Want to broadcast your support for Vision Zero, the community initiative to encourage safer driving and eliminate traffic fatalities? Get a free Vision Zero yard sign from the city to display in your front yard or on your porch. Just email the team to request a sign and then coordinate to pick it up at the Transportation Department offices. The signs come in English or Spanish.

Nonprofit Delta Kappa Gamma has officially sold its longtime headquarters at 416 W. 12th St., according to a press release from Sayers Real Estate Advisors. The sale to developer Stratus Properties paves the way for a 400-foot-tall, 35-story tower with 300 apartments. The project – called Annie B after DKG founder Annie Webb Blanton – will feature a “garden honoring the historical impact of DKG’s work.” Construction is scheduled from October of this year to May 2025. DKG successfully rezoned the property last year to allow the tower, fending off preservationists who wanted to save the midcentury-modern building from demolition. After operating in the building for over six decades, DKG decided to sell in order to stay financially stable in the future. The sale amount is undisclosed, though the property was valued at just over $3.5 million in 2021. The nonprofit has already moved to a new headquarters in North Austin.

Preliminary registration numbers for AISD pre-K and kindergarten have doubled over last spring, after a district-wide registration campaign. Pre-K registrations are up 188 percent compared to 2021 and kindergarten registrations are up 123 percent. That is welcome news to the district, which failed to meet enrollment expectations throughout the pandemic. According to a press release from AISD, Summit, Baldwin, Barrington, Padron and Pickle were the top five campuses in terms of registration. “What these numbers tell me is that there is a pent-up demand in Austin coming out of the pandemic for our high-quality pre-K and kindergarten options,” Alejandro Delgado, district enrollment executive director, said in a statement to the press.

Austinites who frequent the area around East Fourth Street between the northbound Interstate 35 frontage road and San Marcos Street may have noticed that crews have begun work converting the street into a one-way configuration. According to a news release from the Transportation Department, the project is designed to make the road safer and prevent “conflicts between right-turning motor vehicles and people walking, bicycling or scooting across the Lance Armstrong Bikeway on the north curb of East Fourth Street.” Other planned changes include “reinforcing no on-street parking along the east curb of the I-35 northbound frontage road between Third Street and Fourth Street” in order to improve visibility; making westbound East Fourth Street a local-access-only route between San Marcos Street and 120 feet west of San Marcos Street; and installing a new signal at the north and southbound frontage roads of I-35 “to support frequent crossings of the frontage road by people walking, bicycling and rolling.”

The city of Austin is receiving more than $23.5 million in quarterly sales tax revenues from the state, according to Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar. That’s a 37.25 percent increase over last April’s payment. Many other cities also saw big jumps in their sales tax revenue as people are going out more and spending money with the waning of the pandemic. Dallas is receiving more than $27 million, a nearly 20 percent increase. San Antonio is seeing a nearly 29 percent increase and receiving more than $31.6 million. Houston, according to the comptroller’s report, saw a 25 percent increase in sales tax revenue for the quarter and will be receiving more than $60 million. Round Rock is receiving more than $9 million, a nearly 39 percent increase over the same quarter last year.

Did you know that there is a program that helps households pay for broadband service and internet-connected devices? The Affordable Connectivity Program could help temper the cost of living for households that make below 200 percent of the federal poverty line or receive other government benefits. Eligible households can get up to $30 per month off of internet service, among other things. The program comes out of the Emergency Broadband Benefit, and most households that were enrolled in that program will be transferred to the new program automatically. You can find more information on the program and eligibility online.

If you love to talk about design and transportation, this one’s for you: The Project Connect design team is hosting two Zoom meetings this week to present design updates and options for the Orange Line, the 20-mile light rail route that will run from Tech Ridge Park & Ride to Slaughter Lane. A meeting on Tuesday, April 12 (register here), “will involve the South Line Working Group and focus on the area that includes the William Cannon Station and Slaughter Transit Center. The second meeting, held Monday, April 18 (register here), will focus on the stretch from Hemphill Park near the University of Texas to the North Lamar Transit Center.” Both meetings begin at 5:30 p.m. The team encourages public feedback, so don’t hold back.

Thanks to the largesse of the Austin Parks Foundation, Highland Neighborhood Park is getting a $150,000 Community Impact Grant to fund “specific amenities as part of the park’s overall vision plan implementation, including a pedestrian bridge, connection path, water fountain and more.” In a news release, the foundation also announces some updates to its ACL Music Festival Grants Program that “will allow for more funds to be requested, offering greater opportunities for a larger impact. The program will now consist of two grant options. Community Impact Grants are designed for large-scale, community-initiated park improvement projects from $5,000 and up. Neighborhood Grants are designed for smaller-scale projects and range from $500 to $5,000.” Grant applications for the first cycle of 2022 are being accepted until April 30. The second cycle opens in July. Find more information about APF’s grant program here.

Golf enthusiasts may know that golf course greens need renovating every 25-30 years “due to mutations in the grass, general contaminants in the soil and often unlevel surfaces,” according to the Parks and Recreation Department. The greens at Roy Kizer Golf Course, which was built in 1994, are due for a makeover “in order to return the surfaces to the proper United States Golf Association greens specifications.” The course closes today, April 11, with an expected (though weather-dependent) reopening on Aug. 1. The parks department explains that the project will done in two phases. In phase one, contaminants are removed and new grass sprigs are planted, while phase two consists of “the grow-in process and turf grooming for reopening.” During the closure, golfers may still get their tee time in at the Golf Division‘s other courses – Jimmy Clay, Morris Williams, Lions Municipal, Hancock, and Grey Rock golf courses and Butler Pitch and Putt.

Spring has sprung, and humans aren’t the only ones enjoying the season. Spring is baby season for wildlife: birds, deer, skunks and many other species are raising their young, and you may encounter some of these offspring while you’re out and about. Unfortunately, people often assume a wild baby animal by itself is abandoned or orphaned and take them away from their homes. But the best thing to do when encountering a wild animal of any age is to leave it alone unless it is visibly injured or crying in distress. Mother deer leave their babies hidden for hours at a time and the fawns know to stay still and wait until their mothers return. If you find a hidden fawn, do not touch it. Wildlife rescue and rehab organizations report that most of the fawns that are brought to them by well-meaning citizens are actually healthy animals who were kidnapped from their homes. Once separated, it can be impossible to reunite a fawn with its mother. The same goes for birds: baby birds leaving the nest may wind up on the ground for a few days, but that’s a natural part of the fledging process. According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, “If the bird’s eyes are open, it has feathers and is hopping around, mom and dad are likely nearby. Grounded fledglings will usually be up and flying within a few days.” TPW continues, “Leave all young animals alone unless it is obviously injured. To be sure, spend time observing the wild animal from a distance to make that determination. Staying too close may deter the mother from returning. Interfering too soon may do more harm than good.” Here’s what to do if you see a fawn in your yard or find a baby bird on the ground.

Drivers might as well go ahead and anticipate delays on West Fifth Street this weekend. Construction between West Lynn and Baylor streets will continue through Saturday as the city installs new asphalt (among other things). Though the street will remain accessible during the work, “Drivers, cyclists and pedestrians traveling along West Fifth Street should be mindful of all work zone traffic signs, cones and flaggers. Drivers should travel slowly and be cautious of construction workers,” according to a statement to the press from the city. Work is expected to take place between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. and should be completed by Saturday.

After a brief stint at the city’s new Permitting and Development Center, the Historic Landmark Commission is headed back to City Hall. The return is the result of a successful protest by the city’s land use commissions, which loudly objected to a proposed move to the new building, which is located near the old Highland Mall. However, the shuffling of schedules means that the landmark commission will be giving up its spot on the fourth Monday of each month. The commission will now meet on the first Wednesday of each month. “I think that there’s a real … symbolic component of the Historic Landmark Commission meeting at City Hall along with the Planning Commission and the Zoning and Platting Commission,” Chair Terri Myers said. “This gives equal access to residents from all of Austin and I think it lends a certain level of authority to the landmark commission, to be heard in City Hall … I’m sorry to lose Monday, but I think this is what we need to do.” The change means the Historic Landmark Commission will not have an April meeting and will instead meet next on May 4, its first Wednesday.