Austin Public Health and city leadership have made the decision to reopen limited park amenities and outdoor facilities under Stage 4 Covid-19 Risk-Based Guidelines. On Saturday, the city will open boat launches and boat docks. And operating under new health safety protocols, tennis centers, golf courses, boating concessions, clay shooting concessions and food concessions will also reopen. According to a press release from the city, the parks department will continue “to evaluate its system-wide operations on a daily basis. As risk stages decrease, further consideration will be given to additional PARD openings. It is also possible that if conditions deteriorate, the department will again close amenities/facilities.” Information about park closures and operations can be found on the city website.

Austin musicians are tuning up for #JetStreamFest, a virtual summer music festival hosted by Austin artist Jackie Venson and held at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Wednesday, Aug. 19, on Facebook Live. Twelve other North American airports will participate in the free livestreamed event, which features performances by local musicians representing each participating city. Austin airport CEO Jacqueline Yaft said in a news release announcing the event, “Summer is a time typically full of music festivals and live events, especially in Austin, where millions of travelers from across the globe visit our city to experience what makes us the Live Music Capital of the World. While Covid-19 has forced us to adapt to new changes both in our community and nationwide, we are thrilled that airports across the country are joining us to bring even more live music direct to audiences’ living rooms.” The event kicks off at 5 p.m. on each participating airport’s Facebook Live. See a full lineup of musicians on the Facebook event page. Viewers may tip musicians if they wish, using a virtual tip jar.

Central Health has lately been focused on Covid-19 relief efforts throughout Travis County. However, in order to effectively guide policy throughout the county, the board governing the hospital district needs effective leadership. Central Health’s board is composed of qualified volunteers who strive to improve the quality of health care and outcomes and increase access to services in Travis County while working a $290.8 million budget. When appointee Abigail Aiken gave her resignation last November, the city of Austin and Travis County started searching for a replacement to finish her term ending on Dec. 31, 2020, as well as assume a term that extends through the end of 2024. After eight months of applications and reviews, there are three finalists: Cynthia Brinson, Susan Lee and Amit Motwani. The Travis County Commissioners Court will interview the finalists today at 1:30 p.m. Candidate interviews will be broadcast on a video conference and a final decision may be made today.

Bruce Elfant, who serves as Travis County voter registrar in addition to his duties as tax assessor-collector, has a strong record on getting county residents registered to vote. Despite the pandemic, the county has 832,797 registered voters. “We are at 95.1 percent, the highest of any county in Texas,” Elfant said. Still, Covid-19 has made it more difficult to register voters. Volunteer deputy registrars are also naturally disinclined to contact strangers and ask them to register as they have in the past. One solution for this problem is Text2Register, a service that anyone with a cell phone can use. Elfant said prospective voters and those who have moved since registering to vote can use the program, which sends the voter’s information to Elfant’s office, where it is automatically entered into the voter registration rolls. Elfant said his office used a similar program in 2016, but his employees had to manually enter all the information. Once the office receives the data, it will send a form to the new voter. That person will sign the form and return it to Elfant’s office and after that will receive a voter registration card. Elfant criticized Texas lawmakers for preventing people from registering to vote online, adding that 40 other states allow it. According to Elfant, there is still work to do registering voters for the November election. Despite the level of participation, tens of thousands of people in Travis County either need to register for the first time or change their registration to their current address. Elfant plans to hold a virtual news conference today at 10 a.m. to explain how the contactless Text2Register system works.

The Parks and Recreation Department is renaming some of the terms it uses to do business. In an Aug. 3 memo, PARD Director Kimberly McNeeley explained, “stakeholders expressed concerns over the use of the term ‘master’ in referring to park master plans. The term is perceived by members of the community as offensive and derogatory. In addition, the term lacks specificity, requiring additional description depending on the type of project. PARD understands the concerns and has changed the terminology that describes park and facility plans to provide greater clarity and to acknowledge the power words have in cultivating understanding and shaping the way we perceive the world and participate within it.” In light of those concerns, the parks department will now be using an updated, defined set of planning terms. From the memo:

Austin Public Health is issuing the following statement related to guidelines for returning to work:

We have been informed that many employers are asking employees that have tested positive for COVID-19 to provide proof of multiple negative tests before allowing those employees to return to work. This practice is not currently recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention nor Austin Public Health since individuals with mild or moderate COVID-19 remain infectious no longer than 10 days after symptom onset. Requiring re-testing places unnecessary financial burden on the employee. 

APH echoes recommendations from the CDC on guidance for individuals who have had COVID-19 on returning to work. Current health guidelines require individuals stay home at least 10 days following the onset of COVID-19 symptoms and at least one day following the resolution of fever with improvement of other symptoms. 

The focus of the free tests provided by APH and partner organizations is to identify new infections and limit the spread of the disease, not to re-test individuals who have had the virus and recovered. It is resource-intensive and inefficient to re-test individuals who have already tested positive. 

We understand that employees and their employers want their workplaces to be safe and do not want to risk transmission by asymptomatic individuals. Following the CDC/APH guidelines will allow everyone to work in a safe environment while also ensuring that COVID-19 tests are still available for those who need it most.  

Additional guidance for employers and employees related to COVID-19 can be found in these letters, which are available in both English and Spanish.

In order to reach vulnerable community members who can benefit from the Relief of Emergency Needs for Tenants (RENT) Assistance Program, the city is partnering “with community-based organizations that have a demonstrated record of success reaching out to focused populations.” The city is making grants ranging from $1,000 to $50,000 to local organizations that meet the eligibility requirements. “Grant applications will be evaluated on the quality of work proposed and the potential impact or outcome of the project, acknowledging barriers that some small organizations face by not having an on-staff grant writer.” The grants will be managed by the Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department. The community outreach grant application portal is open until Tuesday, Aug. 25, at 4 p.m. Visit the RENT Community Outreach Grant Dashboard to find the application link, eligibility and timeline, and more details about the program’s goals and background.

The Environmental Commission unanimously voted last week to recommend naming an unnamed creek tributary in Battle Bend Park after former Watershed Protection Department employee Nicholas Down. Down, who joined the city department in 2014, recently died of cancer at the much-too-young age of 28. “He is sorely missed by his teammates,” Environmental Officer Chris Herrington said. “He was so helpful and hardworking.” The stream, which is near Down’s home, recently underwent an ecological restoration. Down’s wife, Stephanie, spoke to the Environmental Commission to express her thanks for honoring her husband in such an appropriately punny way. Down’s sister, Lisa Down Franknecht, said, “Our family will forever cherish this stream as a way to commemorate Nicholas.”

Austin Justice Coalition is throwing a “budget block party” to “prepare for the last chance to comment on the current budget proposal.” Read about the proposed cuts and amendments to the Austin city budget that AJC endorses here. The group is also looking for volunteers to help with the daylong event. There will be snacks and drinks on hand. Palmer Event Center, 900 Barton Springs Road, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 10 a.m. until late.

The Austin Apartment Association’s 34th annual food drive kicks off Wednesday, Aug. 12, with a parade from 1-5 p.m. starting at the association’s office at 8620 Burnet Rd. The volunteer-driven fundraiser runs through mid-November and hopes to raise $25,000 to buy 100,000 meals for Central Texas residents. “This year, due to the pandemic, increased community need and social distancing guidelines, the fundraiser will start nearly a month earlier and accept online financial donations only,” according to a news release. Since the Doc & Gayle Young Food Drive began in 1986, the money raised has purchased 23,050 Thanksgiving food packs for residents, and food pantries in 10 counties have received $15,000 in financial donations.

In response to the nationwide movement to reduce funding for police departments, police in Fort Worth have launched the Protect and Serve PAC, a federal super PAC. According to the group’s spokesman, Manny Ramirez, president of the Fort Worth Police Officers Association, the group’s mission is to highlight candidates who embrace what the PAC calls “the disastrous policy of ‘defunding the police,'” as opposed to those who “recognize the central role law enforcement plays in keeping our cities and neighborhoods safe.” Commander Donald Baker, president of the Austin Police Association PAC, said his group supports the Protect and Serve PAC. Ramirez led efforts to defeat a police defunding effort that was on the ballot in Fort Worth in July. Voters were asked whether they wanted to continue a 0.5 percent sales tax that has funded law enforcement in the city since 1995; continuing the funding won with 65 percent of the vote. Cary Roberts, executive director of the Greater Austin Crime Commission, said the idea of putting police funding on the ballot was an interesting one, but his group had not considered doing such a thing. The commission recently released the results of a poll showing that the majority of Austinites do not support the idea of defunding the police. Baker said the APA PAC has not endorsed any city candidates and would not consider doing so until after the Aug. 17 filing deadline. The PAC currently has about $151,000 in its account, as of its most recent filing with the Texas Ethics Commission.

A new interactive community engagement series from Downtown Austin Alliance, conducted in partnership with KAZI 88.7 FM, is focused on creating “a community vision for the I-35 project through downtown Austin.” Called Our Future 35, the series of conversations with local leaders, national experts and artists is intended “to help build a coalition to advance community values and priorities for I-35 alongside TxDOT’s formal schematic design process that will launch this fall. While the two efforts are completely separate, coordination between the Downtown Alliance and TxDOT is taking place.” Dewitt Peart, president and chief executive officer of the Downtown Alliance, said in a news release announcing the project, “This series is a crucial step in helping our community heal and reverse damage from highways and policies that have long divided our city and deepened inequality. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to come together as a city and community to transform I-35 into a valuable regional asset for generations to come, and this community input will be integral to the project’s success.” The next installment of the series, “Facing the Past to Co-Create Our Future,” is on Aug. 22, from 4-6 p.m. on KAZI 88.7 FM. Find more details on the series and the schedule for upcoming installments at OurFuture35.org.