Austin developer Gary Bradley has filed suit against Gatehouse Media Holdings, owner of the Austin American-Statesman. Although the newspaper featured Bradley in numerous stories about development battles while Bradley was pushing for the development of Circle C and Rob Roy residential neighborhoods, he is not suing over editorial coverage, but because of the paper’s alleged failure to keep the purchase of an advertisement confidential. According to the lawsuit, which was filed Friday, members of Bradley’s church were attempting to oust the minister, and as part of that effort, Bradley paid for an ad in the Statesman to raise awareness about a vote on the pastor’s budget. According to the lawsuit, “In many churches, denying a pastor’s budget is akin to removing the pastor.” Bradley purchased the ad in February 2020. According to the lawsuit, the Statesman ad rep promised the purchase would be anonymous; however, the Statesman “mailed a copy of Bradley’s invoice to the church.” As a result, word spread about Bradley’s involvement, causing him “economic damages and losses” as well as anguish and ostracism. As a result, he left the church. Bradley is seeking damages under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, among other causes of action, of more than $1 million. Attorneys Geoffrey D. Weisbart and Mireya Braxton of Weisbart Springer Hayes are representing him.

We at the Austin Monitor know that our readers are extremely busy and maybe didn’t get around to voting early. Only 9.59 percent of Travis County’s registered voters cast their primary ballots early. With only 58,865 Democrats and 23,511 Republicans marking their ballots either by mail or in person during the early voting period, it seems fairly certain that some people who intended to vote early just didn’t get around to it. Today is your day. Find a list of polling places and other helpful information here.

The Austin Strategic Mobility Plan team is preparing to present the proposed amendments and related public feedback that was collected back in fall 2021 to early 2022 to the city’s boards and commissions and to City Council’s Mobility Committee. This means community members will get another chance to provide comment on the proposed changes. If you need a refresher, the ASMP is a kind of road map for all of the ways people get around Austin. Or in city-speak, it’s Austin’s “first comprehensive, multimodal transportation plan, and guides our short- and long-term transportation projects, programs, initiatives, and investments.” Use this form to offer feedback on the proposed changes to the ASMP policy document and Street Network proposals. After the plan makes its way through the boards and commissions process in spring, final steps include a public hearing at City Council sometime in late May.

Want to spend time at Emma Long Metropolitan Park this weekend? The Parks and Recreation Department has reverted to its practice of requiring vehicle and pedestrian passes for entry to the park Friday through Sunday and on holidays. To get your seasonal pass, visit AustinTexas.gov/Parks, click on Reserve Park Passes, and then select Park Day Pass under type. It’s that easy! The regular entry fees still apply. Remember, no parking is allowed on the right of way outside the park. Reserve a day pass and park only in the designated parking areas. And bring everything you’ll need for your stay because once you arrive, there are no in-and-out privileges.

Austin Public Health has announced its intention to shift Covid-19 vaccine operations “to a focused outreach approach” and away from mass vaccine operations. The shift, which comes as the region falls back to Stage 4 guidelines, will allow the health authority to return to work more central to its mission. APH’s mobile vaccination program will distribute Covid-19 vaccines in hard-to-reach areas through mobile pop-ups driven by request from businesses, churches and other community organizations. APH held its last vaccine clinics at Delco Activity Center and Southeast Branch library over the weekend. Sites at Old Sims Elementary and Pfluger Hall will continue to remain open. No appointment, insurance or proof of residency is required and APH continues to offer testing. Find more information about testing and vaccine distribution by calling 311 or visiting the city’s website, or reach out to the state by calling 211 or visiting 211texas.org.

Community members who have opinions about the future of what the city calls “one of downtown Austin’s most iconic and fastest-growing districts” may now review the recently released draft Vision Framework for the Palm District Planning Initiative. There are lots of ways for citizens to get involved in the process of helping to guide the planning. You can go to the Palm District Planning SpeakUp Austin web page, view the project timeline, explore the materials and take the feedback survey. You also have an opportunity to leave feedback at the virtual open house planned for Wednesday, March 9, from 6-7 p.m. – register here.

Travis County voting will stay open until 10 p.m. today in order to compensate for shortened voting hours on Wednesday and Thursday due to inclement weather. Today is the last day of early voting for the March 1 primary election. Registered Travis County voters may vote at any polling location within the county. It is not necessary to register with a party in advance of the election, but voters need to decide whether they will participate in the Democratic or Republican primary before casting a ballot. All of the usual suspects have endorsed candidates in the race, and the League of Women Voters has put together a nonpartisan guide. Voters can view polling locations and wait times at VoteTravis.com.

The new Longhorn Dam Bridge virtual open house has launched, giving community members a chance to weigh in on the closely watched process to design and build a car-free crossing for the eastern side of Lady Bird Lake. According to the news release, the open house “focuses on three key project areas: the bridge and its plaza, a new underpass under Pleasant Valley Road, and parkland improvements near Canterbury Street.” Said Council Member Pio Renteria, “I look forward to the improved park and trail access this project will bring for those of us living east of I-35. Our residents need more places to walk and bike safely as Austin continues to grow, and I’m pleased to see this project progressing.” The open houses closes on March 24. Bridge followers may also attend a virtual meeting on Wednesday, March 9, at 5:30 p.m. to learn about and offer feedback on plans for public art on the bridge. The city’s Art in Public Places program hopes to gather community input to “help define artwork inspiration and goals that will inform the artist selection process.” Register for the meeting here.

Those who follow the Wild Neighbors Speaker Series have met many of the iconic creatures who call Central Texas home: armadillos, crazy ants, hummingbirds, bats and coyotes, among others. The next installation of the popular online series will introduce us to a rare bird whose reputation precedes it: the golden-cheeked warbler. Balcones Canyonlands Preserve biologist Jonny Scalise, a tract manager for the preserve, surveys the warbler every spring when the birds are nesting in Central Texas and knows pretty much everything there is to know about the brilliantly colored songbird. Among other things, Scalise will reveal “what they eat, where they go when they’re not here, how big their eggs are, and much more.” Friday, March 4, noon-1 p.m. Sign up here to receive the Zoom link.

Until its meeting earlier this month, the city’s Tourism Commission had not met since May 10, 2021, which meant it was in violation of the city ordinance that requires regular meetings. Stephanie Hall of the city clerk’s office told the Audit and Finance Committee at Wednesday’s meeting that they could vote to disband the commission, put it on probation or allow it to continue. The chair of the commission, Rachel Magee, told Council many members of the commission are in the tourism industry and had been “dealing with shifting sands,” as each variant of the Covid-19 virus has afflicted the city. She noted that the commissioners met successfully this month and did not set meeting times and dates for future meetings because they did not know if Council would allow them to continue. However, she said the group is interested in its work and that there are things that need to be done. Mayor Pro Tem Alison Alter, who chairs the audit committee, said there is a need to improve staff support for the commission. Council Member Leslie Pool made a motion to continue the Tourism Commission with greater staff support, which won unanimous approval.

Some may recall the heartbreak of summer 2021, when a shortage of lifeguards kept some of Austin’s swimming pools from operating at their normal hours or even fully opening. Determined to avoid a repeat of the calamity, Parks and Recreation’s Aquatic Division is taking its #CountdownToSummerSwimming very seriously, recruiting hundreds of lifeguards in an effort to reach its target of having 650 trained lifeguards in time for the 2022 swim season. Currently, the division has 95 lifeguards on staff. Lifeguard training is ongoing and the positions start at $15/hour. As a news release from PARD points out, these are “great jobs working outdoors and being a hero.” Contrary to pop culture stereotypes, lifeguarding is not all tanning, posing and flirting: Not only do you learn some serious life skills, what starts as a summer job can lead to a career in public safety – plus, it looks great on a resume or college application. To learn more about the training regimen, read the Lifeguard Training Safety FAQ, visit LifeguardAustin.com and follow #LifeguardATX on Instagram.

The city of Austin is exploring ways to implement the CROWN Act, an acronym for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair. The CROWN Act was introduced in 2019 “to eliminate hair discrimination across the country.” To date, 12 states have passed the legislation to protect Black people against discrimination based on their natural hairstyles or hair textures. City Council has directed the city manager to work with interested organizations and businesses to create recommendations for this civil rights ordinance. The Office of Civil Rights is hosting a virtual meeting at 2 p.m. today, Wednesday, to discuss the CROWN Act and gather community input. RSVP on Eventbrite. You may also provide feedback and comment via SpeakUp Austin at the time of the virtual meeting.