Waymo officials won't attend an upcoming public meeting about a robotaxi that briefly blocked an ambulance responding to the West Sixth Street shooting last month, saying the company has already answered questions in private briefings with local officials.

Why it matters: The episode is shaping up as a test of how safety concerns over robotaxis are handled — in public forums or through direct coordination with officials.

What they're saying: A spokesperson with Waymo confirmed Saturday morning that the company has let Austin City Council members know they won't attend the April 29 joint meeting between the council's Public Safety and Mobility committees.

• "We've already had the substantive conversations this moment calls for, directly with all five requesting Council offices . . . more than 15 city officials, and the highest levels of state government," a spokesperson for the company said in a statement to Axios.

Yes, but: Some council members say they want more information and invited Waymo officials to attend the meeting to "identify steps that can be taken to ensure stronger coordination between Waymo's operations and Austin's public safety agencies."

• City Council Member Zohaib "Zo" Qadri said Friday the meeting will move forward with or without Waymo.
• "I hope they choose to be at the table," Qadri tells Axios. "If they don't, that decision will speak for itself about how they view their responsibility to the people of Austin."

Shweta Shrivastava, a senior director of product management at Waymo said the city has a direct line of communication to the company.

• "They know how to reach out to us, and when they have concerns, they know who to get a hold of," Shrivastava told Axios in an interview Thursday.
• "A forum like the one that they are proposing for April 29 is probably not the most effective way to really get into the details."

Reality check: Local officials have little authority over the vehicles.

• A new state law will require driverless car companies to register with the Texas DMV beginning May 28.

Read the rest

We caught up recently with Ben McKenzie, the actor and author who grew up in Austin and was a heartthrob in the TV show "The O.C."

Driving the news: McKenzie, 47, is in town promoting "Everyone Is Lying to You for Money," an investigative documentary about cryptocurrency that he directed.

• He's in conversation today at 4pm with Evan Smith at the LBJ School of Public Affairs — RSVP here. The film will screen at AFS Cinema in early May.

How are you feeling about Austin, whose changes seem bound to the tech bro culture you made a film about?

"I want my kids to know the town I grew up in — and my 10-year-old sleeps with a Bevo stuffed animal each night. I'm trying to indoctrinate them as UT fans.

• By the same token, when I see a Cybertruck ... it's so antithetical to the liberal, contrarian, iconoclastic sensibility when I was growing up."

But isn't there something contrarian about crypto, too?

"Crypto did start off with a cyber punk, liberal/libertarian version of the world. At this point, it's been squelched, perverted into what is libertarian anarchism. 'We don't need money ... We'll just build the most beautiful computer code.' It's very dangerous and furthers the fracturing of social consensus."

Does being a celebrity help you land interviews?

"For sure. They want to meet Ryan Atwood from 'The O.C.' And they also underestimate you because Ryan Atwood from 'The O.C.' surely couldn't ask a serious question."

The rest of our chat

🎓 The University of Texas suspended a student for organizing a sit-in protest at the provost's office last year. (Austin American-Statesman 🔒)

🛍️ Bed Bath & Beyond is returning to Austin through a merger involving The Container Store. (CultureMap Austin)

🧑‍🏫 Public school teachers in Pflugerville will get a pay bump even as the district works through a budget deficit. (KVUE)

A new online tool shows Texans where to find roadside wildflower blooms across the state.

Why it matters: Planning your annual bluebonnet photos just got way easier.

How it works: Head to the Statewide Planning Map website and select "Blooms Across Texas" under Basemaps. And voilà.

• The map shows the locations of four types of blooms: Prairie verbena, Texas paintbrush, Indian blanket and bluebonnets.
• It also includes locations of annual wildflower festivals and other floral attractions across the state.

Zoom in: Mapping experts with the Texas Department of Transportation used a decade's worth of verified crowdsourced data from iNaturalist to find the blooms and make the user-friendly map.

• TxDOT says its goal is to make it easier for folks to plan where they can park and get the best photos. The agency recommends drivers park away from traffic and not on top of the blooms.

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Here's what we're eyeing for after hours fun this week.

Monday

🏯 Learn to paint with the traditional Japanese Sumi-e technique. Free, Twin Oak branch library, 6pm.

Tuesday

🏒 Root for the Texas Stars as they take on the Chicago Wolves in the playoffs. 7pm at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. Tickets start at $38. (The two teams play again Thursday.)

Wednesday

🎶 Jam to La Santa Cecilia at Antone's — with the Tiarras opening. 8pm, tickets about $40.

🎙️ Explore Austin's "weird" identity amid surging wealth during a conversation at the LBJ Library. Free, 6:30pm. Advanced registration required.

Thursday

🩰 Check out "Bloom!" a collaboration by Ventana Ballet and Austin Camerata, at East Side Performing Arts at 7pm. Tickets start at about $35.