Austin’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and the Travis County Office of Emergency Management have partnered with Deaf Link to launch an emergency alert system for the deaf community. The Accessible Hazard Alert System, or AHAS, “has the capability to send accessible alerting messages to registered residents before, during and after an emergency or disaster.” Subscribers receive an accessible message in ASL and English voice and text that includes details about the emergency and suggested actions to take. Users can receive the messages on their personal computers, cell phones, smartphones, tablets, or wireless Braille readers. Juan Ortiz, the director of OHSEM, said the AHAS system “allows us to reach another part of our community that we can inform and protect during a crisis or other emergency events.”

As part of Digital Inclusion Week (What the heck is that? Read all about it here), a panel of government and community leaders will discuss “how the access issues we see in East Austin have many overlaps to the shortage of technology access in West Texas.” UT communications professor Sharon Strover; Mayor Pro Tem Natasha Harper-Madison; Kelty Garbee, executive director of Texas Rural Funders; and Nehemiah Pitts III, a member of the city’s Community Technology and Telecommunications Commission, will unpack the “disparity between those who are able to access and use technology and those who are not” in an online panel organized by Austin Free-Net. Thursday, Oct. 7, noon-1 p.m. Register on Eventbrite.

Expressing concern about the negative impact Proposition A would have on firefighters and other city employees, the Austin Firefighters Association has voted to campaign against the ballot measure backed by Save Austin Now. Bob Nicks, president of AFA, announced Friday that 57 percent of union members voted to oppose the Nov. 2 ballot measure. If enacted, Prop A would require the city to spend from $54 million-$119 million more on police officers each year, according to Austin’s Chief Financial Officer Ed Van Eenoo. Nicks said the union would spend $15,000 in an independent effort to stop Prop A. According to the AFA website, “Firefighters love and support our police officers, but don’t be misled. Thanks to current state law, APD is already ‘fully funded’ with an additional $10 million …. If passed, Prop A will have a negative impact on public safety, including Fire and EMS … and it will harm other essential community and city services like our parks, libraries, and pools.”

Nicks noted that every public safety department within the city is currently understaffed because of delays in recruiting, hiring and academy approvals. Leaders of AFSCME, the union representing civilian employees, had already announced opposition to Prop A, but Nicks made clear his union was campaigning separately as opposed to joining forces with other opponents. According to weekend news reports, liberal billionaire philanthropist George Soros has donated $500,000 to Equity PAC, AFSCME’s political action committee, to oppose Proposition A. The outspoken leader of Save Austin Now, Matt Mackowiak, is a Republican consultant who serves as chair of the Travis County Republican Party. Groups opposing Prop A include the Travis County Democratic Party, the Austin Justice Coalition, the Texas Civil Rights Project, the Austin Area Urban League and the Austin Sierra Club, among others.

The first of three online community meetings about a proposed affordable housing development in East Austin is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 13, at 7 p.m. via Zoom. The meetings, hosted by the city and the Austin Housing Finance Corporation, will provide information and collect feedback about the project planned for 3515 Manor Road, at the corner of Manor Road and E.M. Franklin Avenue. According to the city’s news release, “Development priorities for the three-acre property should provide mixed-income, family-friendly housing with deep affordability.” Learn more about the development proposal, view the full meeting schedule and complete a survey at SpeakUp Austin.

A 140-foot-long mosaic mural festooned in 600 pounds of colored glass serves as the new gateway to the Southern Oaks neighborhood, thanks to more than 200 volunteers working under the guidance of artist Ryah Christensen. The mural on Buffalo Pass was the brainchild of Southern Oaks Neighborhood Association with support from the city’s Neighborhood Partnering Program. See a photo essay of the mural project in progress here. Nearly 60 other community-initiated projects have been installed around Austin since the NPP launched in 2010.

Council Member Leslie Pool, a longtime supporter of women’s reproductive rights, initially co-sponsored a resolution by Council Member Paige Ellis condemning the new state law known as Senate Bill 8, which has nearly eliminated legal abortions in Texas. Because Ellis used the phrase “individuals who are capable of becoming pregnant” instead of “women” Pool abstained from the vote, sparking immediate pushback from people who thought her abstention reflected a lack of support for LBGTQIA folks. That was not her intent at all, she said, as she later asked her colleagues to reconsider the vote so she could vote in favor of the resolution. “When I abstained earlier today,” Pool said, “I really meant to express my interest in including women specifically in the resolution, but I fear that it came across as me being unreceptive to the concerns and struggles of the trans and intersex communities, and those folks also need access to abortion rights. And I certainly did not intend to exclude them. So, I just want to make sure that it is known that the LGBTQIA community has my support and always has.”

This whisper has been corrected to reflect the fact that the resolution was not changed.

As usual, Fredericksburg is celebrating Oktoberfest this month. The ASPCA is celebrating Adopt a Shelter Dog Month. Here in Austin, October is Code Month, thanks to a proclamation presented by Council Member Greg Casar to the Code Department’s assistant director, Daniel Word, honoring the department. According to the proclamation, the hard-working employees of Austin Code investigate more than 38,000 citywide code cases per year and perform more than 75,000 inspections. Code has grown from a small division of the Austin Resource Recovery Department to a department with more than 150 employees. “Throughout this pandemic, our employees have continued their work as essential workers, responding to community needs and going to locations throughout the city to inspect properties, homes and businesses to help ensure the safety of the public,” Word said. “Whatever the future may bring, we at Austin Code are dedicated to ensuring safe places to live, work and play.” He thanked Council for the recognition and said his department looks forward to building a more resilient Austin.

Want to celebrate music and life at the same time? Get vaccinated at the Austin City Limits Music Festival! Travis County’s intrepid mobile vaccine team will be on the scene, providing Covid-19 vaccines on both weekends of the festival, Oct. 1-3 and Oct. 8-10, from noon-4 p.m. Anyone who’s 12 and older can receive their first or second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Pfizer booster shots will be available as well to those who qualify. If you’re getting the booster, bring your vaccination card so it can be updated. Travis County Constable George Morales points out that, while the county now has more than 70 percent of its 12-and-older population vaccinated, “we can’t stop here.” He says the mobile vaccination collaborative “is committed to continuing our efforts to go where the people are and make certain everyone who wants the vaccine can get one.” Not going to ACL but still need the vaccine? Check out Travis County’s online calendar and map for a Covid vaccination event near you.

A library card is the gateway to knowledge, inspiration, entertainment, and so much more. Starting today, any kid enrolled in school in Travis County – including private school, day care, charter, and home school – will be eligible for a free library card from Austin Public Library. Formerly, Austin library cards were only free for city residents, while those who lived outside the city had to pay a $120 annual fee. Thanks to an updated budget for the library approved by City Council in August, the fee has been waived in the new fiscal year. Director Roosevelt Weeks said library staff are “excited to be able to expand access to library materials to all students in Travis County. Lifting a financial barrier to accessing the library’s resources for tens of thousands of Travis County students will provide a significant boost to literacy and learning in the Greater Austin community.” A non-resident Austin library card offers the same privileges as a resident card, allowing the cardholder to check out books, music and DVDs from 21 branches in Austin and remotely access online databases and download e-books, audiobooks and videos to a personal device. Apply for an Austin Public Library card online.

If you plan on voting in the Nov. 2 election and you are not yet registered, Monday is the last day you may register to vote if you intend to cast a ballot in that election. The Nov. 2 election includes eight state constitutional amendment changes impacting taxes, the judiciary, and religious freedom. There are also several municipal propositions on the ballot, including Austin’s Proposition A, which calls for increasing police staffing and training. Find your closest voter registration site in Travis County at TexasVDRs.com. You may also register to vote at any Travis County tax office branch. (check locations and hours here). Voter registration applications are online at VoteTravis.com. The applications may be filled out online, but must be printed and mailed in or delivered to a tax office location. Voter Registrar Bruce Elfant warns against mailing in voter applications too close to the deadline, saying, “By law, we cannot accept voter registrations for the Nov. 2 election if they come in postmarked later than Oct. 4. We will still register you to vote but you won’t be eligible to cast a ballot for the Nov. 2 election.”

Travis County Commissioner Precinct 2 Brigid Shea has served in that position since she was first elected in 2015, and has already indicated that she intends to run again in next March’s Democratic primary. Shea helped found the Save Our Springs Alliance and served one term on Austin City Council. On Wednesday, Bob Libal, a criminal justice and immigration reform advocate, announced that he too would be running for the Precinct 2 seat. Libal is the former executive director of Grassroots Leadership. His main focus appears to be on jails and reforms to incarceration.

Registration for the Austin Parks Foundation’s volunteer participation extravaganza, It’s My Park Day, starts Monday, Oct. 4. The big day itself is Saturday, Nov. 6. In order to stay Covid-safe, the number of volunteers for each project will be capped at 25 and face masks will be required. Once again, there will be virtual activities for those unable to participate in person. It’s also not too late to submit a project request for IMPD. Submit your event or project idea here. Sign up here to get the latest info on IMPD volunteer opportunities.