Councilmember Laura Morrison invited Austin leaders who serve on Council Boards and Commissions and other stakeholders to participate in a forum yesterday to consider what the City of Austin can do to fight childhood obesity. 

The forum was targeted toward the City's Boards and Commissions members because they are uniquely positioned to initiate actionable recommendations which can affect the health of the Austin community.  Forum participants heard from experts in the areas of the urban form & the built environment, nutrition & food access, physical activity and health literacy & culture. 
 
The goal was to challenge the participants to think creatively about solutions and to develop recommendations to improve the health of children in Austin.  
 

A new report released this week by the Texas Health Institute predicts that the number of Texans with diabetes will quadruple by 2040.  "Responding to the Epidemic: Strategies for Improving Diabetes Care in Texas" notes that the overall cost of diabetes in Texas exceeds $12.5 billion a year and is the primary cause of office visits for Texas Medicaid patients.

The World Health Organization has designated December 1st as World AIDS Day.  Communities around the globe will be working to raise awareness about HIV prevention, treatment, support and care.  In commemoration of World AIDS Day, AIDS Services of Austin will offer free HIV testing on Thursday, December 2nd from 1 to 7 p.m. at 7215 Cameron Road.

The Downtown Austin Plan was developed over three years with input from hundreds of Austinites.  The purpose of the Open House will be to present the draft Plan recommendations and to discuss the transition from Plan creation to Plan implementation. 

The full Downtown Plan report can be downloaded at www.cityofaustin.org/downtown.  You can share your thoughts at www.speakupaustin.org.

Homeless advocate Richard Troxell has written a book about homelessness and how to end it.  Looking Up at the Bottom Line: The Struggle For the Living Wage chronicles Troxell's path from being homeless himself to becoming an advocate for ending homlessness through the creation of a universal living wage. On Friday, December 3rd, Troxell will conduct a book reading and signing at Austin's Resource Center for the Homeless (ARCH).

Austin ISD has released its 2010 Annual Report "Changing With the World" which reviews the academic, operational and financial condition of the district.  The growing district of 86,000 students made improvements on virtually every TAKS standard. 

AISD has also released a Strategic Plan Scorecard which tracks how well the district is doing in meeting the four goals of its Strategic Plan...

1. All students will perform at or above grade level.
2. Achievement gaps among all student groups will be eliminated.
3. All students will graduate ready for college, career, and life in a globally competitive economy.
4. All schools will meet or exceed state accountability standards, and the district will meet federal standards and exceed state standards.

If the Austin ISD annual attendance rate increased just 1% district-wide, the district would receive an additional $5.6 million in increased state revenue.  When students miss school one day, they have to work twice as hard the next day to catch up and the teacher's time spent helping the student who is behind slows down the entire class.  Austin ISD has launched a new attendance campaign to encourage parents, students, employers and the community at large to stress the importance of regular school attendance. Visit http://www.austinisd.org/inside/initiatives/edc/ to learn more.