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Neighborhood Habitat Challenge winners
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Austin City Council Members Lee Leffingwell and Mike Martinez joined Parks and Recreation Department officials in announcing the winners of the city's Neighborhood Habitat Challenge. The contest called on Austin neighborhoods to work together to remove invasive plant species and provide wildlife species such as butterflies, songbirds and lizards with food, water, cover and places to raise young.
The first place winner is the Jester Estates Homeowners Association; second place goes to the Allandale Neighborhood Association; and third place goes to the Highland Park West Balcones Area Neighborhood Association.
The challenge is part of the City of Austin's broader effort to become a "Community Wildlife Habitat." The designation would make Austin the first city in Texas and the largest in the country to receive that designation from the National Wildlife Federation. The certification is earned, in part, by mobilizing neighborhoods and individual residents to transform their backyards into wildlife habitats.
The Wildlife Austin program was Council-mandated and provides a venue for aligning environmental philosophies and land planning in the pursuit of making Austin the most livable city in America.
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Enjoy the holidays at Austin’s Trail of Lights
One of Austin’s premiere holiday traditions is back for another year of family fun, merriment and good cheer. The 2008 Trail of Lights is open 7 – 10 p.m. Sunday, Dec.14 and runs nightly through Dec. 23. This annual holiday tradition is celebrated in Austin’s beloved Zilker Metropolitan Park, 2100 Barton Springs Road. For more information, visit Austin Parks and Recreation Department’s Trail of Lights Web site.
And don't forget - the Parks and Recreation Department lights the Zilker Tree 6 p.m., Dec. 7, 2008.
Watch past City Council meetings online with video-on-demand
A new video-on-demand service offers complete video coverage of the past year's City Council meetings.
Council Meeting video-on-demand allows users to skip to specific points of interest and agenda items. Transcripts of the meeting will be available from the video viewer to assist those users who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Video of Council meetings beginning with the Sept.
8, 2008, meeting are available at www.cityofaustin.org. Most Council meetings will appear on the site the Tuesday after a Thursday meeting. For special called meetings of City Council or for marathon Council sessions, the video will appear within four business days.
Council meetings will be available online for at least one year. Issues and discussions of great interest and importance to Austinites will be available for longer times. After this, Council meeting video will be accessible at the Austin History Center, 810 Guadalupe St.
2009 brings transition to Digital TV
After Feb. 17, 2009, all full-power television stations will switch their broadcasts from analog to digital signals. To continue receiving over-the-air television programming, viewers must purchase a digital converter box to hook up to their television set or buy a new digital set. Cable and satellite television services are not affected by this change.
Coupons are available that defray the costs of converter boxes. For more information, visit these sites with information about the Digital TV transition:
City Hall People's Gallery accepts 2009 exhibition applications
Austin area artists, galleries, museums and arts organizations are encouraged to apply for the 2009 People's Gallery exhibition at City Hall. Applications are currently being accepted for two- and three-dimensional artworks in any medium through Jan. 5, 2009.
Application procedures and complete Call for Artworks are available on the Art in Public Places Web site. All applications must be submitted online via the ASAPP! online public art application system with up to five digital images of the artists' available artwork. For more information about the application process, artists may attend the artist information meeting 6:30 p.m. Dec. 3, 2008, at Austin City Hall, 301 W. Second St.
In January, a panel of arts professionals will recommend the artworks that will be on display throughout City Hall from Feb. 20, 2009, to Jan. 29, 2010. The exhibit is free and open to the public during City Hall building hours.
The 2008 exhibition currently on display in City Hall will end on Jan. 30, 2009. The public is invited to visit City Hall and vote for their favorite artwork before Jan. 30. Voting instructions are in the gallery tour packet, available in the lobby. The most popular artwork will be purchased from the artist and added to the City Hall permanent collection.
Wastewater averaging runs through mid-March
The Austin Water Utility encourages customers to conserve water during the annual wastewater averaging period, which lasts through the March billing cycle.
Less outdoor watering is used in the fall and winter months. This allows for more accurate measurement of indoor water usage, which is typically returned to the wastewater system.
Wastewater averaging is calculated using the two lowest customer bills out of the three months of billing cycles, with the bill reflecting the highest daily usage not used in the calculation. This timeframe usually spans from mid-November to mid-March. The customers’ new wastewater average will be reflected beginning in the April 2009 statement.
Regardless of customers’ water usage throughout the year, the wastewater billing average won’t increase, but it could decrease depending on usage. For more information about wastewater averaging in the City of Austin, visit www.ci.austin.tx.us/water/wwaverage/default.htm.
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