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Active & Upcoming Community Engagement Opportunities
This section is dedicated to sharing opportunities for community members to add their voice and strengthen their connection with local organizations, issues, and decisions shaping our community. Past opportunities can be found on our Community Engagement Opportunities archive page.
This community-focused initiative is made possible with support from the St. David’s Foundation.
¡Sí Se Puede! this Saturday
The 23rd annual ¡Sí Se Puede! César Chávez March & Celebration will take place this Saturday, March 30, to honor the life and legacy of César Chávez on his birthday. The celebration will take place at Parque Zaragoza from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with sign-making and gathering for the march to start at 9 a.m. The march itself is a short one around the park. The celebration will feature speakers, community vendors, artists and nonprofits, and performances from Ballet Folklorico, high school drumlines and music from DJ Chris “Tejano Man” Tristan and Mariachi Sin Fronteras. The event is hosted by the United by Our Roots coalition of: HABLA; Amigos de Parque Zaragoza; PODER; East Austin Conservancy; Council Member José Velásquez, Austin City Council, District 3; George Morales, Travis Co. Constable Pct. 4; Del Valle Community Coalition; Fiesta Austin; HABLA y VOTA Action Fund; Muertos Clothing Co.; Council Member Vanessa Fuentes, Austin City Council, District 2; Austin Latino Coalition; LULAC 4221 & 650; Mexicanos 2070; MAS Cultura; La Voz Newspaper; HOT Tejano; Council Member Chito Vela, Austin City Council, District 4; Latino HealthCare Forum; and AFSCME Local 1624.
Bullock offers discussions, workshops on April 8 solar eclipse
As the April 8 total solar eclipse draws closer, the Bullock Museum will host two programs exploring the science of eclipses and how to view them safely. Next Wednesday at noon, the museum will hold a discussion about the nature of eclipses and how to properly photograph them, featuring Rob Pettengill, NASA JPL solar system ambassador and Astronomy in Chile education ambassador. A similar program will take place beginning at 10 a.m. April 7, with NASA ambassador Sophie Gairo and representatives from the McDonald Observatory talking about the solar eclipse. Families may also participate in science, technology and engineering demonstrations with Girlstart. More information on museum programming is available at www.thestoryoftexas.com.
Tell the city how to invest in our environment
The Joint Sustainability Committee will hold a public hearing today to help develop a new Environmental Investment Plan. In February, City Council approved a resolution asking city staff to look at a number of climate initiatives already approved in order to help prioritize and fund those that reduce carbon emissions, decrease water use, advance sustainability and improve community resilience. Today’s hearing, which will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. at City Hall, seeks public help in identifying what should be prioritized moving forward. Those unable to attend tonight’s meeting can fill out this online form with ideas and suggestions: bit.ly/JSCPublicForm.
Total eclipse, from the bus
Capital Metro is (kind of) joining in on the solar eclipse fun. First, the fun part: The transportation authority is hosting an eclipse viewing picnic from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Leander Station Park & Ride. On the less-fun side of things, Capital Metro is anticipating severe delays in the time surrounding the eclipse, due to an excess of traffic. In addition, the agency warns that its operators may choose to pull over vehicles during the two or so minutes of the full eclipse, due to total darkness and possible cosmic weirdness. Nonetheless, regular bus service and special rail service will remain up and running on April 8.
2024 Warrant Amnesty Program now underway
Today through April 19, people with active warrants can have fees waived if they take part in the 2024 Warrant Amnesty Program. During this period, no officers will be sent to take defendants into custody, and those who voluntarily go to an Austin municipal or community court location will not face arrest. Instead, the Austin Municipal Court and Downtown Austin Community Court are offering options to those who can’t pay right away. Those options include payment plans, community service and waivers for people experiencing financial hardship. During a series of walk-in dockets (listed here) no appointments are necessary. Under last year’s Warrant Amnesty Program, more than 2,300 outstanding warrants and delinquent citations were cleared.
HEB and Waterloo Park team up for a free festival
Waterloo Park will soon host a free festival celebrating Texas parks, wildlife and the people that help preserve them. Called the “Our Texas, Our Future Wildlife & Environmental Festival,” the event is being held by HEB and the Waterloo Greenway Conservancy. It will feature a screening of HEB’s environmental docuseries “Our Texas, Our Future,” interactive exhibits, STEM and art workshops and guided garden tours. Visitors who bring plastic bags (to recycle) will be entered to win prizes from sponsors. The fest will take place noon to 4 p.m. April 21.
Austin Animal Center reaches a ‘crisis point’
Adoption fees are currently waived at the city’s animal shelter, which is dealing with extreme overcrowding. Animal Services officials are asking for help finding fosters and adopters to deal with the crisis. “Our capacity limit takes into account doubling up dogs in the larger kennels, and half of our nonpublic building that should really be used for court cases, quarantines, owner incarcerations and hospitalizations, etc.,” Chief Animal Services Officer Don Bland said in a statement to the press on Wednesday afternoon. “Currently we have zero open kennels for any incoming dogs, including emergencies. We just received notification that 12 dogs from a cruelty case are on their way and we need space for them.” According to that press release, staff will be on hand to process fostering from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day this week. Those fostering medium and large dogs are being asked to foster for a minimum of two weeks. In addition, area rescues that can take on medium and large dogs could receive a monetary incentive if they have the capacity. Those rescue centers can email animal.rescue@austintexas.gov for more information.
Austin Police Association and the city continue negotiations
The Austin Police Association (APA) and the city meet at 10 a.m. today to continue negotiations on the terms of the Austin Police Department meet and confer agreement. In negotiating a long-term contract, their goal is to address community concerns, navigate current legal challenges and earn City Council approval. The meeting will be livestreamed here.
Duncan Neighborhood Park gets a refresh
A ribbon-cutting at Duncan Neighborhood Park, 900 W. Ninth St., is planned for 11 a.m. Saturday, April 13, when enhancements to the park will be unveiled, including a wetland feature with an overlook area created by the removal of 420 cubic yards of soil, which was later added to the BMX section of the park. Additional improvements include an ADA-accessible path from Ninth Street to 10th Street, an enhanced connection to the Shoal Creek Hike and Bike Trail, new picnic tables, a drinking fountain, park benches and new trees. Two meadow planting areas were also added to the grounds to enhance the natural setting and provide biodiversity. Wildflower areas were established to reintroduce native ecosystems, and native landscape plant materials were used to improve water quality. The 2012 Prop 14 Park Bond and the 2018 Prop C Park Bond funded the projects. The ribbon-cutting ceremony is open to the public. Visit the the Duncan Park Improvements page for more information.
Help shape South Austin’s new development
This week, Austinites will have two more opportunities to weigh in on changes to how Austin’s South Central Waterfront will be developed. Today at 6 p.m., the city will host an in-person meeting at Austin Central Library to gather feedback on a draft regulations. Then, on Wednesday, the city will host a virtual meeting at 10 a.m. (would-be participants can register here). Anyone who can’t make those meetings is also welcome to offer up opinions via the SpeakUp Austin survey. The draft changes, which can be found here, are expected to be taken up by City Council this May.
Austin Animal Center launches a finder-to-foster program
Austin Animal Center has launched a finder-to-foster program, which allows community members who find a lost pet to register them with the shelter so they can receive intake vaccines, other necessary medical care and a microchip and be listed as a found pet in the shelter database. A related ordinance change was approved by City Council on Feb. 1. The pet will not have to stay at the shelter for the entire 72-hour stray hold. Instead, the hold will occur while the pet is in the finder’s home. If an owner does not come forward in that time, the shelter can provide foster and adoption support. “We have so many wonderful community members who want to help a stray animal,” said Mary Brown, customer service manager at AAC. “I’m excited that we’re able to offer this option for animals to get the full support of AAC foster program resources while also giving a dog a chance to be reunited with their owner, not having to be stressed in a shelter kennel setting.” The program will be for animals found within the city of Austin or unincorporated Travis County. Participating finders must:
- Live within one hour of the shelter
- Commit to helping reunite the animal with the owner
- Provide food and supplies for the foster pet
- Have up-to-date rabies vaccinations for all animals already living in their home
- Be able to access email regularly and provide transportation to and from AAC
- Follow all policies and procedures of the AAC Foster Program
If you’re interested in participating, you can learn more and submit a Finder to Foster request.
Meet your new city manager
With the search now narrowed to two, Austinites will have the chance to meet the final candidates being considered for the position of city manager. T.C. Broadnax and Sara Hensley will attend a “meet the candidate” event 6 to 7:30 p.m. March 25 at the Planning and Development Center. The event will feature a moderated discussion, with questions solicited in advance through SpeakUp Austin or by calling 311 through March 20. After the discussion, audience members will have the opportunity to talk with candidates during a meet-and-greet reception. Following that, the candidates will talk to city staff and, the next day, City Council will conduct official interviews in a closed session. The goal, according to a message board post from Mayor Kirk Watson, is to take action in early April. “Depending on the interviews, and as indicated previously, we may invite one or both prospects back for activity/interviews on April 1st and/or 2nd. We will have posted Council action for the April 4th meeting. The posted action will be to direct our search firm to negotiate a contract with the specific person. I previously wrote that we might do this on April 2nd. But that would make it difficult to allow the required public comment on a council action item if, in fact, we bring someone back for more interviews. And waiting two days for a regular meeting is less rushed and just makes sense. We don’t have to take action on April 4th, but we will be posted and in a position to do so, if we want,” Watson wrote.