Public Notice: Love Your Mother Earth

Friday, April 22, is Earth Day, and this one will have a tangible, as well as symbolic value, as the United States, China, India, and more than 150 countries from around the world will officially sign on to the Paris Climate Agreement.

Here in town, the annual Austin Earth Day event is Saturday, April 23, noon-7pm at the Historic Browning Hangar, off Airport Blvd. at 4550 Mueller Central Dr. It'll feature exhibitors, recycling stations (including hard-to-handle electronics and textiles), live music from Asleep at the Wheel, Ruby & the Reckless, and Sweet Spirit, plus "Environmental Troubadour" Bill Oliver emceeing a "Conversation Stage" that offers wide-ranging discussions with panelists including Pliny Fisk, Brigid Shea, Robin Schneider, Gail Vittori, Brandi Clark Burton, and lots, lots more.

Mayor Steve Adler is scheduled to be back in town to headline one of the day's highlights: an aerial photo project to accompany the announcement of the winners in the Austin Recycle Games – a competition between Austin's 10 City Council districts, to see which recycles the most. Attendees will form into a giant recycling symbol, to be photographed from above in support of Austin's Zero Waste Goals. There's plenty more info at www.earthdayaustin.com.

But all is not peace and love on the Earth front, as the Austin Sierra Club announced with regrets last week that they've "chosen to remove ourselves from this year's Earth Day Austin event ... because ... [t]his year, the event is owned by the "Earth Day Texas" brand, which is run by Trammell Crow Jr. ... who has a record of supporting anti-immigrant hate groups," several of which will appear at the 2016 Dallas Earth Day event. "We cannot, in good conscience, support an event nor its main funder if it encourages anti-immigrant and racist sentiments from groups such as the Federation for American Immigration Reform, Num­bersUSA, and Progressives for Immigra­tion Reform," ASC chair Damien Brockmann wrote, while adding that "the organizers of Earth Day Austin are longtime friends of the environment and Sierra Club, and they have been clear that no hate groups would be allowed to participate in the Austin event."

Instead, ASC members will hike the Barton Creek Greenbelt Friday morning, picking up litter along the way. And on Saturday, April 23, they'll lead a morning conditioning hike along Lady Bird Lake, originating at 9am at the Austin International Youth Hostel, 2200 S. Lake­shore.

The Austin Music Commission is hosting a series of town hall meetings in each of the City Council districts across the city to gather public input on Mayor Steve Adler's Music & Creative Ecosystem Omnibus Resolution. Each discussion will include one council member and their Music Commission appointee, and focus on challenges faced by artists and clubs that cater to specific genres and audiences – the top 10 music genres identified in the 2015 Austin Music Industry Census. At least some thought went into the pairings of CMs and genres; see if you can spot some themes and motifs.

• District 5: Blues/Soul/World – CM Ann Kitchen and Music Commissioner Marshall Escamilla. Sat., April 23, 1-2:30pm, Strange Brew Lounge Side, 5326 Manchaca Rd.

• District 7: Americana/Folk/Acoustic – Leslie Pool and Elizabeth McQueen. Thu., April 28, 6:30-8pm, Monkey Nest Coffee, 5353 Burnet Rd.

• District 8: Classical and Faith-based – Ellen Trox­clair and Toby Baker. Fri., April 29, 11am-1pm, location TBD.

• District 4: Rock/Hard Rock/Metal – Greg Casar and Gavin Garcia. Sat., April 30, 1-3pm, Kick Butt Coffee, 5775 Airport.

• District 10: Country and Western Swing – Sheri Gallo and Buddy Quaid. Thu., May 5, 6:30-8pm, Chez Zee, 5406 Balcones.

• District 3: Latin – Pio Renteria and Al Duarte. Sat., May 7, 11am-1pm, Edward Rendon Sr. Park at Festival Beach, 2101 Jesse E. Segovia.

• District 9: Indie/EDM/Pop Rock – Kathie Tovo and Liz Land. Sat., May 7, 1-3pm, Spider House, 2908 Fruth.

And this one could be lively: The city of Austin has hired an outside consulting firm, Matrix Consulting Group, to conduct a Community Policing Study "to evaluate the current delivery of police services to its citizens." They're holding the first of a series of town hall meetings this Saturday, April 23, at 10am-noon at St. James' Episcopal Church, 1941 Webberville Rd. And I just have a feeling a lot of folks in that part of town have strong feelings about "the current delivery of police services to its citizens."

Totally Cool Totally Art is a free afterschool art program that takes place in 16 recreation centers throughout Austin, offering various courses ranging from filmmaking to painting to "The Art of Machines." The 20th anniversary End of Year Showcase Party is Friday, April 22, 5:30-8pm at Dougherty Arts Center, 1110 Barton Springs Rd. www.austintexas.gov/tcta.

The Elgin Agrarian Community, a co-op development just outside downtown Elgin, is holding two organizing meetings this week: Sat., April 23, 11am, at Studio 621, 621 Lexington Rd. in Elgin, and Mon., April 25, 6:30-8:30pm, at 4th Tap Brewing Co-op, 10615 Metric. RSVP through www.elginagrarian.com.

An evening with former New Left leader Tom Hayden, and his wife Barbara Williams, with Hayden discussing the three-day Vietnam War Summit at the LBJ Library that he's a participant in, and music by Williams and Leeann Atherton and band. It's a benefit for the nonprofit New Journalism Project, publisher of the Rag Blog and sponsor of the Rag Radio show, Tuesday, April 26, 7-10pm, at the High Road on Dawson, 700 Dawson Rd. (the former Elks Lodge). Suggested donation of $15 includes a food ticket.

The city's Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department is hosting Austin Housing Plan Conversations, wrapping up this week with meetings Mon., April 25, 6-8pm, at North Village Library, 2505 Steck Ave., Wed., April 27, 6-8pm, at Hampton Library, 5125 Convict Hill, and Thursday, April 28, 6-8pm (CodeNEXT & Affordability) at Town Lake Center, 721 Barton Springs Rd. www.austintexas.gov/housingplan.