For those of you interested in today's public hearing on short-term rentals (STRs) -- agenda item no. 140 -- please be advised that the City Council has voted this afternoon to POSTPONE THE STR HEARING UNTIL THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 2012. Urban Patchwork will hold a hands-on mulch basin workshop this Saturday (May 26) from 8 AM to noon, demonstrating how to buffer your trees from the hot, dry summer conditions we face in Central Texas. Details at http://www.urbanpatchwork.org/mulchbasinworkshop/ The workshop will take place at the intersection of N Lamar/2222, where Sustainable Neighborhoods planted trees in December. The trees have suffered already from dry conditions in April. The workshop will demonstrate how to rearrange the soil and use mulch to capture more water for the trees. for more info: sntrees@urbanpatchwork.org The records indicate that Austin Energy spent at least $123,065 related to holiday, retirement and employee appreciation events from October 1, 2009 to February 29, 2012. read more: http://www.theaustinbulldog.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=198:review-of-austin-energys-spending&catid=3:main-articles I'm the Executive Director of the Austin Heritage Tree Foundation and I need your help to save 6 heritage trees and 1 protected tree that will be removed at the Green Water Treatment Plant. The case is going to Austin's city council tomorrow, around 6 pm. City staff is asking city council to approve an ordinance approving a waiver to remove these 7 trees, bypassing the heritage tree ordinance! Stewart Snider, president of the Austin League, said, "We have supported one type of geographic representation for 4 decades. Over the past 12 months, our study committee met with both advocates and skeptics of geographic representation. We researched how other cities fared after making this change. After countless discussions, our membership recently voted to expand our support to include plans like CD 10-1 because we are convinced this kind of representation will result in a more democratic city council than is provided by our current at-large system." Snider was joined by former state senator and CRC Chair, the Hon. Gonzalo Barrientos; Nelson Linder, NAACP President and CRC member; and Roger Borgelt, Vice-Chairman of the Travis County Republican Party and representative for Austinites for Geographic Representation; Frances McIntyre, chair of the LWV committee that studied this issue, said, "The present system of at-large council districts does not provide fair representation. The majority of council members elected over the past 4 decades have come from the same part of town. All Austinites should have an equal voice at City Hall." Barrientos welcomed the LWVAA's endorsement of the CRC's recommendation: "The 10-1 plan is the best way to make Austin's elections fairer and more representative." Roger Borgelt of AGR said "We welcome the League of Women Voters to an alliance that includes the NAACP, LULAC, the Austin Police Association, Austin Neighborhood Council, Austin Human Rights Commission, Gray Panthers, Travis County Tejano Democrats and many others. The list of endorsers will continue to grow because CD 10-1 is the only plan for geographic representation that is fully formed and backed by Austinites of all political persuasions." The League of Women Voters of the Austin Area is a nonpartisan, all-volunteer organization that promotes civic participation and education in all aspects of our democracy. Membership in the League is open to both men and women. For more information visit www.lwvaustin.org. "However, Baird's own record on the 299th District Court, one of Travis County's felony courts, suggests that this advocacy manifested itself into an alarming tendency to put serious, violent offenders back out on the streets via personal bonds. " http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/12312/travis-da-charlie-baird-has-disconcerting-history-of-putting-violent-offenders-back-on-the-streets The MoPac Improvement Draft Environmental Assessment for Express Lanes on MoPac has been approved for further processing by the Federal Highway Administration. The MoPac Improvement project team will host a final public hearing to solicit community input on the proposed project. Wednesday, May 23, 2012 6:00 p.m. O. Henry Middle School School Cafeteria 2610 West 10th Street Austin, TX 78703 A reminder that City Council is holding a public hearing on Imagine Austin on Thursday, May 24. We’re on the 4:00pm agenda; however, looking at their draft agenda it might be later. We’re agenda item number 135 out of 141. Check out the draft plan online at http://www.imagineaustin.net/chapters The Austin Police Department's Auto Theft Interdiction Unit will be providing free VIN etching on vehicles on Thursday, May 17, 2012 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The Park at Summers Grove, 2900 Century Boulevard. |
