There are so many good reasons to raise chickens that it’s no surprise so many people keep a few hens in the backyard. If you’ve been longing for fresh eggs to eat or chicken fertilizer for your veggie garden, you’ll be happy to know that Austin Resource Recovery offers a free, hourlong chicken-keeping class to teach you everything you need to know to raise healthy, happy chickens. (First lesson: You’ll need more than one – chickens are flocking birds and don’t do well on their own.) Keeping backyard chickens supports the city’s zero-waste goals because chickens eat many food scraps that would otherwise end up in the landfill. The city estimates that each hen will consume about 7 pounds of food scraps a month, which is then transformed into rich compost for your garden. To tempt you further, the city offers a $75 rebate on chicken coops for all those who attend one of the chicken-keeping classes. (To be eligible for the rebate, you must pay the Clean Community Fee on your utility bill.) The next class is this Saturday, June 8, 10 a.m. at Callahan’s General Store, 501 U.S. Highway 183 S. See the entire schedule of classes here and learn more about the rebate program here.

Photo by furtwangl, licensed under CC BY 2.0.

If you were unaware that the state of Texas has a Weather Modification Advisory Committee, you’re not alone. This mysterious but vital body is a subset of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and serves to keep a sharp eye on all those who would manipulate the weather. There are a lot of rules regarding weather modification, and rightly so. Committee members will hear reports on rain-enhancement activities, weather modification projects, last year’s cloud seeding season, and more. If this piques your interest, you can view the entire meeting agenda here. If you want to know more about cloud seeding in Texas – and who wouldn’t – read the committee’s quite fascinating FAQ. The meeting is Thursday, June 6, at 10 a.m., at the TDLR North Austin campus, first-floor meeting room, 1106 Clayton Lane, Suite 125E. It will also be aired live on YouTube.

Summer is the season for doing as much as possible outdoors. The St. John Neighborhood Association has decided to take the concept to heart with its first-ever neighborhood block party. The shindig will take place – where else? – at the St. John Neighborhood Park on Saturday, June 15, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will feature free food and (nonalcoholic) drink, live music and fun activities for the kids. District 4 Council Member Greg Casar will be on hand as will several community groups including GAVA (Go Austin/Vamos Austin). Expect a crafting station from Austin Creative Reuse and the group Parkside Projects will bring frozen treats from its new Tex-Mex restaurant ¡Vamonos! The ostensible reason for the party (as if we needed a reason for a party) is to celebrate the park’s recent renovation as well as some other signs of progress in the North Austin neighborhood including a 4-acre multifamily development called The Legacy at St. John. Find more info on the block party here.

The public is invited to attend a public meeting to give feedback on a new pedestrian and bicycle bridge over Lady Bird Lake and possible improvements to Longhorn Bridge. This is the second of three public meetings on this project. At the third meeting, the project team will present a final plan for the new bridge and the improvements to the existing bridge. The open-house-style meeting is Monday, June 10, 5:30-7 p.m. at Fiesta Gardens, 2101 Jesse E. Segovia St. Can’t make it? View the materials and complete a survey online at AustinTexas.org/LonghornBridge.

Creek Show, a public art installation made of six lighted artworks placed along Waller Creek, will be back for its sixth year on Nov. 7-17. Last year Waller Creek Conservancy’s popular event drew 50,000 visitors to enjoy the art as well as the live music, food vendors and other attractions that are part of the show. Visitors stroll the creek path between Ninth and 12th streets while viewing the artworks, which draw attention to the year’s creek-related theme, from the history of Waller Creek to the local ecosystem to the relationship between humans and nature. Get a sneak peek of the 2019 installations here. Learn more about past Creek Shows here.

The city of Austin has looked at blockchain technology as a tool to help homeless people preserve critical personal information. Now, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas is looking at how to use so-called distributed ledgers to make improvements in the health care field. The medical school has partnered with the Austin Blockchain Collective’s health care working group, which can draw on resources from some of the 140 blockchain and cryptocurrency companies that have a presence in Austin. Improvements in integrating electronic health records, protecting personal information, tracking accreditation of health care providers and monitoring patient activity are some of the use cases for blockchain technology. Anjum Khurshid, the director of data integration at the medical school, will be a co-chair for the working group. The medical school was created after Austin area voters approved bond funding giving the school approximately $35 million per year to address community health, specifically for at-risk populations.

A virtual reality tour of the Millennium and Wildflower caves created by staff at the city’s Central Technology Management and Watershed Protection departments has nabbed a Best of Texas Award from the Digital Government Summit. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have the experience of climbing down into one of these caves in person. The VR tour puts users right into the shadowy depths, providing close-up images of the caves’ spectacular formations and colors. The tours will also help spread the message about the vital role caves play in protecting groundwater. Take the VR tours here.

The Texas Department of Transportation, in partnership with the city of Austin, will be holding a workshop to solicit public feedback on the Loop 360 at Lakewood Drive/Spicewood Springs Road project. The proposed improvement include new shared-use sidewalks, new overpasses and removal of select traffic signals. Neighbors are invited to give input to help guide the planning process and the final design. The workshop is Thursday, June 6, 4-6 p.m., at Westover Hills Church of Christ, 8332 Mesa Drive. Those who can’t make the actual workshop can attend a virtual workshop at Loop360Project.com, available June 6-21.

Mayor Steve Adler has joined a national campaign to prevent suicides among veterans, with a consortium of local agencies taking part. Sly Majid, the city’s chief service officer, is leading the effort to review the city’s approach to suicide prevention and working to develop an action plan with partner groups to fill in gaps in how the city operates. Among the participating groups are Central Health, Integral Care, Austin Community College, Austin Police Department, Dell Medical School and the School of Social Work at the University of Texas, and the Austin Fire Department. The program’s goals include gathering data on the issues involved in suicide and prevention, employing best practices to prevent and respond to suicide attempts, and defining the desired outcomes and deadline to measure success. Adler announced Austin’s participation in a press conference last week. The national campaign is being led by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration.

A new, simplified parking system that lets motorists use pay stations without having to return to their vehicles may take some of the sting out of searching for a parking space in Austin. Instead of printing out a receipt to place on their windshields, users simply enter their license plate numbers into special pay stations. Austin Transportation will be testing out the new system next week in a small area near Butler Shores using pay stations on Jessie Street, Butler Road, Toomey Road, Josephine Street, Sterzing Street, Barton Springs Road and Lee Barton Drive. Signage will explain how to use the new system. At the end of three months, the Transportation Department will evaluate the system and decide whether to expand it to additional locations.

At long, long last, ground has officially been broken for the Travis County Civil and Family Courts facility. The current Heman Marion Sweatt Travis County Courthouse was built in 1931, has not been renovated for 50 years, and among other things, lacks dedicated, secured waiting spaces for crime victims and families and jury facilities. Planning for a new courthouse has been in the works for years, and after an unsuccessful bond election, the county pivoted to partner with Travis County Courthouse Development Partners (a joint venture of Hunt Companies of El Paso and Chameleon Group of Austin) to get the build done. Once completed, the facility will include 25 courtrooms, waiting areas, and a law library and self-help center. “This new courts facility is long overdue,” said Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt. “Once this complex is completed, those seeking justice within our system will be able to come to a court that suits their needs and keeps in mind the interests of all parties involved.” The project team anticipates the facility, located at 1700 Guadalupe St., will be opened in 2023.

Are you ready for swimsuit season? Most of Parks and Recreation Aquatic Division’s 45 facilities – that’s 33 pools, 11 splash pads and Barton Springs Pool – are currently open except for the following:

• Ricky Guerrero Splash Pad: Heavy rains delayed the improvements so the splash pad’s opening date is unknown at this time.
• Reed Pool: Severe leaks have delayed the opening while repairs are being done. PARD anticipates the pool opening by June 20.
• Dittmar and Ramsey pools: These two pools were scheduled to open by June 3, but major renovations and repairs make that date unlikely. Check with PARD for opening dates.
• Govalle and Shipe pools: Both pools are in the process of being replaced, and recent storms have put the construction work behind schedule. Projected opening of the pools is expected in mid-July. The swim season for these two pools may be extended through September.

More info about closures can be found here. Find the full list and location of all pools here.