Eastchase Parkway concrete repairs scheduled

Fort Worth, Texas - The city’s Transportation and Public Works Department is hosting a public meeting to discuss concrete restoration on Eastchase Parkway from John T. White Road to Meadowbrook Drive.

The meeting is planned for 6 p.m., Thursday, May 16 at the East Regional Library, 6301 Bridge St.

Make plans to attend the meeting to find out about the construction schedule and impacts to residents.

To learn more, contact Project Manager Maged Zaki at 817-392-5448.

Street maintenance scheduled for parts of Blue Mound and Willow Springs roads

Fort Worth, Texas - The city is hosting a community meeting to inform residents about street maintenance on segments of Blue Mound and Willow Springs roads. The meeting will take place at 7 p.m., Thursday, May 9, at Carl E. Schluter Elementary School, 1220 Mesa Crest Drive.

Blue Mound Road West from Hicks Avondale School Road to Hulson Trail and Willow Springs Road from State Highway 287 service road to Avondale-Haslet Road is scheduled for rehabilitation. Crews will pulverize the existing asphalt pavement, stabilize the roadway and then apply an asphaltic pavement surface.

Make plans to attend the meeting to hear the schedule and impacts to residents.

To learn more, contact Project Manager George Snowden at 817-392-6696.

Mayor and Public Library director announce Houston's 4th poet laureate

HOUSTON, Texas -  Writer Leslie Contreras Schwartz has been selected as Houston’s fourth poet laureate, Mayor Sylvester Turner and Houston Public Library Director Dr. Rhea Brown Lawson announce today.

Her two-year term begins now, as National Poetry Month comes to an end. Schwartz was selected through a competitive application and interview process by a panel of literary experts.

Mayor Turner made the final selection. The poet laureate receives a $20,000 honorarium for the two-year term, funded by the City of Houston Hotel Occupancy Tax dedicated to the arts.

Contreras Schwartz will work closely with the Houston Public Library and the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs to carry out her community outreach project focusing on outreach to people with mental illness and mental health workers. She will also conduct eight workshops in partnership with Houston Public Library and mentor the Houston Youth Poet Laureate.

“The appointment speaks to the great work that this poet has done and will do as an ambassador of the City though poetry,” Mayor Turner said. “Houston will be well represented by Leslie through workshops and outreach work in non-traditional communities.”

The Poet Laureate program celebrates Houston’s rich culture and diversity through the work of a poet who creates excitement about the written and spoken word as well as outreach activities, special programs, teaching and their individual works. The role of the Poet Laureate is to stimulate poetic impulse, foster appreciation of poetry in all its forms, and serve Houston residents and visitors with expressions of culture through words.

“The Houston Public Library congratulates Leslie Contreras Schwartz on becoming Houston’s fourth Poet Laureate and joins the mayor in recognizing her invaluable talent. Contreras Schwartz will bring her passion and extensive knowledge of poetry and writing to Houston’s communities,” said Lawson. “We are excited about working with her on a diverse spectrum of literacy programs that will instill the love of poetry and writing for children, teens and adults alike around the city.” 
   
“As a native Houstonian whose family has deep roots in the city since the early 1900s, I am deeply honored to be named an ambassador for poetry in the city I love and call home,” said Leslie Contreras Schwartz. “I have dedicated my adult life to studying, reading, and writing poetry, and am excited to share this passion. My outreach plan will focus on using writing to improve mental health, particularly among non-traditional and underserved communities.”

She is a poetry editor at Four Way Review and works as a lecturer at the University of Houston. She is a graduate of The Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College and earned a bachelor's degree at Rice University.

Contreras Schwartz says her work examines the individual versus public bodies and documents experiences and narratives of those usually silenced, such as people with mental illness, sex workers, women who are trafficked, or children in custody.

Her work has recently appeared or is forthcoming in The Missouri Review, The Collagist, [PANK], Verse Daily, The Texas Review, Catapult, and Tinderbox Poetry Journal, among others. Her new collection of poems, Nightbloom & Cenote (St. Julian Press, May 2018), was a semi-finalist for the 2017 Tupelo Press Dorset Prize, judged by Ilya Kaminsky. In 2018, she was a featured poet for the Houston Poetry Fest. Her fiction will be included in Houston Noir, edited by Gwendolyn Zepeda (Akashic Press, May 2019).

Before '‘passing the pen’' to Contreras Schwartz, the outgoing laureate, Deborah “D.E.E.P.” Mouton, is launching her community outreach project, a multi-video series of performance poetry celebrating neighborhoods of the City. These videos can be found on the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs Facebook & YouTube Pages and will be throughout the coming weeks. The first can be found: https://youtu.be/B-o76Pxz1gs

About the Houston Public Library
The Houston Public Library (HPL) operates 35 neighborhood libraries, four HPL Express Libraries, a Central Library, the Houston Metropolitan Research Center, the Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research, The African American Library at the Gregory School, and the Parent Resource Library located in the Children’s Museum of Houston. With more than eight million visits per year in person and online, HPL is committed to excellent customer service and equitable access to information and programs by providing library customers with free use of a diverse collection of printed materials and electronic resources, Internet, laptop and computer use, and a variety of database and reference resources with live assistance online 24/7.

About the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs
The City of Houston Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs develops policies and initiatives that expand access to arts and cultural programs in the community, attract visitors and leverage private investment. Learn more at www.houstontx.gov/culturalaffairs and follow us on Facebook & Instagram. Find fun stuff on Houston’s Cultural Events Calendar.

JOHN P. MCGOVERN SUMMER READING PROGRAM AT THE HOUSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

HOUSTON, Texas -Don’t miss all the sizzling summer fun and excitement as the Houston Public Library (HPL) presents the John P. McGovern Summer Reading Program. Beginning June 1, 2019  through August 1, 2019, kids ages 5-12 and teens 13-18 are invited to Explore the Unknown by participating in this year’s Summer Reading Program (SRP) where they will earn reading and activity badges and unlock awesome prizes! Free summer meals are available too for youth ages 1 -18 at participating libraries.

Check our online calendar for locations and times!

EXPLORE THE UNKNOWN - Registration Begins May 1, 2019. SRP is free and open to the public. Visit: houstonlibrary.org/summer or call 832-393-1313 for details.

Kids and teens will receive a FREE book and lanyard just for registering! They can earn even more books and cool pins to decorate their lanyard when they reach their reading goals. Kids and teens will even get pins for Exploring the Unknown by attending library activities. The Library offers a wide variety of programs so there's something for everyone. There will be animals, music, storytimes, performances, balloon shows, workshops and more! Check HPL’s online calendar for library locations, dates and times.

Register, Login and Win!
Signing up is easy! Head over to houstonlibrary.org/summer and click on the registration button, and then just follow the prompts. If kids signed up for SRP or the Winter Reading Program last year, they can use the same user name or email and password to log in. If they’ve forgotten their password, they can use the “I forgot my password” link.

Kids can Log in anytime to track the days and titles they've read. If they read at least 20 minutes, they can count that day! They can also unlock badges by logging minutes and attending programs. Some activities require registration; check HPL’s online calendar. Visit any local Houston Public Library location to pick up prizes!

Pizes!
Kids and teens will have the chance to win prizes from:

• Houston area Museums
• inSPIRE Rock Climbing
• Houston Astros
• Benihana

Family Fun!
Parents and caregivers can read this summer, too. Families (1 adult + 1 youth) who complete SRP will win a Family Prize! *while supplies last.  In order to qualify, the child must complete the 30 day level and the adult must write 2 reviews (1 for an item read for the adult’s enjoyment and 1 for a youth item read with their child).

About the Houston Public Library
The Houston Public Library (HPL) operates 35 neighborhood libraries, four HPL Express Libraries, a Central Library, the Houston Metropolitan Research Center, the Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research, The African American Library at the Gregory School, and the Parent Resource Library located in the Children’s Museum of Houston. With more than eight million visits per year in person and online, HPL is committed to excellent customer service and equitable access to information and programs by providing library customers with free use of a diverse collection of printed materials and electronic resources, Internet, laptop and computer use, and a variety of database and reference resources with live assistance online 24/7.

For further information, visit the Houston Public Library at www.houstonlibrary.org, on Twitter @houstonlibrary, on Facebook – houstonlibrary or call 832-393-1313.

City of Austin to Launch Digital Tipping Grant Program for Local Musicians

Musicians encouraged to apply for a digital tipping vessel during the month of May
Austin, Texas - The City of Austin’s Music and Entertainment Division, within the Economic Development Department, will be accepting applications during the month of May for ‘Tip the Band,’ a new digital tipping grant program.  The initiative supports the division’s mission to grow revenue for local musicians. All local, regularly performing Austin musicians are encouraged to apply.

The ‘Tip the Band’ program aims to address affordability concerns for Austin’s music community by creating a new and convenient revenue stream for musicians. Through the use of new technology—a digital tipping vessel—artists can collect digital tips from fans using a debit and/or credit card within seconds.

The Music & Entertainment Division will grant 10 local musicians or bands with one tipping vessel through a competitive application and panel review process.  Grantees will utilize the vessels to collect digital tips at live performances for a six-month period, for all local and traveling shows. Selected musicians will be required to market and promote their use of the ‘Tip the Band’ program alongside a promotional campaign by the Music & Entertainment Division. Following a six-month evaluation period, and upon submitting a final report, the band may continue utilizing the vessel to collect tips.

Electric-assist bikes roll into town

An e-bike system includes some type of small motor that runs the chain wheel.
Fort Worth, Texas - Experience the ease and convenience of riding electric as Fort Worth Bike Sharing adds 50 electric-assist bikes to the fleet.

With e-assist bikes, riders don’t have to sweat the commute – they can go farther faster and climb hills in an eco-friendly way.

Riders can check out an e-assist bike beginning April 29. Download the BCycle App, then select a station to see what kind of bikes are docked at the station. The fee to ride an e-assist bike is the same as regular bikes.

View a video about e-assist bikes.

Third Thursday Jazz series celebrates its 10th anniversary

Fort Worth, Texas - This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Third Thursday Jazz series hosted by the Fort Worth Public Library. In addition to a stellar lineup of local and national talent for the five monthly concerts May through September, the Library has unique programs planned for adults and children throughout the city.

Beyond the five main monthly concerts, music lovers can also perk up their spirits with coffee and jazz. Jazz coffee hours include swinging tunes, coffee and snacks. This is a free event and all are welcome to sway in the festivities. Or guests can grab a brush and add some pizazz and color to a canvas, creating a jazz-influenced painting to take home at Jazzy Painting. Painting events are open to anyone 18 years or older and do require registration.

There are also plenty of fun jazz-themed story times for families. Visit the Library’s Third Thursday Jazz page to find fun events near you.