If you’re planning on voting in the Nov. 3 general election in Texas – and the Austin Monitor fervently hopes you are – today is the last day you may register to vote. Travis County residents who still need to register may do so online at Vote411.org, then print out and mail the form to the Travis County Clerk’s Office. Or if you prefer, you may visit any Travis County Tax Office and register to vote in person. Here’s a list of locations. If you’ve moved in the past year or so and you’re not sure whether you’re registered, you may check your status here. The Monitor agrees with Grace Chimene, the president of the League of Women Voters of Texas, who says, “The right to vote is a fundamental principle of our democracy. When more Texans can participate in our elections, we have better outcomes that reflect our community values.” We also suggest you take a look at the League’s very useful web page on voter safety in the era of coronavirus.

Last week, the Office of the City Auditor launched the process of City Council redistricting by forming the Applicant Review Panel. The three members of the panel, who were randomly selected, are James Christianson, Abigael McClean and William Cooper. The panel is tasked with reviewing 270 qualified applicants to the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission and selecting the 60 most qualified applicants. From the pool of 60, after Council has had an opportunity to strike one member each, 14 members will be selected to redraw the boundaries of the Council districts. Despite a push for a diverse panel, all three panel members are white, and as the Austin American-Statesman reported, some citizens are concerned.  More information about the whole process can be found here.

The city has issued a warning that individuals acting through a “spoofed phone number” and posing as Austin Public Health employees are attempting to scam residents. The scammers appear to be calling from the APH Environmental Health Services main line at 512-978-0300. APH notes that it is working to put a stop to the situation; in the meantime, it reminds Austinites that “APH employees will never ask for Social Security, Medicaid, insurance, immigration, or financial information. There are instances when a member of the Austin Public Health Department will reach out via phone or email, but staff will properly identify themselves and provide contact information for additional questions. Staff will usually verify or confirm information that they already obtained from hospitals or labs instead of initially asking you to tell them that information.” In terms of keeping yourself safe, APH advises residents to ask the name, title and callback information from callers, and verify that information through 311.

With AISD students set to return to school campuses for in-person learning (what we used to call “going to school”), the district has issued a set of guidelines for kids, parents and caretakers to follow when it comes to taking the school bus. Among the extra health and safety protocols, families are asked to take their child’s temperature each morning and keep the child home if their temperature is 100 degrees or over. Students will also have their temperatures screened before boarding the bus. All students must wear a face mask on the bus and only one student per seat is allowed. Hand sanitizer will be available on buses and all buses will be disinfected regularly. Read more about riding the bus in AISD’s Open for Learning Plan V.4.

A new emergency preparedness mobile app is designed to help residents of Central Texas prepare for natural disasters and other emergencies. The app, Ready Central Texas, was created through a partnership of Austin’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and Travis County’s Office of Emergency Management. The app “has a news section, preparedness resources, emergency plan checklist, informational videos, a document library, and Covid-19 resources,” according to a news release. Juan Ortiz, director of HSEM, said, “We hope the public will download the app and take the time to make an emergency preparedness plan for their family or household.” Eric Carter, chief emergency manager for the the county’s Office of Emergency Management, said, “Our goal is to continue to provide multiple avenues for the public to be prepared so when disasters strike they can take immediate action to ensure they and their loved ones are safe.” You can download Ready Central Texas from the Apple Store or the Google Play Store. The two emergency management offices also urge all residents to register with Warn Central Texas to receive local emergency alerts for your neighborhood.

A brand-new train is coming to Zilker Park and it needs a brand-new name. Austin Parks Foundation, which has been conducting (no pun intended) a naming contest for the new train, has announced the seven finalists and now invites people to select their favorite from the list. The names are:

• The Armadillo Express
• The Bluebonnet Express
• The Zilker Eagle
• Edwina Justus
• The Lady Bird Flyer
• The Moontower Rambler
• The Zilker Zanate

Cast your vote here. Only one vote per person!

Early voting in Texas starts on Oct. 13. You still have time to register, but not much time: Monday, Oct. 5, is your last day to register to vote in the Nov. 3 general election. So get registered! If you’ve moved recently and you’re not sure if you’re registered, check your status online. The League of Women Voters of Texas has released its 2020 nonpartisan voters guide, the “gold standard for nonpartisan, trusted voter information.” Download a printable copy or read the guide online in English or Spanish. Did you know that phones are not allowed in Texas voting booths? But printed material is allowed. So enter your street address at Vote411.org to get a personalized sample ballot to take with you to the polls or have handy at your kitchen table when you fill out your mail-in ballot. Speaking of voting by mail, if you’re eligible, you can apply now to vote by mail. Who’s eligible? Those who are 65 or older, sick or disabled, out of the county during the election period, or in jail but eligible to vote. The deadline to request a mail-in ballot is Oct. 23. This year, Travis County voters may hand-deliver their personal mail-in ballots at one of four different drive-thru locations, starting today. You must show ID, wear your face mask and deposit your ballot into a ballot box. And ignore those neighborly urges, because you may not deliver a mail-in ballot for anyone else.

New orders from the county and city extend a ban on notices to vacate through the end of the year. This time, the notices apply to tenants that pay no more than $2,475 in rent and have provided their landlord the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Declaration. In another change, the city order includes commercial tenants that operate bars, restaurants, live music venues, art venues and childcare centers. Additionally, the county has extended a ban on initiating an eviction for residential tenants. That ban is also in effect through December 31, 2020.

A legal issue got in the way of an attempt by Travis County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty to take an official stance against Project Connect and Proposition A on Tuesday afternoon. Daugherty, an adamant opponent of public transit spending, sought to gather opposition from the Commissioners Court on the grounds that Project Connect “could have a deleterious effect on Travis County’s future property tax revenue.” However, after going into an executive session with County Attorney David Escamilla to discuss the matter, Daugherty withdrew and postponed the item due to unspecified legal questions. In anticipation of the discussion, 17 community leaders and transit advocates had prepared to speak before the court in defense of Project Connect. Among the listed speakers were former county judge and current state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, Mayor Steve Adler, Council members Greg Casar, Natasha Harper-Madison and Ann Kitchen, and Huston-Tillotson University President Dr. Colette Pierce Burnette. Leading up to the meeting, representatives of several local transit advocacy organizations wrote to the commissioners, urging them to support Prop A. Dave Dobbs, executive director of the Texas Association for Public Transportation, sent an email arguing that, among other things, Project Connect would help concentrate new regional growth within the city of Austin, thus reducing the future burden of regional traffic congestion in Travis County. According to a press release from Daugherty’s office, a group of Project Connect opponents were also prepared to speak against Prop A. Among them were David Kruger of Kruger’s Jewelers, Rob Lippincott of Güero’s Taco Bar and Jack Gilmore of Jack Allen’s Kitchen (of which Daugherty is a partner in ownership). With the item postponed for now, the Transit Now campaign said Project Connect advocates “remain prepared to discuss the generational benefits that voting FOR Prop A will bring to Austin.”

The city of Austin is working on a new Climate Equity Plan. The previous plan set a target date of 2050 for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the city; the new plan moves that date to 2040. One of the ways the city wants to lower emissions is to increase Austin Energy’s use of renewable sources of energy and to reduce emissions from natural gas. The plan specifically says the city wants to keep the rates affordable. Texas Gas Service, the utility that provides gas to Austin and to many other Texas communities, is telling customers via email that the electrification of new building construction “can severely increase costs for local businesses and our customers.” Texas Gas Service urges customers to take the city of Austin survey on the climate plan and notes that it is “in conversations with city staff and Council offices to express our concerns related to the plan.” When environmental activist and consumer advocate Paul Robbins got the email he was concerned that the gas company was using a proprietary email list as a political lobbying tool. In the complaint he filed with the Texas Railroad Commission, which oversees Texas Gas Service, Robbins noted that tens of thousands of other customers likely got the same email, but if he were to ask for those email addresses to lobby on behalf of some cause, “TGS would likely refuse to provide them because it would violate customers’ privacy.” Robbins, who recently opposed the 13 percent rate increase for Texas Gas Service, concludes that the same rule should apply to the gas company for any online communication that does not involve “a narrowly defined business use.” Another TGS customer, Julio Gonzalez Altamirano, also got the company’s email. He told the Austin Monitor he was frustrated by the idea that Texas Gas Service was lobbying on his behalf. “They should talk to customers before they talk on behalf of customers,” he said. “I think they might be surprised about what people think is affordable. I have a widely different perspective on what is affordable and I think a lot of their other customers would too.”

The Austin Education Fund kicks off its fall campaign this Friday with a televised fundraiser giving a special welcome to Austin ISD’s new superintendent, Dr. Stephanie S. Elizalde. Elizalde, who previously served as chief schools officer for Dallas ISD, is the school district’s first-ever Latina superintendent. The event, which spotlights student performances and the work of the AISD Crisis Support Fund, will also feature Austin Mayor Steve Adler, AISD Board of Trustees President Geronimo Rodriguez and Austin Ed Fund Executive Director Michelle Wallis. “We want to thank our community for giving and hopefully inspire others to support our students, staff and families. This event, along with the campaign, is meant to celebrate the good as we continue to tackle the challenges, together as a community,” Wallis said in a news release. The virtual event will be televised on AISD TV’s Channel 22 at noon and 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 2 (and at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. in Spanish) and will also be streamed live on Austin Ed Fund’s YouTube channel.

Starting Monday, Austin Independent School District’s curbside meal program will shift from daily service to weekly service, providing enough food for seven breakfasts and lunches at a time. According to a district announcement, “This change is in response to community feedback, providing a more efficient and convenient meal pick-up option for families.” Through Dec. 18, the curbside meals, which can be picked up at more than 40 locations throughout Austin, are free for kids under 19 or those over 19 “who are using special education resources or currently enrolled in school to complete the requirements for a high school diploma.” The seven-day meal packs “feature foods that are prepared by staff in Austin ISD kitchens. The foods included with curbside meal bulk meals are chilled and served cold to be taken home and reheated. Reheating instructions will be included. The healthy meals include protein, grains, fresh fruits, vegetables and milk.” Find more details about the change and a list of pickup sites here.