A 120-acre portion of the Water Quality Protection Lands will experience a prescribed burn on Thursday, March 18. Smoke may be visible southwest of FM 1826, east of Brodie Lane, east of FM 1626, and north of FM 967. Frequent, low-intensity understory fires help reduce brush and promote natural grasslands, and prescribed burns are used to mimic the natural fire cycle in a controlled way. The burns are facilitated by trained wildland firefighters. Those interested in prescribed burn notifications from Austin Water can sign up here, or follow Austin Water on Twitter or Facebook. Austin Water’s Wildland Conservation Division manages 300,000 acres in the Water Quality Protection Lands program to preserve the quality and quantity of water recharging the Edwards Aquifer, which provides water both to Barton Springs and to groundwater wells in Hays and Travis counties.

The city has extended the application period for the Austin Legacy Business Relief Grant program, with submissions open until 5 p.m. Wednesday for music venues and other creative businesses seeking assistance related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Applications were originally due on March 10, but the deadline was extended because of the disruptions caused by the severe winter weather last month that cut off power and water service throughout the city for days at a time. Applicants will learn of their eligibility status on March 29, with phase one winners receiving $20,000 grants and having the ability to receive an additional $140,000 after completing a technical assistance evaluation to help them enhance their business operations. Full information for the program is available on the city’s website.

Unemployment in Austin rose in January, though it was still lower than the statewide and national levels of joblessness, according to the latest data from the Texas Workforce Commission. The Austin-Round Rock area had a total unemployment rate of 5.4 percent in January, with 67,455 people classified as out of work and 8,200 fewer people employed than in December 2020. That figure is double the amount from January 2020 before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, during which time 31,100 jobs have disappeared locally. The statewide unemployment rate sits at 7.3 percent, while the national figure is 6.8 percent. Workforce Solutions Capital Area said two federal initiatives from the recent stimulus package – a $300 weekly increase in unemployment benefits and money for state and local governments to fund infrastructure projects – will provide needed assistance for the unemployed. “Austin is one of the fastest recovering metros in the nation and we are hopeful for our community. Still, many of our neighbors continue to weather disruption brought on by the pandemic,” said Tamara Atkinson, CEO of Workforce Solutions. “Businesses in health care, manufacturing, skilled trades and IT are hiring now, and Workforce Solutions can connect motivated job seekers to new career opportunities with local employers.”

After promising customers “an improved online experience for your business with DSD,” the Development Services Department reported Monday that the opening of its new AB+C Portal had been postponed. An email from the department stated, “Due to technical challenges, the AB+C Portal replacement project has been postponed. Based on final testing over the weekend, it was determined that a key feature was not operational. Development Services and other city staff are evaluating solutions and will reschedule the launch at a time that ensures minimal impact for our customers and stakeholders.” The new portal was supposed to improve system stability, user experience and speed of response. Customers will continue to use the current portal, which has been in operation since 2015, until further notice.

The city’s Development Services Department is opening its new customer portal today, promising customers to “expect an improved online experience for your business with DSD.” AB+C – for Austin Build + Connect – is the city’s portal for high-volume transactional activities, including applying for and paying for permits, scheduling inspections, checking project status and setting up demolition notifications. Neighborhood advocates may use AB+C as their entry point to conduct a public search for case histories of specific properties and projects, according to city spokeswoman Robbie Searcy. She noted via email that the city launched the current portal in 2015. The new portal, she said, “will improve system stability, speed of response and the user experience. The upgraded portal also sets us up to improve functionality and enhance online submittal options, all of which are planned as future improvements.” Visitors to the portal should be able to chat with Customer Service online to help navigate the new interface.

It’s the time of year when we start to cast a jaded eye on the clutter seeping forth from our closets and cabinets, and a voice, sounding suspiciously like Jacob Marley’s, whispers in our ear: It’s time for spring cleaning. Fortunately, the city’s zero-waste blog has some valuable tips to help make this dreaded annual exercise less onerous and more sustainable. Instead of just throwing everything into a giant pile destined to rot for all eternity in the landfill, we are advised to separate our discards into categories: 1) still usable, can be donated; 2) broken but could be repaired; 3) repurpose; and 4) throw it out, though maybe recycle it. The city’s What Do I Do With tool can help you figure out where to take some of these items, or if something has truly come to the end of its useful life, where to dispose of it. Learn more about how to “zero-waste” your spring cleaning here.

As warned, Attorney General Ken Paxton filed suit Thursday against the city of Austin, Travis County, Mayor Steve Adler and County Judge Andy Brown, as well as interim medical director and Health Authority Dr. Mark Escott, to overturn the local officials’ regulations requiring business patrons to wear masks while indoors. Paxton is seeking a temporary restraining order and then a temporary injunction to prevent Austin and Travis County from enforcing their rules. Judge Lora Livingston of the 261st District Court will hear the case beginning at 10 a.m., according to a spokesperson. Gov. Greg Abbott issued a declaration, effective March 10, rescinding previous state orders requiring adults to wear masks at commercial businesses and limiting the number of people who could gather at businesses such as restaurants and bars. Adler and Brown said they would continue to follow local health authority rules as opposed to Abbott’s declaration. Brown released the following statement on Thursday: “I will continue to listen to our public health authority, medical professionals and the CDC who have consistently said masks save lives. It is unfortunate the attorney general is once again failing to make the health of our community his priority.” Adler said in a news release: “Judge Brown and I will fight to defend and enforce our local health officials’ rules for as long as possible using all the power and tools available to us. We promised to be guided by the doctors, science and data as concerns the pandemic and we do everything we can to keep that promise. Wearing masks is perhaps the most important thing we can do to slow the spread of the virus. We are not aware of any Texas court that has allowed state leadership to overrule the health protection rules of a local health authority. Masks work! The Attorney General is simply wrong. So again, #MaskUpATX.”

Editor’s Note: Andy Brown is on the board of the Capital of Texas Media Foundation, the parent nonprofit of the Austin Monitor.

Common Ground for Texans is holding a Zoom event to talk about the charter amendments slated for the May 1 city of Austin ballot. Panelists Andrew Allison with Austinites for Progressive Reform, Jason Lopez with Austin AFL-CIO, Jacob Aronowsky, and moderator Mike Ignatowski will discuss the pros and cons of Prop D (change date of mayoral elections); Prop E (create ranked-choice voting for city elections); Prop F (change from a Council-manager form of government to a strong-mayor system); and Prop H (adopt a voluntary public campaign finance program). After the discussion, the panelists will engage in an audience Q&A. Saturday, March 20, 2-4 p.m. Join via Zoom.

“Thanks to a very large donation of new clothes” from “a generous corporate donor,” the Austin Disaster Relief Network is distributing free clothing to residents impacted by Winter Storm Uri. Along with the clothes come hundreds of free care kits containing food, hygiene supplies and PPE, courtesy of Global Empowerment Mission/B Strong. ADRN volunteers will be handing out the clothing and care kits while supplies last, today from 9 a.m.-8 p.m., at 1905 S. Capital of Texas Hwy. (warehouse next to Vaqueros Cafe & Cantina). Individuals and families must register for a time slot to pick up clothing and care kits. Clothing sizes include adult small through extra-large and some children’s sizes.

AISD is working with community partners like Ascension Seton, CommUnityCare, Code 4 and Austin Public Health “to provide opportunities for district staff to be vaccinated since the announcement on March 3 by the federal and state governments to prioritize educators.” Director of Health Services Alexandra Copeland said in a news release that the actions by the federal and state government “will ensure our schools will be that much safer for our students, teachers, and families and will lead us towards more students and teachers returning to the classroom.” While AISD does not provide vaccines, the district “is taking advantage of vaccine opportunities” and working “to connect staff to opportunities as they become available.” As of March 10, the school district had offered 2,670 vaccine opportunities to its employees.

Starting Friday, the parks department will resume its policy of requiring seasonal passes for visitors to Emma Long and Walter E. Long Metropolitan Parks, Friday through Sunday and holidays. Vehicle passes will be required March 12 to Oct. 31; pedestrian passes are required March 12 to Sept. 7. Buy your passes online at AustinTexas.gov/Parks. Park visitors should continue to practice social distancing, hand sanitation and wearing face masks. Parking is not allowed on the right of way outside the two parks; please reserve day passes and park only in designated parking areas.

Photo by Katie Boyer, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

The monarch butterfly, one of the nation’s most iconic insect species, has been in decline for years due to the widespread loss of its native habitat and decades of pesticide use. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service reports that populations of the orange-and-black pollinator in the U.S., Canada and Mexico “have dropped by about 90 percent over the past 20 years.” Now the Texas Department of Transportation is stepping up to help save the monarch by joining the Monarch Butterfly Candidate Conservation Agreement for Energy and Transportation Lands, a historic accord that “encourages transportation and energy partners to participate in monarch conservation by providing and maintaining habitat on millions of acres of rights-of-way and associated lands,” according to the news release. Monarchs visit Texas every fall and spring as they migrate from their breeding grounds in the north to spend the winter in Mexico. To aid in the monarch’s recovery, TxDOT is “enrolling 1.238 million acres of land, consisting of 73,038 center lane miles of highways and interstates.” James Stevenson, TxDOT maintenance division director, points out that state rights-of-way “are excellent habitat for wildlife, including pollinators such as the monarch butterfly as well as bats, bees, birds, and many more. Since milkweed is a crucial host plant for monarchs, TxDOT fully supports milkweed growth on state rights-of-way. Thousands of acres of milkweed appear on rights-of-way every year due to TxDOT’s longstanding wildflower and pollinator programs.” And the butterflies aren’t the only creatures who will benefit; while the agreement was designed with monarchs in mind, the conservation measures will be beneficial to all pollinating insects.