by Holly Reed

As we come to the close of Women’s History Month, I’d like to honor and thank all the women who have devoted their time and expertise to serving our Neighborhood. The West Austin Neighborhood Group was founded in 1973 and throughout the years many women have served on the WANG Board of Directors and on various committees. Whether you are a member of WANG or have served on the board or a committee in any capacity, we salute you and thank you for your service! You are an important part of our history!

WANG owes its origins to a woman named Waldi Browning, who put together the ORIGINAL West Austin Neighborhood Group. Waldi and her family lived on Pecos. Her husband was a UT professor and her two boys graduated from Austin High School. Waldi was born in Germany.

Board Member Mary Arnold recalls, "She was certainly energetic! But when her husband retired from UT, they moved to a town in Mexico and the boys both moved away from Austin as well. I remember one of the early WANG meetings was held at Roberta Crenshaw's house, and Roberta donated a few items that were auctioned at a WANG meeting - with the money going to WANG. Waldi and her husband eventually moved to Colorado, where one of their sons was living. She was certainly "one of a kind"!!!

I would also like to thank the women who currently serve with me on the WANG Board of Directors:

Cathy Kyle, our Past President and current Secretary, has been a member of WANG since 2010. Joyce Basciano, WANG member since 1999, serves not only on the WANG Board but also as a member of our Neighborhood Plan’s Contact Team and a vice president of Austin Neighborhoods Council. Heidi Gibbons, WANG member since 2019, is our ANC Liaison, and heads up our newsletter Advertising Committee. Sarah Hawthorne Cain, WANG member since 2019, has worked to engage young families with the Neighborhood Group. These strong women have given countless hours of their time to make our neighborhood, our parks and our City a better place for people to live.

We can’t talk about Women’s History without mentioning a truly amazing woman who we are all so privileged to know and work with. WANG is honored to have Mary Arnold as a member since 2006, and as a current WANG Board Member heading up the effort to Save Muny. This special month, I hope our neighbors will enjoy reading some of Mary’s history and stories of her tireless efforts to preserve the green environment, the neighborhoods, the history and the quality of life in the City of Austin and Texas. I can say without a doubt that Austin would not be the beautiful green city it is, without the work of Mary Arnold.

-Excerpts from “Meet Mary Arnold, the soft-spoken, indomitable Godmother of Austin’s Green Movement” by Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman

In the early 1970s, alerted by neighbors in Tarrytown — where she still lives in a modest, one-story house with husband Bill Arnold — that the Lions Municipal Golf Course, the largest green space in her neighborhood, was in danger of disappearing, she joined her friend Virginia Bedinger and took on that cause.

The University of Texas regents wanted to cancel the city lease for the course that sits on land given to UT by benefactor George Brackenridge in 1910. The Lion's Club had turned this part of the Brackenridge Tract into a public golf course with surrounding parkland in 1924. UT had leased it to the city of Austin since 1937.

Doing her research and facing down the most powerful people in town, Arnold essentially told the UT System: "No." She said so again during two subsequent attempts to develop the land commercially. Today, it remains a beloved Austin green space with a future of additional non-golfing uses as well.

Mary Miller Arnold was born June 4, 1935, in Dallas. Her father, Shannon E. Miller, worked as a general construction engineer. He graduated from the University of Texas in 1922 and served as the designing engineer on the 1939 Galveston Causeway, among many high-profile projects.

Her mother, Anna Goodenough Miller, was born in San Antonio and grew up in Alice, then attended what is now Texas State University. A noted musician, she sang in Methodist and Presbyterian church choirs and, especially, for funerals.

“My parents met and married," Arnold says, "then spent their first three months together in McAllen, where my father was in charge of building a bridge over the Rio Grande."

The couple settled in Dallas, moving to the University Park neighborhood in 1939.

Arnold got a jump start in the academically charged Highland Park school system by going straight into the second grade. She never slowed down.

Arnold did not count many close friends during elementary school. More often as not, she got caught up in the world of her dolls and the doll house that her father built for her — and she still keeps.

She also loved nature. The family kept a rough cabin on a farm near Grapevine serviced by an ice box and Bunsen burner. She also spent parts of several summers at the legendary Camp Waldemar for girls in Kerr County, where her cousin from Beeville had gone.

"I still go to Waldemar," Arnold says. "My daughter attended for eight years, and her last year told me they had started a one-week camp for former campers. (Former City Council Member) Sally Shipman went, too, and she made sure that the city budget was approved before camp."

Back in her youth, Arnold's family would stop in Austin on the way to camp. Later, her parents retired to the Hill Country. So the tie to the area's natural beauty endured.

In high school, Arnold made straight As, and participated in drama and choir while enjoying advanced classes in math and Spanish. Of course, she earned her school's valedictorian spot.

In those days, other academically adept Texas girls often headed east to women's colleges. Yet Arnold had attracted the notice of UT professor Willis Pratt, who headed the university's Plan II honors program.

"He wrote me a letter explaining that I'd get as good an education in Plan II as at any Ivy League university," Arnold recalls, "which were not at that time taking women."

Arnold encountered no trouble fitting in at UT. She stayed at residential Kirby Hall and pledged Kappa Alpha Theta, which has been training women leaders since 1870. Five in her pledge group majored in Plan II, and, in her senior year, she and five other Thetas were invited to join Phi Beta Kappa, the country's top academic student group since 1776.

After studying government and English in grad school, Mary Arnold worked next at the Texas Legislature as an aide for a representative from Alice, which gave her access to the heady club of state workers portrayed fictionally in Billy Lee Brammer's "The Gay Place," a seminal Texas political novel.

She also married Bill Arnold in 1959. They rented a house near Clarksville and learned about the neighborhood's history as a freedom colony. A move to Houston while Bill worked for Gulf Toy company meant time spent in the aging suburb of West University in the early 1960s. There, the couple had a son, William Wade Arnold. Another job offer brought them back to Austin in 1965.

In Austin, their second child, Ellen, was born. In 1970 they purchased their current house, built in 1963. Back in the 1950s, the couple used to drive around the gently rolling Tarrytown neighborhood and spotted signs for lots that went for $9,000.

Years later, after the kids went off to college, daughter Ellen, who thought Bill might be alone on the evenings as Mary was on the Planning Commission, instituted "Tuesday Night Dinners." It was a bring-your-own beer affair. Prospective guests simply left a name and number of attendees at Bill's office and he'd pick up the groceries on the way home — and was soon cooking up a meal for guests.

Quite a few politicos — and future office holders — and musicians gathered there regularly at the Arnolds' informal civic clubhouse. This was not unlike other progressive Austinites of the time.

Now was the time for Arnold to utilize her backgrounds in business, government, economics and language arts. While in graduate school, she had a job at the UT public affairs institute. She updated guides for state agencies and an organizational chart for state government.

“Learning how to navigate the inside of government opened my eyes a little bit," she says. "Helen and Ray Farabee persuaded me to join the board of the Texas Mental Health Association. I also served on the University YWCA board where I got to know civil rights leaders such as Wilhelmina Delco and Bertha Sadler Means (who golfed at Muny). Time with the League of Women Voters led to work on a study for a law on water conservation."

In particular, why did she answer the call to help save Muny in 1972?

"It was green!" Arnold almost shouts. "It was green space that needs to be preserved forever."

At that time, controversial UT Regent Frank Erwin was running into opposition to his expansion of the campus into East Austin, and he wanted to know more about other UT land assets. Abruptly, the city of Austin received a letter from the board of regents that its lease on Muny land, signed in 1937, would end in one year.

Leaders asked Arnold to help fight Erwin.

"I said I'd be glad to do research," Arnold says. "I had great fun. I looked at deed records and the history of the (nearby) Tom Miller Dam.

"We badgered the City Council. We badgered the university."

Erwin countered by engineering a bill through the legislature that might have given UT more control of the Brackenridge Tract.

"Let's learn more about it," Arnold says she thought. "A friend of a friend notified me of a hearing on his bill. We arrived en masse. Nervously, Erwin was jiggering with silver balls in his pockets. He was not happy at all. He saw where we were going. He walked up and down talking to the committee members privately, then announced, 'I asked the senator to introduce the bill and now I asked him to withdraw it.'

"Anyway, we got rid of that bill."

The land was not safe yet. Three UT System regents and three city council members met behind closed doors to negotiate about its future.

"They came up with a deal announcement," Arnold say. "Mayor Roy Butler called me to say: This is what's going to announced: The $1-a-year lease was extended to 1987. In exchange, the city would pay to upgrade and move Red River Street. Those were interesting times."

Arnold served on the city's park board from 1978 to 1988, which gave her more access to environmental giants like parks director Beverly Sheffield. She was involved in campaigns to save Austin's creeks.

Council Member Sally Shipman later appointed Arnold to the planning commission, which meant she would have a direct say in the Brackenridge Tract. She also served on the commissions for water and wastewater.

In 1982, the city agreed to update the Muny clubhouse and voters passed $500,000 in bonds to do so in conjunction with city grant money.

In the 1980s, the battle lines formed again. A good deal of the negotiations this time had to do with land across the river along Stratford Drive, which also had been part of the Brackenridge Tract. UT sold off residential lots and, in an area deemed not worth developing, sold a portion to increase the Ulrich Water Treatment Plant acreage to provide for an expansion of the plant.

In 1987, the forces came to another temporary agreement on Muny.

"We had to pay the piper," Arnold says. "Rent for the land went up to $175,000 a year and would increase every five years until 2017, when it was $425,000 a year. Golf fees for Muny were increased, and golfers at all other city courses paid a $1 fee per round to help pay for the Muny lease."

In 1989, more negotiations took place as to what UT could do with the Brackenridge Tract, resulting in state legislation approving a "land plan" for the Brackenridge Tract. It was presented in an agreement between the city and UT, and the Muny lease was amended to provide for a 30-year lease, and several possible extensions.

In the the 2000s, the UT system hired a New York master-planning company to devise a future for the whole remaining Brackenridge Tract on the north side of the river. This included UT's field lab that retains strong support in the university's highly ranked botany department, which insisted that it be left alone.

In 2019, Sen. Kirk Watson, former (and current) mayor of Austin, introduced a bill that would create a special district that could raise private money for the purchase and conservation of MUNY. But law only allowed two years for its creation. In 2021, Sen. Sarah Eckhart, Watson's replacement, filed a bill to extend the district's life for an additional two years.

"It's a strange conglomeration," Arnolds says. "It is not a usual law. The conservancy would supply the money to buy the golf course for the city. Meanwhile, the city controls future zoning for four other cases where UT wants to develop. We have kept this alive on a month to month basis."

For decades, Arnold has sought dozens of ways to protect the golf course and other attendant parkland at MUNY. Does she even golf?

"I took golf at UT for one semester," she says. "And I've taken some itty bitty lessons. But I've enjoyed very much being on golf courses. Austin has been a good steward of the land at MUNY over the past 50 years. It's also been good at cleaning up old garbage dumps, creating green spaces, and polishing its environmental credentials. Its golf courses have some other uses, and we will keep fighting to keep them green."

by Sarah Hawthorne Cain

On Saturday, March 2nd, the Friends of Reed Park (FoRP) officers and other neighbors gathered at Reed Park to participate in It’s My Park Day!, a biannual, city-wide Austin Parks Foundation sponsored event that encourages community members to participate in the beautification and upkeep of local parks. FoRP officers, including members Cameron Campbell, James Page, Meg Rein, and Erin Stephens, organized the gathering of neighbors to clear brush and invasive plants, pick up litter and spread mulch in our favorite park on Pecos Street.

The FoRP board has been in existence for years, but has recently embarked on a renewed push to bring some much-needed TLC to the beloved neighborhood park. Neighbors familiar with the park will know it best for its winding creek bed, large recreational field, the trail connecting the park to Scenic Road, and the remnants of the Taylor’s Lime Kiln. It's also locally known as the terminal point for the annual Tarrytown Fourth of July Parade! In recent years, however, the park has been known for the oft-closed, understaffed public pool that has left patrons disappointed and confused during the sweltering summer months. FoRP aims to change that. According to Meg Rein, the mission of the Friends of Reed Park “is to preserve and maintain the natural and historic beauty of Reed Park; to ensure the playscape is maintained and the pool is open in the summer; and to make upgrades and changes as needed to make sure the park stays a safe, beautiful gathering spot for the neighborhood for generations to come.”

Already, their efforts have proven fruitful. Thanks to a partnership between FoRP and the City of Austin, the park now boasts a beautiful new playscape for our youngest neighbors to enjoy, as well as new picnic tables and water fountains. And as of last weekend, you can find new red Adirondack chairs placed in the shaded and newly mulched areas of the park.

Elbow grease wasn’t the only thing asked of neighbors on It’s My Park Day. Volunteers were also encouraged to leave feedback and share ideas to help shape the vision for the park's future. Already, FoRP is working on plans for new landscaping in individual areas of the park, and to organize more volunteer-led events like It’s My Park Day to keep neighbors engaged and involved in the ongoing maintenance and beautification of the park.

So the next time you’re walking down Pecos and you see a red Adirondack chair in a bed of fresh mulch, take a seat and enjoy the serenity and natural beauty of Reed Park, a local amenity we can all be proud to call our own.

For more information about Friends of Reed Park, or to inquire about donations or membership (it’s free!), please email friendsofreedpark@gmail.com.

On March 28 the City issued a press release announcing the next round of purple postcards - keep an eye out for them in the mail. The SpeakUp Austin! Changes to Residential Uses and Standards (Including HOME amendments) platform should be updated soon.

Information on the public hearings can be found below and, once updated, on SpeakUp Austin! platform, and on the postcards.

Please share this with your networks. When you get your postcard, please share with your neighbors in case they didn't receive one.

OPEN HOUSES

In-person: Wed, April 17th, 2024 at the Austin Central Library, 710 W César Chávez St (map)

Virtual: Sat, April 20, 2024, 10am-12pm

PUBLIC HEARINGS

(Austin City Hall, 301 W 2nd St)

Joint Planning Commission/City Council Public Hearing
Thurs, April 11, 2024 at 9am (agenda not posted yet)

Planning Commission Public Hearing and Action
Tues, April 23, 2024 at 4pm (Planning Commission Meeting)
Consider proposed code amendments and make recommendations to Council

City Council Public Hearing and Action
Thurs, May 16, 2024 at 10am (Council Meeting)
Consider adoption of proposed code changes and any Planning Commission amendments

More information on the “H.O.M.E.” PROPOSED CHANGES TO YOUR SINGLE-FAMILY ZONED PROPERTY can be found at:

The City distributed over 650,000 of these individual postcards shown above....

a legally mandated step

Reduction in Minimum Lot Sizes:

Having established the right to build three units per lot in Phase 1, the city council plans to reduce minimum lot sizes from 5,750 square feet in SF-2 and SF-3 zones to 2500 square feet or less and allow existing single-family lots to be subdivided into multiple minimum-sized lots. The council also plans to reduce the 10,000-square-foot-lot limit in SF-1 to a much smaller size (perhaps as small as 2,500 square feet or less). According to the council’s Housing and Planning Committee, the planned ordinance will “adjust setbacks, height, and impervious cover for single-family zoning to allow more units on smaller lots” Although, Impervious cover maximum is proposed to remain at 45% for SF-2 and SF-3. Depending on the minimum lot size established by the council, the net effect could be more than three units on what was originally a 7500-square-foot lot. Two-unit and three-unit uses will still require a minimum lot area of 5,750 sq ft

Extreme Changes to Compatibility Standards

The city plans to reduce compatibility standards to only regulate building height for the first 75 linear feet from a single-family home.

Happy Spring Everybody!

With the warming weather and a little bit of rain, the median wildscape is coming to life with flowers and new growth! All of the trees and shrubs survived the winter and are greening up nicely. The bluebonnets are already in full bloom, and the evening primrose on the tip of the triangle is opening up as well. Expect plenty of black-eyed susan, firewheel, and mexican hat to follow!

Most of the wildflowers we sowed this fall have come up, but there are a few bare patches we will be filling in with nursery-grown plants. We weren't so lucky with the grass seed, very little of which germinated. This has left the north-west side of the island, where grass was meant to be planted densely, looking a little patchy. An early spring invasion of bur clover definitely did not help matters on that front! There are still lots of bluebonnets, bee balm, mexican hat, purple coneflower, and firewheel seedlings in the area which we are hoping will fill in the empty space as they grow. We also added some nursery grown grass and goldenrod to help them out.

Work on the median in the next few months will mostly be maintenance and weed control, as it has been over the winter. We'll be re-mulching the areas around the trees to lock in moisture and slow down the bermuda a bit, fixing the western edge of the path where it's been popping up, and adding a few more plants that did not come up from seed—little bluestem and butterfly weed.

Thank you so much for your support and interest in the project! I hope you are all enjoying the blooms. Remember that Lifeblood of Gaia now has a website with a page for this project! The Tarrytown Wildscape page includes an extensive list of flora and fauna seen on the median, and if you see something new, you can snap a picture and get it added to the website. So far this year we've already seen crickets, caterpillars, butterflies, and lots and lots of ladybugs!

That's it for now, and I'll see you all in the next update! In the meantime, attached are some pictures of the flowers and ladybugs. Enjoy! :)

Juliette Madere,

Manager

Lifeblood of Gaia

by Blake Tollett

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING TO AMEND AUSTIN’S LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE

Case Number: C20-2022-003

The City of Austin is proposing to amend City Code Title 25 to create two new zoning districts with boundaries that include the South Central Waterfront.

Proposed Amendment:

Create a new zoning district and modify related site development regulations and compatibility standards; and create a new zoning district for density bonus that includes granting additional floor-to-area ratio in exchange for providing community benefits; and establish boundaries for the new zoning districts located in the vicinity commonly known as the South Central Waterfront.

Planning Commission date 9 April 2024

City Council date 2 May 2024

The following hearings will come before there Historic Landmark Commission on Wednesday 3 April 2024:

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING DEMOLITION

GF 24-028831

2200 W 9th Street

Applicants: Michael & William Kane

This is an application for a demolition permit for a property that has been identified as potentially having historical significance.

_____________________________________________________________________________

GF 24-028850

1401 Elton Lane

applicant: DAR Construction

This is an application for a demolition permit for a property that has been identified as potentially having historical significance.

______________________________________________________________________________

GF 24-030562

2307 Windsor Road

Applicant: DAR Construction

This is an application for a demolition permit for a property that has been identified as potentially having historical significance.

_____________________________________________________________________________

GF 24-030606

2715 Wooldridge Drive

Applicant: DAR Construction

This is an application for a demolition permit for a property that has been identified as potentially having historical significance.

______________________________________________________________________________

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING NATIONAL REGISTER HISTORIC DISTRICT

HR 24-016555

2321 Hartford Road

Applicant: Roy Jensen

This is an application for a building permit in a National Register historic district. The applicant is proposing to build a new detached garage in front, add a second floor addition on house and add a new carport, construct an addition and remodel to existing guest house, build a new pool and new outdoor kitchen.

__________________________________________________________________________

HR 24-030218

1510 Wooldridge Drive

Applicant: Victoria Carpenter

This is an application for a building permit in a National Register historic district. The applicant is proposing to partially demolish and build an addition.

February 12, 2024

Howson Public Library

6:07 PM Call to order

Board Members present: Holly Reed, Mary Arnold, Sarah Cain, Blake Tollett, George Edwards, Bob Hamilton, David Bolduc, Mike Cannatti, Craig Lill

Absent: Cathy Kyle, Joyce Basciano, Heidi Gibbons, Joe Bennett

• Neighbor Matters
• March 5th Election - Early voting from February 20 - March 1st
• Mark Duchen - District 10 Austin City Council candidate

• Upcoming Meetings: Meet & Greet at Cat Mountain on Feb 22nd at 6:30 pm

• Mayfield Park Fundraiser - Blake
• Trowel and Error - April 6, 2024 at 10 AM
• Speakers to discuss worm composting and monarch butterflies, milkweed and migration
• $5 suggested donation

• Reed Park Sign
• Erin Stephens reported graffiti to sign, she has alerted 311
• Discussion of increased crime and vandalism in the neighborhood

• City Election Candidates
• Carmen Llanes, Kathie Tovo announced intent to run for Mayor

• Discussion on “Community letter in support of a clean energy plan for Austin energy”
• Table discussion/motion to support until they can provide more information.

• Land Matters:
• C20-2023-044 - LDC Amendment for new combining district for an affordable housing bonus program
• Holly: Where can this be built? Mixed use zones only? Similar to VMU bonus program? New zoning district?
• Max height = 90 ft
• Goes to planning commission on February 13; Feb 29th: goes before Council

• HOME Ordinance Phase 2

• Wildfire concerns
• When is phase 2 scheduled to go to planning commission?
• Holly: let’s discuss size limitations ahead of phase 2; also tree canopy, infrastructure, flooding, studies, impervious cover and FAR limits

• Transportation
• ATP to reroute Project Connect light rail to save Dirty Martin’s (allegedly)
• City Bond for Project Connect?

• Membership -
• George has delivered a few renewals that have not been recorded

• Newsletter/E-Newsletter/Website
• Spring Print Newsletter; need content and get advertisers for mid- to late-April

• Hearth & Soul moved out
• Ro Fitness closing
• Trash Pick up initiative
• Heather with KAB?: trash pick up at WAYA

• It’s My Park Day - March 2nd at Reed Park

• MUNY
• Next meeting of Save Historic Muny District at LCRA on Feb 22nd 2 PM

• The SHMD cannot fund the purchase or preservation of Muny through a tax district until it has a contract with UT, which UT has not yet accepted.

• The City’s lease continues on a rolling month to month basis, with a 5 month notice of cancellation
• Plans for Muny’s Centennial Celebration continue
• UT has also refused to enter into a contract to allow the Muny Conservancy to purchase the golf course for the $110 million UT originally said they would consider.

• ANC Report from Heidi
• George renewed membership in ANC

• March WANG meeting: discuss I35 proposal
• Housing Affordability in Austin Forum - Mike Cannatti
• ● Granny flats incentives to make more affordable housing?

• Treasurer’s Report: George
• Account = $9771.93
• Oak Wilt = $1225
• FOJ = $513

• Next WANG Meeting:
• March 11th at 6 pm at HEB

Adjourned at 7:45

The Country Music Awards are in Austin this weekend (April 7)....

Keep an eye out for country music celebrities in town!

by Council Member Alison Alter

Latest District 10 Newsletter

Previous District 10 Newsletter

Dear Neighbors,

This winter we mark four years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which laid bare previously existing inequities in our community, put an enormous strain on our first responders, and starkly demonstrated what could happen when demand for ambulance transport and emergency room beds outstripped supply. As your Council Member, I am committed to learning from the pandemic and to making our public health system accessible, responsive, and efficient for everyone.

Last month, I was invited by the National Association of EMS Physicians (NAESMP) to present at their annual conference and share with other communities our efforts to improve access to healthcare in Austin through our mobile integrated healthcare programs. This work centers on the following goals: 1) improving access and the quality of emergency healthcare in our community, 2) reducing demand for ambulance transport and emergency rooms, 3) addressing workforce needs and shortages, and 4) creating a fiscally sustainable path forward for the City and patients. I will share some highlights below.

In 2020, I created Austin’s Office of the Chief Medical Officer (OCMO). This program, led by Dr. Mark Escott, expands community access to direct clinical and telehealth physician and physician assistant services to prevent unnecessary transports to the hospital and associated financial burdens for patients. The investments in clinical capacity have improved the coordination, quality, and efficiency of healthcare and mental health services delivered to patients of the Austin-Travis County EMS system and provided enhanced education, credentialing, and clinical oversight for our first responders.

The OCMO works in collaboration with the Collaborative Care Communication Center (C4), a program that addresses low acuity calls from patients who do not require ambulance or emergency room services. The goal is to ensure that we send the right resource to the right patient at the right time, the first time. By providing access to tele-health, treatment in place, and partner referrals, and sending individual paramedics and EMTs, the C4 program reduces the cost of care for both patients and our emergency healthcare system. C4 began as a pandemic hotline and was made permanent by my budget amendment in August of 2020.

These two programs also work with another initiative I championed, the Paramedic Practitioner Program (PPP). The PPP sends highly trained medics who are also Physician Assistants to treat low-acuity patients in the field or via tele-health services, freeing up other EMS units to respond to calls that require ambulance transport. A typical intervention is approximately one fourth of the cost of an ambulance response. You can learn more about the program in this short video.

Together, in 2023, these integrated services yielded at least $8.5 million in total cost savings for patients, and diverted 5,748 patients from emergency departments, freeing up bed and ambulance space for those with life-threatening needs and helping to improve emergency response times. Over half of these patients were under or unfunded, which means they had very little access to non-emergency healthcare making them dependent on the 911 system for their healthcare needs. The Integrated Services team was able to address immediate needs for patients and then connect them to more permanent resources.

Over the last few years I also have initiated several reforms to streamline EMS’ revenue and cost-recovery methods, and to establish goals and personnel authorization for the C4 and PPP programs to operate 24/7. I also have partnered with my colleagues on budget initiatives to further expand access to healthcare in Austin, including a pilot program to administer in-the-field units of whole blood, bystander stop-the-bleed training programs, medic simulation training, and stationing EMS personnel at the airport. In past years I also have increased the number of ambulances, medics and command staff serving our community and supported increased wages and improved working conditions for our EMS professionals.

In 2022, I secured funding for 4 additional epidemiologists at Austin Public Health to support our response to disease outbreaks, including mitigation and prevention strategies. In addition to addressing emerging and re-emerging diseases, like COVID-19, MPox, and measles, the increased capacity in our epidemiology division has allowed us to track and mitigate the effects of a wide array of issues facing our community, including our local opioid crisis, harmful algae blooms, adverse effects associated with extreme weather, and the environmental impacts of the Fayette Power Plant. Our epidemiologists have also been tracking incidents of domestic violence, sexual violence, maternal and child health, and mental health needs, so our resources can be effectively deployed to address these issues.

This type of data analysis allows us to identify and target public health intervention strategies and support community resilience especially to the populations and communities most affected. Our epidemiologists address our community’s health needs and help make our community safer and healthier. You can learn more about what our City’s epidemiologists do by visiting their website.

Austin’s public health needs are changing, and our healthcare landscape must evolve with it. I am proud to have led these efforts to make our City’s contribution to our healthcare system more efficient and equitable in partnership with my colleagues, our Chief Medical Officer Dr. Mark Escott, our EMS Chief Robert Luckritz, the EMS Association (President Selena Xie), Austin Public Health Director Adrienne Sturrup, Chief Epidemiologist Janet Pichette, and the many health professionals that serve our community each and every day. I look forward to our continued innovation and collaboration.

In the remainder of this letter, you will find updates on summer camp registration, a troll coming to Pease Park, and more.

Regards,

Alison Alter

Council Member, District 10

This EVENT has already happened. Click on the button (bar) above to see what you missed.

March 24, 2024 at ACL Live at the Moody Theater

In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Austin's beloved Lions Municipal Golf Course, supporters will assemble at ACL Live on March 24, 2024, for Imagine Muny—a night of music and camaraderie aimed at raising funds to transform Muny's future into a reality. This event arrives at a pivotal time for the campaign as we articulate our vision for how this cherished green space can perpetuate its positive influence on our community.

Limited Concert Only General Admission Tickets available at ACLLive.com.

by Wizzie Brown

Spring seems to have arrived in Central Texas and my mountain laurels are putting on blooms. If you’re like me and enjoy going in for a good sniff of those grape candy smelling flowers, while you’re there take a look around for caterpillars that may be munching on foliage. Genista caterpillars can be quite common on mountain laurel but may also be found on crape myrtle and honeysuckle.

These caterpillars can grow up to one inch in length and are greenish yellow to orange in color with small black and white dots along their body. They have hairs that emerge along the body but are not densely covered. Genista caterpillars create webbing like that of webworms, but to a lesser degree. Larvae, or caterpillars, feed on leaves within webbing causing defoliation of the plant. Eggs are laid in overlapping clusters on the underside of leaves. Pupation occurs in a small, white silken cocoon that is attached to plants or structures. There are two generations per year.

Normally genista caterpillars do not cause significant damage to trees, so no management is required. If you feel management is needed because of a large population, it can be rather simple. If plant size allows, caterpillars can be hand-picked and either smashed or dropped in a bucket of soapy water. Other options may include insecticidal soap, horticultural oils, botanicals, spinosad, or Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki, also known as Bt. Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki specifically targets caterpillars but does not distinguish between “good” and “bad” caterpillars, so be careful where you apply it and be aware of drift that may occur. When using spinosad or Bt, good coverage of plant foliage is essential since the caterpillars need to consume a lethal dose. When using any pesticide product, be sure to read and follow all label instructions.

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Organized 1973......"To preserve our neighborhood and protect it from deterioration"

Board of Directors

• President: Holly Reed President@westaustinng.com
  
• Secretary: Cathy Kyle Secretary@westaustinng.com
• Assistant Secretary: Blake Tollett AsstSecretary@westaustinng.com
• Treasurer: George Edwards Treasurer@westaustinng.com
• Past President: Cathy Kyle PastPresident@westaustinng.com

All Current Members (click on name to send email)

• Holly Reed ............................member since 2015 (President)
• Cathy Kyle ............................member since 2010 (Secretary)
• Blake Tollett .........................member since 1994 (Asst Secretary)
• George Edwards ..................member since 2004 (Treasurer)
• Mary Arnold .........................member since 2006 (Muny Tract)
• Michael Cannatti .................member since 1999 (CWANPCT)
  
• Joseph M Bennett ...............member since 2001 (Membership/E-Newsletter)
• Craig Lill ...............................member since 2017
  
• Joyce Basciano ...................member since 1999
• Bob Hamilton........................member since 2020
• Sarah Hawthorne Cain.........member since 2020 (Advertising)
• Heidi Gibbons.......................member since 2020 (ANC Liason)
• David Bolduc ........................member since 2023
• Open board chair
• Open board chair

Honorary Committee Members

• Honorary Kirk Watson
• Honorary Alison Alter
• Honorary Kathie Tovo

Contact your City Council Representatives:

(click on name to send email)

• Mayor: Kirk Watson 512-978-2100
  
• District 1: Natasha Harper Madison 512-978-2101
  
• District 2: Vanessa Fuentes 512-978-2102
  
• District 3: Jose Velasquez 512-978-2103
  
• District 4: Jose "Chito" Vela 512-978-2104
  
• District 5: Ryan Alter 512-978-2105
  
• District 6: Mackenzie Kelly 512-978-2106
  
• District 7: Leslie Pool 512-978-2107
  
• District 8: Paige Ellis 512-978-2108
  
• District 9: Zohaib "Zo" Qadri 512-978-2109
  
• District 10: Alison Alter 512-978-2110
  

Email All of the Council: Entire Council and Mayor

Click on the link City Stage photo above

(Austin Center for Events)

for more info of everything happening around Austin !!!!

events are linked to more info on each

_________________________________________________________________________________________

DON'T MISS THE PHOTOS BELOW SENT IN FROM OUR NEIGHBORS

SEND US YOUR PHOTOS ! to include in our "Around the Neighborhood"

Send Photos with description to Newsletter@westaustinng.com

EMERGENCY.......................................911

Fire......................................................911

Ambulance (EMS) .............................911

Police Dept.......................512-975-5000

Austin ISD......................................512-533-6000

Casis Elementary School.............512-414-2062

Austin High School.......................512-414-2505

O.Henry Middle School...............512-414-3229

City of Austin........................................512-494-9400

Texas Gas Service.............................1-800-700-2443

Grande Communications...................512-220-4600

AT&T (new service)...........................1-800-464-7928

Time Warner Cable (Cust. Svc)...........512-485-5555

Austin/Travis Hazardous Waste.........512-974-4343