Mueller - May 2021 by Peel, Inc.

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Mueller Egg Scramble

MNA Egg Scramble Bike-A-Map By Ted Herr

As part of the Egg Scramble, Mueller resident Jennifer Kidd created 2 new routes Bike-A-Map routes. Several teams participated in each route. The top two finishers for each map are listed here: West Map: Fastest: Team Taylor, 50 minutes 2nd place: Team Gilmore, 60 minutes East Map: 1st place: Jason Kulpo, 30 minutes 2nd place: Louie Lazarus, 53 minutes Kidd’s Bike-A-Map routes are influenced by the New Zealand style of mobile puzzles, known as orienteering. Ms. Kidd made both routes available. Egg Scramble by Marta White

Egg Scramble by Snow White

Egg Scramble by Wendy Kopec

Egg Scramble Finds by Meaghan Regier

Robbie and Laurie Bergman and kids head out as a family team for the Bike-A-Map challenge. Photo by Jennifer Kidd.

Egg Scramblin by Snow White Continued on Page 3

Katherine Curtis examines one of the decorative butterflies while on the Bike-A-Map East route. Photo by Matt Curtis

Kai Kidd (Jennifer Kidd’s son) prepares to run one of the Bike-A-Map routes. Photo by Jennifer Kidd

Katherine Curtis shows her enthusiasm for the BikeA-Map challenge. Photo by Christie Curtis Front Porch Flyer - May 2021

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EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Dusty Harshman Kathy Sokolic EDITORIAL STAFF Greg Buford, Cynthia Cammack, Andrew Clements, Shawn Collins, Ani Colt, Luke Downs, Susan Egan, April Geruso, Drew Harris, Bart Jacob, Judith Katzman, Woody Lauland, Layla Mansuri, Dennis Mick, Sadia Tirmizi, Preston Tyree, Lila Valencia, Chrissy Yates Family Scramble, by Snow White

Fun with Scrambling by Meaghan Regier

The Mueller Bunny Rides Again by Chris Sears

Steering Committee Members: Dale Cannedy Mini Egg Scramble by Meagan Regier

Pat DiSanza - Vice Chair Edwin Dorn Ted Herr Koreena Malone Damaris Nicholson - Secretary Sarah Roper-Coleman

Letter from the Chair Dear Neighbors,

Josh Rudow

We're so glad you are here. I hope you had a great time during the Egg Scramble last

Jason Sears

month. We had so much fun planning and putting it together with all the volunteers.

John Thomas - Treasurer

Our pools are open and the weather is turning summer-like so stay cool. Find ways

Marta White

to meet safely with your neighbors outside, and enjoy our many parks and outdoor

Taylor Youngblood - Chair

activities. The MNA is still meeting on Zoom. We’re recording and sharing live now, so

John Wooding (Ex Officio)

we hope to meet up with you online, too. Reach out to us with your questions and ideas.

Stay connected, stay safe, I wish you well. Taylor Youngblood Front Porch Flyer - May 2021

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Building a Community that is Practicing Anti-Racism Part IV - Neighbors stepping up to the challenge

s MNA continues growing and learning about anti-racism, some neighbors are stepping up as co-conspirators or accomplices. They are using their voices and time to speak up and against white supremacy and institutional racism. They understand this system has continued to benefit white people and oppress BIPOCs. As we start seeing more neighbors step up to this work, please welcome them into your homes, social networks, and create a space that is respectful of their time and information. I’m grateful and thankful that Brett Hall has volunteered to host MNA’s very first anti-racism book club. Our very first book is How to Be Less Stupid about Race by Dr. Crystal Flemming. This book club will have two moderated discussions facilitated by Dr. Yasmiyn Irizarry. -Koreena Malone, MNA Community Engagement and Inclusion Chair By Brett Hall, MNA Book Club Host Since moving to Mueller in 2017, I have wanted to find a way to become more involved in the community. Unfortunately, being a new father to twin girls, trying to establish myself professionally, continuing volunteer work with local festivals, and trying to find the time to continue pursuing my passions in film and gaming have all limited my bandwidth. I’ve always felt a calling to be more involved, though-to leverage my place of privilege to benefit my community and, hopefully, the world. Certain opportunities at work and the occasional rally to support local 4

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candidates have engaged me somewhat, but still not to the level in which I felt I was really making an impact. Luckily, the MNA was looking for a delegate for Friends of Austin Neighborhoods (FAN), so I volunteered. Through taking on that responsibility I gained the opportunity to take part in last year’s Anti-racism Groundwater Analysis by Dr. Joyce James. At that training, I found the chance to make an impact in the MNA Book Club. It could be a way for me to help bring people together to start meaningful conversations about institutional racism, its history, and how most of us have no actual knowledge of how to broach the topic, let alone carry a productive discussion. One of the main goals of this book club is to help construct a more informed approach to allyship by engaging experts in the field and compensating them for their time and expertise. We will not bring people together to theorize blindly. Instead, by requiring a small financial commitment from our participants, we hope to attract those who are truly interested in growth and understanding. Then, by passing that money on to the experts we ask to moderate these discussions, we intend to draw educated conclusions while also supporting the growth of study in the field. MNA Equity Team’s very first book is, How to be Less Stupid About Race by Dr. Crystal Flemming is an ideal start to this book club. It presents a crisp and honest history that helps clarify 1) just how little effort people put towards understanding or even reflecting on racism, especially institutional, even though they feel so passionately about their views on it; 2) that it really isn’t and never has been about left vs right/red vs blue; 3) that it isn’t and never has been only about white vs black. This book was actually recommended as a powerful introduction to the discussion by our first moderator, Dr. Yasmiyn Irizarry, Assistant Professor of African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. I plan on facilitating this particular book club at least two to three times because I feel it is an amazing opportunity for me to continue improving my ability to have these conversations, equipping me to support initiatives that will actually drive us towards racial equity and further from performative and uninformed allyship. Please reach out if you're interested in joining our next Book Club brettphall@gmail.com. This is the fourth article of the anti-racism series, please stay tuned to learn what we are doing to organize and change our neighborhood. If you want to be a part of this movement, please contact, Koreena Malone, koreena@cpaksm.com or steering@muellerneighborhood.org. Copyright © 2021 Peel, Inc.

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McBee Street/Block 112 Block Party By Nancy Wolf and Bob Foster

Our block is relatively new. A few homes were occupied in 2018 with the block being completed in Feb 2021. We (Nancy and Bob) are co-captains (Nancy captains a little more than Bob). While we have worked to get the neighbors together in some social distancing meet-ups during the pandemic times, it's been hard for everyone to just gather and meet individually. With this in mind, we invited each of our neighbors to fill out a questionnaire about who they are and other fun information. We got a great response and shared the information among our block neighbors. But still we wanted to have a chance for everyone to meet each other. So in early March, we invited folks to gather at the corner and come by to say hi and chat. Attendance (while masked and socially distanced) was phenomenal. To make it more enjoyable, we created a billboard with everyone’s questionnaire on it, and then we played games with kids asking them questions about the billboard.

Questions included: What number do all addresses start with? How many houses have 2nd floor balconies? How many families have pets? We have lots of different colored doors on our Street. How many doors are: Red: Orange: Brown: Green/Blue: Yellow/Gold: Black: Purple: Our neighbors were born in many different countries. Can you name any of those countries?" Copyright © 2021 Peel, Inc.

The questionnaire was free-form, and we suggested topics like: How long have you been in Austin? Where did you move from? Do you have any children? Do you have any pets? What are your hobbies? Would you like to share some fun facts about yourself? While we didn’t specifically ask about their jobs, everyone added that to their questionnaire anyway. It was amazing to see how the 17 homes had overlap in their hobbies or previous places of residency or types of pets. This format definitely worked for our little area over here and we hope some of these ideas might be useful to others. We’d love to hear any ideas other blocks have thought of, and we can be reached at nwolf1000@ gmail.com and bobf@us.ibm.com.

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Mueller Neighborhood Association Teams up with AISD to Support Students and Families During Pandemic by Marta White The Mueller Neighborhood Association (MNA) sold specially designed masks to support students and families through the Austin ISD Crisis Support Fund, austinedfund.org/crisis-support-fund. The Austin ISD (AISD) Crisis Support Fund was created through a collaboration between the district and the Austin Ed Fund. It provides supplemental food services, health programs, supplies for remote and in-person learning, and Wi-Fi hotspots. Over ten million dollars has been raised for the Austin Ed Fund's Crisis Support Fund. The latest one pager on impact is below and donations can be made at www.austinedfund.org. Michelle Wallis, the Executive Director of the fund and Mueller neighbor said "we are so grateful for the community support for our students, staff, and families over the past year. Whether it's providing meals and financial assistance for families, support for remote learning, or recognition for our frontline staff and teachers, the Austin community has stepped up during this time of uncertainty. The caregiver meals program not only has served over 1.2 million meals to families, but it has also supported some of our most beloved local restaurants -- including many in our own Mueller backyard." This additional support was so important during the pandemic as well as the aftermath of the winter storm. Local artist, Dixie Friend Gay, dixiefriendgay.com, who created Nessy the Lakeness Dragon located at Mueller Lake Park and Arachnophillia, the giant spider in Mueller Southwest Greenway, gave permission and provided artwork for the masks. To date the MNA has donated $275 to the Crisis Fund. A limited quantity of masks is still available along with Mueller MNA T-shirts to complement your mask. Click on this link to place your order: tinyurl.com/y3468uwl

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FRONT PORCH FLYER The Front Porch Flyer is a publication of the Mueller Neighborhood Association, produced and distributed by Peel, Inc. At no time will anyone be allowed to use the Front Porch Flyer content, or loan said content, to others in any way, shape, or form, nor in any media, web site, print, film, email, electronic copy, fax, or other means, for the purpose of solicitation, commercial use, or any other use for profit, political campaigns, or other self-amplification, under penalty of law, without written or expressed permission from the Mueller Neighborhood Association. 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. is not responsible for the accuracy of any facts stated in articles submitted by others. The publisher also assumes no responsibility for the advertising content with this publication. All warranties and representations made in the advertising content are solely that of the advertiser and any such claims regarding its content should be taken up with the advertiser. * The publisher assumes no liability with regard to its advertisers for misprints or failure to place advertising in this publication except for the actual cost of such advertising. * Although every effort is taken to avoid mistakes and/or misprints, the publisher assumes no responsibility for any errors of information or typographical mistakes, except as limited to the cost of advertising as stated above or in the case of misinformation, a printed retraction/correction. * Under no circumstances shall the publisher be held liable for incidental or consequential damages, inconvenience, loss of business or services, or any other liabilities from failure to publish, or from failure to publish in a timely manner, except as limited to liabilities stated above.

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