Council Member Mackenzie Kelly has contributed $150,000 – saved from her office budget during her term – toward the improvement of a piece of undeveloped parkland. The site is located at the intersection of Spicewood Springs Road and Old Lampasas Trail. “This funding will help transform this space into a vibrant area where families can gather and enjoy nature,” she said in a prepared statement. Kelly said she plans to help conduct community feedback sessions with residents near the parkland to determine how best to use the money in service of the community’s parks and recreational needs.

The Health Alliance for Austin Musicians is accepting appointments to prepare members who will need to enroll in coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplace in early November. At Monday’s Music Commission meeting, HAAM CEO Paul Scott said the appointments would help musicians determine their appropriate levels of coverage and cost for the signup period, which is being handled in partnership with Foundation Communities. Those receiving ACA plans who earn between 200 and 400 percent of the federal poverty line will be eligible for some level of premium assistance through HAAM, though Scott noted if plans in the federal marketplace have large price increases, the group may have to limit how much assistance it provides. While HAAM recently received a two-year $500,000 grant from St. David’s Foundation toward its premium assistance program, Scott said that he and other HAAM leaders may seek city funding in next year’s budget to help cover costs for some of its 3,100 members.

Another weekend in Austin, another huge, festive, traffic-snarling event. But those who enjoy moving their bodies will rejoice at the news that the 28th annual Livestrong Challenge is coming to town this Sunday. Cyclists may choose from 20-, 45-, 65- or 100-mile routes while runners and walkers will be challenged by timed 5K or 10K courses around Lady Bird Lake. All routes wind up at Auditorium Shores, where participants are welcome to partake of festivities, enjoy food and drink, and snag their very own event T-shirt. Find details, registration info and start times here. Sunday, Oct. 20, 7:30 a.m.

What has typically been a pronounced effort to keep the roads safe on holiday weekends will now be enforced year-round. The Austin Police Department’s “no refusal” initiative – when people suspected of driving while intoxicated are not allowed to refuse a sobriety test – will be in effect between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. daily throughout the entirety of the year. The initiative will also focus on highways and high-speed roadways.

Sure, it happens every year, but that doesn’t mean we ever get used to it. We’re referring, of course, to the darkening sky. October brings the sight of your neighbor dragging that giant tacky plastic skeleton out of his garage and inflating it on his front lawn. October also brings shorter days and longer nights. It’s almost dark now when many people get off work and start their commute home. The dim lighting conditions make it more dangerous for everyone sharing the road; not just motorists but vulnerable pedestrians and cyclists. As Austin’s Transportation Department says, “Crashes involving pedestrians that occur in dark conditions are twice as likely to result in death or injury than those occurring in non-dark conditions.” So keep your eyes peeled, drive a little slower and resist the urge to glance at your phone. That way, we can ensure that everyone gets home safe. Even the guy with the big plastic skeleton.

The Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation and Corporation for Supportive Housing have convened the latest cohort of the Texas Supportive Housing Institute, which aims to create 530 affordable homes across the state. The cohort includes a partnership with Austin-based entities Vecino Group and Family Eldercare. The team will focus on the development of Cairn Point Montopolis, a 150-unit senior community that will include 65 units of permanent supportive housing, 15 of which will be set aside for military veterans at risk of experiencing homelessness. “Each home created through the Institute transforms lives and builds safer, resilient neighborhoods. When communities invest in supportive housing, they save resources diverted from costly emergency systems and intuitional care,” Brooke Page, southwest director at CSH, said in a prepared statement. “TSAHC has been an invaluable partner in accelerating supportive housing development in Texas, and we are inspired by teams across the state dedicated to making a positive impact and building vibrant communities.”

Workforce Solutions Capital Area is helping to promote a pair of career fairs to help connect local workers with prospective employers, including those looking to fill thousands of manufacturing and skilled trades jobs needed locally in the coming decade. The Texas HireAbility Job Fair will take place at 9 a.m. Oct. 17 at Education Service Center Region 13 on Springdale Road. Employers will be looking to connect with job seekers with disabilities, with a variety of auxiliary aids and services available to help facilitate meetings. Registration is available online. A manufacturing job fair will take place at 10 a.m. Oct. 22 at the Workforce Solutions northern facility on Interstate 35 just south of Rundberg Lane. Registration is available online.

City Council District 7 candidate Mike Siegel has announced that his campaign has more cash on hand than all the other D7 candidates combined. He reported his cash on hand at $43,453.17 in his filing on Monday. The D7 race is crowded, with six candidates vying for the spot Council Member Leslie Pool is vacating. When the Austin Monitor looked at the reports, it was easy to see that none of the other candidates except Gary Bledsoe had close to Siegel’s cash. However, Bledsoe reported his total contributions maintained at $48,158.79, so we asked Siegel how he arrived at his conclusion. He pointed out that Bledsoe also reported $26,704.51 in unpaid incurred obligations. Therefore, Siegel explained, in order to see who really has the most money to spend, he subtracted the amount of unpaid incurred obligations from what Bledsoe reported as his bottom line. Bledsoe listed his unpaid obligations as about $21,526 to Y Strategy LLC, and $5,177 to CheckMark Typesetting for a total of more than $26,703. None of the other candidates in this race reported any unpaid obligations. Therefore, using that method to calculate how much Bledsoe still has to spend, that figure is closer to $21,454. So, apparently, Siegel’s brag is legitimate.

Council Member Alison Alter announced via email Tuesday that she is endorsing her former colleague on the dais, Kathie Tovo, for mayor. “I served with Kathie for six years on the Austin City Council and I know that for Kathie public service is a true calling. She will be a mayor for all of Austin,” Alter said. The District 10 Council member, who is retiring at the end of the year, is the only member to endorse anyone other than the current mayor, Kirk Watson. Watson proudly displays pictures of eight of his colleagues — all of whom have endorsed him — on his website. The only other Council member not to endorse Watson is Mackenzie Kelly, who is running for reelection in what could be a close contest. According to Alter, “Kathie understands that to be effective and inspire trust, you must encourage deliberation and true public participation. She knows that leaders use history, not to go backwards, but to learn from the past so we can do better.”

Austin Congressman Lloyd Doggett, who has represented the Austin area for nearly 30 years, will talk about environmental issues and update the Austin Sierra Club on issues before Congress at the group’s meeting Wednesday night. The group will meet at El Mercado South, 1302 South First St,, beginning with food and drinks at 6 p.m. The program will start at 7 p.m.

Travis County’s Strategic Housing Finance Corporation has announced David Dinoff as the new deputy director, as well as naming Alexandra Radtke as director of real estate. Dinoff previously served as director of real estate for Capital A Housing in Austin and also worked as director of community development for BCL of Texas nonprofit loan fund. Radtke also serves as housing development manager for Austin Housing Finance Corporation to structure partnerships around affordable housing projects. SHFC is a nonprofit that partners with developers to increase access to affordable housing, with over 6,000 affordable units created since 2004 when the organization was formed.

More than 34,000 acres of land on over 1,000 parcels in Central Texas have been annexed out of the extraterritorial jurisdictions of area cities, according to an analysis by the Austin Business Journal. The annexations are the result of state Senate Bill 2038, which lets property owners on the boundaries of cities free themselves from local regulations that may inhibit their development prospects. The 2,100-acre Tesla factory in East Austin is one of the most high-profile examples of annexations made possible by the law, freeing the company from the city’s air quality and water use laws. Cities can formally approve the annexations or let them cycle through the 45-day waiting period before the land is automatically removed, though there are legal challenges to the law. In July, the city released a memo concerning properties in South Austin that were seeking to annex out of the ETJ. City staffers are also working to determine what consequences the state law will have on local water quality efforts.