Though the Austin Monitor spent months breathlessly covering plans for South Lamar’s Taco PUD, according to the Austin Eater, it was all for naught, as plans for Taco Cabana have been dramatically scaled down. The site will now be home to a Pollo Tropical, a sister-chain to Taco Cabana that features Caribbean-inspired food. Oh well, at least no one can take away the memory of the rousing round of “care ye, OK?” that closed out the case at City Council.

Christmas is over, and the city is ready to recycle your Christmas trees into mulch or compost. Curbside customers can leave trees on the curb and Austin Resource Recovery will pick them up (along with any yard trimmings) by 6:30 a.m. on regular collection days. Any tree taller than 6 feet must be cut in half. Alternately, anyone in Austin can drop off trees at the Zilker Park Polo Fields between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Jan. 2, 3, 9 and 10. Austin Resource Recovery asks that all trees be undecorated, without tree stands and not in a tree bag. The group also reminds residents that only real Christmas trees may be recycled. Mulch from trees will be available on a first-come, first-served basis to Austin residents on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016.

The Capital Metro Transportation Authority will be offering expanded services on New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31) as well as free rides beginning at 6 p.m. on MetroBus (operating on its regular weekday schedule), MetroRapid (with final departures from downtown along Guadalupe and Lavaca streets leaving at 2:30 a.m.), MetroRail (with the last downtown train departing at 2:30 a.m.) and MetroAccess. In addition, five Night Owl routes will operate from midnight to 3 a.m., running to and from Sixth Street and Congress Avenue every half-hour. There will be no E-Bus or UT Shuttle service. On New Year’s Day (Jan. 1), MetroBus and MetroRapid will operate on a Sunday schedule, but MetroRail, UT Shuttles, Night Owl buses and E-Buses won’t be in service. More information about the holiday schedule can be found here. For MetroAccess riders, subscription trips will be canceled automatically on New Year’s Day; to maintain subscriptions, riders must call 512-852-7272 (available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Jan. 1).

The Parks and Recreation Department is hosting a public meeting regarding the master planning process for Lamar Beach, a 65.4-acre parcel of parkland at Town Lake Metro Park that is home to the Lance Armstrong Bikeway, the Austin Pets Alive! adoption center, the Roy and Ann Butler Hike and Bike Trail and the Texas Rowing Center, among other things. Local landscape architecture firm Design Workshop is leading the project, and this meeting will be the third in a series related to the ongoing effort. At this meeting, the project team will present “refined draft master plans for Lamar Beach, solicit feedback and generate alternate ideas, recommendations, and solutions on proposals that are controversial or that lack consensus,” according to an announcement from the city. The meeting will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 27, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the Austin High School cafeteria, 1715 W. Cesar Chavez St.

The Austin Public Library has announced its winter/spring lineup of event series tailored to children and teenagers. The Storytime series (schedule available here) is generally geared toward children 5 and under, but some programming is also available for all ages or specifically for babies. Spanish and dual-language story times are also available. Other series include Book Circle (with hands-on activities for children age 5 and up), Lego Lab, Gaming (geared toward teens), Making and Crafting (supplies provided) and Book Clubs. All events are free, and they take place at a variety of branch locations around town.

Yesterday, a coalition that includes TechNet, Austin Music People and ATX Safer Streets announced that it has formed a new political action committee named “Ridesharing Works for Austin.” In a press release, the PAC explained that it intends to collect 30,000 signatures in order to adopt the previous incarnation of transportation network company rules in a permanent city ordinance that would replace the more recent ordinance approved by City Council in December. The coalition estimates that it will take about 60 days to gather the signatures. Once 20,000 signatures have been validated, Council must either adopt the ordinance as law or call for a public vote on the ordinance during the next election. According to the coalition’s statement to the press, “Caroline Joiner of TechNet will serve as treasurer of the Ridesharing Works for Austin committee. She said other community groups will be asked to join the coalition over the coming weeks, and confirmed that rideshare companies Uber and Lyft will play a role in helping mount the petition drive. ‘We are looking to the broader Austin community, including rideshare companies, drivers, riders, and other local groups to help us reach our goal,’ said Joiner.”

The Austin Public Library has announced its January lineup of weekend performances and special events around town, beginning with a Tejano performance from Manuel Cowboy Donely on Sunday, Jan. 10 at 2 p.m. at Faulk Central Library, 800 Guadalupe St. The following weekend, on Sunday, Jan. 17, the Tufts University Wind Ensemble performs from noon to 1 p.m. at Recycled Reads Bookstore, 5335 Burnet Road; then at 2 p.m., Faulk Central hosts a screening and discussion of the five-episode television series Dare to Go Zero, which examines Austin’s recycling and composting efforts through the experiences of Austin families. Toward the end of the month, on Saturday, Jan. 23, local author Mark Pryor will discuss his book Hollow Man at 2 p.m. at the Hampton Branch Library at Oak Hill, 5125 Convict Hill Road. Learn more about Austin Public Library happenings here.

The Austin Monitor will be taking a short break from publishing during this week’s holidays. We will return Monday to take a look back at the past year. Happy holidays!

On Thursday, City Council appointed the newest member, psychologist Richard K. Yuen, to the Central Health Board of Managers. Central Health works with a network of organizations to increase health care access for low-income residents of Travis County. Council appoints four of the volunteer board’s nine members, and the Travis County Commissioners Court appoints another four as well. One member is appointed jointly by Council and the Commissioners Court. According to an announcement from the city Central Health, Yuen has over 15 years of experience providing mental health care. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Austin Community College and a member of the city’s Asian American Quality of Life Advisory Commission. He will serve a four-year term on the Central Health board, beginning in January.

Over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, some city of Austin administrative offices and municipal facilities will be closed on Thursday, Dec. 24 and Friday, Dec. 25 in observance of the Christmas holiday, with normal business hours resuming Monday, Dec. 28. The next week, they will be closed Thursday, Dec. 31 and Friday, Jan. 1, with business hours resuming on Monday. City libraries, museums, recreation centers and cultural arts centers will all be impacted by the holiday closures. According to a statement from the city, “Trash, recycling and yard trimmings collection for Austin Resource Recovery customers will ‘slide’ one day for residents whose collection day is Friday the weeks of Christmas and New Year’s Day. Collections scheduled for Friday, Dec. 25 will be collected Saturday, Dec. 26. Collections scheduled for Friday, Jan. 1 will be collected Saturday, Jan. 2. Austin Resource Recovery customers can visit austinrecycles.com and select My Schedule to get personalized calendars that show their collection days, including holiday slide days.”

Also, from the city’s press release, “The Recycle & Reuse Drop-Off Center (formerly the Household Hazardous Waste Facility and the Resource Recovery Center) will close at 3 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 24 and will resume normal business hours Saturday, Dec. 26. The Center will close at 3 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 31, and will resume normal business hours Saturday, Jan. 2. The Austin Public Library and Austin History Center will CLOSE at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 23. The Library, Recycled Reads and Austin History Center will be CLOSED on Thursday and Friday, Dec. 24 and 25. On Thursday, Dec. 31, Library and History Center will CLOSE at 3 p.m. Recycled Reads will CLOSE at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 31. The Austin Public Library, Recycled Reads and Austin History Center will be CLOSED on Friday, Jan. 1, 2016. All golf courses and Barton Springs Pool will be open on Christmas and New Year’s Day, but staff will not be present. Members of the public may play or swim for free at their own risk. The Business Solutions Center and the Entrepreneur Center of Austin will be closed Dec. 22, 2015, to Jan. 2, 2016. The Austin Animal Center will be closing early at 3 p.m. Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, and will be closed all day Christmas Day, Dec. 25. The Center will also be closing at 5 p.m. New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, and closed all day New Year’s Day, Jan. 1, 2016.”

The Capital Metro Transportation Authority will run a regular weekday schedule on Christmas Eve for MetroRail, MetroBus and MetroRapid service, but there will be no UT Shuttle or E-Bus service. On Christmas Day (Dec. 25), MetroBus and MetroRapid will run on a Sunday schedule. MetroRail, UT Shuttle, Night Owl and E-Bus services will not be available on Christmas. On Dec. 26, MetroBus, MetroRapid and MetroRail will all go back to their regular schedules. More information about Capital Metro schedules and services can be found at capmetro.org.