Government
BY HALEY MCLEOD & KAROLINE PFEIL
Lakeway approves rst baby box in Central Texas Lakeway will soon install the rst Safe Haven Baby Box for surrendered newborns in Central Texas, following a City Council decision made March 17. The overview The baby box program, administered by Safe Haven Baby Boxes, aims to assist mothers in crisis and prevent illegal newborn abandonment, according to the organization’s website. While Safe Haven laws dictate that any Texas hospital, re station or emergency medical station are options for safe surrender of infants, the baby box is an additional alternative available under the law. Surrendered infants can be placed within a temperature-controlled deposit box, often called a baby box or baby hatch, which provides oxygen and features an external locking mechanism. Typically, these boxes are located at re stations,
Bee Cave creates new subcommittees Bee Cave is creating new subcommittees to advise City Council on development and historical preservation of the city. The City of Bee Cave has created and appointed members to a new Hill Country Galleria subcommittee, which will review rezoning requests and other matters related to the Hill Country Galleria. Also established at council’s March 11 meeting was a historic preservation subcommittee, which will be tasked with documenting and preserving Bee Cave history. The overview Mayor Po Tem Andrew Clark stated that city hotel occupancy tax funds could be used for historical preservation e orts, and that the committee could provide guidance to council on usage of these funds.
The Safe Haven Baby Box provides an anonymous, safe way for individuals to surrender infants 60 days old or younger.
and local police are automatically sent an alert when an infant is placed within the box, Mayor Pro Tem Gretchen Vance said. The baby box, originally put forward by Austin resident Brooke Waugh and set to be installed at Pedernales Fire Station 802, will be the rst of its kind in Central Texas, Vance said March 17.
Austin Infrastructure Academy aims to bolster jobs Workforce Solutions Capital Area launched the Austin Infrastructure Academy on March 26, a “person-centric” career development program. Diving in deeper
"The Austin Infrastructure Academy is taking a holistic approach, o ering customized training and certi cation programs that align with the employers’ and job-seekers’ needs." ANDY BROWN, TRAVIS COUNTY JUDGE
Workforce Solutions Capital Area CEO. The Austin Infrastructure Academy is being initially funded through previously allocated city dollars. As part of its $5.9 billion budget for scal year 2024-25, Austin o cials vouched for $5 million to launch the academy. Austin Community College also allocated $200 million in 2022 bond funds for a 76-acre campus in Southeast Travis County.
The academy will provide a new hub for job seekers that integrates recruitment and training for prospective employees in Austin’s mobility and infrastructure sector, said Tamara Atkinson,
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