The time has come: We’re going to blow things up in the sky to make pretty lights. Travis County Emergency Services District No. 2 recently shared some Independence Day firework safety tips via news release. The district saw a 142 percent increase in normal call volume during the holiday last year, and authorities responded to 97 incidents, including medical calls, grass fires, trash fires and structure fires, according to the release. So, those tips:

• Discuss fireworks safety with your family beforehand.
• Make sure adult supervision is present.
• Don’t light fireworks if you’ve been drinking.
• Don’t leave any used fireworks around where your pets might get into them.
• Only light fireworks outside and on a flat surface that’s away from homes, buildings, dry grass and leaves.
• Never lean over the fireworks when lighting them.
• Soak fireworks in water before throwing them in the trash.

Fireworks sales start Saturday and will continue through midnight on July 4, according to the Texas Department of Insurance. Review Travis County’s fireworks rules here. Get more safety tips here.

The city will hold the Fair Chance Hiring Job Fair from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday at Greater Mount Zion Church (4301 Tannehill Lane). “This job and resource fair will provide individuals with multiple opportunities to meet face-to-face with representatives from public agencies, private employers, temporary staffing agencies, and community resource organizations committed to hiring and assisting individuals from all backgrounds,” according to a news release from the city. The event description specifically emphasizes opportunities for people who are veterans, senior citizens, justice-involved and/or living with disabilities. There will be an opening ceremony at 11:05 a.m. Visit the city’s website for more info.

Deep Eddy Pool will be closed for one day next week, which is probably one day too many for the liking of heat-sapped Austinites. It’s for a good cause, though. The historic, spring-fed West Austin landmark – the oldest swimming pool in Texas – will be cleaned on June 27. “The pool is normally closed on the first Tuesday of every month, but the date has been moved up so that it can remain open to the public for the Independence Day holiday,” according to the city. For more information, visit AustinTexas.gov/Pools.

As KUT’s Nathan Bernier reported Tuesday on Twitter, the legal challenge to the expansion of Interstate 35 has been dismissed with prejudice by U.S. District Judge David Ezra. The suit, which maintained that the plan to expand the highway intentionally avoided federal environmental review, was filed against the Texas Department of Transportation by Rethink35, TxPIRG and Environment Texas and dismissed at the request of all parties. By way of a response, Rethink35 tweeted on Tuesday: “We’ll share more soon but, in short, (we’ve) dropped our lawsuit against TxDOT to focus on other legal strategies around I-35. We don’t have the funds to fight multiple legal battles at once and we had to prioritize. It was a hard decision but more exciting fights are coming soon!”

House Bill 2239, which would have allowed unchecked residential removal of Ashe junipers, failed to get a final vote in the state Senate, much to the relief of the endangered golden-cheeked warbler and its advocates. The bill, which was sponsored by Republican Rep. Ellen Troxclair of Austin and opposed by the Audubon Society, would have threatened the only nesting habitat for the bird by preventing local regulation of Ashe juniper removal.

Are you a community organizer or do you run an organization that serves racially and economically diverse Austinites? According to the city’s website, you can apply for an Office of Resilience program awarding “minigrants” of up to $3,000. The funds are meant to support needs like preparedness training, supplies and workforce development. “We recognize that Office of Resilience and the City of Austin need to partner with members of the community that represent the diverse backgrounds and needs of our community in order to discover, enhance and uplift the most appropriate means to support robust and thriving families, households, and neighborhoods,” according to the website. The deadline to apply is Aug. 4. Distribution will be first come, first served. Apply at the city’s application portal.

City Council Member Ryan Alter met with about 50 constituents on Friday, answering questions and commenting on changes proposed for Zilker Park, among other issues. Several attendees expressed concern about the Council hearing on the plan for the park. Alter said he hopes the city will put out its final plan in the next few weeks. The city “should put those out as far in advance as possible,” he said, adding that the first opportunity to discuss them would be the work session before the Council meeting that had that item on its agenda. In response to concerns that the item would be on the July 20 agenda, Alter said that would be a surprise to him, because that agenda is already very full. Instead, he expects Council to schedule the item for the last meeting in August or the first meeting in September. In response to questions about how long each speaker will have to address Council, Alter said there are no rules on that so far.

As far as plans to cut Barton Springs Road from two lanes to one lane each way, Alter expressed disagreement. The transportation planners “were charged with what would you do for a park road, not what would you do for regional transportation,” he said. “I think anyone who drives Barton Springs Road east-west to get to and from MoPac (Expressway) understands it is the access point to get to MoPac unless you go to (U.S. Highway) 290 or cross the river, and that’s just not realistic for a lot of people.”

Alter said the plan is not workable for the transportation needs of the region. However, he noted that the section of Barton Springs Road from Lamar Boulevard to Azie Morton Road would be the subject of experimentation, with lanes cut from two to one and back to two. That experiment, which he said will last for about a year, will measure how helpful such a change would be to bike riders, in particular.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, or WIC, is offering vouchers for use at some Travis County farmers markets until October, according to Austin Public Health’s newsletter. Participants in the program will get $30 vouchers for fruits and vegetables. They’ll also get an additional $30 in Double-Up Food Bucks, which give beneficiaries an extra dollar to spend on fruits and vegetables for every dollar spent on these items. According to Austin Public Health, WIC participants just need to bring their shopping list and food card to participating farmers markets. For more information on participating farmers markets and eligibility, go to the Sustainable Food Center website.

Add this one to your calendar alongside previously announced holiday events. Travis County will host its 34th annual Juneteenth Celebration from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today on the first level of the parking garage at 800 Lavaca St., across from the Travis County Administrative Building. The theme of this year’s event is “Showtime at Juneteenth – Discovering our Roots.” Members of the public can expect a performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” music by DJ Breedlove, informational booths and food. Parking will be available at the garage; enter on Guadalupe Street. Plus: They validate! Find more info at the county’s website.

City of Austin administrative offices and public facilities will close for the Juneteenth holiday on Monday. (The Austin Monitor will also observe the holiday and resume our normal publishing schedule on Tuesday.) Parks, pools, tennis centers and golf courses will remain open on Monday, but recreation, senior and cultural centers will not. In addition, Austin Public Health testing and vaccine sites, public libraries, and the Austin Animal Center will be closed Monday. Curbside Austin Resource Recovery services will not be affected. Austin established Juneteenth as an official city holiday in 2021 to memorialize the end of chattel slavery and to celebrate its survivors and descendants. More information about the holiday can be found here.

The city’s parks department is teaming up with the Austin Parks Foundation to restore the historic Henry Green Madison Cabin at Rosewood Park. The cabin, which was built in the early 1860s by Austin’s first African American City Council member, was designated a state landmark in 1974 and a city landmark in 1976. “We are grateful to the partners joining us in supporting the restoration of the Henry Green Madison Cabin,” said Colin Wallis of Austin Parks Foundation in a statement. “Rosewood Park has an important history as a cultural gathering space in our city, and we are honored to restore the historic assets that help tell the story of Austin’s African American community.” Henry Green Madison, who was born into slavery in Memphis, Tennessee, had a life of political engagement in Austin that included participation in the Reconstruction and service as an assistant at the Texas Constitutional Convention of 1868-69 and captain of an African American unit in the Sixth Regiment of the Texas State Guard. The restoration will be funded in part by a $30,000 grant from the city’s Heritage Preservation Grant Program, $55,000 from Austin Parks Foundation and additional funding from the Texas Historical Commission and the Texas Preservation Trust Fund. To celebrate the restoration, Austin Parks Foundation and the Parks and Recreation Department will have a booth at the upcoming Juneteenth celebration at the park, where more information about the cabin and its restoration will be on hand.

Those hoping for a north-side trail connection between Pleasant Valley and the Colorado River Trailhead will have to hold on a little longer. Though City Council passed a resolution in December asking staff to explore the feasibility of such a connection, the exploration continues, according to a June 8 memo from Transportation and Public Works Department interim Director Richard Mendoza. The memo explains that a “high-level review” of providing a trail connection “identified challenges for this connection due to steep slopes that run along the river as well as private property that abut the embankment.” As a result, explains Mendoza, staff is now exploring the viability of an alternate alignment along Cesar Chavez Street that could achieve the same goals for pedestrians and cyclists. Staff is expected to report back on options and costs by mid-November of this year.