In an effort to spur recycling education and action, Austin Resource Recovery kicked off the “Austin Recycles Games” yesterday. According to a press release from the department, “The goal of the competition is to increase residential recycling rates and help residents overcome barriers to recycling.” It also pits the 10 City Council districts against one another. ARR will provide monthly updates about how much each district is recycling from December of this year until March 2016. At the end of the competition, there will be two winners: the district that recycles the most overall and the district that most improves. Each winning district will receive a “beautification project” for one of its parks or libraries. The victors will be announced at the city’s Earth Day event on April 23, but in the meantime, competitive recyclers can keep score by visiting austinrecycles.com for updates and more details about the contest.

Travis County residents and business owners whose properties sustained damage during the heavy storms last month (Oct. 22-31) are eligible for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. According to an announcement from the city, “Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, and for other serious disaster-related needs, such as medical and dental expenses or funeral costs. Low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) also may be available to cover losses not fully compensated by insurance or other recoveries and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations.” The announcement encourages eligible residents to register with FEMA even if they have registered with other disaster-relief organizations or are already insured – although FEMA can’t duplicate insurance payments, it can provide relief for those who are underinsured. Registration is available online or by phone, seven days a week, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., at 800-621-3362 or (TTY) 800-462-7585. Both the city of Austin and Travis County continue to compile updated information online as it becomes available.

The Austin Police Department is hosting a public meeting tonight to provide information on its body camera program. The program is in its early stages, according to an announcement from the city, and APD is currently preparing to buy the cameras that police officers will eventually be wearing. The discussion is intended to update the public on the program, and according to the announcement, it will provide information on new legislation as well as on APD’s policy. It will also include a question and answer session. People who can’t attend or who would like to submit a question early may do so by texting “camera” to 512-842-4750 or by sending a tweet to @Austin_Police using the #APDbodycam hashtag. Answers to questions will be available online here. The meeting takes place tonight at the Palmer Events Center, 900 Barton Springs Road, second floor, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. For more details on APD’s body camera program, see today’s story by Tyler Whitson.

There’s no need to get too excited about another City Council meeting this week. Though Council is convening this Thursday, it will consider only the Texas Central Appraisal District suit and the Austin Energy consumer advocate contract.

At a special called meeting this Thursday, City Council will consider a resolution that would apparently direct the city’s attorneys to file a motion for new trial in the city’s lawsuit against the Travis Central Appraisal District over the alleged inaccuracy of appraisals on commercial property. Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo, who will be in charge of the meeting in the absence of Mayor Steve Adler, is the chief sponsor of the resolution. (Adler and Council Member Leslie Pool will be in Paris for the United Nations Climate Change Conference.) Adler and Council members Don Zimmerman and Ann Kitchen are co-sponsors, so the resolution should pass handily. District Judge Tim Sulak dismissed the city’s initial lawsuit on Nov. 6, disposing of all issues, and indicated that he expected an appeal. It seems highly unlikely that he would grant a motion for new trial given the time he spent detailing the reasons for his ruling. However, Jason Stanford, spokesman for Adler, said the mayor believes the right thing for the city to do is to file a motion for new trial. In their draft resolution, Council members state, “the Austin City Council’s goal through this action is to enable appraisal districts to perform their jobs better … (and the Council) believes it is in the unfortunate position of having to use litigation, a tool of last resort, due to years of legislative inaction and a growing public perception of a lack of fairness in the appraisal system.” They also assert that they have support from “all corners of the state, including elected officials in counties both blue and red, chief appraisers in counties both big and small, and newspaper editorial boards in other big cities.” Attorney Bill Aleshire, one of several lawyers representing commercial property owners, told the Austin Monitor in an email that the motion for rehearing “will stall the appeal, which had a 30-day deadline, to 90 days after the November 6 final judgment (February 4th).” Aleshire asked, “Why continue trying to legislate changes to the property tax system in court, when the city was told in clear terms by Judge Sulak that they don’t have standing to challenge the constitutionality of laws the appraisal district, not the city is in charge of implementing? The case law on the city’s lack of standing to challenge the tax appraisal statutes is crystal clear.” He concluded, “Why are they stalling the inevitable appeal?”

As promised, the Austin Monitor will be taking Thursday and Friday off to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. Joining us will be the Austin Independent School District (closed Wednesday through Friday) and several city facilities. All city of Austin administrative offices – including City Hall and the Business Solutions Center at One Texas Center – will be closed Thursday and Friday, as will city museums, nature center facilities, and recreation and cultural centers. The Austin Animal Center closes at 5 p.m. today and reopens at 11 a.m. Friday. Austin Public Library facilities close today as well, at 3 p.m., and won’t reopen until Saturday. The library-run Recycled Reads bookstore is closed only on Thanksgiving. Pickup of trash, recycling and yard trimmings will change only for those residents whose collection days fall on Thursday (pickup slides to Friday) and Friday (pickup slides to Saturday). The Recycle & Reuse Drop-Off Center will be closed on Thanksgiving but open and ready for business on Friday and Saturday. Some things will remain open on Thursday, including city golf courses (the city advises calling ahead for hours of operation) and Barton Springs Pool (no lifeguards will be on duty). For folks traveling around on Thanksgiving Day, beware of street closures downtown on Thursday morning during the Turkey Trot parade. More details about street closures and other facility closures is available here.

This week, City Manager Marc Ott announced that he had made three executive appointments. In a memo addressed to the mayor and City Council, Ott announced that he had appointed Anne Morgan as city attorney, Rodney Gonzales as director of the Development Services Department and Joe Pantalion as the director of the Watershed Protection Department. All three had been serving in those positions prior to their appointment. Morgan has served as the interim city attorney since January of this year, and has been with the city since 2004. Gonzales has been with the city since 2006, and has been serving as the interim director of the Development Services Department since its creation in March. And Pantalion has been working as the acting director of the city’s Watershed Protection Department since September. He previously served as the deputy director of the department and as the director of the Watershed Protection and Development Review Department for a three-year stint.

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As expected, December could usher in a big change in the heretofore quiet race for Travis County sheriff. Precinct 3 Constable Sally Hernandez has revealed that she will make a “big announcement” on Dec. 3 at El Mercado in downtown Austin. Hernandez has been expected to join the sheriff’s race for several months. She has remained silent for so long due to a state law that requires certain officeholders with at least a year and 30 days left in their terms to resign their current position if they choose to seek another one. In the meantime, a draft campaign has been dutifully raising Hernandez’s profile, and the noncandidate has appeared at several forums with declared candidates Todd Radford, John Sisson and Don Rios. Another potential contender, Sheriff Greg Hamilton, also appeared at those forums. According to the Facebook page announcing Hernandez’s event, the constable has also spent the past few months meeting with organizations and leaders in local law enforcement. “I have listened to people both inside and outside the criminal justice system, and I believe that together we can build partnerships to prevent crime and make our community safer,” Hernandez wrote. “We must address concerns like mental health reform, immigrant communities, assault family violence assistance, and truancy prevention partnerships.”

Travis County will definitely return one of its three appointees to the board of the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority while giving another one the chance to apply for another term. At a truncated regular voting session on Tuesday, the Commissioners Court voted 4-1 to reappoint David Armbrust and open up the application process for Charles Heimsath’s seat. Commissioner Ron Davis, who initially motioned simply to reappoint both men, was the lone opposition vote against Commissioner Brigid Shea’s substitute motion. “Given that (CTRMA) has such a huge impact on the affordability of transportation in the region, I think we owe it to the citizens to conduct a process to inquire about additional qualified candidates,” Shea said before the vote. Commissioner Gerald Daugherty noted that it was typical county policy to open up the application process after an appointee has been in office for six years. “That is the policy, and, I mean, I like Charles, but Charles can put his name back in there and interview,” Daugherty said. Nikelle Meade, the county’s third appointee to the board, is secure in her seat until February 2017.

Mayor Steve Adler, City Council Member Leslie Pool and Travis County Commissioner Brigid Shea are getting ready to attend the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Paris. The mayor said he will be in Paris Dec. 3-7. Pool noted that she is going to the conference Dec. 1-8 in her role as chair of the Council Open Space, Environment and Sustainability Committee. Adler said he was asked by the U.S. Conference of Mayors to go to the conference, also known as COP21. This is the 21st U.N. conference on climate change, and Austin officials will be attending as part of what is known as C40. According to information about the organization found online, “Acting both locally and collaboratively, C40 cities are having a meaningful global impact in reducing both greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks. C40 brings together a unique set of assets and creates a shared sense of purpose.” Shea, who has a long environmental record, said she is attending as a member of the board of ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability. This conference, Adler said, is anticipated to produce a big breakthrough on the international treaty on climate change. He noted that he is paying his own way to the conference. His wife, Diane Land, plans to accompany him on the trip. Adler said, “Part of what I want to do there is to network with other mayors … to share what we are doing and to try to open doors for our growing clean energy industry and companies in Austin.” Shea said, “I think this is probably a pivotal time in the history of the planet. Scientists are increasingly warning that we are reaching a point of no return. … I think cities and regions are in a profound position to do real good and move more quickly than nations. I think it’s a really important time to be there.” Austin has gained an international reputation as one of the most forward-thinking cities in the United States in terms of response to climate change. In 2013, the city commissioned a study that indicated that Austin’s summertime average high temperature would increase up to 6 degrees hotter than today’s average of 97 degrees. Council has also adopted Green Building and energy efficiency programs as well as an aggressive plan to lower Austin Energy’s use of fossil fuels and increase use of renewable resources, including solar and wind power. Additionally, the city has adopted aggressive goals for limiting waste going into landfills and has encouraged citizens to use landscaping that uses less water than traditional lawns and gardens.

An odd request for an East Austin demolition did not move forward at the most recent meeting of the Planning Commission. Instead, commissioners approved an alternate proposal for the home at 1611 Walnut Ave. Developer MX3 Homes had previously claimed that demolition was necessary after building a second home on the lot. However, after facing skeptical commissioners in October, the developers apparently revised their plans. The commission instead approved a request to relocate the house within the lot, reorienting it to face 17th Street. According to the staff report, the developers will also rehabilitate the house and preserve its exterior.

After General Manager Larry Weis announced last week that he was leaving Austin Energy to become the chief executive officer of Seattle City Light, many utility observers thought that Cheryl Mele, AE’s chief operating officer and deputy general manager, was a very likely prospect to take over the top spot. However, on Monday, Mele announced that she will be joining ERCOT, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, as COO and senior vice president. Her new job entails electric grid operations as well as wholesale operations. She will be retiring from Austin Energy after 24 years of service on Dec. 31 and plans to start her new job on Jan. 18. In her current position, Mele has been named as the highest-paid woman at the city of Austin, with a salary of $218,899. She declined to say how much she would be paid at ERCOT, but she did allow that she would be getting a raise. According to the Austin American-Statesman, “In 2009, the highest paid ERCOT executive was then-CEO Bob Kahn, who earned $585,000.” Kahn was also a former Austin Energy executive. Mele told the Austin Monitor, “I’m going to miss the people at Austin Energy and providing service directly to the community.” She will no longer be worrying about Austin Energy’s line crews when there is bad weather, she said, but when there is bad weather across the state, such as the extreme cold snap that affected the entire state a couple of years ago, she will be worrying about the whole grid.