We’ve all done it – glanced at a text, unwrapped a muffin or fiddled with the radio station while we’re driving. We may have been lucky so far, but no matter the reason or duration, distracted driving can be deadly. Since April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, the Austin Transportation Department, Police Department and Capital Metro are partnering to educate the community that simple changes in behavior behind the wheel can save lives. Said Austin Transportation Director Robert Spillar in an announcement about the campaign, “As we work to end traffic deaths and serious injuries on our roadways, we’re asking everyone to pitch in. That means everyone should stay focused on the road and point out distracted driving behavior when they see it.” Austin Police Chief Brian Manley didn’t mince words: “There is no excuse for distracted driving,” he says. “Put your phone down and pay attention to the roads when you are driving.” Distracted driving, speeding, drunken driving and failure to yield are the “fatal four” behaviors that collectively contribute to more than half of all serious injury and fatal crashes in Austin. The distracted driving awareness campaign will be rolling out a series of educational materials in an effort to raise awareness around these critical topics. And throughout the month of April, APD will be focusing special attention on areas where vehicle accident data show a high frequency of distracted driving.

The 2020 census may be a year away, but the city of Austin and Travis County are launching a campaign now to make sure everyone gets counted in the once-every-decade national survey. Participation in the census is critical because the information gathered guides the allocation of more than $800 billion in federal funding. Funding for family and community programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, State Children’s Health Insurance, Section 8 Housing, Head Start, the National School Lunch Program, Special Education Grants and highway planning and construction all rely on accurate census numbers. For the first time, people will be able to respond online, by phone or by mail. Austin Mayor Steve Adler and Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt will be holding a press conference to announce the Austin-Travis County Census 2020 Complete Count Committee today at 10 a.m. at City Hall, 301 W. Second St.

Discontent is growing with the appearance of the tallest tower on the Austin skyline. A new online petition is calling for the developers of The Independent – popularly known as the “Jenga tower” – to make improvements to the top of the residential building that “looks unfinished and is a stunning disappointment.” As of Sunday, the petition from the group known as Fix The Crown had gathered more than 700 signatures, though the campaign can’t exactly cause any local authorities to compel the building’s owners to make any improvements. Austin Business Journal reports that last year the building’s managers explained that the top of the tower would “consist of a box of glimmering steel mesh hanging over a 50,000-gallon water tank at the top that prevents the building from swaying in the wind.”

Jim Wick, former campaign manager for Mayor Steve Adler and leader of the Move Austin Forward political action committee that campaigned for the city’s 2016 mobility bond, has stepped into the spotlight with a new project known as MoveATX. The group made its public bow last week with the release of a survey conducted during last fall’s general election that found Austinites favor transit options that would get them out of single-passenger vehicles. The survey found 75 percent of people want the city to speed up improvements to infrastructure for bikes, scooters and pedestrians. Nearly 50 percent of respondents said they would prefer to use something other than a car as their primary transit method. While public education will be a priority for the group, an early goal will be creating a divided bike lane on Shoal Creek Boulevard to allow easier nonvehicular travel from downtown to North Austin.

The House Agriculture and Livestock Committee is considering two bills sponsored by Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston, to protect pollinators, a group that includes bees and other beneficial insects, songbirds and bats. House Bill 2483 would ban the use of a class of pesticides called neonicotinoids, or neonics, in public road rights of way. The other bill, HB 2484, would create a Bee Pollinator Goals Task Force composed of state agency officials, to develop bee pollinator goals and evaluate what else can be done to protect bees in the state. Bay Scoggin, director of the Texas Public Interest Research Group, said in an announcement, “We hope the committee will have a vibrant discussion about the problems pollinators are facing in this state. We need incremental improvements like these bills to make big steps in protecting our pollinators.” Honeybees and native bee species are essential to our food supply. Without pollination, the Center for Food Safety says that up to 70 percent of plants would be unable to reproduce or provide food.

The city of Austin needs your input deciding how to spend $13 million a year in grant money from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The funds are earmarked for projects related to affordable housing, job creation, and public services for seniors, youth, disabled people, and low- and moderate-income families. The two-minute online survey, managed by the Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department, asks you to rank your community priorities and give feedback on the best ways to help the city’s most vulnerable populations thrive. The survey closes in a few days, so get your 2 cents in there soon!

As the Austin Monitor noted two weeks ago, Parks and Recreation Director Sara Hensley visited Flagstaff, Arizona, to discuss the possibility of becoming city manager there. But Hensley returned to Austin having rejected Flagstaff’s proposal. She told a reporter that she would be keeping her job in Austin because she could not “reach an agreement on terms” with the much smaller city. Hensley was an interim assistant city manager for Austin from March 2017 until the end of 2018.

The March 26 meeting of the Parks and Recreation Board barely made a quorum thanks to terms expiring and Council members rotating. With no sitting chair or vice chair to run the meeting, the task was left up to Assistant Parks and Recreation Director Anthony Segura. As the first order of business, Segura went through the remaining tenures of each of the board members. Since the February meeting, Board members Randy Mann and Rick Cofer have resigned and Frank Ward is serving on a 60-day extension that will expire on April 28. Nina Rinaldi is the new representative for District 1 and is replacing former Chair Jane Rivera. Michael Casias in District 3 was replaced by Kate Mason-Murphy.

Road crews are placing the final layer of pavement and striping on the brand-new State Highway 45SW toll road and adjacent roadways. While the work is underway, crews will be closing lanes on Loop 1 (MoPac Expressway)/SH 45 between Escarpment Boulevard and South Bay Lane each weekday (and possibly Saturdays) for approximately the next three weeks, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Drivers should also expect some nighttime lane closures for striping work, which is tentatively scheduled to start Wednesday, April 10, 7 p.m.-7 a.m. Lane closures on FM 1626, between Bliss Spillar Road and Lewis Lane, will take place each weekday tentatively from Thursday, April 18, to Friday, April 26, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. During April, crews will be putting down the final layer of permeable friction course pavement, a special asphalt that reduces pollutants from stormwater runoff, on the new SH 45SW toll road in preparation for its grand opening in May. As always, lane closures are subject to change based on the weather, which is unpredictable.

Council is moving forward on a new program designed to provide housing and supportive services for 250 chronically homeless citizens who frequently end up in jail, the emergency room, or both. What is unique about this program, called the pay-for-success model, is that investors put money in and the city, among others, will repay the investors only if positive outcomes are achieved as measured by an independent evaluator. Besides the city, the other entities that will repay investors include Travis County, Central Health, Community Care Collaborative, the Episcopal Health Foundation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development/Department of Justice. The city will put $1.2 million into the PFS reserve fund for the current year. Austin Public Health Director Stephanie Hayden reported in a memo to the mayor and Council that an additional $1.2 million would be available for the program each year through 2024. “The project requires $16.3 million in private funds, including $4.8 million in grants from the St. David’s Foundation and $11.5 million from national and/or local impact investors,” according to Hayden. In order to have a positive outcome, the previously homeless individuals would have to have a minimum of six months of housing stability before the city would owe any payments. The city’s first potential payment to an investor will be due in May 2021, assuming the program is launched in June. The state of Oklahoma is also trying a variant of the program.

A group of teens in the Caminos arts internship program have completed a large-scale mosaic mural titled “La Mujer” that honors the contributions of Latinas in our society. With the help of lead artist J Muzacz, the mural took 12 Caminos students and their mentors six months to complete. “La Mujer” will be unveiled at the annual La Mujer Festival on April 13, 3-8 p.m., at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center, 600 River St. The mural will become part of ESB-MACC’s permanent outdoor public arts collection. For details, visit the La Mujer Festival event page.

The Austin school district is searching for an equity officer to ensure that all students receive equitable opportunities during their school careers. The district wants the public’s help in finding the perfect person for the job. AISD families, staff and interested community members are invited to attend one of two public meetings to help the district brainstorm the ideal characteristics and qualities for the new hire. The information will be used to create a candidate profile to screen candidates for the position. AISD hopes to make the hire by the end of June. The first meeting is on Tuesday, April 2, 6-7:30 p.m. in the cafeteria at Barbara Jordan Elementary School, 6711 Johnny Morris Road. The second meeting is Tuesday, April 9, 6-7:30 p.m. at Travis Early College High School, 1211 E. Oltorf St. If you can’t make it to a meeting, you may offer your feedback online.