Mayor Will Wynn has been very busy this week and it’s only Wednesday.
Today, he announced the Austin Climate Protection Plan, a local response to the recent IPCC report on global climate change. (I entered a bit of an Internet time warp, having just read the Monday letter announcing the announcement on Bruce Sterling’s blog).
Yesterday, he announced this year’s selection for the Mayor’s Book Club, Around the Bloc by Stephanie Elizondo Griest. The idea is that we, as a city, read a particular book in February and March of each year. It started in 2002. This is the first year that the selection interests me enough that I might check it out. I need to go to the library today anyway to pick up another book I’ve got on hold.
He also called for a halt to the demolition of the notorious “Intel shell” in favor of finding another buyer yesterday. The eyesore is scheduled for demolition on Feb. 25 in an “implosion event” after sitting abandoned for nearly 6 years. It’s currently owned by the federal government and is slated to become a federal courthouse building. Wynn is arguing that the economy has picked up and that a private buyer would be willing to pay more now than in 2004. I suppose the demolition date was a bit of a surprise, but I’m wondering why they didn’t do anything sooner if they had interest?