Former Council Member Jackie Goodman is inviting friends to stop by a park near their home this Saturday from 2:30 to 5 p.m. to share memories of her late husband Jack Goodman, who died in August at the age of 76. Jackie wrote: “Jack and I decided long ago we wanted no funeral-burial-testimonials, no folks in church duds having to sit in rows of pews or chairs, almost requiring sadness. It is sad for me and for others that Jack has passed on though, and now that his ashes are safely with me, on the afternoon of his birthday, we will mark that his life happily touched ours, planning a ‘gently guided’ autumn afternoon, as free from what he didn’t want as possible.” Friends are invited to share memories of Jack, an environmental advocate who served on the board of directors of the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District for 22 years, leaving office in 2012. The job was a labor of love, paid nothing and offered no retirement benefits. Jackie Goodman served on City Council from 1993 to 2005, including a stint as mayor pro tem. Find additional information on the GoFundMe page set up by Alfred Stanley.

The Julia C. Butridge Gallery at Dougherty Arts Center is gearing up to accept exhibit proposals for its 2024 gallery season. The JCB Gallery, as the announcement describes, “celebrates a wide array of artists with diverse practices and strives to promote the livelihood of Austin’s vital art culture by offering as many opportunities as possible to both emerging and established artists.” As part of the submission process, artists are asked to include an artist statement, a proposal for the exhibit and images of their work. Proposals will be accepted from Nov. 19 to Jan. 15. Visit Dougherty Arts Center’s submission page for more info starting on Nov. 19.

Travis County Judge Andy Brown handily beat his Republican challenger, Rupal Chaudhari, in his bid for reelection on Tuesday night. Brown claimed victory after early voting showed a decisive lead, with 74 percent to Chaudhari’s 26 percent. “I’m honored to have your confidence to continue serving as Travis County Judge,” Brown said on Twitter. “Voters have delivered us with a clear mandate to keep our community safe from gun violence, tackle the substance abuse crisis, and expand health care, including mental and reproductive care. As our mission continues, I will continue to work for and with all who call our county home so we can make Travis County the best place to live, build a career and grow a family.” Brown previously defeated Michael Lovins in a special general election held in November 2020.

Editor’s Note: Andy Brown is on the board of the Capital of Texas Media Foundation, the parent nonprofit of the Austin Monitor.

Community members who want to have a say in the future of Zilker Park – and who doesn’t? – are invited to attend the next phase of the Zilker Park Vision Planning process. The draft vision plan will be released Tuesday, Nov. 15, followed by two community meetings to update the public and solicit feedback. The Parks and Recreation Department will host a virtual meeting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 7, and an in-person open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 10, at McBeth Recreation Center at 2401 Columbus Drive. The project team will also be connecting with Austinites via a series of pop-up meetings held in all 10 City Council districts as well as Zilker Park. The team will present the draft vision plan in detail at each of the meetings, “highlighting each section of the park and noting how previous community input contributed to the plan. Both meetings will have opportunities for questions and comments.” Visit the project web page for more detail on the pop-ups.

Hoping to avert last year’s lifeguard shortage, the Parks & Recreation Department is working hard to recruit and train at least 700 lifeguards to staff all of the city’s public pools this summer. City Council is doing its part, raising the minimum wage lifeguards earn to $20/hour. Trained guards also receive a free uniform, a Capital Metro bus pass, and for those who complete a certain number of work hours during the swim season, a $400 training stipend. This isn’t just a summer job either; the parks department says “lifeguarding can be a stepping stone to a career in public service or a job as a first responder. Tomorrow’s emergency medical technicians, firefighters, and police officers can start learning lifesaving skills and building emergency response experience working as lifeguards today.” Visit LifeguardAustin to learn more about how to apply.

Photo by Tiia Monto made available through Creative Commons 3.0.

Wondering what to do with the ornamental holiday pumpkins decorating your porch railings? If you haven’t surrendered them to the squirrels or tossed them into the compost yet, the hungry pigs at Central Texas Pig Rescue would love to take them off your hands before they get too squishy (the pumpkins, not the pigs). The group is collecting whole pumpkins –not carved, please – to feed its rescue pigs. (If your pumpkins are already moldy or soupy, they won’t be good for the pigs, so toss those gourds in the compost.) Didn’t know pigs ate pumpkins? Well they do – a lot of them. Donating your pumpkins to the rescue group will make the pigs very happy and it will also help lower the nonprofit’s not inconsiderable feed bill. There are several convenient drop-off locations across Austin – find one closest to you.

In Travis County, 329,848 voters cast their ballots early; that’s 37.19 percent of the county’s registered voters, according to the Travis County clerk’s office, 10 percent lower than turnout in the record-breaking 2018 midterms. Austin pollster Mark Littlefield says that, within the Travis County portion of the city of Austin, turnout was 35 percent compared to 37 percent in 2020. Breaking that down according to City Council districts, he found that District 10 had the highest turnout with 45.5 percent of voters registered in that northwest district voting early. That in spite of the fact that there is no Council seat on their ballot, perhaps indicating strong interest in the mayor’s race and offices higher on the ballot, such as governor.

Turnout was also robust in District 8 in Southwest Austin, where Council Member Paige Ellis is running for reelection, with an early turnout of 43 percent. And in the Travis County portion of District 6, the farthest northwest district, turnout was close to 41 percent, according to Littlefield. District 7, where there is no race for a Council seat, saw a turnout of 38.3 percent. District 5, where there is a battle brewing over who will sit in the South Austin chair since Council Member Ann Kitchen is retiring, had turnout of 37.5 percent. District 9, which is similarly competitive in the wake of Council Member Kathie Tovo’s departure, saw a turnout of 34 percent. In District 1, where Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison is running for reelection for her northeast area seat, turnout was 31.7 percent, but in District 3, where there is a battle to take the east side seat currently held by Council Member Pio Renteria, early turnout was only 27.4 percent.

Travis County Fire Marshal Tony Callaway has lifted the burn ban for the unincorporated areas of Travis County, explaining that, with “the rain we received earlier this week and adequate humidity levels, the conditions have improved enough to lift the burn ban. Although the burn ban has been lifted, I encourage the public to be careful and always be aware of fire dangers when conducting outdoor burning.” Residents planning to conduct any outdoor burning should brush up on the regulations for outdoor burning and contact their local fire department. And of course, always have water nearby. 

City Council has started the process for designating the Broken Spoke an official city historic landmark. The Spoke, perhaps Austin’s most famous honky-tonk, has already received a state historical marker in recognition of its 58 years hosting music legends such as Bob Wills, Jerry Jeff Walker, Marcia Ball, and many more. The resolution sponsored by Council Member Ann Kitchen noted that Willie Nelson and George Strait started their careers at the Broken Spoke in the 1970s. In addition to being the only remaining dance hall in the city, the Broken Spoke hosts a museum of historic artifacts and souvenirs from its various performers and celebrities. The resolution calls on city management to expedite the historic designation so that the marker can be placed at the Spoke in April 2023. U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, who has represented downtown and South Austin for several years, was invited by Council Member Mackenzie Kelly to address Council on the issue. He urged them to move forward with the designation and invited them to work with him on future issues, including protection of the Hill Country, though he will no longer be representing the area due to redistricting. It was an unusual appearance by the Republican congressman, who spoke fondly of visits to the Spoke.

For the first time since the start of the pandemic, the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition is resuming its Point in Time Count, and is looking for at least 1,000 volunteers to help get it done. The count will take place the night of Friday, Jan. 27, when volunteers will go into the community to survey the local population of those experiencing homelessness and hand out care kits. “The Point in Time Count is a great opportunity to get involved in our community’s efforts to end homelessness,” ECHO spokesperson Angela de Leon said in a statement to the press. “The more people who volunteer, the more supplies we’re able to hand out, the more conversations we’re able to have, and the more complete our survey results are going to be.” Volunteers can sign up individually or as a group. ECHO is also looking for donations of money and supplies to create care packs.

An awards ceremony this Saturday honors the winners of Austin’s Tree of the Year awards with laser-cut wooden “cookies” made by Harvest Lumber Company. Community members and organizations nominated over 50 trees in five categories (small, large, schoolyard tree, tree with a story, and most unique tree) during the nomination period, which ran from June 1 to Sept. 30. Now the votes are in and organizers will announce Austin’s most beloved trees – as decided by the people who love them. Nov. 5 at 2:45 p.m., Dottie Jordan Park Tree & Pollinator Festival, 2803 Loyola Lane. Can’t make the ceremony? Check out the winners gallery online.

City Council will consider a resolution today asking Hays County to reconsider a road plan that would include two major road projects that could be detrimental to the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer district and damage Barton Springs. The Travis County Commissioners Court sent a letter in September to Hays commissioners notifying them of Travis County’s opposition to two different roads. According to a resolution sponsored by Council Member Ann Kitchen, one of the roads would “cause serious harm to both the city-owned Water Quality Protection Lands as well as to privately owned lands protected by City of Austin Water Quality Protection Lands conservation easements.” The second road would have the effect of converting MoPac Expressway from a local commuter highway into “a partially tolled interstate freeway alternative to Interstate 35, serving interregional and interstate car and truck traffic.” As the Hays Free Press reported, “On Aug. 30, the Hays County Commissioners Court approved a $2.5 million engineering and design contract with a 4-1 vote to complete the missing section of SH 45 between I-35 and FM 1626, connecting I-35 to South MoPac.” Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra was the lone vote against the contract.