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.

Supporters of Recycled Reads, the quirky used bookstore at 5335 Burnet Road that offers mahjong and knitting and serves as a gathering place for the community, will be happy to hear that city staff has withdrawn an item to sublease most of the space to Austin Creative Reuse. Staff has postponed the item twice, including last week, after getting pushback from members of Council as well as the community. Library department spokeswoman Rachel Nguyen said one reason the item was not moving forward was because the Yarborough Branch Library on Hancock Drive, which is close to Recycled Reads, would be closing for renovations on March 1 for about 11 months. Nguyen also acknowledged that there was negative feedback from the community about the plan to eliminate Recycled Reads in 2022. That negative feedback is most likely at the top of the list of City Manager Spencer Cronk’s concerns. Council Member Leslie Pool told the Austin Monitor on Monday, “I appreciate the recognition of the important role that Recycled Reads plays in our community. People from all parts of town meet up there regularly. It’s a real community gathering place. I’m glad that we will continue the lease.” Pool said Cronk told her Friday afternoon that he would be pulling the item from the March 7 agenda and that it would not be coming back.

It’s easy to tell that Common Ground for Texans loves lively conversation. Just take the Austin nonprofit group’s latest topic for public discussion: “Scooters, Plastic Bags, Development: What’s the Right Amount of Regulation?” Who could resist diving into that? From the seemingly unregulated proliferation of electric scooters to the plastic bag ban to the land development code, the overarching theme of how much regulation is the right amount is bound to get people engaged and talking – hopefully in a civil manner. This free community event will feature two City Council members on opposite sides of the scooter question – District 10’s Alison Alter and District 6’s Jimmy Flannigan – and takes place Saturday, March 2, from 2-4 p.m. at Old Quarry Branch Library, 7051 Village Center.

After five trees were removed last September in the Govalle neighborhood, causing such an uproar that it influenced changes in how the city permits tree removal for demolition permits, things seemed to have calmed down on Gonzales Street. Whether out of respect or to taunt the ghosts of the former pecan grove that was the Govalle neighborhood, the developer, Urbane Roost, named the development Pecan Village. The three redeveloped lots will now hold six houses and a host of newly planted trees. This development came just before another Govalle neighborhood property was demolished without the proper permitting, causing the neighborhood to fear for the future of a grove of 75 mature, producing pecan trees that abuts the property.

The city’s Economic Development Department in partnership with the Colony Park Sustainable Community and other local partners will host a Family Resource Fair on Saturday, March 2 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at Barbara Jordan Elementary, 6711 Johnny Morris Road. The fair will feature exhibitors from local organizations as well as free workshops in home repair, wellness, job training, tax preparation and more. Attendees can enjoy free health screenings, ID cards for kids, services for pets, and updates on citywide mobility and health efforts. Family-friendly activities like face painting, balloon arts and raffle prizes, not to mention free food, make this community fair a can’t-miss event for kids of all ages.

On Friday, Feb. 22, the Austin school district broke ground on a pioneering project: to renovate Ann Richards School into a modern and technologically sophisticated new facility specifically designed for young women from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Voters approved the bond for the $70 million Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders in 2017. Now the district has set out to create a state-of-the-art campus at the South Austin site. The new facility, projected to open in August 2021, will serve more than 1,000 students with a curriculum focused on science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM. The existing school facility will remain on-site during construction.

Last summer, as you may recall, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the city of Laredo’s plastic bag ban violated state law. Reading the writing on the bag, the city of Austin announced that it could no longer enforce its own single-use plastic bag ban. Now, Austin Resource Recovery has launched a survey to dig up the whole crinkly issue once again. What did you think of the court’s ruling? How do you feel about single-use plastic bags? Do you bring your own reusable bags when you shop? Do tell – take the survey right here, from now until March 8. Your answers will help shape ARR’s strategy to encourage retailers and residents to “honor the spirit of the ordinance with the voluntary use of reusable shopping bags,” as ARR eloquently puts it.

At the Feb. 20 meeting of the Environmental Commission, Save Our Springs Alliance attorney Bobby Levinski brought the commissioners’ attention to the heritage tree ordinance and how he believes the law falls short. He referenced a case where the Austin Country Club applied for a permit to remove a single heritage tree on a 180-acre golf course in order to create a designated press area for a PGA tournament. The city arborist approved the application and the tree was removed. “The only rationale they gave was for a media area for the press for a PGA tournament. That’s not really a great reason for removing our heritage trees,” said Levinski. “I’m concerned that this is setting a very, very low standard for what it takes to get a heritage tree removed.” The country club had previously hosted tournaments where the press was in attendance while the tree was still standing. He urged the board that the city needs to engage in a broader conversation about the requirements for heritage tree removal going forward, emphasizing that a single tree on 180 acres meeting the threshold for “impeding reasonable use” is a stretch. The commission thanked him for bringing the case to their attention.

Council moved forward with appointments to the Planning Commission Thursday, asserting that District 1 Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison made a good selection when she chose Patrick Howard to serve on the commission, despite the possibility that some would see him as working in a field related to real estate. Howard is the executive director of the Travis County Housing Authority. Harper-Madison said, “I am so grateful to be in a position to nominate a qualified candidate to serve on the Planning Commission on behalf of District 1.” She noted that Howard holds a certification from the American Institute of Certified Planners and has an extensive background in planning. However, his job is not related to real estate or land development, she said. Mayor Steve Adler and Council members Greg Casar and Jimmy Flannigan both said they agreed that Howard is not in the development business and is fully qualified to serve. Casar referred to the Austin Monitor story on the subject, saying he is in complete agreement with former County Judge Bill Aleshire who said when voters approved an amendment to the city charter limiting the number of real estate professionals who could serve on the commission they were not thinking about people from the Housing Authority. The appointment comes none too soon for the commission. According to Jerry Rusthoven of the Planning and Zoning Department, a number of zoning cases had to be postponed Thursday because when the commission met they did not have a quorum. Harper-Madison removed Tracy Witte from the commission a few weeks ago. Council Member Ann Kitchen’s appointment to the commission, Assistant County Attorney Tom Nuckols, resigned last year at about the same time that Attorney General Ken Paxton filed his suit. Also on Thursday Kitchen appointed Rob Schneider, saying his job at the AARP has nothing to do with real estate or development.

The Austin Tech Alliance is planning a big push on two of its principal municipal goals – open data and paper-free government – for the worldwide audience traveling to Austin for South by Southwest. The March 12 panel “OPEN Data Government Act” will see the group partner with the Data Coalition, the city of Austin and Open Austin in a discussion featuring former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley and other advocates in favor of citizens accessing open data to solve civic problems. And the March 10 session “Can Emerging Tech Make a City 100% Paperless?” looks to follow on from the initiative started more than a year ago that, with ATA members’ help, looks to transform city operations to greatly reduce and eventually eliminate paper.

For 63 years, Austin Energy has hosted the Austin Energy Regional Science Festival, which is the largest city-sponsored science fair in the country. With more than 3,000 students from 23 school districts in 12 surrounding counties competing, this four-day competition encourages the foundations of experimentation, presentation, and knowledge pursuit in students. This year, the 1,800 participating projects fit into 17 scientific categories, ranging from animal sciences to robotics and intelligent machines. Those who win the Junior/Senior division will advance to the Texas Science and Engineering Fair in College Station March 29-30. Best of Fair Senior Division projects will advance directly to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. The fair began Wednesday, Feb. 20, at 3 pm and will continue through Saturday, Feb. 23. Junior and Senior awards will be announced February 21 and the Elementary Awards ceremony will be on February 23. “The Austin economy attracts the top minds from around the world,” said Austin Energy General Manager Jackie Sargent. “These students reflect both the ingenuity and the diversity that makes our community a destination for the world’s premier scientific talent.”

There has been one less casualty in the race to preserve historic homes in Austin. The East Austin home of the first African-American disc jockey, Albert Lavada Durst, also known as “Dr. Hepcat,” was at risk of becoming lost in the sea of redevelopment on East Fourth Street. In order to preserve the home, Cielo Property Group donated the structure to an East Austin resident who was left homeless after a fire. Mary Clark, the recipient of the home, lost her home to a fire in 2011 and, since then, “has been moving around and making do the best she can,” Cielo co-founder Bobby Dillard told the Austin Monitor in an email. When Council Member Greg Casar heard that Cielo was looking into the relocation and reuse possibilities for the property, he put the property group in touch with Clark. “She was a great recipient as she has lived in the neighborhood for a long time and owned property in the neighborhood to which the house could be moved,” said Dillard. The new location of the historic home is 1906 E. 21st St., which Clark has owned for 50 years. Although not yet in place, Austin’s Historic Landmark Commission unanimously approved the relocation in December. Cielo has since been working with the city and Texas Gas Service to secure the permits and complete the work necessary to relocate the house. “This is a tremendous example of the power of collaboration,” said District 1 Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison in a press release. “Thanks to open minds and open dialogue, we have an outcome that helps a resident in need, preserves a piece of our cultural heritage, provides needed office space, and significantly contributed to affordable housing. There are lessons here all of us can learn from.”