Thanks to UNESCO, several Austin artists are participating in a four-month collaborative project with 13 other cities with the theme of PLAY, “a direct response to the lack of playfulness in everyday human interaction throughout the pandemic,” according to the news release from the city. As Sylnovia Holt-Rabb, director of the Economic Development Department, explained, “Austin is widely recognized as a collaborative community at the forefront of media arts technology. We are pleased to support Austin’s media arts talent in developing a road map to secure capital, patronage and capacity building through the lens of the UNESCO Creative City Network.” City to City, as the collaborative online project is known, involves teams of artists who are “created and encouraged to collaboratively create high-quality media art pieces to be disseminated within the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as well as to a wider audience.” Learn more about the project here.

Voters in Travis and Williamson counties continue to trickle into early voting locations. As of Sunday night, just 8,967, or 1.04 percent, of Travis County’s registered voters had cast ballots in the Republican primary and 21,126 had voted in the Democratic primary. Total turnout so far is 30,093, or 3.5 percent of registered voters. Both Republican and Democratic parties have been working to get voters to the polls. Matt Mackowiak, chair of the Travis County Republican Party, said via email, “We’ve sent thousands of emails and tens of thousands of robocalls and texts, as well as social media posts,” urging people to vote. Democrats are doing all of those things as well. In Williamson County, 4.34 percent of registered voters had cast ballots by Sunday night. More Republicans were turning out than Democrats, with 11,134 Republicans and 6,261 Democrats having voted by the end of the day. Polling places were closed Monday in observance of Presidents Day, but will be open at 7 a.m. on Tuesday. Early voting continues through Friday. Election day is on March 1, one week from today.

Two new murals, at Odom Pavilion and City Star Foods, aim to do more than just beautify their surroundings; the colorful artworks were created in the hopes of encouraging community members to drive more safely and slowly in an effort to eliminate traffic fatalities on Austin’s roads. Commissioned by the Austin Transportation Department and painted by Lakeem Wilson and Adrian Landon Brooks, the murals “were inspired by testimonials provided by crash survivors and families of crash victims,” according to a news release from the department. Despite the city’s Vision Zero program, more than 600 people suffered “life-changing injuries and fatalities from car crashes” in 2021 – a figure that “should not be acceptable to anyone who uses the roadways.” The muralists spoke with crash survivors and their families, incorporating their stories into the artworks. Transportation staff invites the public “to visit the murals, read the stories and quotes, and remind each other that individual driving decisions matter.”

Former City Council Member Mike Martinez made his first appearance before Council Thursday since leaving the dais in 2014. He was representing Susan Goldberg, the owner of a Lady Bird Lake concession called Rowing Dock, which provides watercraft rentals from Zilker Park. He said Goldberg had been expecting a request for proposals on the concession, which she has operated for the past 20 years. Instead, staff members have proposed a two-year extension to her contract to allow the city and the community to develop a long-term design under the Zilker Park Vision Plan. Council members Paige Ellis and Ann Kitchen were both enthusiastic about Rowing Dock, and Kitchen asked Martinez to explain his client’s concerns. “It’s very difficult to operate a business on a two-year time frame,” he said. One problem in particular was that the contract requires 10 percent of the annual proceeds to go to improvements to the property. That amounts to several hundred thousand dollars, he said, and the two-year contract makes it particularly difficult. He requested that Council postpone the item to March 3. The contract is set to expire at the end of April, so there is little time to waste arguing.

The Texas Recreation and Parks Society honored East 12th Street’s Givens District Park on Wednesday, naming it one of three new Lone Star Legacy parks this year. When the park opened in 1959, it was the second segregated public park for Black Austinites. It was named after Dr. Everett H. Givens, a Black dentist and community leader who advocated for improvements in East Austin during Jim Crow. Currently, the city is in the process of making improvements to the park in accordance with a vision plan that was approved in January 2019. Givens joins Zilker, Parque Zaragoza, Pease, Eastwoods, and Rosewood parks, which have also earned the historic designation.

Some may recall that the federal holiday called Presidents Day was formerly known as Washington’s Birthday – a tribute to the fabled founder of our country. Presidents Day was officially born in 1971, thanks to the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, an act of Congress aimed at creating more three-day weekends for the nation’s workers. This is why so many federal holidays fall on a Monday – it’s by design! Most of us get the day off to ponder the accomplishments of our country’s chief executives, or more likely, sleep in and then shop ourselves silly at all the Presidents Day sales. In observance of the holiday – Monday, Feb. 21 – Austin city offices and municipal facilities, Parks and Recreation facilities, Austin Public Health Covid-19 vaccination sites, city utility customer service centers, Austin Public Library, Recycled Reads Bookstore, the Austin History Center, and Austin Animal Center are among the offices that will be closed. City parks, golf courses, cemeteries, some pools and APH’s Metz Elementary Covid testing site will remain open, and Austin Resource Recovery trash, recycling and compost collections will not be affected by the holiday. We wish you an enjoyable three-day weekend, however you choose to spend it.

Although candidates for office up and down the ballot are urging voters to take advantage of early voting for the March 1 Democratic and Republican primaries, very few Travis County voters had cast ballots as of Tuesday night. During the first two days of early voting, 5,211 Democrats and 2,366 Republicans had voted. That’s a total of 7,577, or less than 1 percent of the county’s registered voters. Early voting continues through Feb. 25, though polls will not be open next Monday, Presidents Day. A list of polling locations can be found on the Travis County Clerk’s website. So far, the Ben Hur Shrine Center at 7811 Rockwood Lane has attracted the most voters. Democrats are sending out emails asking their supporters to help call eligible voters to get out the vote, provide rides to the polls and answer questions about mail-in ballots. The Austin Monitor did not hear back from the Travis County Republican Party about its efforts.

Starting next week, Austin Public Health will be consolidating its Covid-19 testing sites, according to a news release. City testing teams will be moving to the Metz Elementary campus “to meet the evolving needs of our communities and in response to declining testing demand.” Covid testing will be available at Metz starting Feb. 22, Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sign up for testing on the APH online registration portal. The tests are provided free of charge, and no proof of insurance or residency is required. A new testing site also opened at Heritage Park in Pflugerville on Feb. 14, offering free tests Monday-Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. APH has wrapped up testing operations at the Travis County Expo Center and is expected to end testing at the Dove Springs Recreation Center this Saturday, Feb. 19.

If you’re curious to know what’s happening with South by Southwest this year, join Hugh Forrest, chief programming officer of SXSW, and Jay Boisseau, executive director of the Austin Forum on Technology and Society, as they delve into the juicy topic of SXSW 2022 during an online discussion. In particular, the duo will discuss how the festival “will be different, and better, in the new normal, while continuing to address the evolving and emerging themes that influence and shape how we work, learn, play, live, and more.” Forrest will also take questions from participants. Register on Eventbrite. Thursday, Feb. 17, 6:30 p.m.

Did you work from home before the pandemic? How has Covid changed your work life? Do you still commute to a workplace or is the corner cafe as far as you go? A survey from UT, in partnership with the Texas Department of Transportation, “is seeking to understand how the Covid-19 pandemic has changed work patterns for Texas residents,” according to the news release. Besides exploring current work habits, the survey encourages respondents to peer into the crystal ball to see how their work arrangements might change in a time after Covid – if such a time is in the cards. The data collected from the survey “will help provide insights to plan future transportation infrastructure investments and create an equitable living environment for Texans.” Texas residents may take the survey here until March 15.

Getting vaccinated for Covid these days is easier than ordering a cup of coffee at Starbucks – and it probably takes less time. Travis County, Austin Public Health and their community partners continue to host a variety of convenient, free Covid-19 vaccine distribution events every week. No appointments are required. Simply visit the handy online calendar and map to find the date, time and location of a nearby vaccine event. All Austin Public Health sites offer the Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, including third doses for the immunocompromised and booster shots. Four APH clinics offer pediatric vaccinations. If you’re receiving your second or third dose or booster, remember to bring your CDC Covid-19 Vaccination Record Card so it can be updated. And feel free to treat yourself to a mocha Frappuccino after you get your shot. You deserve it.

Today’s special called City Council meeting may offer some answers (though few surprises) for those who have been paying attention to last week’s boil-water notice and the subsequent resignation of Austin’s Water’s director. Greg Meszaros, who has been director of the utility since 2007, submitted his resignation to City Manager Spencer Cronk on Friday, saying he took “full responsibility for any shortcomings at the utility this past week.” He also highlighted some of Austin Water’s accomplishments during his tenure, including completing more than $2 billion in infrastructure improvements, preserving a strong financial structure and working in partnership with the community to create the Water Forward integrated water resource plan. Also, in an 11-page memo, Meszaros answered many of the questions Council members had posed on the City Council Message Board last week. Council Member Paige Ellis had a dozen questions. One of the most important questions was whether any contaminants were actually found in the city’s drinking water, to which the answer is no. According to Meszaros, three of the utility’s employees responsible for operations at the Ullrich water treatment plant – the plant responsible for increased turbidity that resulted in the boil-water order – are now on administrative leave. As Meszaros pointed out, Austin Water continues its investigation, and he promised more answers in the coming weeks. Council’s special meeting is scheduled to start at 9 a.m., with a regular work session to follow. Those interested in more water topics can watch the Water and Wastewater Commission meeting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. Mayor Pro Tem Alison Alter has also said she would sponsor a resolution directing the city manager to seek an outside audit of the utility.