AustinTalks (http://austintalks.org/author/zach-cunning/)
Antonia “Toni” Ruppert, an Austin native, has been selected as the neighborhood’s artist in residence. The new city program, under INVEST South/West, will place artists in four communities throughout the city.
Gov J.B. Pritzker visited L. May Creations, an event space on Chicago Avenue, last week to announce the release of millions of dollars in emergency relief funding. L. May Creations is one of 4,000 businesses across the state that has received a grant. There is about $175 million left to distribute, state officials say.
The Austin branch of the Chicago Public Library will host an anti-racist book club via Zoom on Wednesday, Oct. 28 to discuss Mikki Kendall’s book “Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot.” Meetings in November and December to discuss other anti-racist books have been scheduled.
About 50 people came together last week to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Million Man March and to call for new economic drivers for the Austin community. The Million Man March, which the Washington Post called “the largest civil rights demonstration in U.S. history,” was held in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 16, 1995.
The 15th Policer District hosted a Zoom meeting last week, seeking community input on the district’s policing strategy for the upcoming year. Residents expressed a need for more transparency, and they want officers to work to build better relationships with the community.
Seven years ago, the space across the street from Patricia and Robert Hart’s house in the 600 block of North Latrobe Avenue was a literal dump. Now, with help from the group Human Scale, they’ve turned it into an accessible community garden. Next year, they will turn half the pergola into a greenhouse, and the other half into a workshop where events and classes about gardening and healthy eating can be hosted.
Participants were encouraged to complete the 2020 census, which a judge recently extended until the end of October. It can be completed online, by calling a toll-free line or by mailing back the paper questionnaire. There is no citizenship question on the census, and all information is kept confidential.
A group of about a dozen youth created their own quality-of-life plan for Austin this summer, modeled after a similar plan being implemented by Austin Coming Together. The youth’s plan focuses on public safety, mental health and youth empowerment, and will be unveiled later this fall by the group Territory.
The city shut down the Columbus Park testing site in July. Residents can be tested at four other Austin locations, including Loretto Hospital and PCC Community Wellness Center.
As city continues to invest in Austin as part of its INVEST South/West program, city developers and non-profit partners are focusing their attention on several blocks of Chicago Avenue, from Cicero Avenue to Austin Boulevard.