Adler: How Austin Moves Forward Depends On Response To COVID, Policing And Homelessness kut.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kut.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Kerem Yuce/AFP/Getty Images
A year after George Floyd’s murder and the worldwide protests it sparked, more than half of US states have passed reform bills, altering policies like use of force, creating new rules about tracking misconduct, and mandating officer interventions during aggressive encounters. Major cities even made moves to aggressively reimagine policing.
Some of these changes have been tentative; some have been reversed; others have run up against lawsuits and backlash and red tape; some have been far less than what local protesters have called for. Changing policing, it has become apparent, will not be instantaneous or easy.
Thursday 20
PROJECT CONNECT VIRTUAL OPEN HOUSE The virtual open house is designed to welcome a new round of feedback on Austin s high-capacity transit plan. Online. Free.
YMCA EARLY LEARNING READINESS PROGRAM A free community program for qualifying low-income families that focuses on preparing children ages 2-4 for school, while providing their caregivers with the tools to facilitate their child’s development. Classes are offered twice a week in English and Spanish and last one hour. English: Mondays & Wednesdays, 9am; Tuesdays & Thursdays, 10:30am. Spanish: Mondays & Wednesdays, 10:30am; Tuesdays & Thursdays, 9am. Online. Free.
RENT: RELIEF OF EMERGENCY NEEDS FOR TENANTS The RENT Assistance Program application portal is now open, and provides $25 million of direct support for income-eligible Austin renters who are financially impacted by COVID-19. Get all the eligibility details and apply online, or call 512/488-1397.
Community group will help guide $300 million of Project Connect anti-displacement spending
The “Catalyst group” is working on a tool that will help the transit plan decision-makers decide how to spend money on anti-displacement efforts. Author: Bryce Newberry (KVUE) Updated: 10:30 PM CDT April 10, 2021
AUSTIN, Texas Project Connect engineers are busy working behind the scenes on a design plan for Austin’s new transit system while a new group of community members work to figure out the best way to spend money devoted to helping people who could be forced out of their homes as a result of the project.
When Austin voters approved Proposition A in the November 2020 election, that increased the City’s tax rate to start collecting the money needed for a massive $7.1 billion transit system, and $300 million of that was set aside to help with anti-displacement efforts.