Public Notice: Epiphany!

The Annunciation by El Greco, abridged

Today, Jan. 5, is the 12th day of Christ­mas. Tonight is the magical Twelfth Night (check our club listings to find 12 drummers drumming), and tomorrow, Jan. 6, is the Feast of the Epiphany – the day when (as observed in the West) three kings wandering in the desert came across a family of homeless migrants and proclaimed their baby to be the son of god and king of the Jews. In much of the world it's the focal point of the Christmas season, with presents and coal in stockings and everything.

And lo, here in Austin we have a proper celebration on Epiphany with the inauguration of four new City Council members, including the first mayor not named Steve Adler that we've had since the 10-1 Council began eight years ago.

Adler told us when he first ran that it was that moment in the city's history that he wanted to be mayor for, and indeed, he got a lot accomplished during his time, but as he leaves, it feels like we're at major inflection points on a number of different fronts – housing, policing, and transit, to name three biggies – that the new Council is going to have to address. Some campaigns promised solutions to those problems that may not really be attainable, so there's going to be pressure on this Council to get something – anything – done. At the same time, Council has lost its two moms, Ann Kitchen and Kathie Tovo, who actually did their homework, were always on the lookout for unintended consequences, and often seemed to be the only adults in the room. Absent that influence, this Council is going to be even more inclined to push boundaries, leap before they look, and "move fast and break things," as I put it last week.

So with that backdrop and those expectations, the new Council has its first official meeting this Friday, Jan. 6, with a swearing in of the new and reelected members at 6pm, followed by their first action: the largely symbolic election of the mayor pro tem, who presides over meetings when the mayor is away, and also holds some informal authority by virtue of having been elected by their peers. Alison Alter is the current MPT; Natasha Harper-Madison held the spot previously; and Leslie Pool is rumored to want it as well. On paper, Alter and Pool look like the opposition wing of the new Council, as the representatives of Old Austin and homeowners; Harper-Madison is one of the three incumbents who endorsed Wat­son's opponent in his race, so her selection could be considered a shot across his bow.

But alas, there will be no further annunciations on this Epiphany. The MPT vote is Item 1 on the agenda; there is no Item 2, and whatever miracles this new Council has to reveal to us will have to wait until their first actual meeting on Jan. 26 (work session Jan. 24).

Add one more item to the list of pending decisions: The draft Zilker Park Vision Plan is at the end of its public comment period, with a good bit of controversy and criticism from neighbors and environmentalists organized as Rewilding Zilker, who see the planned parking garages and other initiatives as part of a move toward privatization of the park, at the cost of its natural well-being. The city Parks and Recreation Depart­ment and others disagree, of course. See the draft plan, and comment on it through this Sunday, Jan. 8, at austintexas.gov/zilkervision, and see Rewilding's take on the park at rewildzilker.org.