What happens when an older adult can no longer walk their dog or drive their pet to a vet appointment? Many homebound or disabled seniors struggle to care for their beloved furry family members through illness or disability. That’s where PALS – Pets Assisting the Lives of Seniors – comes in. PALS volunteers help out by driving their clients’ cats or dogs to vet appointments or to the groomers. Volunteers can pitch in on a monthly, weekly or even daily basis, usually Monday-Friday, with some opportunities available on Saturdays. In some situations, volunteers may help foster a pet for a few days to a few weeks if their guardian has to go into the hospital. The PALS program also accepts donations of pet food and pet supplies or gift cards. Find out more about PALS and see if it’s a good fit for you. Reach out here with any questions.

The city’s Ethics Review Commission believes City Council members are not disclosing enough information to assure the public that they do not have conflicts of interest when voting on various items. The commission also has complained that Council members’ statements of financial interest are not available on the city website. In fact, those statements are not publicly available except through the filing of a public information request. At its final meeting of 2022, the Council Audit & Finance Committee heard a request from Betsy Greenberg, who sits on the city’s ethics commission, who asked the committee to put items on a future agenda to talk about requiring the city clerk to post the disclosure forms on the city’s website for elected officials as well as candidates. She added that going through the PIR process can take weeks. No member of the committee responded to Greenberg and they did not discuss putting the item on a future agenda. Greenberg told the Austin Monitor she would come back to talk about the problem again this month.

This whisper has been changed to correct Betsy Greenberg’s title.

At 6 p.m. tonight, City Council will convene to swear in its newest members, who were elected to office in December. The inauguration of Mayor-elect Kirk Watson, District 3 Council Member José Velásquez, District 5 Council Member Ryan Alter and District 9 Council Member Zo Qadri and the swearing in of reelected Council members Natasha Harper-Madison and Paige Ellis will take place in Council chambers. The ceremony can be viewed on Channel 6, online at ATXN or via the city’s ATXN app. During the meeting, Council will also vote to elect a new mayor pro tem from among its ranks. The role is currently filled by Alison Alter, and is typically a two-year term, though the most recent election proved more contentious than most and resulted in Council members sharing the term.

The O. Henry Museum has reopened and is eager to show off its renovations to the public. Along with upgraded fire suppression and HVAC systems, the museum underwent “building leveling, a building envelope, roof upgrades and repairs, lead remediation and landscape improvements,” according to a city news release. Visitors to the museum can learn about the life of William Sydney Porter, the famed short story writer better known by his pen name, O. Henry. The author’s first commission, which includes 27 hand-drawn illustrations made to accompany the memoirs of prospector Joseph T. Dixon, is on hand to view. Wednesday-Sunday, noon-5 p.m., 409 E. Fifth St.

All of you scofflaws whose Christmas trees are still drooping forlornly in the living room or smushed into a corner of the porch will be happy to learn that the city is offering two more days of free tree recycling at Zilker Park this weekend. You may drop off your tree between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 7, or Sunday, Jan. 8. All live trees are accepted provided they have not been sprayed with fake snow (flocking). Please remove all tinsel and ornaments and don’t put the tree in a bag.

We at the Austin Monitor wish all of our readers a warm, safe and fun holiday season. As is tradition, we’ll be taking a bit of time off to enjoy our own holidays before resuming regular coverage in 2023. In the meantime, enjoy our look back on the past year and forward to the next with local officials. See you soon!

With the exit of the mayor and three City Council members, a lot of City Hall staffers are pondering change and looking for new jobs. Lesley Varghese, who has been chief of staff for Mayor Steve Adler, tells the Austin Monitor she is moving to the SAFE Alliance to serve as its new president and chief legal officer, effective Jan. 1. Kelly White retired from the job earlier this year after several decades of service.

Although Council Member Pio Renteria is retiring in January, his chief of staff, Lizette Melendez, is joining the new District 3 team of Council member-elect José Velásquez. Renteria noted that Melendez started at the front desk in his office, then got a master’s degree and worked elsewhere before rejoining his office as chief of staff. Velásquez wrote on his Facebook page, “I personally feel blessed that she was available and willing to come serve with us.” Velásquez told the Monitor that Dora Anguiano, who has handled constituent services for Council Member Ann Kitchen for many years, will also be joining his staff.

Nici Huff, who has worked for Council Member Kathie Tovo for several years, will become a policy adviser in the office of Council Member Leslie Pool. Pool said Huff will handle some policy work as well as scheduling and constituent services.

The city will be closing its administrative offices and municipal facilities in observance of the upcoming holidays on Friday, Dec. 23, Monday, Dec. 26, and Monday, Jan. 2. Most Parks and Recreation facilities, including recreation, cultural arts, nature and senior centers and museums, are also closed on those dates, except for Barton Springs, Bartholomew, Big Stacy, Deep Eddy and Springwoods pools, which will be open on Sunday, Dec. 25, for holiday hours and regular hours on Monday, Dec. 26 (if temperatures are above freezing) . Find more info about specific holiday hours of PARD facilities here. Austin Public Library will be closed Friday, Dec. 23, through Monday, Dec. 26, in observance of Christmas, and Jan. 1-2 for New Year’s. Trash, recycling, compost and yard trimmings collection will not be affected and pickups will take place on their usual days. The City Utilities Customer Care Call Center and City Utility Customer Service Centers will be closed Friday, Dec. 23, through Monday, Dec. 26, and Saturday, Dec. 31, through Monday, Jan. 2. Austin Public Health’s Shots for Tots clinics will be closed on those same dates. The Austin Animal Center is closed Dec. 24-26 and open for regular hours on Tuesday, Dec. 27.

Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s special holiday service goes into effect for the holiday weekends. All Capital Metro services will be reduced on Sunday, Christmas Day, and Sunday, New Year’s Day. There will be no rail service. All patrons are invited to ride Capital Metro at no charge on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31. Rides will be free after 5 p.m. on all services. Bus service ends at 11:30 p.m. Rail will run late, until 2:30 a.m. Find out more about Capital Metro’s holiday schedule here.

Barbara Shack, who has served as Mayor Steve Adler’s executive assistant for nearly eight years, told the Austin Monitor that she’s joining the staff of Austin’s next mayor, Kirk Watson, when he takes office in January. She said she expects to sit in the same spot for the next couple of years, adding that she would like to get a new chair. Shack served as executive administrator at Ballet Austin before joining the mayor’s staff. She has a lifelong commitment to the arts and is a member of the board of the nonprofit art promotion group Collide Arts.

With freezing temperatures in the forecast, the city will be opening several warming centers this holiday weekend despite the fact that city facilities would typically be closed. According to a press release from the city, warming centers will be open Friday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-7 p.m. at:

• Little Walnut Creek Branch Library, 835 W. Rundberg Lane
• Terrazas Branch Library, 1105 E. Cesar Chavez St.
• Turner-Roberts Recreation Center, 7201 Colony Loop Drive
• George Morales Dove Springs Recreation Center 5801 Ainez Drive

Up-to-date information on warming shelters is available online, and those unable to pay for transportation will be accommodated by Capital Metro, if requested. In addition, the city and partner agencies will be operating cold weather shelters for at least four nights, overnight, Dec. 22-25. According to a notice from the city, “Registration for shelter will take place each evening between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. at One Texas Center, 505 Barton Springs Road, which will act as a central embarkation point from which people will be transported to a cold weather shelter, located off-site.”

Photo by Barras, made available through a Creative Commons license.

You know how to keep yourself warm in extreme cold weather and you’ve learned how to protect your home. But what about your furry family members? With an Arctic freeze coming our way this week, it’s a good time to review the Austin Animal Center’s winter safety tips for pets. The tip at the top is the most critical yet often the most ignored: Bring them indoors. Dogs and cats left outside in freezing temps can suffer from hypothermia and get frostbite on their paws, ears and tails. If you see a dog left outside in the cold, contact an animal protection officer by calling 311. Another reminder is to bang the hood of your vehicle before starting it, to warn any cats who may be taking refuge in your warm engine block. And if you have community cats living in your neighborhood, help them out by providing shelter – here’s an easy DIY cat shelter made out of a plastic tub.