The pickup location for taxis, ride-share apps and off-site rental car drop-offs at Austin-Bergstrom airport has been moved to the ground level of the rental car facility, just past the parking garage. Relocating these services is projected to reduce traffic congestion at the airport by 3,700 vehicles a day. The new location features a dedicated taxi lane, while three ride-share lanes have been color-coded in blue, red and yellow and with corresponding numbers 1-4 to streamline the pickup process for ride-share app customers. Find more info about airport ground transportation options and a map of the new pickup location here.

This Thursday, the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority will be be operating on its Sunday service schedule in observance of Thanksgiving Day. The Turkey Trot will necessitate detours on several routes; see an overview of service disruptions here. Routes 1, 7, 20 and 801 offer access to the starting point of the race. There will be no MetroRail, UT Shuttle, MetroExpress, Night Owl or E-Bus service. On Friday, Nov. 23, the agency will operate on Saturday service with no MetroRail, UT Shuttle, MetroExpress or E-Bus service. MetroAccess subscription trips scheduled for Nov. 22 and Nov. 23 will be automatically canceled – call 512-852-7272 to reschedule. The agency’s administrative offices and transit store will be closed Nov. 22 and 23, but the online Trip Planner provides 24-hour scheduling help, and the GO Line at 512-474-1200 is available. More information about Capital Metro schedules and services can be found online or on the CapMetro app. Service returns to its regular schedule on Saturday, Nov. 24.

The Austin Independent School District will be observing the Thanksgiving holiday with a week of vacation. All district offices and schools will be closed today through Friday, Nov. 23. Regular business hours will resume Monday, Nov. 26, and the school board will hold its monthly meeting that day as usual. The AISD calendar is available at austinisd.org/calendar.

The Asian American Resource Center is holding a public meeting Dec. 11, 6 to 8 p.m., to begin the process of updating its master plan. The popular cultural center provides lunches and activities for thousands of seniors, supports local artists and empowers the diverse Asian-American and Pacific Islander community of Austin. There will be several opportunities for the public to give input on programming, facilities, parking, landscaping, and other aspects of design for AARC’s 15-acre site. For more info, go here.

Impact Hub Austin, which serves as an incubator for socially focused startup companies and organizations, is set to introduce its latest cohort of groups focused on solving Austin’s affordability crisis. Previous affordability projects from Impact Hub have created homes from 3-D printing or explored alternative financing options to help marginalized residents afford to purchase homes. New companies in the group include MiraLend, Almost Home Financial, Built With Humanity, the Tiny Heights, Blue Zero Homes, Affordable Housing Data Hub, Boomers Collaborative Foundation and MEASURE. The introductory showcase day will take place on Dec. 17, 6 p.m., at Impact Hub’s West Monroe Street location. Reservations are available here.

Last week, 10 shiny prototype e-bikes were placed at downtown bike-share stations to assess residents’ enthusiasm for electric bicycles. The e-bikes are pedal-assist models, which means the electric motor engages only when the rider pedals forward. The bikes can be easily identified by their red handlebar baskets emblazoned with a white lightning bolt. B-cycle pass holders can use the e-bikes at no additional charge, or find their location by using the B-cycle app or viewing the online map at AustinBcycle.com. The three-month pilot program is a public-private partnership operated by the city, the nonprofit group Bike Share of Austin and B-cycle, the maker of the bikes. So if you need to get somewhere fast, you have a hill to climb or you don’t want to sweat in your work clothes, jump on an e-bike and ride like the wind.

The fourth annual [Re]Verse Pitch competition is right around the corner, and the city has begun accepting applications for organizations to offer up their scraps and surplus. Often, businesses and other organizations generate waste that ends up being sent to a landfill instead of serving an economic purpose. On the other end of the spectrum, entrepreneurs spend time and money looking for materials that can help bring their ideas to effect social change to life. The [Re]Verse Pitch competition attempts to bring these groups together, allowing organizations a chance to pitch their available materials to entrepreneurs, who then compete to develop creative reuses for the materials. The 2019 competition goes from February to April, and the deadline to apply as a materials supplier is Dec. 7. The application can be found here.

Thanksgiving travel is inevitably hectic, but Austin-Bergstrom International Airport has some art displays that just might make the experience a bit more enjoyable. In the Barbara Jordan Terminal baggage claim, near carousel 1, the newly installed mural A Place to Call Home will enhance the view for all visitors to the airport. The mural was produced on fabric by artist Rakhee Jain Desai and is part of the city’s Art in Public Places TEMPO program. In addition, AIPP has added four new exhibits featuring local art in the concourse of the Barbara Jordan Terminal. These exhibits, which are beyond security checkpoints and accessible to ticketed passengers only, include a gallery dedicated to works by Latino artists, Texas wildlife paintings, digital creations and ceramic curiosities. Learn more about the art in the airport, and where to find it, here.

On Thursday, City Council voted unanimously to approve the hiring of Joel Baker to head the Austin Fire Department. Baker spent 30 years with the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department, which he led as chief from June 2015 until February of this year, when he announced his retirement. Since former chief Rhoda Mae Kerr retired in March, the department has been led on an interim basis by Chief of Staff Tom Dodds. City Manager Spencer Cronk, who chose Baker over several other candidates, described the new chief’s “impressive career” in Atlanta and offered him a warm “welcome to the city of Austin family.” Baker returned the favor, saying that he was excited to work with the “brave women and men of the Austin Fire Department.” Bob Nicks, president of the Austin Firefighters Association, also spoke in favor of Baker’s hiring, saying he was confident that the new boss would help reduce some of the long-standing tensions that have existed between “management and labor” in the department. “I truly believe he’s the right person to lead us to the next level.”

The nonprofit group Vision Zero ATX will host a Day of Remembrance vigil in honor of traffic accident victims on Sunday, Nov. 18, at 5 p.m. The annual event, which features remarks by local officials at City Hall followed by a walk to the Capitol building, honors those who have lost their lives or sustained major injuries in vehicle accidents. City Council adopted a Vision Zero action plan in 2016. The goal of the educational safety campaign is to reduce the number of traffic victims to zero. Sign the online pledge, request a Vision Zero yard sign or learn more about the Vision Zero initiative here.

The largest independent bookstore in Texas has formed a union. The workers of BookPeople voted Tuesday night to approve representation by the Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 277. The vote follows the “Keep Austin Paid” campaign, which included a petition circulated at the Texas Book Festival that garnered over 600 signatures, and a Community Support Day. “I’m feeling proud of my sisters and brothers today,” bookseller Mat Clouser said, in a press release from the bookstore. “What we’ve already accomplished is no small feat, but we won’t be satisfied until we show Austin the power of a union. A healthy workforce makes a healthy workplace. The vote is truly a win for all.” Downtown Austin’s BookPeople has been in operation since 1970.

The community-developed plan for Shoal Creek Trail is now available to view online. The plan is part of a larger vision to connect downtown Austin with the Domain with a 30-mile continuous path. Right now, the 3.9-mile Shoal Creek Trail follows the creek from 38th Street to Lady Bird Lake. The recently released plan lays the foundation for the trail’s expansion, extending it north by nearly nine miles and connecting it with the Walnut Creek Trail north of U.S. Highway 183. There’s lots more information on the website, along with a PDF of the plan.