Next week, the Texas Water Conference brings professionals from every sector of the industry – public and private utilities, engineering firms, service providers and equipment manufacturers – to the Austin Convention Center for an exchange of ideas. Starting on Monday, April 10, and running through Friday, the conference boasts a schedule with more than 160 technical sessions and presenters. State Rep. Lyle Larson, a member of the House Natural Resources Committee, will give the keynote address. A member of Virginia Tech’s Flint Water Study System, Rebekah Martin, is scheduled to deliver a talk on “Revisiting Science and Engineering for the Public Good.” Scope out the full schedule at txwater.org.

According to a post from Mayor Steve Adler on the City Council Message Board, the leaked draft report from the Mayor’s Task Force on Institutional Racism and Systemic Inequities will officially be out today. Co-chairs Colette Pierce Burnette and Paul Cruz will present the report at Tuesday’s Council work session. The briefing is scheduled for 1 p.m.

The city’s Transportation Department just announced the 15 winners of its competition to spice up the warning signs on our roadways. In all five categories combined, the #OnTheRoadATX contest drew more than 300 entries this year. Highlights include “Austin Is Striving … For No Drinking and Driving,” “Road Construction Ahead … Please Drive Willie Slow” and “Do You Use Your Blinker? … It Would Be a Lot Cooler if You Did.” That last one we’ve all wanted to yell at someone on the road anyway. Thanks to contestant Logan Breen, that message will now be delivered in blinking orange light.

The Austin Police Department announced last week the April dates for its Coffee with a Cop initiative, where residents can get to know the officers who patrol their neighborhoods – over a cup of coffee. There are five meet-and-greets scheduled for throughout the month, each in a different area of town. Those with questions or concerns to express – or just a thirst for caffeine – can find the full schedule here. The first, featuring Central West and North Central District representatives, is scheduled for the Capital Plaza McDonald’s, 5451 N. I-35, from 7-9 a.m. You never know, it might make that next routine traffic stop marginally less awkward.

The biosciences giant Merck Sharp & Dohme Corporation’s request for an economic incentive package from the city of Austin worth up to $856,000 will get its first public discussion at Thursday’s City Council meeting. The package is tied to the company’s recently announced plan to open an information technology hub near the new Dell Medical School’s “innovation zone” area located around 15th and Trinity streets. Documents for the project show that the company estimates it will cost $28 million to construct and create 600 jobs by 2023 with a median income of $79,000. Thursday’s meeting will include a staff briefing on the project, with a public hearing to take place the following Thursday, with written feedback taken through April 12. The incentives are structured as a $200 payment by the city for every full-time job created and retained each year from 2017 through 2026. The Merck project would be one of the biggest wins thus far for those who expect the medical school to serve as an economic engine for the city. While not specifically endorsing the incentive package, medical school dean Clay Johnston said in a prepared statement that having a big name like Merck operating in Austin will have many benefits to the growing health care community here: “While a number of details need to be worked out, a collaborative relationship with this company could create unique opportunities to fulfill our mission in different and far-reaching ways. We have discussed projects and initiatives to improve health, reduce inequities, improve patient outcomes and lower community health costs — potentially ranging from an effort to eradicate human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer in Austin, to pilot projects around better uses of health data, to community-based programs that increase the pipeline from schools into the health professions. These kinds of initiatives would be difficult to achieve without a relationship with this specific kind of collaborator.”

As per annual Austin Monitor tradition (dictated to staff by our baseball-addicted publisher), we’ll observe the opening day of the professional baseball season by taking the day off. We’ll be back tomorrow with a full slate of content. Kanin says: Go Sawx!

The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority is thinking about making some changes this summer. Is that OK? Specifically, the transit authority is contemplating increasing the frequency of MetroRapid service and adding late-night service on weekends. Capital Metro is also considering its practice of adjusting routes for when the University of Texas is in session. The agency is soliciting feedback through online webinars at noon and 6 p.m. on April 3 and noon on April 11 (details here), public hearings at Manor City Hall on April 5 from 5 – 6 p.m. and Capital Metro Headquarters on April 12 from noon to 12:30 p.m. And, in an attempt to get information from more riders, next week Capital Metro representatives will “make appearances” at various MetroRapid stations to explain the proposed changes. In addition, Austinites can provide feedback by emailing Feedback@capmetro.org or tweeting @CapMetroATX. Details about all the changes are available online here.

Travis County counts among the healthiest counties in Texas. According to this year’s County Health Rankings report from the University of Wisconsin, Travis County ranks fifth out of 243 reporting Texas counties. The list is created using a range of metrics, including access to healthy food, smoking rates, obesity and teen births. “Our goal is to take data and move to action by addressing existing disparities,” Shannon Jones, director of Austin Public Health, said. “There is still an HIV epidemic, and it remains a major health issue in Travis County. Many of our residents die by suicide. Unhealthy diets contribute to higher rates of cardiovascular disease and obesity, and many diseases disproportionately strike people of lower social economic status.”

Beginning on Friday, March 31, Montopolis-area residents will once a week have access to a mobile farm stand, the first in the neighborhood’s history, outside the Central Health Southeast Health & Wellness Center. On Fridays from noon-2 p.m., the Farmshare Austin Fresh for Less Mobile Market will set up shop with produce that is both affordable and fresh. “The mobile farm stand is a healthy option in an area saturated with fast-food restaurants and convenience stores,” the city noted in a press release on Wednesday. “CommUnityCare operates the health clinic inside Southeast Health & Wellness Center and estimates 65 percent of patients in the area are overweight. Access to healthy food options and free, convenient exercise classes are part of the solution to the obesity challenge.” Shoppers can use Lone Star SNAP, credit and debit cards. Find out more, including the program that matches up to $30 in SNAP benefits, at farmshareaustin.org.

There were a lot of distractions during last Thursday’s fairly endless discussion by City Council on the Austin Oaks planned unit development. So it’s understandable if the post-midnight debate over the value of office space got a bit lost. Luckily (?) Council Member Alison Alter has taken the time to break down the crux of that late-night debate in a new post on the City Council Message Board. In that post, she explains that 25,000 square feet looks to be worth between $1 million and $2 million, depending on the source. Though there was not yet a response to Alter’s post at the time of publication, we look forward to the math to come!

The city’s Animal Services Office wants to know what the public thinks of how it’s doing its job. Those interested in giving that feedback can attend a public meeting on Monday, April 3, at Pillow Elementary. The session starts at 6:30 p.m. and is an opportunity for the public to shape the future of the office. Learn more about Animal Services on the city’s website, and email any questions about the meeting to Animal Services Office Executive Assistant Belinda Hare at belinda.hare@austintexas.gov.

The city’s Cultural Arts Division has announced the return of the Art After Six lecture series to tackle important issues in the arts community as a community. The series consists of seven free panel discussions stretching from a March 31 talk on the role of art in politics to a Sept. 29 conversation on mixed media. Other talks take on symbolism, digital vs. analog photography and how nature informs art. All of the sessions will be held at City Hall starting at 6 p.m. Find the full schedule here. The 2012 version of this program prominently featured work from People’s Gallery artists, so this time around the city has arranged “off-hours” viewing at the end of each panel.