s l n a sentinel - south lamar neighborhood …7:38 p.m. presentation on crime in the neighborhood...

Copyright © 2008 Peel, Inc. South Lamar Neighborhood Association Newsletter - August 2008 �

S L N A Sentinel

S L N A SentinelPublication of the South Lamar Neighborhood Association

August 2008, Volume 2, Issue 8 www.southlamar.org

Don’t want to wait for the mail?View the current issue of the SLNA SentinelNewsletter on the 1st day of each month at

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From the Prez

Next Meeting:Thursday, Aug. 21

7:00 p.m.Location to be announced.

I hopeyouall aremanaging to staycool – or maybe even get away for avacationinalittlebitcoolerclimate. I hate to bring up the dreadedtopic of gasoline prices, but here is aWeb site that you might find useful– www.AustinGasPrices.com.As partofgasbuddy.com,thisWebsitetellsyouthelowestgasolinepricesaroundAustin(alsothehighest,butthat’snotreallysohelpful,isit?).Theyrelyonmemberstoreportthepricestheyspotandtheyletyou select by area. Handy service.AsIamwritingthisinmid-July,thepricespreadbetweenhighestandlowestis20cents.Wouldn’tyouliketoknowwheretogetthatcheaperprice? Also, August is the time of thePerseid meteor showers, so namedbecause they appear in the vicinity ofthePerseusConstellation,whichrisesinthenortheastaround11p.m.Inthewayearly morning hours ofTuesday,Aug.12,theshowersshouldbeattheirpeak.Fortunately,themoonsetsaround2a.m.somaybetheskieswillbedarker.Thebetter to see those showers.Youdon’tneedbinoculars tosee these“shootingstars.” In fact, binoculars will restrictyour vision so just rely on your ownpeepers.Seeyaaroundthe‘hood!NancyMaclaine

The Importance of Reporting Criminal Mischief and Unusual Activities

During a previous neighborhood association meeting, we learned from ourAustinPolice Department District Representative, Officer Robert Barboza, that the kind of events of which we’ve seen a wave in our neighborhood do not get reported to him, becausethey are classified as “criminal mischief.” So cars being broken into, graffiti tagging or suspicious behavior are flying under his radar. While the neighborhood association plans to voice its concerns about that, anybody who is concerned with the standardprocessthateliminates“criminalmischief”fromthedailyreportstothedistrictcommandsis welcome to contact APD directly. Meanwhile, Officer Barboza said the best way to lethimknowabouttheseincidentsistosendhimane-mailatRobert.Barboza@ci.austin.tx.usorcallhimat(512)974-8246(ifthereisnoanswer,youcanleaveamessageabouttheeventoraskforhimtocallyouback).Youshouldstillcall3-1-1toreporttheproblem,but alerting Officer Barboza gets him in the loop. Also be aware that a specific individual recently was back inourneighborhoodgoingdoortodoorwithhard-luckstoriesaskingforanythingfromgastomoneytofoodtowork.Notthat there is nothing wrong with people going door-to-doorwhentheyaregenuinelylookingforwork,butthismanhas“worked”ourneighborhoodforatleastthepasttwoyearsasthereareonlineconversationsabouthistacticsfrom2006onourneighborhoodassociationWebsite.Someofourneighborhoodresidentsalsohaveallegedthatheopeneddoorstoentertheirhomeswhenthedoorswerenotlocked.Whentheseincidentsoccurredpreviously,APDprovideduswithhisnameandcriminalhistory,whichreportedlyincludesdrugissues.HeisanAfrican-Americanmaninhis40s,about5feettallandsmall-bonedwithavery close haircut. He typically wears an oversized shirt, blue jeans and a dark baseball cap. He is known by our area police officers who haverespondedtoneighbors’callsabouthimbyfollowinghimwhileheisgoingdoor-to-doorthroughoutourneighborhood.

2 South Lamar Neighborhood Association Newsletter - August 2008 Copyright © 2008 Peel, Inc.

S L N A Sentinel

Newsletter InformationEditor KristaUmscheid...........................kumscheid@austin.rr.comPublisher Peel,Inc.........................www.PEELinc.com,512-989-8905 Advertising........advertising@PEELinc.com, 512-989-8905

DISCLAIMER: Articles and ads in this newsletter express the opinions of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Peel, Inc. or its employees. Peel,Inc.isnotresponsiblefortheaccuracyofanyfactsstatedinarticlessubmittedbyothers.Thepublisheralsoassumesnoresponsibilityfortheadvertisingcontentwiththispublication.Allwarrantiesandrepresentationsmadeintheadvertisingcontentaresolelythatoftheadvertiserandanysuchclaimsregardingitscontentshouldbetakenupwiththeadvertiser.*Thepublisherassumesnoliabilitywithregardtoitsadvertisersformisprintsorfailure to place advertising in this publication except for the actual cost of such advertising.*Althougheveryeffortistakentoavoidmistakesand/ormisprints,thepublisherassumesnoresponsibilityforanyerrorsofinformationortypographicalmistakes,except as limited to the cost of advertising as stated above or in the case of misinformation,aprintedretraction/correction.* Under no circumstances shall the publisher be held liable for incidental orconsequentialdamages,inconvenience,lossofbusinessorservices,oranyotherliabilitiesfromfailuretopublish,orfromfailuretopublishinatimelymanner,except as limited to liabilities stated above.

SLNA Officers and ContactsPresident NancyMaclaine...............................nmaclaine@sbcglobal.netVice President KristaUmscheid.............................kumscheid@austin.rr.com Secretary DavidAnsel...................................... david@souppeddler.comTreasurer John Bissell.............................................john@jmbissell.comWebmaster Bill Stoughton......................................... bill@southlamar.orgACC/ANC Delegates CarolGibbs.........................................cgibbs1@austin.rr.com Bryan King................................................ bryan@bkradio.netNewsletter Editor (acting) KristaUmscheid.............................kumscheid@austin.rr.com SLNA-KAB Committee Co-Chair Wendy Brennan....................................wenbrennan@aol.comSLNA-KAB Committee Co-Chair LinkDavidson,................................... osouthaustin@aol.com

Tojointheyahoo!e-listsendanemailtoSouthLamarNA-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

SLNA Membership Statement MembershipintheAssociationshallbeissuedonthebasisofresidency(includingrenters)orresidentialpropertyownershipandtimelypaymentofduesorwaiverrequest. SLNA boundaries: North-Oltorf, South-Ben White, West-South Lamar/Manchaca, East-Union Pacific Railroad Personsmeetingthiscriteriamayrequestareductioninduesorawaiverwhensubmittingthemembershipapplication. TheprivilegeofintroducingmotionsandvotingshallbelimitedtothosewhohavejoinedtheAssociationatleastten(10)daysprior toanyscheduledmeeting.Completebylawsandlinkstoother useful SLNA related information are availableatwww.southlamar.org

Teenage Job Seekers Baby Pet House YardName Age Sit Sit Sit Work PhoneDoe,John..................... 15.........•......... •........•...................111-1111

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Attention Teenagers TheTeenage Job Seekers listing service isoffered freeofchargetoallSouthLamarNAteenagersseekingwork.Submityournameandinformationto kumscheid@austin.rr.com bythe9thofthemonth!

Copyright © 2008 Peel, Inc. South Lamar Neighborhood Association Newsletter - August 2008 �

S L N A SentinelAustin Police Offer Monthly

Neighborhood Watch Training District representativesof theAustinPoliceDepartmentsSouthWestAreaCommandhostNeighborhoodWatchtrainingprogramsmonthlyonTuesdays.Currently,atrainingprogramisscheduledforAug.12.Trainingtakesplacefrom6:30p.m.to8p.m.attheClintonHunterSubstation,404RalphAblanado(betweenCongressAvenueandSouthFirstStreet,oneblocknorthofSlaughterLane).Formoreinformation, call Sally Becerra at (512) 974-5903.

Online Trackers Provide Local Crime Information

Twoonlinetrackersgivethepublicin-depthlooksatcrimestakingplaceintheirneighborhoods.Austinresidentscanseeareacrimesatwww.spotcrime.com/tx/austin,whichusesinformationfrompolicerecordsandnewssourcestoshowcrimesonaGooglemap.TheWebsite lets you filter crimes over a certain date, range or time period. Clickingonaniconbringsupmoredetailsaboutthecrimecommitted.TheWebsiteprovidesavisualrepresentationofreportedcriminalactivity. Youalsocanvisit theAustinPoliceDepartment’scrimeviewerpage at www.ci.austin.tx.us/police/currentcrimeinfo.htm. Thatlinkaccessesthepast18monthsofcrimeinformationthroughaninteractivemappingprogramcalledtheCrimeReportViewer.Thecrime information comes from a database of official police reports. Searches on theAPD site can be performed using geographicboundarieslikeneighborhoodassociations,policesectorsordistricts,zip codes, census tracts and a rectangle search tool that can search anywhere in the city.Additionally, individual addresses can beenteredandcrimeinformationsearchedwithin500or1,000feetofthataddress.Updatestothecrimeinformationdatabaseoccurdailyandgobackthelast18monthsfromeachday.

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� South Lamar Neighborhood Association Newsletter - August 2008 Copyright © 2008 Peel, Inc.

S L N A SentinelSLNA General Meeting Minutes

June 19, 20087:10 p.m.Meetingcalledtoorder.7:11 p.m.TourofSkylineTerrace–100unitsforlower-income

folks, already 70 percent occupancy. Looks very nice! Securitydesk,cleanandnice,gardens,commonareas,andabeautifulterraceoverlookingdowntownskyline.Thus,thename:SkylineTerrace.

7:38 p.m. Presentation on crime in the neighborhood by KimRossmo,neighboronDelCurtoRoad.HehasaPh.D.inCriminalJusticeandisanall-aroundniceguy.Hetaughtusallaboutbasiccriminologystatisticsandterminology,andthenpresentedhisanalysisofSLNAcrimebasedonAustinPoliceDepartmentstatisticsforthepast five years. Summary: when compared with national, midsize city averages,SLNAcrimeratecomparesfavorablyandhasbeenstableover the past five years, with a slight uptick in 2008. The obvious hot spotinneighborhoodcrimeisthesoutheastcorneralongSouthridgeDrive.Therewassomediscussionofstrategiesfordealingwiththesame, thenwemostly just shruggedandmovedon.Novolunteersteppedup.

8:22 p.m. Treasurer Report from John Bissell. We have $4,575 in thebank.

8:26 p.m. Zoning Report from Nancy Maclaine. Good News:we won our exclusion effort on vertical mixed use (VMU) Tract 4, which is South Lamar Boulevard between Kinney Avenue and Del Curto Road. Bad News: we lost (badly) our fight on multiple family (MF-2) upzone on Clawson Road. But the City Council did insist on low-flow toilets! Toilets over people! Clawson Road resident Jeff TwiningbroughtuparesolutionforvoteregardingSLNAoppositionto a single-family (SF-3) to Limited Office (LO) or General Retail (GR) upzone at 4209 Clawson Road. Unanimous vote to support the opposition.PresidentwillrequestpostponementofhearingbeforePlanningCommission(currentlyscheduledforJune24).

8:50 p.m.DiscussionofpossibleFourthofJulyparty.(Crickets).8:51 p.m. Roberta Leahy resigned from sign duty, asked for

volunteertoreplaceher.(Crickets).8:55 p.m.Adjourn.

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Capital Metro Gets Public Input For New Rapid Bus Proposal

OneofthethingstheyareplanningisanewrapidbusroutefromSouth Lamar Boulevard to Burnet. CapitalMetroRapidCommunityMeetings CapitalMetrohasbeenworkingonarevisedrapidbusproposalthatcouldearnsomefederalfunding.CapitalMetrohostedthreepublicmeetingsinJulytohearwhatcustomersandthecommunityhadtosay. Routes being discussed include Bus Routes 1L/1M, 3, 5/26, 7/27, 9/14, 15/16, 17, 10/20, 30, 101, 5, 350, 16 and 328, aswell asOrange `Dillo,Red `Dillo,Gold `Dillo andSilver `Dillo. Capital Metro’s proposal for its MetroRapid system includesamenities such as transit signal priority. That could mean a traffic lightthatstaysgreenalittlelongerjustforyouoronethatchangesfromredtogreenafewsecondsearlyasthebusapproaches. Theplancallsforaninitialservicethatwillincludetworoutes:North Lamar Boulevard/South Congress Avenue and Burnet Road/South Lamar Boulevard. This is the first phase in a plan to have as many as 10 routes in the next 20 years. Capital MetroRapid is a partoftheAllSystemsGoLong-RangeTransitPlanthatincludesexpanded local and express bus service, MetroRail service, and new andimprovedparkandridelots. FeaturesoftheCapitalMetroRapidsystemwouldincludemulti-door boarding, far-side stops, real-time passenger information atbusstops,apre-payfaresystemtospeedboardingand10-minutefrequencyduringpeak and all-day service. It’s a typeof limited-stop service utilizing technology aimed at providing reliability, user comfort,and rapid transit service.AkeyobjectiveofMetroRapidserviceistoreducetraveltimeby20percentascomparedtootherregularbusserviceinthesamecorridors.CapitalMetroalsosaysMetroRapidstopswillbeclosetolocalservicebusstopsandconnecttotwoMetroRailstationsforquickandeasyconnections. CapitalMetroplanstosubmitaformalproposalforfederalfundinglater this summer. For more information on MetroRapid, lookonlineathttp://allsystemsgo.capmetro.org/capital-metrorapid.shtml.

Copyright © 2008 Peel, Inc. South Lamar Neighborhood Association Newsletter - August 2008 �

S L N A SentinelNeighborhood Cleanup Aug. 23

Our Keep Austin Beautiful (KAB) coordinators for the South Lamar Neighborhood Association, Wendy Brennan and Link Davidson, have scheduled the next neighborhood cleanup for Saturday, Aug. 23,beginningat9a.m.Wewillmeetattheusualcleanupstartcorner– Doolin Drive and Clawson Road. Also as usual, Brennan and Davidsonwillsupplythetrashbags,glovesandsunscreen.AlannaReed, our KAB contact, graciously provided us a permanent reserve ofsome“pick-up”sticks.Andwhilewehopewewillnotneedthem,she also gave us a first aid kit and supplies of pre- and post-contact controlsforpoisonivy.WewillbringsomeStarbuckscoffee,somewaterandsomesnacks.Lookslikeallweneednowisyou! Ourneighborhoodcleanupsprovideusallwithagreatopportunitytomeetandworkwithourneighbors.Afteronlyanhourandahalfortwo,theresultsareobviousandthepayoffisimmediate:ourstreetsarecleanandweknowourneighborsandourneighborhoodallthebetter.Moreoftenthanyoumightimagine,wealsogarnerthepraiseofonlookers,whothankusforourefforts.It’sanoverallgreatwaytostartaSaturday. Ifyouneedadditionalinformation,pleasecontactLinkDavidsonat326-2379.Youalsocansende-mailtoDavidsonatosouthaustin@aol.com or Wendy Brennan at wenbrennan@aol.com.Theywouldbegladtotalkwithyouandtoansweryourquestions.SeeyouAug.23!

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Advertising Information PleasesupportthebusinessesthatadvertiseintheSLNASentinel.TheiradvertisingdollarsmakeitpossibleforallSLNAresidentstoreceivethemonthlynewsletteratnocharge.Noneighborhoodassociationfundsareused toproduceormail thenewsletters.If you would like to support the newsletter by advertising,please contact our sales office at 512-989-8905 or advertising@PEELinc.com.Theadvertisingdeadlineisthe10thofeachmonthforthefollowingmonth'snewsletter.

� South Lamar Neighborhood Association Newsletter - August 2008 Copyright © 2008 Peel, Inc.

S L N A SentinelHelping Your Child Adjust to Preschool

There are plenty of benefits of preschool - it can be a great place for kidstointeractwithpeersandtolearnvaluablelifelessonssuchashowtoshare,taketurns,andfollowrules.Preschoolcanalsopreparekidsforkindergartenandbeyond.

But going to preschool does come with its fair share of emotions, forboththeparentandthechild.Forakid,enteringanewpreschoolenvironment filled with unfamiliar teachers and children can cause both anxiety and anticipation. For parents, there may be mixed emotionsoverwhetherthechildisreadyforpreschool.Themorecomfortable you are about your decision to place your child inpreschoolandthemorefamiliarthesettingcanbemadeforyourchild,thefewerproblemsyou-andyourlittleone-willencounter.Easing Your Child’s Fears

Spendtimetalkingwithyourchildaboutpreschoolevenbeforeit starts. Before the first day, gradually introduce your child to activitiesthatoftentakeplaceinaclassroom.Achildaccustomedto scribbling with paper and crayons at home, for example, will find itcomfortingtodiscoverthesamecrayonsandpaperinhisorherpreschoolclassroom.

Visiting your child’s first preschool classroom a few times before schoolstartscanalsoeasetheentranceintounfamiliarterritory.Thisofferstheopportunitytonotonlymeetyourchild’steacherandaskaboutroutinesandcommonactivities,buttothenintroducesomeofthoseroutinesandactivitiestothechildathome.Whileyou’reinthe classroom, let your child explore and observe the class in his or herownwayandchoosewhethertointeractwithotherchildren.Theidea is to familiarize your child with the classroom and to let him or hergetcomfortable.

Youcanalsousethistimetoaskyourchild’snewteacherhowheor she handles the first tear-filled days. How will the first week be structuredtomakethetransitionsmoothforyourchild?

Althoughit’snecessaryforyoutoacknowledgetheimportantstepyourchildistakingandtoprovidesupport,toomuchemphasisonthe change may just make your child’s anxiety worse. Young kids can pickupontheirparents’nonverbalcues.Ifyoufeelguiltyorworriedaboutleavingyourchildatschool,heorshewillprobablysensethat.Themorecalmandassuredyouareaboutyourchoicetosendyour

(Continued on page 7)

child to preschool, the more confident your child will be.The First Day

When you enter the classroom on the first day, calmly reintroduce theteachertoyourchild,thenstepbackandlethimorhersetthetone.Thiswillallowtheteachertobeginformingarelationshipwithyourchild.Yourendorsementoftheteacherwillshowyourchildthatheorshewillbehappyandsafeintheteacher’scare.

Ifyourchildclingstoyouorrefusestoparticipateintheclass,don’tgetupset-thismayonlyupsetyourchildmore.Followtheguidelinesdescribedbytheteacherbeforehand,andgoatyourchild’space.

Suggestionsforleavingyourchildatpreschoolaresimplebutcanbehardonaparent.Alwayssayalovinggood-byetoyourchild,butonceyoudo,youshouldleavepromptly.Neversneakout.Astemptingasitmaybe,leavingwithoutsayinggood-byemaymakeyourchildfeelabandoned,whereasalongfarewellscenemightonlyservetoreinforceachild’ssensethatpreschoolisabadplace.

A consistent and predictable farewell ritual can make leavingeasier.Someparentswavefromoutsideacertainclassroomwindowormakeafunnygood-byeface,whereasothersreadashortbookbeforeparting.Transitionalobjects-afamilypicture,aspecialdoll,orafavoriteblanket-canalsohelpcomfortyourchild.

Also, keep in mind that most children do well once theirparentsleave.

Regardless of whether yourchildiseagerorreluctanttogotopreschool,makesurethataschoolstaffmemberisreadytohelpwiththetransferfromyourcaretotheclassroomwhenyouarriveinthemorning.Somekidsmayjumprightin with their classmates, whereasothersmightwantaprivatecuddleandastoryfroma caregiver beforejoiningthegroup.

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Copyright © 2008 Peel, Inc. South Lamar Neighborhood Association Newsletter - August 2008 �

S L N A Sentinel

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Helping Your Child Adjust - (Continued from page 6)

Manypreschoolsbeginwithadailyritual,suchascircletime(whenteachersandchildrentalkaboutwhattheydidthedaybeforeandtheactivitiesthatareaheadfortheday).Preschoolerstendtorespondtothiskindofpredictabilityandfollowingaroutinewillhelpeasethemovefromhometoschool.Updatedandreviewedby:MaryL.Gavin,MDDatereviewed:September2007

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DirectionsCombine first 6 ingredients in large mixing bowl.Addjustenoughmayonnaisetomoisten.Coverandchillatleast1hr.beforeserving.

Note:Smallcancrushedpineapple(drained)canalsobeadded.

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