Headlines
Fri., Sept. 28, 2018
You Say To-MEH-To: No regular City Council meeting this week. The next is Thursday, Oct. 4, with a relatively light agenda that should include an allocation policy for the Historic Preservation Fund, a public hearing on renaming "Manchaca Road" as "Menchaca Road," the actual spelling of José Antonio Menchaca, a Tejano soldier at the Battle of San Jacinto (although city staff reports the street's residents are not enthusiastic), and a proclamation honoring the late activist Glenn Scott (see "Glenn Scott Fought for Her Life, and Yours," Sept. 28).
Swim's Up! Pin a little extra cash to your swimsuits next month, when Parks & Rec's new fee schedule takes effect. Beginning Oct. 1, entry to Barton Springs Pool for adult residents will be $5 (up from $3), and all other resident and nonresident fees for Barton Springs and other municipal pools will increase between $1-5. (Season passes will not change.) PARD hopes to raise $1.1 million more in funding for maintenance, operations, repairs, and upgrades. See "Conflicts of Interest," Sept. 28.
Sendero Survives: On Saturday, Sept. 22, Central Health's board of managers reversed its earlier vote to end its underwriting of the Sendero Health Plans over the next year, and instead gave plan administrators one more year to address the program's insolvency while keeping its 24,000 members covered. On Tuesday, the Travis County Commissioners Court followed with approval of Central Health's overall budget. See "Sendero's Path Forward," Sept. 28.
Rot Rally's Removal? County commissioners punted on a vote on Tuesday to turn part of the Travis County Exposition Center into a TCAD appraisal district processing office for the summer, which would inconvenience or evict a number of events usually held at the East Austin site, including ROT Rally, held each June. The court will instead vote next week.
A New School: Austin ISD broke ground on a $32.5 million project to rebuild Govalle Elementary on Tuesday. The modernization effort should enhance the quality of a school that recently has received one of the lowest Facilities Conditions assessment scores in the district.
Read This Font: More changes at the Statesman: New owners GateHouse Media announced they're giving readers "bolder" and bigger – and they literally mean font size – headlines for a more "modern" look, along with "blue color blocks." They're also jettisoning the paper's subscriber-only site, www.MyStatesman.com, and giving makeovers to its tech, entertainment, and home websites.
Jane Doe Continues: The ACLU continues its fight this week to defend several young undocumented women who were denied abortion access by the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
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