Social Workers United ATX has joined the call to defund the Austin Police Department. The union announced its support for an open letter to Mayor Steve Adler, City Council and City Manager Spencer Cronk that has been co-signed by 224 Austin social workers as of Tuesday. “We are no longer accepting the harm that the Austin Police Department conducts against our clients and the larger community,” SWU spokesperson Kayla Hartman said. “Despite calls to reduce this harm through incorporating police into social service agencies or inserting social workers into the carceral state, our collective experience demonstrates this would be a mistake with dire consequences. … As such, we will not be deputized to provide the illusion our police exist to serve and protect. We reject the basis that social workers need any sort of protection from our clients by law enforcement when the violence likely to occur would in fact be perpetrated by APD against those we attempt to serve.”

Five members of Austin City Council, led by Greg Casar, have posted a letter online urging voters to cast ballots for Delia Garza and José Garza, running for the Democratic nomination for Travis County attorney and district attorney, respectively. In addition to Casar, Council members Pio Renteria, Jimmy Flannigan, Natasha Harper-Madison and Paige Ellis hope to give a boost to their colleague and to José Garza, “because a new vision for justice and safety is worth fighting for.” In line with their directions to the city manager to cut police officer positions and eliminate arrests for misdemeanor possession of marijuana, among other things, the five Council members say in their letter, “We need real fairness. We need community accountability for harm, including for police officers that break the rules. And we need real healing that makes us all safer.” District Attorney Margaret Moore has emphasized her lengthy legal experience – though she has only been at the helm of the DA’s Office for the past 3.5 years. Moore started the civil rights division within the District Attorney’s Office and has the backing of NAACP leader Nelson Linder, but is probably facing an uphill battle in this difficult year. Council members Leslie Pool and Ann Kitchen has endorsed Delia Garza’s opponent, Laurie Eiserloh. Pool and Mayor Steve Adler both endorsed Moore some time ago. Former Mayor Bruce Todd is serving as Moore’s campaign treasurer. Casar sent an email to supporters asking them to sign up for a phone bank to get out the vote for José Garza. He told the Austin Monitor that 41 people had signed up to phone bank on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. While there was considerable enthusiasm back in March for voting in the Democratic primary, Covid-19 has taken its toll on people’s willingness to get out and vote. In addition, many students who might have voted for the two Garzas in the runoff that was originally scheduled for May have left town. Longtime political consultant Dean Rindy, who is working for Eiserloh and Moore, told the Monitor, “This is an older, more Democratic Biden-type electorate and that will help those two candidates.” Early voting continues through Friday and election day is next Tuesday, July 14.

This whisper has been corrected to reflect the fact that Council Member Ann Kitchen has not endorsed a candidate in the county attorney race.

Two city grant programs created to offer an economic lifeline during the Covid-19 pandemic are now accepting applications from small businesses and local nonprofit organizations. The Austin Small Business Relief Grant is a $16.5 million fund providing grants of up to $40,000 to small businesses within the Austin city limits. The Austin Non-Profit Relief Grant is a $6.35 million fund providing grants up to $20,000 to Austin nonprofits. Applications may be submitted online between Tuesday, July 7, at 10 a.m and Friday, July 24, at 5 p.m. The Better Business Bureau will be reviewing and scoring the applications on behalf of the Economic Development Department. Businesses and nonprofits must be able to demonstrate an economic loss associated with the pandemic. Sylnovia Holt-Rabb, acting director for the Economic Development Department, said in a news release, “Austin’s nonprofit organizations and small, local businesses play a vital role building healthy and vibrant communities across our city. As directed by Austin City Council, these grants will help strengthen small, local businesses and organizations so they can continue to provide crucial services, retain employees, complete health and safety improvements, and remain open and operational.” Find out more about eligibility requirements at ATXRecovers.com.

The Austin Transportation Department will soon begin work on traffic signal improvements at three high-injury roadway sections, including segments of Slaughter Lane, Pleasant Valley Road and Cameron Road. The improvements will supplement an ongoing effort using highly visible signage to slow traffic and prevent dangerous behaviors like failure to yield and distracted and impaired driving along the city’s high-injury network. In total, the department’s Vision Zero program has analyzed five years of crash data to select 13 roadway sections in urgent need of low-cost safety improvements such as signage, signal upgrades, pedestrian hybrid beacons, fresh crosswalks and roadway markings, street lighting, bus stop adjustments, and design changes like new crosswalks or bike lanes. According to city data, the 13 selected roadway segments contain over half of the city’s 100 most costly crash sites – locations that have the greatest negative impact on the local economy and quality of life. Transportation Director Robert Spillar said there were over 350 combined traffic deaths or serious injuries at these segments over the last five years. The proposed improvements are intended to provide cheap and quick safety enhancements for all road users, including drivers.

Former Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell has endorsed Mackenzie Kelly, who is challenging District 6 Council Member Jimmy Flannigan in his bid for reelection in November. Leffingwell told the Austin Monitor he agreed to back Kelly because she supports full funding for the Austin Police Department. “I was asked to endorse her,” Leffingwell said, by “some police friends of mine, retired policemen. I’ve always been a supporter of police and full funding of the police. I’ve got to support the candidate who supports the APD.” Leffingwell, who now lives in Hays County, said he is concerned about the possibility of a “massive cut” to the police department and thinks City Council is on a “dangerous path.” Kelly said, “I believe without the necessary funding we’re not going to be able to change (APD) for the better …. Our city won’t be as safe.” She pointed out that she was a member of the 100th class of the Citizen Police Academy, which graduated last December. On her Twitter account, Kelly lists herself as president of Take Back Austin, a nonprofit that has provided volunteers in the effort to recall Mayor Steve Adler and several other Council members. When the Monitor asked Leffingwell about the recall effort, Leffingwell said he opposes recalls and was unaware of Kelly’s involvement in that activity. Former Council Member Don Zimmerman, a Republican who is running for the Senate District 14 seat, has also endorsed Kelly. Zimmerman, Flannigan and Kelly all ran for the District 6 Council seat in 2014. At that time, Kelly drew national attention for her “Gamergate” platform. Zimmerman won the contest and Flannigan won the rematch in 2016. Amy Everhart, Flannigan’s campaign manager, worked for Leffingwell when he was mayor from 2009-2014.

Like all of our own ruined plans, City Council’s summer break is turning out to be not much of a break at all. In a message on the City Council Message Board, Mayor Steve Adler announced that Council will once again convene this week to discuss “Covid-related items.” In addition to a regular briefing from Austin Public Health, the meeting will take a look at two ordinances from Adler’s office that would give the city “additional enforcement tools” without running into conflict with state orders. (Those who are itching for a preview can find those ordinances here and here.) In recent days, Adler has spoken to national and local media about the idea of shutting down the city, though that would currently not be consistent with state orders. In the meantime, Austin’s Covid-19 cases continue to rise. As of Monday, 69 people were admitted to area hospitals, bringing the number of patients currently hospitalized to 466.

With infections continuing to spread throughout Central Texas, Austin Public Health has partnered with Bastrop County to expand the region’s Covid-19 testing network. Residents of Bastrop County may now fill out APH’s online Public Testing Enrollment Form and those who qualify may schedule a free drive-thru test in Bastrop. “Current criteria for getting a test include the presence of symptoms, exposure to others who have tested positive, as well as other high-risk factors identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” according to a city news release. Residents who do not meet the criteria for testing may revisit the portal at any time if their situation changes or if they start experiencing symptoms. Dr. Desmar Walkes, Bastrop County health authority, said, “Bastrop County is thrilled to be able to offer this new service to our citizens. This new open test site will allow us to identify and slow the spread of Covid-19.” Appointments at the Bastrop drive-thru testing site are available Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. The site will be able to test 192 people a day.

Having closed many county parks to discourage large gatherings over the Independence Day weekend, Travis County Parks is now reopening selected parks today – with some caveats. In short, “The community continues to be at Stage 4 of Austin Public Health’s 5-Stage Guidelines. APH recommends measures to promote social distancing during this time and encourages residents to stay home. All park visitors will be required to follow all local orders issued by governmental entities. Additional closures will take place if the community reaches Stage 5,” says a news release from the parks department. Del Valle Softball Fields, Dink Pearson Park, Hamilton Pool Preserve, Hippie Hollow Park, Bob Wentz Park, Loop 360 Park, Mansfield Dam Park, Mary Quinlan Park and Sandy Creek Park remain closed (boat ramps at the latter five parks are also closed). Find an updated list of which Travis County parks are open/closed here. Find out which Austin Parks and Recreation Department facilities and parks are currently open/closed here.

Faced with ever-rising cases of Covid-19, the city has once again changed its plans for reopening. A memo from city manager Spencer Cronk detailed modified reopening plans for Austin Code Department, Austin Public Health, Austin Resource Recovery, Austin Water Utility, the Office of the City Clerk and the Parks and Recreation Department. Notable among the changes is a new plan for city parks. According to the memo:

Due to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases and the projected trajectory of COVID related hospitalizations, beginning on Monday, July 6, all facilities and park amenities will remain closed. This includes facilities previously reopened such as cultural facilities, pools, golf courses, tennis facilities, park concessions, and other amenities.

All in-person programming for the month of July will be suspended including sports and fitness programming, summer camps, and cultural programming. In addition, the Barton Creek and Bull Creek greenbelts will remain closed. Parks will remain open; however, all amenities (e.g. volleyball courts, tennis courts, playgrounds, disc golf courses, etc) will be closed except for restrooms and water fountains. A full listing of closed facilities will be available at austintexas.gov/parkclosures.

In addition to the changes in park operations, Austin Code’s administrative hearings will now resume on July 15, not July 8. The city clerk’s office will be open under extremely limited hours and by appointment only through July 17, in order to prepare for upcoming candidate filings and the City Council budget meetings scheduled for later this month.

AISD’s nonprofit public education foundation, the Austin Ed Fund, has launched a special grant program for AISD teachers and campus leaders. The new grant “encourages teacher-led, collaborative projects that align with Austin Ed Fund’s priority of encouraging innovation in the classroom and enhancing educational opportunities for all Austin ISD students,” according to the announcement. The fund will award up to $10,000 for collaborative projects and up to $2,500 for projects that impact individual classrooms. The fund  is specifically looking to support projects that focus on three primary areas:

• Social and emotional well-being of staff, students and families
• Cultural proficiency and inclusiveness
• Other innovative and flexible teaching strategies that can be delivered remotely, in-person, or via a blended model

Michelle Wallis, executive director of the Austin Ed Fund, said, “We see the pre-existing inequities and disparities in our community that have been exacerbated by Covid-19 and racial injustice here, in Austin and nationally. We hope this direct support to campuses and teachers will help address time-sensitive needs as they welcome students, staff and families back to school, whether that is remotely or in-person.” Applications for the first cycle are open now until July 24. A second cycle will open July 25. For more information, visit the Austin Ed Fund.

Over the weekend, you probably got an alert about new face mask requirements in the state of Texas. In conjunction with that order, Austin has also issued new orders as all key indicators for coronavirus continue to rise. The full list of new regulations is online here. Of note, the new orders reaffirm that everyone (with limited exceptions) must wear face coverings and avoid social gatherings, and vulnerable individuals should avoid being in groups of more than two. In addition, the mayor’s orders ask that businesses operate at a lower capacity than permitted and maintain a log of customers to aid in tracking.

Besides the Austin Monitor, which will be closed for the holiday on Friday, city offices and municipal facilities will be closed on Friday and Saturday, July 3 and 4. The Austin Animal Center is closed Friday, but open Saturday, by appointment only. Trash, recycling and compost collection for Austin Resource Recovery customers remains on schedule Friday. All Austin Public Library branches, the Recycled Reads Bookstore and the Austin History Center are closed Friday and Saturday. Because of the increase in Covid-19 cases, all city parks and recreational facilities (e.g., pools, golf courses, tennis courts, boat ramps, recreation/cultural centers, museums, Austin Nature & Science Center, Zilker Botanical Garden, preserves, etc.) will be closed from Friday, July 3 through Sunday, July 5. Barton Springs Pool and Deep Eddy Pool are closed until further notice. The annual H-E-B Austin Symphony July 4th Concert and Fireworks event at Vic Mathias Shores has been canceled. Austin Public Health is pleading with community members to stay home this weekend and help slow the spread by celebrating safely in your own backyard.