The highlights

• West Michigan Street Road Diet — a long-overdue major bicycle infrastructure project on the near west side.
• Nickel Plate Trail conversion — a multi-use trail from 42nd Street to 96th Street, connecting communities along the Monon and Nickel Plate Trails.
• Indianapolis Cultural Trail 2.0 — this is where the biggest portion of funding is going with a predicted construction cost of over $17 million for multimodal path and greenway construction.
• Keystone Avenue South Stormwater Outfall — at almost $16.5 million, this is the second costliest project and will improve drainage of a historically underserved neighborhood.

By the numbers

• 16 bridge rehab projects
• Nearly 66,000 linear ft of new sidewalk
• More than 82,000 linear ft of repaired sidewalk
• 200+ lane miles of street rehab
• 1,191 new ADA ramps
• ~100,000 linear ft of new trails
• Almost 74,000 linear ft of new storm sewers

• Water Aerobics Marathon | Wednesday, March 8 | 9 a.m.-12 p.m. | Ransburg YMCA, 501 N. Shortridge Rd., Indianapolis | $10 | By taking part in the marathon, you’ll be helping to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to experience Y benefits.

• Constant Smiles (Sacred Bones) with Everything, Now!, and Stuporwaffles | Thursday, March 9 | 7-11 p.m. | Square Cat Vinyl, 1054 Virginia Ave., Indianapolis | $12 | See three rock bands take the retro-looking stage at Fountain Square’s record store.

• Calm the Chaos 2023 Kick Off | Friday, March 10 | 7-10 p.m. | Flanner House, 2424 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St., Indianapolis | Free | Join a workshop and go through a yoga flow at this wellness event — registration is required.

• Near Eastside Makers Market and Bar Hop | Saturday, March 11 | 1-6 p.m. | Centerpoint Brewing Co., 1125 E. Brookside Ave., Ste. 2B, Indianapolis | Cost of purchase | Shop 35 makers selling candles, jewelry, home decor, and soaps with a drink in hand.
• Wine & Paint | Saturday, March 11 | 7-9 p.m. | Arts for Lawrence Visual Arts Center, 8970 Otis Ave., Indianapolis | $45 | Bring your own cabernet and dress comfortably at this intro art class.

• William Shatner and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan | Sunday, March 12 | 7:30 p.m. | Clowes Memorial Hall, 4602 Sunset Ave., Indianapolis | $35-$250 | Set your phasers to stun for this evening with the original Captain Kirk.

• Astrophysics and Evolutionary Biology
• Computer Science
• Engineering
• Neuroscience and Medicine
• Social Entrepreneurship

• 48º | Cloudy | 3% chance of rain

• The proposal to ban dogs, cats, and rabbits from being sold in Indy pet stores has passed the City-County Council. The shops will have two years to transition out of selling the animals and the ban is an effort to ease the burden on Indianapolis Animal Care Services, which has the worst live release (aka leaving the shelter alive) rate since 2015. 🐶(WRTV)

• Gallery Pastry Shop’s last brunch at its original location on 54th Street is on Sunday, March 12. After that, it will be opening its doors at its new location on College Ave., which we told you about last year. The new spot will open for brunch and dinner. Make a reservation. 🥐

• If you thought Will Ferrell has never visited Indy, you’d be sitting on “a throne of lies.” The comedian rallied the crowd at Monday’s Pacers game alongside rapper 50 Cent, even hopping inside a race car. Will was also spotted at a Beech Grove Walmart Sunday evening, where he said he was filming part of a “road-trip style” documentary. 🏀 (WISH)

• Several films selected for last year’s Heartland Film Festival have been nominated for an Oscar. The award show will air this Sunday, March 12 and feature “The Whale,” starring Indy-native Brendan Fraser, as well as a couple of “Indy Shorts” festival winners. Learn how to watch the show. 🏆 (WRTV)

• Indy is set to host the 2023 National Humanities Conference on Oct. 25-Oct. 29 at downtown’s Marriott Hotel. The event is expected to bring together 800+ humanities leaders from cultural institutions and community organizations across the country. Submit a proposal. 🤝

• Snoop Dogg is rolling through Indy this summer and he’s bringing friends. The rapper will be joined by Wiz Khalifa, Too $hort, Warren G, Berner, and DJ Drama on Thursday, July 20 as part of a 33-city “High School Reunion Tour.” Get tickets starting this Friday at 9 a.m. 🎤 (WISH)

• International Women’s Day 2023 | Wednesday, March 8 | 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. | Virtual | Free | Join the Indiana Commission for Women for a four-part panel on how women can learn, leap, lean, and lift each other.
• Stand Tall in Your Story | Wednesday, March 8 | 6 p.m. | The Vogue Theatre, 6259 N. College Ave., Indianapolis | $97-$137 | Hear the real stories of women leaders in our community in a “TED-like” talk with table discussions, live music, food, and drinks.
• International Women’s Gathering | Saturday, March 11 | 1-5 p.m. | Indy’s Global Village, 4233 Lafayette Rd. | $15 | The Ukrainian Society of Indiana will have a table filled with goods at this event with performances, food, and unique vendors to raise money for women’s charities.