The Bright Green Future school grant program has made some changes to its application process in the hopes of simplifying the process for the 2020-21 school year. The program, which provides up to $3,000 in funding for sustainability-themed school projects, has pushed its application window to Oct. 12-26. The second change is, according to the announcement, “instead of applying with original project ideas, we will be offering a menu of options for schools to choose from. These options will be sustainability themed curriculums offered through local nonprofit organizations. The main benefit of this change is that all curriculums can be completed whether you are meeting in the classroom or virtually.” These options will be posted to the Bright Green Future grant page by Sept. 12.

Among the things disrupted in 2020 is Austin City Council’s tribute to free speech, citizen communication, which disappeared when Council members took their meetings out of chambers and onto the internet. (For those who are unfamiliar, citizen communication is a period of time set aside during each regular Council meeting to address anything not on the agenda, and Austinites tend to take that opportunity quite seriously. A random sampling of somewhat recent topics includes “Mobility issues in Rainey neighborhood”; “1) God, Jesus Christ & The Holy Spirit cannot be beat; 2) Cancel chemtrail culture 3) Go online to read Civil Action 92-0449, The Deep State demons must be defeated & their works destroyed”; and simply, “Birds.” At Thursday’s meeting, Mayor Steve Adler noted that citizen communication would return by Sept. 17 at the latest and potentially for Council’s next meeting, which will be held on Sept. 3.

Austin Water plans to begin designing and constructing a pilot aquifer storage and recovery system after City Council’s vote Thursday to authorize contracts for the initiative. In the first phase of the project, the water utility will evaluate the suitability of multiple aquifers, including the Carrizo-Wilcox, Edwards and Trinity systems, to serve as a storage tank for future water resources. The project is an integral part of Austin’s 100-year integrated water resource plan, also known as Water Forward. In this comprehensive water supply and conservation strategy, the utility identified Austin’s need for 60,000 acre-feet of water by 2040 in order to improve the city’s climate and drought resiliency. To accomplish this goal, Austin Water is looking to leverage the natural aquifers of Central Texas. “We must anticipate future needs and innovate to safeguard the resiliency of our community for future generations. Ensuring adequate and affordable water supply for our customers today and in the future is our focus,” Director Greg Meszaros said in a statement. Storing water underground in enhanced natural systems helps reduce the costs associated with water storage and is a practical way to lessen evaporative loss and make water readily available for withdrawal when other supply sources are strapped.

The Travis County Clerk’s Office has all its ducks in a row.

The Travis County Clerk’s Office is working as hard as it can to get every single ballot-by-mail application processed in time for the Nov. 3 election. Community members who would like to play a bigger role in this election may apply here to be poll workers and participate in one of the most important parts of our democracy: the vote.

In years past, AISD’s Back to School Bash has been a way for families to access services and connect with local organizations before the first day of school. At this year’s necessarily virtual event, families will still be able to access the services of up to 60 community organizations – and get a free car booster seat to boot. Backpacks stuffed with school supplies and informational resources are also being distributed directly to campuses. Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde said in a news release, “I am proud to join a community that comes together to support our students in this year of unprecedented change. The supplies and services available to our families through the virtual Back to School Bash will help our students prepare for the year as we work together to adapt to our new normal.” According to the release, “Since there are no district-wide mandated in-person events for this year’s Backpack Bash, campus leadership teams will decide how and when to safely distribute backpacks to individual students/families. For example, some campuses may choose to hold a drive-through supply pick-up with appropriate approval while following safety guidelines.”

As the high-powered hurricane named Laura barreled toward the Texas and Louisiana coast Wednesday, thousands of people heeded the warning that the storm would be “unsurvivable,” and headed north. At a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Mayor Steve Adler noted that the city had put a little more than 3,000 Gulf Coast guests fleeing the storm into more than 1,000 Austin hotel rooms. Adler called 2020 “a doozy,” as he reported that the city had paid for those rooms, but others had booked their own rooms. However, new arrivals who were directed to the Circuit of the Americas were being asked to travel on to the Dallas/Fort Worth area or Ellis County. Adler and Travis County Judge Sam Biscoe issued disaster declarations in response to the hurricane, allowing the city and county to access funding for the emergency. Austin Public Health Director Stephanie Hayden said Austinites do not need to provide assistance to the evacuees at this time. The Red Cross and the Austin Disaster Relief Network were providing help and could use financial assistance, she said. Juan Ortiz, the city’s director of homeland security and emergency management, noted that when Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas coast in 2017, the city had only about 850 evacuees. “We’re over 3,000 and Laura has not made landfall yet … There may be more.” Hayden said part of the convention center was also being set up to provide shelter, but she emphasized that the city was taking measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Eric Carter, chief emergency management coordinator for Travis County, noted that teams from Williamson and Hays counties were working with Travis County and the city of Austin to support the evacuees.

Austin Water has finally announced the long-awaited rollout of its smart meter technology. After initially testing the technology in the River Place neighborhood of Northwest Austin, the water utility will expand its locations for this new pilot program to include 1,920 meters in the River Place/Glenlake and Long Canyon neighborhoods and 2,840 meters in the Windsor Park and Mueller neighborhoods. Over the next five years, the project will replace more than 230,000 analog water meters with electronically read water meters connected to a wireless network. Along with more intelligent meters, Austin Water will establish a customer portal where users can sign up for customized notifications that include daily water use data. “This project will provide our customers and the utility much more data about water use, allow easier communication with customers through the new customer portal and will improve billing accuracy,” Austin Water Director Greg Meszaros said in a press release. The pilot program will continue for one year, after which the utility will spend the next four years installing meters throughout the Austin Water service area to eliminate analog systems.

Austin Resource Recovery has joined the U.S. Plastics Pact, a collaborative global initiative aimed at raising awareness about plastic pollution led by the Recycling Partnership and the World Wildlife Fund. According to the press release, the U.S. Plastics Pact “brings together organizations and business across the country including plastic packaging producers, brands, retailers, recyclers, waste management companies, policymakers, and other stakeholders, known as Activators, to work collectively toward scalable solutions tailored to the unique needs and challenges within the U.S landscape, through vital knowledge sharing and coordinated action.” Said Austin Resource Recovery Director Ken Snipes, “By joining this effort, we can reimagine what a future looks like with a thriving circular economy. The city of Austin has a goal of reaching zero waste by 2040 and joining efforts like the U.S. Plastics Pact allows us to take one step closer towards that goal.” Erin Simon of the World Wildlife Fund added, “Plastic pollution is a global crisis that needs local solutions, and the United States is one of biggest opportunities where regional interventions can result in transformative change around the world.”

Austin ISD families, students and staff will be thrilled to learn that the Austin ISD mobile app has finally arrived. The app, which is available in your mobile device’s app store, offers district news, individual campus notifications, resources for parents and students and district calendars. The app also features a tool called “Covid-19 Screen and Go,” and links to the Parent Cloud, Parent Self Serve, WheresTheBus, School Café and School Directory. Brenda Richmond, the district’s director of management information systems, who helped lead the development of the app, said she hopes the mobile app will “make the school year a little easier to navigate.” She added, “We have even more robust customization options coming down the pipeline that will include quick access to grades, assignments and ability for families to contact teachers. In January, the app will contain a brand new mobile-friendly student registration feature.”

With key indicators down, Austin Public Health announced Tuesday that Austin and Travis County are now operating under Stage 3 risk-based guidelines designed to curb the pandemic. According to the chart below, and a news release about the new guidelines, “In Stage 3, higher-risk individuals (those over the age of 65 and those who have chronic medical conditions) should avoid non-essential travel, dining and shopping. Everyone, regardless of risk, should avoid social gatherings and any gatherings greater than 10 people.” In addition, community members are asked to continue the use of good hygiene, social distancing and wearing face coverings to help keep the community safe. “Our key indicators are all showing that we as a community are reducing our Covid-19 numbers, but we need to remain focused on improving the health outcomes for communities of color, who continue to be disproportionately impacted by the virus,” said Stephanie Hayden, APH director. The latest information, guidelines and statistics can be found on the city’s Covid-19 site.

The Commissioners Court has moved the public hearing and associated vote for next year’s property tax rate a week earlier. The public hearing on the tax rate will move to Sept. 8 at 9 a.m. while the vote on the proposed tax rate of 37.4359 cents per $100 of property valuation will take place on Sept. 15. County Judge Sam Biscoe pushed for having a week between the hearing and the adoption of the tax rate, saying, “I have always felt a bit guilty … about having a public hearing at 9 a.m and taking action at 9:30 a.m. or 9:45 a.m.” Commissioners voted unanimously to move both dates up by a week. While Biscoe said there is no telling how many residents will come to comment on the property tax proposal, he noted, “There’s a whole lot there that could be commented on by the public.”

On Tuesday, the Travis County Commissioners Court extended the burn ban that has been in place since July 21 to Sept. 23. A continued lack of rain and an uncertain forecast prompted Travis County Chief Fire Marshal Tony Callaway to urge for caution regarding the burn ban in unincorporated areas of the county. “Even though we received some rain in August, it was not enough to improve the significantly dry conditions we’re experiencing,” he said. “While we could potentially receive some rainfall this week, a burn ban is still needed to ensure public safety.” Callaway noted that the burn ban could be lifted sooner if the county receives sufficient rain in the upcoming weeks to alleviate the dry conditions. The burn ban does not affect prescribed burns or prohibit outdoor grilling or barbecuing, although the Fire Marshal’s Office urges caution when partaking in these activities.