The city is seeking feedback from the community on roadway improvements along Burnet Road as part of the ongoing Corridors For Complete Communities program, which is tied to the 2016 bond that provided $720 million for mobility and roadway improvements to high-priority transit corridors around the city. The online survey asks respondents about their preferences for preservation and improvements on Burnet, with most attention paid to the intersection with Braker Lane that serves as a major access point to gathering places such as the Domain and Q2 Stadium, home of the Austin FC soccer team. The city expects to spend between $45 million and $55 million on the section of Burnet Road between Koenig Lane and MoPac Expressway, with special attention also paid to the intersections with Gault Lane, Esperanza Court and Kramer Lane. The survey is open until July 7.

Dana DeBeauvoir, who has served as Travis County Clerk since taking office in 1987, told the Austin Monitor she intends to run for reelection next year. In addition to conducting elections, the Travis County Clerk’s Office manages court records for the probate court and county courts at law, maintains official deed records, issues marriage licenses and keeps track of minutes of the Travis County Commissioners Court. DeBeauvoir is a staunch Democrat and any viable opponents she might have would have to run in the Democratic primary next March. DeBeauvoir has been an advocate for advanced voting machines, including the type the county currently uses that provide a paper record. Her last run for reelection was in 2018, at which time her only opponent was a Libertarian. She has served with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems as a consultant preparing for elections in Bangladesh (1995), Sarajevo, Bosnia (1996), and Pristina, Kosovo (1999); and as a United Nations elections observer at the 1994 election in South Africa. One other candidate, Kurt Lockhart, has announced his intention to run for the clerk’s job in the Democratic primary. Lockhart’s emphasis is on voter registration, which in Travis County is handled by Bruce Elfant, the tax assessor-collector and voter registrar. Elfant recently reported that 97 percent of those eligible to vote in Travis County had been registered.

After Deputy City Manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde announced she would be leaving Austin to become city manager in Boulder, Colorado, City Manager Spencer Cronk named City Attorney Anne Morgan as interim deputy city manager and her deputy, Deborah Thomas, as acting city attorney. Cronk announced these changes in a memo to mayor and City Council but we can find no public acknowledgment of the changes. In fact, Morgan seemed to be acting as city attorney after the memo came out, but on June 10, Mayor Steve Adler referred to Thomas as “our city attorney” during a Council meeting. At any rate, our faces are a little bit rosy as we congratulate Morgan and Thomas on their promotions, even if temporary.

Austin Safely Creates, a new program in partnership with the Economic Development Department, “will employ teaching artists who lost employment or income due to Covid-19 and will engage them in the creation of community-enhancing artwork,” according to a city news release. The program’s activities will be led by professional artists who will work with community members in “interactive art-making, self-expression and healing” from the impacts of the pandemic. As Sylnovia Holt-Rabb, acting director for the EDD, explained, “This program is an innovative effort to help our creative sector get through these challenging times. This pandemic impacted many industries, but as a city known for its creative spirit, the hit to our local artists is felt particularly deep. Our artists are a core part of Austin’s identity and an essential part of our long-term recovery.”

Real estate agent Jennifer Virden, 53, who ran unsuccessfully for the District 10 seat on the Austin City Council in 2020, has announced via Twitter that she will be running for mayor in 2022. She says she is focused on public safety and other “core municipal services, including water, waste, electricity, roads, and parks.” Virden, a Republican, is also the plaintiff in a federal lawsuit challenging one of the city’s campaign finance regulations. In a press release about the lawsuit, Virden claimed that only being able to raise money for one year before an election disadvantages challengers in particular. She has been quite vocal in her opposition to the current Council’s decision to “reimagine public safety.” She is scheduled to be in court this Friday to seek a federal injunction against the city’s campaign finance law that prevents her from legally raising money until November. No other candidates have announced for mayor so far.

The Bullock Texas State History Museum is hosting a traveling exhibition titled Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow, organized by the New York Historical Society, that “explores the national struggle for full citizenship and racial equality that unfolded in the 50 years after the Civil War.” Bullock Museum Director Margaret Koch explained in a press release, “We are in a time of examining the root causes of inequality in order to create a better and more equitable future. This exhibition helps provide the foundation for those seeking a stronger understanding of not just the injustices of our past, but how disenfranchised citizens remained resilient and moved the country forward.” Among the many artifacts on display in the exhibition are an 1850s ballot box, a Burroughs adding machine and a Jim Crow segregated bus sign. Early audio recordings and rare historic footage round out the experience. Said Koch, “We are proud to bring this poignant and powerful exhibition to Texas. We hope to offer a safe space that is based on historical records to have conversations and dialogue about divisive aspects of our history so that we can continue the journey towards a more perfect union.” The exhibition will be on view until Nov. 28. Reserve tickets and time slots here.

Forklift Danceworks is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a free, outdoor film screening of the documentary Trash Dance, which depicts the company’s collaborative performance with Austin Resource Recovery. ARR sanitation operators will also be on hand to discuss their work protecting the environment. Allison Orr, Forklift founder and artistic director, said, “We’re honored to rejoin our partners at ARR with this film screening and community conversation. When I think back to The Trash Project, I’m still in awe of the incredible performance our city sanitation workers made, as well as the love and support for these employees Austin audiences shared. And now as Austin recovers from Covid, it’s never been more important to highlight the workers who keep our city moving.” Find more info and order tickets here. Saturday, July 10, at Pioneer Farms, 10621 Pioneer Farms Drive. Doors open at 7 p.m.; screening begins at sundown.

Austin Public Health’s mobile vaccination program is inviting businesses and organizations to host pop-up Covid-19 vaccination clinics in an effort to provide residents with convenient locations to get vaccinated. As APH interim Director Adrienne Sturrup explained in a news release, “We have seen success in reaching populations through place-based clinics that are linguistically and culturally appropriate. These efforts include providing clinics at churches, schools, construction sites, businesses, libraries, recreation centers, apartment complexes, flea markets, naturalization ceremonies, and homes.” Groups that would like to host a pop-up clinic may complete this online form. The mobile clinic will also make home visits to give Covid vaccinations to homebound Austinites, their families and caregivers. Schedule a home visit by calling 311 or (512) 974-2000 and leaving a message with your contact info.

An installation titled territories., an “interactive urban greenspace experience” that was featured in last year’s popular Fortlandia event at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, is coming to the Butler Hike and Bike Trail. The installation, which has been “re-imagined to reflect the new site” by designer Mark Odom Studio, can be found here on the east side of the trail at Lakeshore Park, and will be officially unveiled this Friday, June 25, from 9-11 a.m.  According to Odom, the new iteration of the piece features “wayfinding and sight lines from different access points” and will allow “even more people the chance to engage and perhaps stay a little longer out in nature.” Trail Foundation CEO Heidi Anderson said, “We’re thrilled to be partnering with our friends at the Wildflower Center to host territories., and can’t wait to see children and adults alike enjoying this new creative, interactive feature.”

Austin ISD students will be returning to the classroom in the fall, with no remote learning options offered. Chief of Schools Anthony Mays said in a news release, “By following guidelines from Austin Public Health, the CDC and more, we’re confident we can safely reopen to all our students.” As the release notes, “this will be the first time back in a school building for tens of thousands of students” who spent the pandemic year doing virtual school in front of a screen. “We know and realize that this will be a big shift for our students, so we’re committed to doing everything possible to help them in that regard. We’re preparing our counselors, school mental health centers, teachers and more to make sure our students feel safe from the opening bell to leaving for school at the end of the day,” Mays noted. Austin ISD has launched a website with resources and information to help families prepare for the 2021-22 school year.

It’s official, says the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department: Lake Brownwood, Inks Lake and Medina Lake in the Colorado and San Antonio River basins are now considered “infested” with zebra mussels. To reach infested status, a lake must have an “established, reproducing population” of the invasive mollusks, and recent sampling shows that the mussels are “fully established” in the three bodies of water. Monica McGarrity, a senior scientist with TPWD, said in a news release, “As zebra mussels are continuing to spread westward and southward to new areas in Texas and as those lakes become fully infested, nearby lakes have an increased risk of being invaded and it is vital that boaters take steps to clean, drain and dry boats to help slow the spread. Boats owned or recently purchased that have been stored in the water must be decontaminated before moving them to another lake to prevent the spread of these highly invasive mussels.” With zebra mussels now inhabiting 32 Texas lakes – with 27 of them designated fully infested – TPWD has kicked its prevention and boater education program into high gear in an effort to protect the rest of the state’s lakes from invasive species.

Perfect Manner, Life Anew Restorative Justice and Austin Justice Coalition have teamed up to provide free conflict mediations for Travis County residents. The three groups note that the region has seen an increase in violence in recent months, and “in an effort to prevent more violence and to promote peace and to mediate conflict,” they are asking all community members who may be aware of any conflicts brewing in their families or communities to take advantage of their services. “Our goal is to help people to navigate through those conflicts related to stress and trauma through mediation instead of violence.” Use the contact info below:

• Sukyi McMahon, Austin Justice Coalition
  (512) 766-1149
  sukyimcmahon@austinjustice.org
• Life Anew Restorative Justice
  Sherwynn Patton
  (512) 297-3198
  spatton@elifeanew.com
• Perfect Manner
  Robert Muhammad
  (512) 222-9158
  aqmuhd@gmail.com