Urban Land Institute Austin has announced the winners of the competitive projects categories in the organization’s annual Impact Awards, which were held Aug. 29 at ZACH Theatre. Austin ISD’s Rosedale School won the “Most Influential Project” award from a field of 15 nominees that also included Austin Community College’s Rio Grande campus and the Dell Jewish Community Center. Austin Community College’s Rio Grande campus won the “Best Project Innovation” award, besting 13 other projects, including The Campsite at Shield Ranch and Austin Energy’s District Cooling Plant 3. The “Best Project Design” award went to Block 185, which is known more commonly as the sail-shaped 35-story building that serves as Google’s downtown base. Austin Energy’s Corporate Headquarters at Mueller and the Music Lane project off South Congress were among the 20 nominees. Texas Capitol Complex was recognized with the “Best Public Place” award, ahead of five other projects, including the Blanton Museum of Art and ACC’s Rio Grande campus. The “Next Big Idea” award went to Austin Housing Conservancy, with the East 11th Street Urban Renewal District Development Study and the Live + Make Campus among the other four nominees.

The renovation of Brush Square is nearly complete, and everyone is invited to celebrate it. On Sunday, Sept. 17 at 1:30 pm, the Parks and Recreation Department will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony, featuring a performance by Big Wy’s Brass Band. The celebration coincides with Austin Museum Day, so there will also be activities at the Susanna Dickinson Museum and word games at O. Henry Museum replete with Texas-themed prizes. The renovation to the square includes new walkways, an event lawn, raised decking, new lighting and landscaping. In addition, the O. Henry Museum has been restored. Both projects were funded by the Historic Preservation Fund, through Hotel Occupancy Tax dollars.

Rethink35 announced this week that it plans to file suit against the Texas Department of Transportation later this year or in early 2024. The group, which opposes the proposed expansion of Interstate 35 through downtown, dropped an earlier lawsuit against the project in June. “Despite overwhelming opposition from the public and elected leaders, TxDOT has refused to listen and instead is opting to push on with a massive, damaging, and wasteful highway expansion,” said Rethink35 Board President Adam Greenfield in a statement to the press. “TxDOT’s unwillingness to substantively respond to and address the thousands of concerns about the plan give us no choice but to file a lawsuit.” The group cites a study that they conducted with the Restart Lone Star Rail District that found more than 75 percent of public comments submitted to TxDOT’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement opposed expansion of the highway.

This might soften the blow of your civic duty. Pay for Travis County jurors will increase by a big margin starting Friday. Jurors will now receive $20 for the first day of service – up from $6 – and $40-$58 on subsequent days. (Except for city of Austin jury trials, a news release notes.) The increase is due to House Bill 3474, an omnibus bill passed in the 88th Texas Legislature. “Travis County officials are thrilled about this increase in jury pay,” said Velva L. Price, Travis County district clerk, in a statement. “We hope the pay increase will improve participation and racial and socioeconomic diversity of Travis County jury pools. Combined with online registration and free rides on the public transit system, Travis County is working to make jury service easier and limit the impact to personal and work lives of jurors.”

Austin Public Health on Wednesday announced the death of a Travis County resident who developed an amebic meningitis infection after swimming in Lake Lyndon B. Johnson earlier this month. Now, the public health authority is warning people about the current risks of swimming in natural bodies of water.

“Although these infections are very rare, this is an important reminder that there are microbes present in natural bodies of water that can pose risks of infection,” Dr. Desmar Walkes, Austin-Travis County health authority, said in a statement. “Increased temperatures over the summer make it ideal for harmful microorganisms to grow and flourish.”

Some things to know about amebic infections, per a news release from the city:

• “Primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) infections are rare, with only 39 known infected individuals in Texas between 1962 and 2022. PAM can cause severe illness up to nine days after exposure.”
• “Symptoms of an amebic meningitis infection – an infection of the brain – start with severe headache, fever, nausea and vomiting and progress to stiff neck, seizures and coma and can lead to death.”
• “Amebic meningitis does not occur if water is swallowed, but can be fatal if forced up the nose, as can occur when jumping into water, diving, water-skiing or other water activities. It is not found in salt water, or in properly maintained and chlorinated pools.”

According to Austin Public Health, residents should avoid aquatic activities in warm freshwater when the temperature outside is high and the water levels are low – so, right now. If you do go for a swim in a lake, limit the amount of water entering nasal passages and avoid digging in/stirring up sediment, per the news release.

Go here for more info.

Some literally groundbreaking news: Austin-Bergstrom International Airport just marked the start of construction on the West Gate Expansion project. It’s part of the airport’s Journey With AUS expansion effort “that will improve the Central Texas airport that continues to serve a record-breaking volume of passenger and airline activities,” according to a Wednesday news release.

The three new gates built during construction will offset the closure of existing gates during future construction at the airport, according to the news release. According to the airport, the West Gate Expansion project also will:

• Increase terminal space by an additional 84,500 square feet;
• Add new food and retail spaces, public art, seating areas, the largest restrooms in the terminal, relaxation spaces and private rooms for nursing or pumping; and
• Construct a third-level outdoor public patio with views of the skyline.

And about the money: “Like all airport improvements, no local Austin taxpayer dollars will be used to fund the project. The improvements will be funded through traditional airport development funding sources, such as airport cash reserves, current and future airport revenues and future revenue bond proceeds. AUS is currently evaluating opportunities for federal grant funding to support the project,” according to the news release.

The West Gate Expansion is slated to open in 2026. Get more info at the city’s website.

Even though both the city of Austin and the 18 plaintiffs who sued it were ready to meet again in Travis County District Court, and even though they expected that hearing to happen sometime this week, it won’t happen just yet. The Austin Monitor received an email late Tuesday afternoon from Doug Becker, attorney for the plaintiffs. Becker wrote, “A few minutes ago the District Court coordinator informed me that our case will not be heard this week because there are not enough Judges available. The hearing will have to be reset. I am very disappointed. Both sides wanted the case heard this week.” As of Tuesday evening, a hearing date had not yet been announced.

An Aug. 28 memo from assistant city managers Veronica Briseño and Robert Goode gives more details on the permitting knot that has tied up popular East Austin restaurant Nixta Taqueria, forcing it to close. The memo acknowledges the public interest in the issue, and provides “an update concerning the life safety and permitting challenges at the restaurant as well as immediate next steps to ensure the property is safe to operate.”

The memo explains that burned wires indicating excessive amperage were found on the property, and that presented “a severe risk of fire or explosion and a threat to public safety.” Further inspection revealed unpermitted air conditioning units that threatened the structural integrity of the roof, an overload of the building’s electrical system and an unpermitted patio area that needs to be inspected by the Fire Department.

“The safety issues identified above are limited to what was visible outside of the building. The most significant issues are the result of unpermitted work and pose critical safety concerns to the restaurant’s staff, customers, and the community,” according to the memo. “The Development Services Department (DSD) recognizes that navigating the permitting process can be complex and strives to provide support and guidance throughout the process to help business and property owners understand these challenges while still prioritizing safety.”

The closure, which has been the focus of media scrutiny this week, was top of mind for Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison during Tuesday’s work session discussion on permitting. She brought up the case as an example of a “tornado of conflicting permitting and processes.”

In the meantime, the taqueria has raised more than $103,000 through a GoFundMe and will be participating in pop-ups at other restaurants to make it through. “We thought it was going to be an easy-ish fix, but it has now escalated to a place we could have never imagined. Something that can be fixed in a matter of hours is now a 3-6 month project due to some classic bureaucracy and red-tape. We’re still reeling,” the business wrote in an Instagram post earlier this week. “By some miracle, we’re hopeful we can survive this, too.”

Getting through an ever-busier Austin-Bergstrom International Airport lately can feel like an Olympic sport. On Tuesday, the airport issued a Labor Day travel advisory, saying the holiday weekend passenger traffic could be “possibly record-breaking.” Airport leaders urge passengers to get to the terminal at least two and half hours before their flight (and three hours early for international flights).

“AUS saw over half of its top 10 busiest days ever just this year, so passengers should prepare and plan for a busy airport and plan accordingly,” according to a news release.

Some tips, per the airport’s advisory:

• Make sure the contents of your carry-on luggage are compliant with Transportation Security Administration rules.
• Reserve airport parking in advance, or if you’re getting dropped off, consider unloading in the Arrivals zone instead of Departures.
• Use a mobile boarding pass.

Find the latest info at austintexas.gov/airport.

Updates on collections of the city’s Hotel Occupancy Tax revenues presented favorable financial pictures for both the Live Music Fund and Cultural Arts Funding Program. A presentation at this month’s Arts Commission meeting showed that total hotel tax collections in July (for hotel business conducted in June) was $36.2 million. That total means about $2.8 million was generated for cultural arts, with staff reporting that collections are on track to exceed $14 million.

This month’s Music Commission meeting included a presentation that showed $492,495 from hotel tax receipts was allocated to the Live Music Fund, which will go into its second round next year with a budget of $5.2 million. That money will be available as grants for musicians and event promoters, as well as music venues, which are being added to the candidate pool for the first time.

Commission members asked Economic Development Department staff questions about the low four- and five-digit contributions in some months, with the April and December totals ($12,938 and $5,509, respectively) looking especially low. Staff said collections in the slower “shoulder season” months for local hotels always tend to be low, but they planned to double-check the reports to confirm the presentation was accurate.

City Council Member Ryan Alter is among the city leaders frustrated with a long-planned agreement with local hotels that was intended to help the city provide support services to the homeless. The Austin Tourism Public Improvement District is on the agenda for Thursday’s Council meeting, with that approval being one of the steps needed for the city’s largest hotels to levy an additional 2 percent tax on room nights. Much of the money generated from that tax would fund marketing incentives for hotels to generate new business, with a portion – estimated at $7 million per year – passed through to the city’s General Fund and likely used for homeless services. That passthrough, which has some stipulations attached, is necessary because the hotel association that helped to conceive the ATPID in 2017 was recently successful in changing state law to restrict the ways those revenues could be directly spent. During a presentation on the ATPID at last week’s Audit and Finance Committee meeting, Alter shared his feelings on the new structure of the agreement. “I’m a little frustrated in how we got here in that there were agreements and prior Council discussion, but there were other agreements that would have potentially allowed for us to get guaranteed dollars, and the law was changed by those involved in this negotiation that prevents us from now doing that. And now we’re stuck in a place where we’re trying to get dollars here and there.” At the same meeting, Council Member Alison Alter said she was also discouraged by the direction the city now has to take for the ATPID to be useful toward the city’s homelessness relief efforts.