Austin-area first responders, including APD executive staff, will step behind the counter with Ronald McDonald and members of the 100 Club of Central Texas and the Hill Country 100 Club at 11 a.m. today for the 8th Annual Good Friday Fundraiser. The event will help support the 100 Clubs and provide awareness about the services provided by first responders. Central Texas McDonald’s Restaurants will donate part of the day’s sales to support first responders with funds for scholarships and training as well as for aiding their families when tragedy strikes. The public is encouraged to visit all 71 Greater Austin Area McDonald’s locations between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. to support the company’s in-store initiative. First responders will be at these locations during the fundraising hours to thank customers for showing their support for the cause. More information about the 100 Clubs can be found here and here.

Come Monday, as part of the City Manager’s Traffic Congestion Action Plan, Austin Police officers along with the City of Austin Transportation Department will begin enforcing the Don’t Block the Box campaign. The goal is to reduce traffic congestion on Austin’s major arterial roadways and in the Downtown Central Business District. Implementation of the campaign will include officers being present in the City’s Traffic Management Center as well as at key intersections to keep traffic flowing during the morning and evening peak travel times. Those intersections will include Cesar Chavez Street at Guadalupe Street, Colorado Street and Congress Avenue. Officers at the intersections will be looking for interruptions in the flow of traffic. They will be ticketing drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists for red-light violations, blocking intersections, failure to stop at a proper place, failure to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, driving in bus lanes and other disruptions to traffic flow. Police say “blocking the box” means that a vehicle has entered an intersection without enough room on the other side to clear it. To learn more about the campaign, go here.

Since the Austin Monitor ran a story outlining the need for more citizens to volunteer to serve on the city’s boards and commissions, there has been a big uptick in applications, according to the City Clerk’s office. On today’s Council agenda, Council Member Leslie Pool has nominated four citizens to serve, including Garry Brown to the Human Rights Commission; Brian Thompson to the Ethics Review Commission and also to the Downtown Austin Community Court Advisory Committee; William Teddy McDaniel to the Airport Advisory Commission; and Rhonda Paver, a current member, to the Early Childhood Council. Council Member Ann Kitchen has made eight nominations, including Melissa Hawthorne, a current member, to the Board of Adjustment; current member Christianne Castleberry to the Water and Wastewater Commission; Mary Ann Neely, a current member of the Environmental Board, to the Environmental Commission; Karen Hadden, a current member, to the Electric Utility Commission; Cathy Gattuso, a current member, to the Zero Waste Advisory Commission; David King to the Parkland Events Task Force; Vincent Cobalis, a current member, to the Asian-American Quality of Life Advisory Commission; and Dr. Aletha Huston, a current member, to the Early Childhood Council. Council Member Don Zimmerman has nominated Sharon Blythe to the Parks Board and to the Parkland Events Task Force; Michael Wilson to the Planning Commission; and Rebecca Forest to the Commission on Immigrant Affairs. Council Member Delia Garza has nominated Nhat Ho to the Water and Wastewater Commission. Mayor Steve Adler has nominated six people to serve in temporary positions until the new commission system starts on July 1. These include James Shieh, currently the chair of the Design Commission, to the Planning Commission; Sharon Mays and Dustin Fedako to the Sustainable Food Policy Board, Jill Ramirez to the Hispanic/Latino Quality of Life Resource Advisory Commission, and Nick Van Zandt to the Commission on Veterans Affairs.

Mayor Steve Adler has taken a stand on Facebook and urged Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and the state of Indiana to ensure protection against discrimination for members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community. Adler wrote: “As Mayor, it is my responsibility to protect Austin residents, regardless of race, gender, income, disability, age, language, status, and sexual orientation. … Austin residents and those who may come to Austin should know that discrimination will not be tolerated here. We recognize, respect, and celebrate our differences, seek value in these differences, and host inclusive conversations to actively seek justice for all residents. I will continue to lead and work with those who are willing to fight for the rights of all people, including LGBT people, to live in a community without fear and hate.” Adler linked to an article about the backlash Indiana has been facing since passing a “religious freedom law” that could allow discrimination against the LGBT community.

In what may amount to a bold leap forward, the city’s Planning and Development Review Department announced Wednesday that city building inspectors will now be carrying cellphones. According to a news release touting the change, “Previously, communication was limited to pagers and office phones. Pagers precluded two-way communication, and office phones required the inspector to travel back to the office at the end of each day to retrieve messages and return phone calls.” It continues: “With cellphones, customers can call or text their designated inspector during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. If the inspector is driving or performing an inspection and cannot answer a call, customers can send a text message that includes their name, phone number, permit number, and address in advance of a return phone call.” A list of inspectors, their email addresses and their new cellphone numbers is available online, for your convenience, on the city’s website.

The Texas Conservation Corps has begun installation of new mile-marker and way-finding signs along the main trail of the Barton Creek Greenbelt. The Hill Country Conservancy has donated sign design, manufacturing and installation coordination as part of the first phase of the Violet Crown Trail Master Plan. The Austin Parks Foundation has provided funding for the project, which is expected to last about five weeks. The Violet Crown Trail system includes about 5 miles of the Barton Creek Greenbelt Trail.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the American Planning Association have recognized the City of Austin with the 2015 HUD Secretary’s Opportunity and Empowerment Award for its Mueller Redevelopment and Reuse Plan. The plan called for the conversion of the former Mueller Municipal Airport into a mixed-use, mixed-income community to help revitalize East Austin. The HUD Secretary’s Award recognizes a plan, program or project that has been in effect for at least three years and improves the quality of life for low- and moderate-income community residents. The Mueller Redevelopment Plan and additional APA award winners will be honored at the 2015 National Planning Awards luncheon April 20 in Seattle. The plan will also be featured in the April 2015 issue of Planning magazine. Read more here.

Travis County ranked high on overall health compared to all participating counties in the state for the annual County Health Rankings. It was ranked ninth out of 237 Texas counties. The report was released recently by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Health officials say the survey underscores that people’s well-being is affected by where they live. The rankings allow each participating county to see how it compares to others on 30 factors, including smoking, high school graduation rates, income inequality, employment, physical activity, access to healthy foods and much more. The County Health Rankings relies on data and analysis that allow counties to see what makes residents sick or well, and how they compare to other counties in the same state. A full list of rankings is available here.

Just ahead of the usual influx of people for Austin’s March events, passenger traffic at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport jumped 8 percent in February. It marked the 61st out of the last 62 months that ABIA traffic has grown. Officials say total traffic in February was 738,355 passengers, while February boardings totaled 366,231, up 7.5 percent.  Most of the major airlines serving ABIA saw an increase in February passenger traffic, with the exceptions of American Airlines and JetBlue, both of which saw small drops in passengers.  February air cargo at ABIA was up 7 percent compared to February 2014; international air cargo was up 142.5 percent.

The Austin Monitor’s ongoing series “Beers, Brains and Betterment” is getting a new chapter this month. On April 28, a Tuesday, we will be hosting a discussion on Austin’s new medical school and the Innovation District. Come join UT Dell Medical School Dean Clay Johnston, Austin Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo and Civic Analytics’ Brian Kelsey for a discussion about the school and its impact on the City of Austin. The conversation will be moderated by Monitor publisher Mike Kanin and, though admission is free, you can RSVP for the event here.

Capital Metro officials have reported that the agency had record-breaking ridership on its buses and trains from March 13-22, corresponding with the main stretch of South by Southwest 2015. The agency provided extended services to help relieve some of the congestion caused by the event, which equated to 1,700 additional hours of service. Several MetroRapid bus routes extended services March 21 until 2:30 a.m. The regular weekend service ends at 12:30 a.m. MetroRail also extended its services throughout the week. Midday trains ran every 30 minutes. Routes to ABIA and late-night buses also ran every 15 minutes during the festival. Ridership on MetroRapid and MetroRail topped last year’s event by 15 percent and peaked on March 20, which saw over 9,000 rides. Ridership on March 21 reached 8,500 boardings. CapMetro’s average weekday ridership in February was 2,653. The SXSW extra services cost approximately $350,000, said John Julitz, communications specialist with CapMetro.

The Hays County Commissioners Court has voted to charge admission to the Jacob’s Well Natural Area and to limit access to preserve the well and its surrounding native habitat. Beginning May 1, those wishing to swim must reserve a two-hour time block on the county’s website. Every two hours, a new group will replace the previous one, with a maximum of 300 total swimmers per day. In addition, there will be an entrance fee of $9 for adults — $5 for Hays County residents with a photo ID showing residency — and $5 for children ages 5-12. Military service members and veterans as well as seniors ages 60 and up will pay $5. There will be no charge for children 4 and under. For more park information, visit www.co.hays.tx.us.