The Allandale Reporter

Harden the Target - Allandale's Crime Seminar with APD Representatives

District Representatives Officer Kelly LaHood and Troy Schouest attended the Allandale Neighborhood Association's meeting last night to talk with residents about recent crime in the area and what is being done about it. Allandale is now a "hot spot" meaning the number of burglary of vehicles and burglary of residences in the area has risen to the point to where the Austin Police Department is spending more time patrolling the area. There have been 19 burglary of vehicles and 19 burglary of residences in the last month. Yesterday there was a burglary of residence reported on Carleen Dr. 

Officer Kelly LaHood explained to the 30-plus residents in attendance there is only so much APD can do in the area and it is important the neighborhood work together and with APD in addressing the problem. She complimented Laura DiCarlo's efforts in organizing the block captain network and in coordinating neighborhood safety efforts in Allandale. In fact, she said, Hyde Park was the only other central city neighborhood that was as active when it comes to neighborhood safety. 

Allandale Neighborhood Association EC Meeting Thursday

The next ANA EC Meeting is this Thursday, May 28, 2009 at the Ralph Yarborough Library, 2200 Hancock Dr. 6:30 - 8:30. The meeting is open to the public. All Allandale residents are invited and encouraged to attend.

Agenda:

1. Convene  6:30PM
2. Read minutes
3. Treasurer's report
4. Comments from APD Sector Rep 7:15PM
5. Bylaws amend to allow us to transmit an electronic copy of the membership under certain circumstances
6. Quick reports by committees
7. Possible vote on Wal-Mart settlement and agreements
8. Update on land use issues:
9. ANC Report
10. Old business
11. New business
12. New EC members
13. Adjourn

Allandale Has a Burglary Problem

Burglaries are up significantly in Allandale over last year. Comparing same period this year with last and you can see the number of homes that have been robbed has more than doubled. The number of burglary of vehicles has increased dramatically as well.

Comparison of Selected Crimes in Allandale 

01/01/08 - 05/24/08 compared to 01/01/09 - 05/24/09.

Crime	2008	2009	Change
BURGLARY OF RESIDENCE	16	44	28
BURGLARY OF VEH	67	89	22

Source: APD Crime Viewer:
http://coagis1.ci.austin.tx.us/website/CrimeViewer/viewer.htm

Below is a note from Laura DiCarlo, Allandale's Safety Coordinator, about this week's meeting with a representative from the Austin Police Department.

This Thursday at 7:15pm at Yarbrough Library (2200 Hancock Dr.) Allandale District Representative Kelly LaHood will meet with all interested about recent crimes in our area. Officer LaHood will speak about crime prevention tips, trends APD is seeing, field questions, etc.  For questions regarding this seminar or if you are interested in becoming a block captain, please contact me at 323-6929 or lhdicarlo@yahoo.com.

Thanks,

Laura DiCarlo

North Village Library Opening May 30th

Boston Red Sox General Manager in the Stands

If some of you were wondering why all of the excitement at the pony league fields last Thursday night, it was because McCallum was playing the first game in its playoff series with Hutto and Boston Red Sox general manager Theo Epsteinwas in the stands watching. According to Friday's article in the Austin American-Statesman, "McCallum tops Hutto in playoff season opener," Mr. Epstein and other major league scouts were in the stands scouting McCallum senior Everett Williams. Everett, McCallum's center fielder, was an an All-CenTex first team pick last year. McCallum won Thursday night's game 5-1. They went on to lose the next two games against Hutto, 13-3 on Friday and 14-4 on Saturday.

Friday, May 15 is Bike to Work Day

Get ready to join others this Friday for Bike to Work day. May is bike month and every year they designate a Friday in the month as bike to work day to encourage people to use their bike for transportation. The Austin Cycling Association is coordinating a series of breakfast stations throughout the city for cyclist to stop and fuel. There will be one on Shoal Creek at the entrance to the Far West bridge. You can find a full list of all of the stops here: http://tiny.cc/3zlDI 

If you live in Allandale and plan on commuting on Friday, stop by for a group photo at the Far West Bridge entrance on Shoal Creek at 7:00 am. If you are commuting but can't make the photo shoot, send me an email. I am taking a count of the number of Allandale commuters that day - Tom Linehan: tlinehan@austin.rr.com. 

Allandale Results for May 9th City Council Election

Allandale followed the rest of the city in its selection of candidates for mayor and city council in Saturday's election. The three precincts in Allandale voted better than 50% for Lee Leffingwell as mayor. Citywide, Lee Leffingwell received 47% of the vote and Brewster McCracken received 27%. Allandale also voted for Mike Martinez in Place 2, Sheryl Cole in Place 6, and Chris Riley in Place 1. Overall, city turnout for the election was 13%. The turnout in Allandale, while not as strong as the presidential election, was more than double the citywide turnout. 

Here are the results from the three precincts in Allandale: Precinct 236 (Rosedale School), Precinct 239 (Gullett Elementary), and Precinct 243 (Ben Hur Shrine). 

May 9th, City Elections Results - Precincts 236, 239, and 243

Mayor	Votes	Precinct 236		Votes	Precinct 239		Votes	Precinct 243
Lee Leffingwell	441	58.5%		423	56.9%		245	50.2%
Carol Keeton Srayhorn	82	10.9%		105	14.1%		93	19.1%
Brewster McCracken	209	27.7%		196	26.3%		138	28.3%
Josiah James Ingalls	8	1.1%		2	0.3%		5	1.0%
David Buttross	14	1.9%		18	2.4%		7	1.4%
Total	754			744			488
Place 2
Mike Martinez	588	88.3%		576	86.5%		384	84.8%
Jose Quintero	78	11.7%		90	13.5%		69	15.2%
Total	666			666			453
Place 5
Bill Spelman	583			567			392
Place 6
Sheryl Cole	589	87.5%		565	85.5%		385	85.9%
Osemene Sam	84	12.5%		96	14.5%		63	14.1%
Total	673			661			448
Place 1
Chris Riley	488	67.3%		484	67.6%		303	66.4%
Perla Cavazos	237	32.7%		232	32.4%		153	33.6%
Total	725			716			456
Total Ballots Cast in Precinct	759			746			488
Total registered voters in precinct	2,856	26.6%		2,379	31.4%		1,677	29.1%

Source: Travis County Clerk's web site

Constable’s Notebook May 2009 - City Elections

By Constable Bruce Elfant

The 2008 elections turned out to be a tale of two cities; record high turnouts for the presidential primaries and the general election, but record low voter turnouts for the city elections where more than 90% of voters stayed home. Certainly the presidential election was important and more than 130 million voters set a new direction for our nation.  However, city elections also matter.  When I came to Austin in the 1970s voter turnout in local elections occasionally exceeded 40%. It has steadily declined to where less than 10% of voters skewed in certain parts of town now determine the outcome of city elections. 

Volunteer for Disabled Parking Enforcement Program

Initiated in 1995, the Disabled Parking Enforcement Program is run by citizen volunteers. Citizen volunteers must be Travis County residents at least 18 years of age, have no criminal record and complete a 4-hour state mandated training class. If you would like to help make our public spaces more accessible for all people regardless of physical ability, then this might be for you. We are looking for active people who are often out and about, and while running errands, for example, will be able to issue tickets to disabled parking violators on a consistent basis. 

City Council Elections - Saturday, May 9

Here is how you can make a difference, vote in the upcoming city council election. Election day is Saturday, May 9. Voters will be selecting the Mayor and City Council Members to Places 1, 2, 5 and 6. Allandale came out big and bold in the presidential election. The turnout for the presidential election for the three precincts in Allandale was over 70%. We can do better at the local level where your vote matters even more. You can go here to the City of Austin's candidate forum page to learn more about the candidates and the upcoming election. You can also read their responses to questions sent out to them in advance the of the North Central Austin Neighborhoods Candidates forum at the forum page. Just remember, we are Allandale and We Vote!