Members of the Travis County Audubon Society plan to gather on the grounds of the state Capitol at 8 a.m. today to pass out fact sheets to members of the House about the dangers posed by House Bill 2239 by state Rep. Ellen Troxclair, R-Austin. The bill is scheduled to be considered by the House on Tuesday. The Audubon Society told its members in an email that the bill aims to “remove local protections currently in-place for the Ashe Juniper tree. This native Texas tree provides the only nesting habitat for the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler.” Troxclair served on the Austin City Council from 2014 to 2018. Audubon Society members say removing the trees from “local oversight poses a dangerous threat to the survival of the Golden-cheeked Warbler. Breeding habitat for this bird is limited to the Greater Texas Hill Country Region. Rapid development and clear cutting of Ashe Juniper tree habitat for nearly a century resulted in the warbler’s listing as an Endangered Species by U.S. Fish and Wildlife in 1990.” Troxclair told KXAN that some Texans “are already facing a complicated bureaucratic nightmare for just wanting to manage their own land. HB 2239 would let Texas’ private property owners make their own decisions about what grows on their property.” However, the only tree specifically targeted in the bill is the Ashe juniper.

Assistant City Manager Rodney Gonzales has announced the retirement of Human Resources Director Joya Hayes, who has been on administrative leave since December. His memo, which praises Hayes for 18 years of city service, says Hayes is retiring effective July 29, three months from now. However, the memo also says that Rebecca Kennedy will continue serving as interim Human Resources director. Hayes held that job for seven years and received a number of awards for “innovative public sector programs and health and wellness and reentry initiatives to support employment opportunities for formerly incarcerated individuals,” according to Gonzales. In addition to her accolades, Hayes was also the subject of an ethics complaint by a city employee who was asked to provide child care for Hayes’ child. However, the city’s Ethics Review Commission dismissed the complaint. After that, City Council directed the city manager to consider ethics complaints against employees rather than sending such complaints to the commission. Mayor Steve Adler and Council Member Alison Alter instigated that change.

The Austin Justice Coalition and the University of Texas Initiative for Law Societies and Justice will host a listening session this Friday for community members who have been impacted by “policing, DPS, CPS, incarceration or other parts of the criminal legal system.” The meeting will be a chance for people to share their experiences and perspectives on what should change. “With the return of ‘tough on crime’ rhetoric and policies, including the recent deployment of state troopers to Austin, we know that many in the community face even more distress, injustice and harm from the criminal legal system,” says Chris Harris, directory of policy at AJC, in a statement about the event. “We want to ensure that we’re hearing directly from folks impacted to understand the full extent of those harms and that we’re bringing resources and action to bear to try and remedy those harms.” The community listening session will take place Friday, April 28, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. at the Cherrywood Center. Anyone requiring interpretation, child care or other accommodations is asked to please email denise.miller@austin.utexas.edu.

Citing a “chasm of dissonance” between the city’s goals and laws, City Council Member Zo Qadri praised a recent step to eliminate parking mandates at bars and announced his intention to eliminate parking mandates citywide with a resolution on the upcoming May 4 City Council agenda. “Let me be clear: This would not erase a single existing parking space in Austin, nor would it lead to an explosion in parking-free developments. In fact, in 2013, parking mandates were removed in our Central Business District, and virtually every new development since then has included ample parking,” wrote Qadri on the City Council Message Board. “Instead of using dubious formulas to mandate how much parking is included in every new development, I believe we should allow individual property owners to decide what levels are appropriate. Until we realize the robust transit, biking, and sidewalk investments our voters have overwhelmingly approved, I also believe that those property owners will continue to build parking into new projects. In the meantime, I do not think it is appropriate for our code to presume that every adult will need a place at every destination in which to store their car while at the same time, our own stated goals envision a community where more people get around on trains, buses, bikes, feet, and other means.” In his post, Qadri noted that he would work to explore alternative parking solutions, such as parking management districts, as well as strategies to include accessible parking spaces where they are not required by law.

Early voting for the May 6 election starts today. Registered Travis County voters can cast ballots at any of the polling stations in the county. More information on polling locations, ballots and voter requirements can be found at VoteTravis.com. This election features two propositions that look very similar at first glance but, in actuality, will do very different things if passed.  More information about the propositions on the ballot this election can be found here.

Early voting will run from Monday, April 24, to Tuesday, May 2, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday. The polls will open once again on election day, which is Saturday, May 6, from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.

The Housing Authority of the City of Austin has received 44 housing stability vouchers from the federal government to provide homes and needed supportive services to those experiencing homelessness locally. The vouchers, from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, are worth $554,714 and will be used to help eligible homeless individuals move into stable housing. Eligibility is given to anyone currently homeless, at risk of losing housing, or fleeing domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking or human trafficking. The Ending Community Homelessness Coalition will partner with HACA in prioritizing possible candidates and moving them into stable housing. “Housing vouchers are highly effective at reducing homelessness, lifting people out of poverty, and reducing housing instability for families and children,” HACA President and CEO Michael Gerber said in a prepared statement. “The Housing Authority of the City of Austin is proud to be working with so many community leaders to provide permanent and safe housing for our homeless neighbors.”

Next week, City Council’s Public Safety Committee will meet to address the possibility of a new license plate reader contract, among other things. Though the meeting is likely to attract public speakers, the system used to register speakers will be down for maintenance this weekend, prior to the Monday meeting. In an effort to make up for this, registration at kiosks in City Hall will remain open through 5 p.m. today (April 21). Speakers can also register by emailing  juan.arispe2@austintexas.gov with their name, phone number, email address, the item number they will be speaking on, and whether they will be speaking in person or remotely. The full agenda for the meeting, which will be held on Monday, April 24, at 2 p.m., can be found here. The committee will convene again May 22 for a special called meeting to discuss the city’s partnership with the Department of Public Safety.

Members of the Heritage Neighborhood Association, which met Monday night, have agreed not to oppose the rezoning of property at 3100 Guadalupe St. to allow operation of a cocktail lounge on the site. Jolene Kiolbassa, president of the association, said Tuesday that her group had reached an agreement with the tenant and would no longer be opposing the rezoning. Neighbors wanted to make sure that the lounge did not have amplified music and would close at midnight, among other things. The item is on Thursday’s City Council agenda. Although many neighbors are still not happy about the prospect of adding a bar to the neighborhood, many felt that they would not win a contest with the property owner, especially given city staff’s support of the zoning change.

Austin’s Office of Civil Rights has scheduled a Fair Housing Conference for April 26, at the Norris Conference Center on West Anderson Lane, intended to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the U.S. Fair Housing Act. The conference will include discussion of the city’s 1928 plan that codified segregated housing for communities of color. Other topics include current issues and developments in fair housing policies, the significance of the Fair Housing Act in the current climate, discussion of the affordability of homeownership in Austin, and how to create communities of opportunity. The keynote speaker for the conference will be Candace Valenzuela, southwest regional administrator for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Free registration is available online through April 21.

Although City Council met with the city clerk, the city auditor and the Municipal Court clerk during an executive session on Tuesday, it took no action on their wages. Those items are on today’s executive session agenda again, but no action is likely. That’s because this week’s evaluation is just part one of a two-step process. Evaluations, salary and future plans are part of the second step, which will happen later in the year, at which time the three will find out if they are getting raises and if so, how much. The other item that appeared on Tuesday’s executive session agenda on today’s agenda is discussion about how to deal with arbitration with the Austin Firefighters Association over wages and benefits. The Austin Monitor has heard that there will be an item on next week’s agenda to try to resolve that particular conundrum.

This whisper has been changed to correct an assertion that the firefighter arbitration is not on the Thursday agenda. We regret the error.

Today’s City Council meetings start with the Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee at 9 a.m. Mayor Kirk Watson has indicated on the City Council Message Board that Council will immediately go into executive session following the AE part of the meeting. Council members are scheduled to evaluate the performance of the city clerk, the city auditor and the Municipal Court clerk, and consider whether to give each a raise and how much. None of the three has been in a negative spotlight, so it seems likely that the discussions will go smoothly and not take up much time. The more interesting questions will come during discussion of “legal issues related to City of Austin 2023 labor contract negotiations.” As the Austin Monitor reported last week, the city’s legal team stopped participating in arbitration with the Austin Firefighters Association, citing a Texas Supreme Court case related to firefighters and police officers in Houston. While it seems unlikely that Council will resolve the issues its legal staff brought up in deciding to stop the arbitration, it can move toward a resolution. Watson said in his post that Council will return after executive session to hear briefings on management of emergencies, as well as the Austin-Travis County Sobering Center. A second post on the message board indicates that Watson, interim City Manager Jesús Garza and city staff have already started working on new procedures to follow in case of serious emergencies. The mayor indicated that he may have to leave the meeting in order to go to the Capitol for meetings “related to bills important to Austin.”

Austin Independent School District will hold a career fair this Saturday. The event will be an opportunity to meet AISD staff and principals and learn about employment in the district. Attendees are encouraged to apply to teaching positions prior to the event and are reminded that, though opportunities for pre-hire will be extended during the event, an RSVP does not guarantee a teaching position. Those attending the fair are also asked to bring at least 10 copies of their current resume, as well as a sweater and water if desired. The fair will take place from 9 a.m. until noon April 15 at the Austin Convention Center. More information and an RSVP can be found here.