This Thursday, April 11, the city will host its annual Career Expo at the Palmer Events Center. The event is designed to provide opportunities for anyone seeking a job, and to offer a chance to network with employers and other work resources. According to a press release about the event, “The Career Expo will include several City departments, private employers, state agencies, higher education and technical schools, temporary staffing agencies, and many smaller businesses with skilled, customer service and labor job openings. There is no cost for job seekers to attend, and a professional photographer will be onsite taking headshots of attendees at no charge.” For reference, last year’s expo had about 100 employers present, with more than 4,000 jobs available. Registration is online at AustinTexas.gov/CareerExpo.

Waterloo Greenway will unveil a new vision for Sir Swante Palm Neighborhood Park at a pair of community feedback sessions on April 25 and 27. The design is a culmination of more than six months of outreach that involved feedback from more than 2,000 community members who shared input on future amenities, natural areas and an identity for the park. April’s events mark the final official chance for community input before the anticipated groundbreaking in 2026. The sessions will take place on:

• Thursday, April 25
  Martin Middle School (1601 Haskell St., Austin, TX 78702) from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, April 27
  Eastside Early College High School (900 Thompson St., Austin, TX 78702) from 10 a.m. to noon

Both events are free and open to the public, with snacks and refreshments provided.

For the 13th year, the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center is hosting La Mujer: A Celebration of Women, this time at the women-owned Cathedral Art Gallery at 2403 E. 16th St. from 1-6 p.m. Sunday, April 21. The annual event aims for women in Austin’s Mexican American and Latina/o/x/e community to be seen, heard and empowered, with mental health and wellness programming from organizations such as Contigo Wellness and Austin Public Health, a BIPOC-centered marketplace by Frida Friday ATX, and visual art exhibits curated by Monica Ceniceros of the Cathedral. Indoor activities include a sound healing workshop with Andrea Cortez from the Mind, Body and Music Center, a rebozo (shawl) workshop with Irasema Reza-Bailey from Manos Magicas and a somatic writing workshop with poet and author Leticia Urieta. Outdoors, there will be food trucks and aguas frescas; an all-day artisan marketplace; free hands-on children’s activities; an “open pitch” for Austinites to speak about their business, craft or organization; and an open mic for music and poetry. Workshops and keynote require pre-registration; all other activities will be open to all attendees with no RSVP or ticket required. There will also be sound and movement and weaving family activities with Creative Action. Pre-register for indoor workshops at AustinTexas.gov/MACCLaMujer or on Eventbrite.

Texas remains one of the most dangerous states for people being killed in traffic crashes. In 2023, 105 people died while riding bicycles statewide. In response, the volunteer group Austin Ghost Bike Project installs white memorial bikes near the scenes of fatality crashes. The organization – along with Safe Streets Austin and Farm&City – is calling upon Austin, Travis County and Texas elected officials to reduce vehicular fatalities and serious injuries across the state to zero. All three groups urge government officials to:

1) Increase efforts to solve these and many other unresolved cold cases;
2) Increase the scope and speed of installing protected bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure; and
3) Commit to eliminating deaths and serious injuries on our roadways.

“Enough is enough,” said Adam Greenfield, advocacy director at Safe Streets Austin. “People should not be dying while moving around on Austin’s streets. It’s time for elected leaders at all levels to take the fight against the epidemic of vehicle-related deaths and serious injuries in Austin to the next level. We must take action to rapidly eliminate these tragedies on our streets.” The International Ride of Silence is scheduled for 7 p.m. May 15 at City Hall, where Austinites will join thousands of cyclists around the world to bike silently in honor of victims of traffic violence. Cyclists are welcome to join the short, slow and silent ride that will stop by several ghost bikes.

The Great North American Eclipse drops next Monday, April 8, and in preparation the city’s parks department has teamed up with UT Austin to provide eclipse glasses and telescopes with solar filters in all 10 City Council districts. The telescopes will be available for independent and guided viewing from noon to 3 p.m. at Colony Park, Onion Creek Soccer Complex, Roy G. Guerrero Metropolitan Park, Gus Garcia District Park, Mary Moore Searight Park, Pickfair Pocket Park, Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park, Zilker Metropolitan Park and Conley-Guerrero Senior Activity Center , which will also offer a livestream of the eclipse for people who want to remain indoors. “We are excited to partner with the City of Austin to enable eclipse viewing in our neighborhoods and Council districts,” UT’s president, Jay Hartzell, said in a statement to the press. “The scientists, researchers and other experts at UT are neighbors to the residents of Austin. We want to make sure that the entire city and its visitors benefit from having one of the top astronomy departments and research universities in the world right down the street.” Because of an expected influx of visitors and traffic, officials are advising everyone to stick close to home. Austin won’t be in the path of totality again for more than 319 years.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.