To date, eight cases of measles have been reported in Texas and there have been serious outbreaks in Oregon, Washington and New York. While no confirmed measles cases have been reported in Austin or Travis County in over 10 years, Austin Public Health is monitoring the situation closely and preparing in case measles does spread to Travis County. Measles is a dangerous and highly contagious virus that is spread through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. APH’s memo warns that measles “is so contagious that if one person has it, nine out of 10 people of all ages around that person will also become infected if they are not protected.” According to the memo, APH is “ready to address any measles cases that our community may encounter and will keep you updated” in the form of a public website packed with information that will soon be launched.

The grand citywide experiment that is South by Southwest gets a little trickier this year with the wrinkle that the University of Texas and local school districts will not hold their spring breaks concurrently with the festival. With that in mind and anticipating downtown traffic tangles aplenty, the city, the police department, UT, and a variety of other local bodies of prominence are pushing for Austinites to do anything they can to reduce single-passenger car travel from March 8-17. At a public information event held Wednesday morning, officials encouraged locals to work remotely instead of driving downtown, use B-cycle services and pedicabs whenever possible, and use ride-sharing services with pickups and drop-offs in designated areas. A map of road closures and areas favorable for transit alternatives is available at the City Stage website, where visitors can also learn about Capital Metro’s extended service hours during what in cityspeak is known as “spring festival season.”

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The Center for Biological Diversity and the Save Our Springs Alliance are suing the Texas Department of Transportation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, claiming the MoPac Intersections Project threatens the Austin blind salamander and the Barton Springs salamander, both endangered species. According to a press release from the Center for Biological Diversity, “The conservation groups recently learned that the MoPac Intersections Project has exposed at least 21 underground caves, sink holes and other karst features that provide habitat for the endangered salamanders. There is a high risk that construction will pollute the two species’ habitat by introducing silt and pollutants to the subsurface. The project is being built across the environmentally sensitive Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone in southwest Austin.” The notice of the intent to sue, filed yesterday, is embedded below. Construction on the project started in January 2018.

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The Asian American Resource Center is seeking artists for its 2020 exhibit season. Both emerging and established artists of all disciplines are encouraged to apply. AARC aims to showcase the work of Asian American Pacific Islander artists who celebrate their community and their heritage through their artwork. The multiple exhibit spaces include a ballroom, a lobby, display cases, and exhibit halls with a view of the garden. The deadline to submit is April 28. There is no fee to submit an exhibit proposal. For submission instructions and information, visit aarc.submittable.com.

In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the Nature Conservancy’s Texas chapter and Texas A&M University recently released a study that offers a new model for flood reduction – an innovative approach already being implemented in Austin’s Williamson Creek Central Greenway. Called “clustered buyouts,” the idea is to encourage voluntary buyouts of flood-prone properties within cities through lump property acquisition. Pam Kearfott of the Watershed Protection Department told the Austin Monitor that in the 13 years she has been working for the city, flood-reduction buyout programs have always been conducted in this manner. However, the buyout in the Williamson Creek Central Greenway has been coordinated directly with the land management office and the Nature Conservancy to create a community-led “visioning plan” for the buyout area that will include usable greenbelt space while developing a safely floodable plane. Lily Verdone, one of the lead researchers on the study and the director of Freshwater and Marine Programs for the Nature Conservancy Texas, explained that this link has allowed the Conservancy to observe the effects of clustered buyouts in a local setting. Kearfott told the Monitor that before any buyouts occur, the watershed department works to mitigate flooding issues through structural engineering like widening creek beds or creating detention ponds. However, there are cases when Mother Nature is stronger, at which point, like the new study shows, “maybe it’s better to take the houses away from the water.”

Time is running out for the Indigent Legal Services work group to obtain a Texas Indigent Defense Commission grant this year. In order to take full advantage of the available funding to be used for a public defender office, the group would need to submit its letter of intent to apply for the grant by March 11. To be considered, however, the letter needs signatures of Travis County criminal court judges and the approval of the Commissioners Court. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that the judges will be willing to sign the letter at this point, unless the ILS group can create a compelling outline of how it will use the funds. The group has been working steadily to develop its plan since late December but has not had time to spell out the details yet. County Judge Sarah Eckhardt told the court last week that it should be possible to move forward even if the county did not receive the grant money this year, but the consequences of that situation were unclear. Roger Jefferies of Justice Planning clarified Tuesday that the result could mean less money available for the project. Unless the county submits an application this year, Jefferies said TIDC has indicated some of that money will probably go toward formula grants to be distributed across the state. Eckhardt said the county is “tap dancing as fast as we can” trying to develop the letter of intent to get the approval of all necessary parties. The ILS group needs to get the signatures before the court’s March 5 voting session for final approval.

Austin residents will have access to a broad range of online learning modules intended to improve community health, thanks to a new partnership between the Dell Medical School at the University of Texas and the medical education platform OnlineMedEd. The Discovering Value-Based Health Care modules were developed by medical school faculty and students and are organized around the concept of value-cased care, or health care geared toward positive patient outcomes instead of charging for total services and procedures provided to a patient. The new model is expected to help lower health care costs by eliminating wasteful and unnecessary procedures, but has not been widely adopted by established internal medicine programs across the country. The medical school’s Texas Health CoLab innovation hub took the lead in creating and deploying the modules for wide public consumption.

You’ve got plenty of opinions about how this city should be run, don’t you? Well, here’s your chance to share your views and ideas. Austin city commissions are hosting a 2020 budget community forums, and you’re invited. Help shape goals for the city’s commissions and make recommendations on city services. The city wants to hear your voice. RSVP on Facebook: www.bit.ly/2Ezw1dG. Details are on the flyer.

Jim Christianson, a former Historic Landmark Commission member with a 22-year tenure, came to warn the commission that “handing out historic zonings like cupcakes” would devalue the tax abatements those with the designation receive in the eyes of City Council. Christianson was referring to properties where modern additions or improvements had been made, like the old Spaghetti Warehouse, which was converted into a bar and given a third story. He argued that the new level should not be given a tax abatement, but there’s no way for the Travis Central Appraisal District to separate the addition out from the structure for taxing purposes. This shortcoming, he explained, allows properties to unfairly increase their values while still benefiting from historic zoning tax abatement. Commissioner Terri Myers pointed out that a number of Austin landmarks have non-historic additions and the commission tries, when possible, to remove historic zoning from the parcel that has become modernized. Christianson was also concerned about communication between the commission and TCAD, insinuating that it was the commission’s responsibility to alert the offices to historic zoning changes. However, Commissioner Alex Papavasiliou said that “the appraisal district is aware of building permits” where historic zoning is noted because they are public record. Steve Sadowsky, the city’s historic preservation officer, confirmed that city staffers do not communicate any changes in certificates of appropriateness because building permits, not certificates, trigger an appraisal. However, he said he will take Christianson’s suggestions and see what changes can be made in the flow of information “so that they’re more aware.”

It’s that time of year already – Barton Springs Pool is closing for its annual spring cleaning and restoration. The popular spring-fed swimming pool will be closed, and access to the dog beach will be limited, from March 4-15 while Parks and Rec staff remove gravel from the pool to restore its natural depth. Beginning Monday, March 4, Deep Eddy Pool at 401 Deep Eddy Drive will open at 6 a.m. to accommodate the early birds who can’t live without their morning dip.

If you’ve ever scrounged for change to feed a meter or paid for half a day at a lot when you only needed an hour, you’ll appreciate Austin Transportation’s sleek, upgraded parking app. Park ATX allows Austinites to pay for parking at more than 10,000 parking spots around the city and pay only for the time that you use. Park ATX is available for free on Apple and Android devices. With the launch of the new app, the city has expanded to more than 500 parking zones. Street parkers should check out the new zone numbers, which are on new Park ATX signage throughout the city.

In response to a suggestion by Travis County Commissioner and Capital Metro Board of Directors member Jeff Travillion during the board’s last meeting on Jan. 25, the agency voted Monday to rename its boardroom after civil rights activist Rosa Parks. CEO Randy Clarke suggested the name dedication as a way to follow Travillion’s lead in honoring African-American history with transit. Clarke said the American Public Transportation Association’s main conference hall in Washington, D.C., is named after Parks, who in Clarke’s words, “fundamentally changed our industry forever.” Capital Metro has installed a large wooden plaque outside of the boardroom with biographical information about Parks. The plaque features her words, “I believe we are here on the planet Earth to live, grow up, and do what we can to make this world a better place for all to enjoy freedom.” Travillion said the designation of the Rosa Parks Boardroom is an excellent step, and he had also spoken about the need to connect the transit community to Austin’s history. With this in mind, the resolution also honors Mrs. Howellen Bunton Taylor, who was arrested in Austin for refusing to move to the back of a bus as a protest in November 1955, prior to Park’s famous protest in Montgomery, Alabama.