, 2300 Rosewood Ave. The ceremony is set for 11 a.m. Check online for more information about Austin’s Urban Forestry Program or TreeFolks.