ATX-NNW: Impact 10/13/2025

Located in a diverse business shopping strip in North Austin sits sweet shop Cinful Sweets, accentuating bold flavors through the art of chocolate making.

For dessert: Customers can try all things chocolate, gluten-free and vegan from bonbons, dessert bars, panned chocolate and breakables, a chocolate piñata served with a mallet. The shop’s most popular bites are its bonbons, molded chocolate with a thin shell leading to a creamy and crunchy center.

The shells are presented in various flavors and designs, including realistic hearts boasting a black sesame flavoring. Other items are influenced by media such as "Let It Rip," a white chocolate bonbon with raspberry jam, vanilla bean and speculose, inspired by TV series "The Bear."

Community members with loved ones outside the city can still share the sweet treat love by taking advantage of Cinful Sweets’ nationwide shipping.

• 9415 Burnet Road, Ste. 106, Austin

Campaign activity for and against Austin's tax rate increase ballot measure is ramping up ahead of the Nov. 5 election, drawing tens of thousands of dollars in donations for and against Proposition Q.

Several area nonprofits, labor groups and City Council members were among the top donors to political committees favoring the tax rate proposition as of late September. Those organizations reported having more than $120,000 on hand just over a month before the election.

On the other side, the political group Save Austin Now reported the second-highest donation total of any PAC this fall with hundreds of individual contributions. Another political group led by contributions from a handful of residents and businesses also drew tens of thousands of dollars to oppose Proposition Q.

Check out the top trending Community Impact stories in the Austin metro from Oct. 6-10.

1. Hwy. 290 extension could improve travel between Travis and Bastrop counties

2. Bridge placed over Lake Creek to connect Round Rock West with downtown area

3. Austin ISD unveils plans to close 13 schools in 2026-27 school year

4. Cedar Park’s Firefly launches $855 million bid for defense tech company

5. Bastrop Automotive to be built on FM 969

6. Samsung employees to move into office building on Taylor campus this November

Battery-powered home energy service Base Power has acquired funds to expand its operations with a Texas factory in the heart of Austin.

What to know: The company has raised $1 billion alongside 20 investors which will help build its first Texas factory in the space previously occupied by the Austin-American Statesman printing press in downtown Austin.

"Base Power is an Austin-born company, and we're excited about deepening our investment in the city with the goal of bringing affordable, reliable power to Texans," Co-founder and CEO Zach Dell said.

The energy storage and power electronics factory will help meet the company’s current and future demands with its plans to expand services nationwide.

“We’re building domestic manufacturing capacity for fixing the grid,” COO and co-founder Justin Lopas said. “The only way to add capacity to the grid is physically deploying hardware, and we need to make that here in the U.S., ourselves.

• 305 S. Congress Ave., Austin