The first APN Happy Hour!

Mark your calendar: I will be holding the first ever APN hang on Thursday, April 10 from 5-7 pm at Cosmic South, the coffee/beer joint off S. Congress. This also happens to be the same time & place that the Austin Housing Coalition is holding its own happy hour. I think there is a fair bit of overlap between my readership and their supporters.

I picked Cosmic because it's a large, flexible outdoor space that offers lots of different food and drink, alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Plus, it's right on the 801 MetroRapid line!

Show up if you can –– I would love to meet you. I think I'll make a habit of doing these on quarterly trips back to Austin.

License Plate Readers in the age of Trump

Back in 2020, City Council cut funding for APD's automatic license plate reader system. Then, when the political winds shifted, they restored funding, but under new restrictions and on a "pilot" basis, set to end on March 29.

On Thursday City Council is scheduled to vote to extend the pilot for three months in order to allow the City Auditor to present a report on the use of ALPRs in May.

But Council Member Mike Siegel is expressing concerns. The Trump era should prompt Council to be even more wary of a "mass surveillance" program.