This week, the Lone Star Rail District begins the environmental review process for the Lone Star Regional Rail Project, with six open house meetings in the region. The Austin open house will take place from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Carver Museum and Library, 1165 Angelina St. Meetings will also be held in Georgetown, San Marcos, Elgin, San Antonio and Seguin. More information about those meetings, the rail project and the environmental review can be found at this website. Input can also be submitted online, using the form at this link before Feb. 27.

The Ethics Review Commission plans a public meeting next week to solicit comments about city regulations limiting contributions and expenditures in mayoral and City Council campaigns. The campaign finance limits apply to candidates who sign a campaign contract with the city. Candidates who sign the contract agree to participate in forums arranged by the Ethics Review Commission and also become eligible for possible disbursements from the Austin Fair Campaign Finance Fund. The public input session will take place at 7 p.m. on Jan. 27 at City Hall. The ERC will also consider input through the city’s online discussion forum, Speak Up Austin.

Whether you are taking part in the official celebration or celebrating the life and works of Dr. King your own way, we at the Austin Monitor wish you a happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We will return to our full content on Tuesday.

On Thursday, City Council will hold a public hearing to consider proposed changes to the way Council does business and engages with the public. That meeting will take place at City Hall at 5:30 p.m. Simultaneously, Council will hold a “virtual town hall” meeting, where citizens watching via Channel 6 or an online stream are invited to tweet the city using the hashtag #myatxgov or call 1-888-400-1932 (en Español: 1-888-400-9342) during the meeting. Austinites will also be able to continue the conversation about the changes already taking place on the city’s website or by calling 3-1-1.

If you are planning to be in downtown Austin Tuesday afternoon, be prepared for some traffic snarl — or just settle in and enjoy the Texas Inauguration Celebration. It’s all part of the festivities following the swearing-in of Gov. Greg Abbott on the south steps of the State Capitol at noon. Following the inauguration, you can grab some barbecue (several tons of it!) on the Capitol lawn for just $10, followed by the Inaugural Parade down Congress Avenue at 2 p.m. The parade will include several floats, the Texas Aggie Marching Band and lots of politicians. Check here for planned street closures. If you’re not in the mood to go home early, you can attend the Inaugural Ball at 8 p.m. at the Austin Convention Center. Tickets are $75, and the entertainment is headlined by Lady Antebellum.

The City of Austin will close its administrative offices and most other municipal facilities Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The closures include City Council offices, City Hall and all Austin Public Library locations. Recreation centers, senior centers, museums and cultural arts centers will also be closed. Barton Springs Pool, Deep Eddy Pool, Bartholomew Pool and Big Stacy Pool will be open. Trash, recycling and yard trimmings collection for Austin Resource Recovery customers will remain the same. The Annual MLK Community Celebration and March will take place Monday at 9 a.m. For information about the event, transportation options and a map of the march route, visit the city website.

Austin has adopted regulations requiring all businesses to install gender-neutral signs for single-user public restrooms, including restrooms accessible only to employees. Officials say the adoption of these new regulations are the result of a national campaign by the National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer/Questioning organization to bring attention to gendered restroom facilities, “which can present uncomfortable and dangerous situations for the gender nonconforming community.” City officials say a single-user restroom is one whose primary entry door is lockable and that is available for use by an individual with or without assistance. Enforcement of the ordinance will be on a complaint basis. Persons wishing to report noncompliance by a business may call 3-1-1 to file a formal complaint. Violators could be subject to a Class C misdemeanor.

City Hall’s old and new City Council offices are almost full, with only one staff position remaining a mystery. That opening is on Council Member Ellen Troxclair’s staff, though she has hired Viveca Martinez as a policy aide and Annette Cantu as her temporary executive assistant. Martinez was formerly an adviser to Gov. Rick Perry. Mayor Steve Adler also went public with his hires this week. He has hired campaign manager Jim Wick as his director of community engagement and Community Action Network executive director Vanessa Sarria. Nancy Cardenas, who is a former staffer for Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole, will serve as Adler’s Constituent Services aide.

Travis County officials will likely have to wait until the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District board convenes tonight to hear if it will consider a county request for a delay in State Highway 45 Southwest talks. The aquifer board is scheduled to consider an agreement with TxDOT regarding environmental standards for the construction of the proposed 3.5-mile toll road. Some Travis County Commissioners, concerned that parts of the proposed agreement do not fully protect the aquifer’s recharge zone or critical karst features in the right of way, passed a resolution Tuesday asking the district board to delay the agreement for three weeks so county officials can better evaluate its terms. The agreement is based on a 1990 Consent Decree issued to protect the aquifer if a roadway is to be built, but county officials and several environmental organizations expressed concerns over some parts of the proposed agreement. Aquifer district general manager John Dupnik said Wednesday that board members were generally aware of the county’s request, but they did not plan to consider it until they convene at tonight’s board meeting set for 6 p.m. at BSEACD headquarters in Manchaca.

Rebecca Stark, clerk of Austin’s Municipal Court, has announced that she plans to retire from the City of Austin on March 31. Stark has served as clerk for the past 15 years. Court officials say that under her leadership, Austin became the only city in Texas to maintain an online case management system for its municipal court. Stark gave credit to her staff when reflecting on her time at the court. “I am proud of our accomplishments, including running an efficient court and launching an innovative case management system,” she said. “All of this was possible due to the hard work of the great team that is Municipal Court.” Municipal Court handles mainly Class C misdemeanor cases, which include traffic, city ordinance, state code, juvenile, and disabled parking violations.

Though repeated rallying cries from former City Council Members Bill Spelman and Laura Morrison to use the City of Austin Council Message Board were more of a running joke than anything else, the new Council has already proved more receptive to the idea. On Wednesday, Council Members Leslie Pool and Ann Kitchen both posted messages about community engagement. Pool posted a message about the creation of a “Public Engagement Task Force,” writing, “Council Members Gallo, Kitchen and Houston will join me to prepare the resolution and we will circulate the proposed documents and agenda item drafts early next week for review and comment, and request placement on the Jan. 29 agenda for appropriate discussion and action.” Kitchen laid out a six-point draft plan to increase community engagement.

District 4 City Council Member Greg Casar has completed naming his office staff. Casar has hired Shelby Alexander, formerly on the staff of Council Member Mike Martinez; Neesha Davé, a former chief of staff for state Rep. Armando Walle (D-Houston); and John Lawler, his former campaign manager. Casar won the District 4 seat in a runoff with Laura Pressley, who sought a recount that did not change the outcome of the vote. Before running for office, Casar was the political director of the Workers Defense Project.