As part of the “Journey with AUS” expansion program, the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport will hold an open house at the Montopolis Recreation Center this Saturday. The open house, which will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., will have information about the airport, its expansion and employment opportunities, among other things. The event is free and open to the public and will feature food, live music, vaccines and family-friendly activities. Spanish interpretation will be on-site. “This will be our second annual community Open House. We’re carrying on a commitment to fostering meaningful relationships with airport neighbors,” Ghizlane Badawi, chief executive officer for AUS, said in a statement to the press. “On the heels of our busiest year on record and with years of improvement and expansion projects ahead, it is an exciting time for the airport. We want to continue to share our plans with the community, provide updates as we reach major milestones, answer their questions, and bring them along as we shape the future of AUS.”

In an attempt to make crossing the street safer, a new safety and mobility pilot project is underway on Shoal Creek Boulevard at Treadwell Boulevard. The crosswalk, which also has enhanced markings, is illuminated when a pedestrian is crossing. According to a press release from the city’s Transportation and Public Works Department, “About 75 percent of all pedestrian traffic fatalities in the United States occur at night, according to the Federal Highway Administration, and adding or increasing lighting can reduce nighttime pedestrian crashes by 42 percent.” Those who have experience the lit-crosswalk pilot project themselves are invited to complete this survey about the experience.

Credit: Transportation and Public Works

The Watershed Protection Department will recognize winners of its flood safety video contest with a ceremony, spotlighting their contributions to flood safety awareness. It will be held at 6 p.m. today at the Asian American Resource Center, 8401 Cameron Road, Austin, TX, 78754. Jorge Morales, director of the Watershed Protection Department, and Paul Yura, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service, will speak at the event before the winning videos are screened. Additional parking will be available at 1520 Rutherford Lane. Those who plan to attend can RSVP to becca.villarreal@austintexas.gov. For more information on the contest, visit austintexas.gov/flood-safety-contest.

The recent renovation of Brush Square Park includes a new permanent stage constructed specifically for the annual O. Henry Museum Pun-Off World Championships, and this year’s contestants will be the first to compete on this “New Stage of Word Domination.” For 47 years, punsters have gathered in Austin for a battle of wit and wordplay in honor of famous wordsmith and short story writer William Sydney Porter, better known as O. Henry. The internationally renowned spoken word competition focuses on the art of the pun – and is considered one of Austin’s oldest “weird” events. This year’s event is set for 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 11 at Brush Square Park, 409 E. Fifth St., behind the O. Henry Museum. It’s free to the public, and no ticket is required for admission. Additional details about the event can be found on the official Facebook event page.

While it could be argued that budget season is a year-round affair at City Hall, things are about to start in earnest. To get ready, Mayor Kirk Watson has posted a schedule for this year’s process, which will end in an adopted budget on Aug. 14, 15 or 16. According to Watson’s City Council Message Board post, the staff budget will be presented at a City Council work session on Friday, July 12, which will also launch the “Council Budget Questions” process that will be available online for the public to view. Council will hold additional budget work sessions on July 24 (which will include public comment) and July 30. The next month, a public hearing will take place at 3 p.m. Aug. 1, when a tax rate will be adopted, and work sessions are currently scheduled for Aug. 6 and 8. City Council voting on the budget will take place at one of the meetings scheduled Aug. 14-16. “Adopting the FY25 Budget is one of the most important decisions this Council will make. I hope by outlining the timeline and process, we can work in an efficient and collaborative manner while achieving our shared goal of making the City of Austin a great place to live, work and thrive for all members of our community,” Watson wrote.

City Council is poised to make another bundle of changes to the Land Development Code in an effort to make development easier and housing less expensive. Last week, the city scheduled two more open houses to help get the word out about those changes, which would reduce minimum lot sizes, change compatibility standards and create new development standards near future transit and in central South Austin, among other things. The new meetings will take place 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, May 6, at Anderson High School and 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 8, at the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center. The changes are on a fast-track back to Council, with meetings scheduled chockablock in the meantime. The amendments will be at Council on May 16 and May 30, with downtown parking and the ETOD amendment to Imagine Austin to be heard at the second meeting.

Austin is currently in that time between plants being dead from a freeze and plants being dead from the sun, which can be an inspirational (and costly) time of year for anyone with a green thumb or a dream. It’s also a time that the city wants residents to be aware of the many resources it offers to gardeners through its Grow Green program. According to a press release reminding us all about the program, its educational materials include:

• 23 Grow Green fact sheets on big-picture and pest-related topics
• Rebates, free stuff and grants to help your garden grow
• Landscape design, installation and maintenance information, including demonstration gardens and design templates
• Native & Adapted Plant Guide for Central Texas
• List of Grow Green landscape professionals who have completed the training series
• Pest information (integrated pest management)
• Drainage solutions

“As spring breathes new life into our gardens, the Grow Green program stands ready to support Austinites in their quest for sustainable, vibrant landscapes,” Denise Delaney, environmental program coordinator for the Watershed Protection Department, said in a statement. “Our diverse educational resources and community engagement initiatives aim to empower individuals to become stewards of our environment while creating beautiful, resilient gardens that thrive harmoniously with nature.”

For a bit of motivation to explore nature in your immediate surroundings, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas Nature Trackers program encourage people to document their local biodiversity April 26-29 as part of the City Nature Challenge. It’s a chance to get outside – just out your front door, in your yard or anywhere nature is found and can be safely and responsibly explored – and enter your observations of plants, animals and fungi on the free mobile app iNaturalist. This global, community-based, scientific effort is co-organized by San Francisco’s California Academy of Sciences and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Texas Nature Trackers encourages use of the hashtag #CityNatureChallenge on social media or as a tag in iNaturalist. In 2023, Texas metropolitan areas joined more than 400 other cities in a worldwide celebration of the resilience of urban nature that logged more than 1.8 million observations of more than 58,000 species by nearly 70,000 people. In Texas, 93 counties logged more than 174,000 observations, with 7,500 species recorded by more than 6,000 observers. Check out the City Nature Challenge online to find links to Texas projects and learn more. Free training can be viewed online. Participants can also contact TNT biologists Craig Hensley and Wendy Anderson with the Texas Nature Trackers program at tracker@tpwd.texas.gov.

The city’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management is hosting a preparedness pop-up today at the Little Walnut Creek Branch Library. The event, which will take place from 4 to 7 p.m., will educate attendees about preparing for severe weather and flooding, among other things, with tips from Public Safety and HSEM representatives. In addition, the first 25 households will receive an emergency supply kit. Austin is currently in a season when severe weather and flooding is a distinct risk. To learn more about regional emergency preparedness outside of today’s event, visit ReadyCentralTexas.org.

Volunteers are needed for Travis County Parks and the Colorado River Alliance’s inaugural Spring Cleanup from 9-11 a.m. Saturday, April 20. You can help remove and recycle litter across seven parks in eastern Travis County: Northeast Metro Park, East Metro Park, Webberville Park, Barkley Meadows Park, Richard Moya Park, Onion Creek Greenway and Southeast Metro Park. “These waterways are our source of drinking water and it’s essential that we all pitch in to keep them clean,” said Travis County Commissioner for Precinct 2 Brigid Shea. “It’s especially important for our downstream neighbors.” This event helps raise awareness that litter travels, emphasizing the importance of keeping our parks, river and creeks healthy and clean. Reserve your spot to help keep our vital drinking water source clean and flowing for generations to come.

A new round of $5,000 Nexus Grants is open to local artists and art programs. The city’s Economic Development Department announced the newest round of funding for artists, which can be used to cover expenses for area-based applicants who have a one-year (or more) history of arts programming in the area. More information and application details are available online, and more information about the grants is available through a number of outreach events and workshops, detailed here. Applications are open now and will remain open through 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 14.