ATX-NCA: Impact 11/3/2025

Austin ISD revised its plan to close 13 schools and rezone most campuses next school year.

What's happening: While the updated school consolidation plan, shared Oct. 31, still involves closing the planned campuses, it adjusts some attendance boundaries and updates the district's policies related to transferring between campuses, transportation and dual-language programming.

This comes after the district received feedback from thousands of community members on an initial draft shared Oct. 3. 

A new holiday market is headed to downtown Austin.

The details: Fetch Concepts, the company behind Colorado's Cherry Creek Holiday Market, will debut Oh What Fun! Austin Holiday Market at Republic Square. Oh What Fun! is a partnership between Fetch Concepts, the Downtown Austin Alliance and Austin Experiential Group.

The market will include local retailers, food trucks, live music, a cocktail lounge, and community activities such as yoga and Pilates sessions.

Before you go: The market will begin its run on Nov. 20 and will be open Thursdays through Sundays. During its final weekend, the market will be open from Thursday, Dec. 18, through Wednesday, Dec. 24.

Retailers will be available from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., while the bar will remain open until 10 p.m.

• 422 Guadalupe St., Austin

Austin and Travis County leaders are promoting area resources and urging community assistance as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits are potentially expiring for November due to the federal government shutdown.

Over 87,000 people in Travis County could be impacted by SNAP losses. Local leaders estimate those benefits now total more than $16 million every month. 

Sari Vitske, CEO of the Central Texas Food Bank, said the nonprofit has already been contending with a "food crisis" and now anticipates greater need if SNAP recipients are affected. Austin also reported "record" food distributions and long pantry wait times for the nonprofit this year, as well as a 75% funding cut to its home delivery program.

SNAP funding was expected to halt in November. However, a federal judge on Oct. 31 granted a temporary restraining order to maintain the supplemental food program's funding. If benefits end up being affected, Vitske said total community-wide impacts are still uncertain.

Here are the top Community Impact stories in the Austin area from Oct. 27-31.

1. Taiwan-based tech company to locate first US manufacturing facility in Georgetown

2. TxDOT spends $748M to burrow bus-size tunnels under Central Austin

3. The Flats opens in downtown Round Rock after relocation

4. Check out 3 of the latest development stories in Bastrop County

5. GFiber to start connecting Georgetown homes, businesses in 2026

6. New Bee Cave Trader Joe’s opens Oct. 29

Approximately 460,000 Texans have Alzheimer's disease, a progressive brain disorder that affects memory, thinking and behavior. Advocates are encouraging Texas voters to approve State Proposition 14, a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the state to spend $3 billion to launch the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.

The overview: Proposition 14 would allocate $3 billion in state dollars to fund the institute for the next 10 years. The institute would work with researchers and doctors to study the prevention and treatment of various neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and dementia.

All funding for the institute would come from existing state revenue, donations and potential federal grants, meaning no new state taxes or fees would be created.

What they're saying: "If Proposition 14 passes, it really will establish Texas as an incredible leader in our country," neurological researcher Joshua Shulman said. 

At the polls: Early voting runs through Oct. 31, and Election Day is Nov. 4. For more information about the propositions and candidates on your local ballot, visit www.communityimpact.com/voter-guide.