The unofficial totals for the first week of early voting for the Travis County Joint General and Special Election on May 5 are in, and the numbers continue to underwhelm. As of press time Sunday, the unofficial tally showed a total of 3,968 voters, 505 of whom voted at mobile voting locations. There were also 969 mail ballots received. In all, 3.11 percent of registered voters have cast ballots so far. The last day of early voting is Tuesday, May 1. The County Clerk’s Office has sample ballots here, which cover these local races in Cedar Park, Round Rock, Pflugerville, Lakeway, Bee Cave, Briarcliff, Lake Travis Independent School District and several municipal utility districts.

In an effort to offer more centrally located mountain biking trails to Austin youth, the Austin Ridge Riders mountain bike club proposed constructing and maintaining a short, 24-inch-wide, natural-surface trail in Roy G. Guerrero Park. In response to the Ridge Riders’ proposal, Ecology Action of Texas posted a message of concern on Facebook stating that the trail design would have a detrimental impact on the wildlife and nature in the park. Linda Guerrero, a member of the Environmental Commission whose father the park is named after, addressed the Parks and Recreation Board on April 24, saying, “(The) concept of this, fabulous. Placement of it, questionable.” She explained that although she advocates more recreational use of the parks, protecting the heritage trees and the wildlife should be the primary concern for the Parks and Recreation Department. Kent Browning, the trails program director for the Ridge Riders, explained that in the design plans for the trail, the tree root zones of every tree surrounding the trail were considered, and the engineers followed tree protection guidelines from Parks and Recreation. “We actually went back and moved the trail farther away from some heritage trees,” he said. “I did walk the entire route with a city employee.” Browning continued to explain that “erosion is a major concern when we design trails” and that “the idea of just leaving it alone has its own problems.” Although the Ridge Riders requested a meeting with Ecology Action, according to Browning, they have not received any response. He said that without any other explanation, “my suspicion is that those issues are being blown out of proportion.”

Music venues in the Red River Cultural District can now enjoy later weekend noise curfews thanks to a unanimous vote by City Council that approved the year-old ordinance at its April 26 meeting. The ordinance’s pilot program was approved in January 2017 and studied the area between Seventh and 12th streets and between Trinity Street and Waller Creek. Though the program was originally set to run from May 1 to Nov. 1, 2017, Council approved an additional six-month pilot period, which ends this month. During the topic’s discussion, Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo thanked all who had participated and assisted in the success of the pilot program, but she also voiced the need for continued conversation. “There are still ongoing questions about how sound is measured, and getting that information can help us come up with more accurate readings,” said Tovo. “I hope that will continue to be a point of discussion at stakeholder meetings.” Council Member Ora Houston, however, voiced concern about the rising crime rate within the cultural district since the program’s onset. Austin Police Department Assistant Chief Justin Newsom reassured that there was no correlation between the two, as business owners have long complained to APD about the crime they face. “Because of that,” he said, “we decided to be more proactive and present in that area. When you have (more officers), there will be a natural increase in the number of written reports.” Despite these affirmations, Newsom said APD plans to continue looking into the numbers. The approved ordinance extends the area’s curfew one hour, with venues on Thursdays staying open until midnight, and Fridays and Saturdays until 1 a.m.

Since the end of March, the city has been surveying the community on the future of public transportation in Austin. The short Strategic Mobility Plan survey, which gathers feedback on three possible transit scenarios, is an important tool for the Austin Transportation Department to use to create a comprehensive transportation plan for the city. The survey has received over 1,200 responses so far, and the city is hoping to receive many more before the May 31 closing date. In conjunction with the online survey, the department is hosting several events for members of the public to ask questions and provide in-person feedback and ideas. The event schedule and more information about the survey are available on the mobility plan website here. You can proceed directly to the survey here.

This summer, if you’re in need of something to do, look no further than the Manchaca branch of the Austin Public Library system. With both children and adult programming in store, expect events like Harry Potter’s 21st birthday party, a literary-themed escape room challenge where participants will be tasked with keeping Austin from running out of water, a collaboration with Alamo Drafthouse for a Master Pancake Theater, a Pride Prom that will be judged by Council Member Jimmy Flannigan, and the annual Austin Symphony summer children’s programming. “After 2008 maybe it got a little sad around here,” Commissioner Wendy Todd told the library staff at the April 23 meeting of the Library Commission. “This (programming) looks like we’re back to not-lean years.” She suggested using this new programming as an opportunity to gather statistics on attendees and whether or not these events result in more library cards being issued and more books being checked out. “I’m thinking it could really parlay some fundraising efforts for the libraries,” she said.

The city is on the hunt for an advertising agency to develop a strategic plan for promoting and increasing cultural tourism throughout the city. In a request for proposal released on Monday, the city disclosed that it seeks an agency to create “a distinct brand and graphic identity for Austin’s collective cultural amenities, and a multi-pronged regional, national and international advertising campaign, across media platforms that positions Austin as leader in the field of cultural tourism.” The plan is expected to be completed over a 12-month period for $150,000, with a $200,000 advertising budget. The plan is being solicited by the Economic Development Department, though it is not known if it is being funded using money from the city’s portion of the Hotel Occupancy Tax, which is levied in large part to help grow the local tourism industry. According to the 2012 update to the study “The Economic Impact of the Creative Sector in Austin,” the city’s creative economy generated $4.4 billion in business activity locally, with tourism generating $1.4 billion of that total.

The organizers of the festival formerly known as Euphoria have had their highs and lows at Travis County Commissioners Court in recent years, but since the revision of the county’s mass gathering permitting process, everything seemed like smooth sailing. On Tuesday, that changed. Now known as Finding Euphoria, the music and camping event at Carson Creek Ranch this year is a scaled-down version of its former self. Instead of three days, Finding Euphoria will only feature music for two, and the maximum crowds expected on a given day won’t top 5,000. Despite that downsizing, Travis County Fire Marshal Tony Callaway told the Commissioners Court that the organizers had not yet fully submitted all the of the necessary paperwork required for their permit. Furthermore, Callaway said the security plan the promoters submitted does not appear to be “adequate.” With less than three weeks to go before the event, County Judge Sarah Eckhardt asked Callaway if Euphoria’s organizers had enough time to get their ducks in a row. “Anything’s possible,” Callaway replied. “Depending on the quality of what’s turned in.”

The Parks and Recreation Department’s two assistant director candidates will be introducing themselves to the public next week. Parks enthusiasts will also be given time to ask the candidates questions about their experience and aspirations for Austin’s recreational spaces. The meet-and-greet event is Thursday, May 3, 6-7:30 p.m., at Zilker Botanical Garden, 2200 Barton Springs Road.

Assistant City Attorney Lynn Carter reported to the City Council Audit and Finance Committee on Wednesday that the city had a total of 123 registered lobbyists, including business entities and individuals, as of Dec. 31, 2017. This is the highest number of registered lobbyists the city has recorded since Council started requiring the city attorney’s office to report on such registration, Carter said. (The Austin Monitor‘s predecessor, In Fact Daily, reported in 2013 that 58 lobbyists had registered with the city and that 60 lobbyists were registered in 2010.) Carter also told the committee that compliance had improved substantially since last year, with only four individual lobbyists failing to submit a quarterly activity report for the final quarter of 2017 by Jan. 10, 2018. All of those individuals did eventually file those reports, Carter said. Last year there was an argument going on between 19 lobbyists who are also attorneys about reporting the range of compensation they were receiving from their lobby clients. Another attorney, Fred Lewis, filed a complaint with the city’s Ethics Review Commission about that failure, but between the filing of the complaint in November 2017 and Feb. 7, 2018, each of the 19 respondents to the complaints had either filed corrected reports or otherwise resolved the allegations, according to Carter’s report. As a result, the complaints at the commission were dismissed.

City Council is scheduled to vote to honor Pat Crow, one of the most victorious campaign managers in Austin and Travis County history, at Thursday’s Council meeting. Crow passed away on May 1, 2017, after suffering two strokes. But before her illness, she was instrumental in winning 28 out of 32 political campaigns including the Save Our Springs Initiative in 1992, the creation of the Travis County Hospital District in 2004 and the smoking ban in 2005. Council will name the plaza at 10th and Congress next to the Old Bakery and Emporium building the “Pat Crow Memorial Plaza.” If all goes as planned, the Council vote will take place around 4:30 p.m. and a reception will follow at 5:30 p.m. In a note to friends and supporters, Barbara Rush, Crow’s sister, said, “It’s exactly what Pat would love, her very own plaza on Congress, next to the Old Bakery & Emporium – close to the Paramount and to the Capitol (so she can kick some behinds)!” In addition to helping elect numerous judges, Crow was instrumental in the election of Travis County’s first openly gay legislator as well as the first African-American woman to serve as a district judge in Travis County. The Old Bakery and Emporium Guild’s advisory board voted unanimously to support the naming on April 11. Those sponsoring the resolution to name the plaza after Crow include Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo and Council members Ann Kitchen, Leslie Pool, Ora Houston and Delia Garza.

Precourt Sports Ventures, the ownership group trying to relocate a Major League Soccer franchise to Austin, has selected a pair of community relations consultants to lead the feedback and engagement process with Austin residents as the group moves forward with an attempt to build a permanent soccer stadium here. Kelan Robinson, an Austin native with a professional career in law and politics, and Gissela SantaCruz, a longtime journalist and former member of the Austin American-Statesman‘s editorial board, will coordinate the company’s end of public engagement efforts. The city of Austin is expected to take the lead role in planning and directing the engagement process, with events expected to be announced in the coming weeks. Currently city staff are working on a study of the benefits, logistics and drawbacks of building the proposed 20,000-seat stadium at McKalla Place, a piece of city-owned property located near the Domain.

The Austin Independent School District is ready for the second round of Budget Community Conversations. These meetings provide the public with a window into the preliminary Fiscal Year 2018-19 budget development process, proposals and plans for future stabilization, as well as an opportunity to comment. The first of the four meetings is tonight from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Leadership Austin Office at 1609 Shoal Creek Blvd. It will be hosted by the Austin Young Chamber and will include a broader introduction to the history of the budget and its deficit than the other meetings. The schedule for the next three conversations is as follows:

• 6-7 p.m. Thursday, April 26, Reagan Early College High School cafeteria
• 6-7 p.m. Wednesday, May 2, Ann Richards SYWL Library
• Noon-1 p.m. Friday, May 4, Baker Center cafeteria

Interested persons can read about feedback collected from the first series of talks here.