San Antonio to provide dental care to over 5,000 children
During the Sept. 4 meeting, San Antonio City Council approved two agreements to provide oral health assessments and preventive dental care services for children enrolled in Head Start programs from Sept. 1-Aug. 31, 2026.
In a nutshell: According to city documents, the agreements with Parent/Child Incorporated and AVANCE San Antonio are part of the Metropolitan Health District’s Oral Health program.
Through these agreements, Metro Health dentists will perform oral health evaluations and preventive care for over 5,000 children enrolled in Head Start, including up to two fluoride varnish applications. Additionally, Metro Health dental staff will provide case management services for uninsured or underinsured children who have urgent or unmet dental needs.
The background: According to city documents, Metro Health’s Oral Health program provides care to nearly 17,000 children of low-income families a year.
Swish Dental, an Austin-based dentist practice, is opening a new location in the upcoming Stone Oak Mercantile, which is a mixed-use development that will be located at the corner of Evans Road and Stone Oak Parkway.
The details: According to its website, Swish Dental offers a comfort-centric approach to dentistry in offices built to reflect their communities.
Swish Dental offers a wide variety of services, including restorative dentistry, crowns, teeth whitening, cosmetic dentistry, invisalign, veneers, dental implants and full mouth reconstruction.
According to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Stone Oak Mercantile was estimated to begin construction on March 1 and be completed on March 1, 2026.
San Antonio Botanical Garden launches initiative to rehabilitate hill country ecosystem
San Antonio Botanical Garden is launching a collaborative conservation initiative that is designed to restore and protect native plants and riverbed trees devastated by the July 2025 flooding across the Texas Hill Country.
In a nutshell: According to a news release, the initiative is known as Texas Recovery for Ecological and Environmental Stability Initiative, or TREES, the project seeks to rehabilitate native habitats in need of restoration while partnering with community organizations, public and private landowners and environmental experts.
San Antonio Botanical Garden will work with local partners to preserve critical ecosystems, enhance biodiversity and provide research and education opportunities to help communities connect with the natural environment.
These partner organizations provide expertise in plant habitat restoration, ecological research, native plant propagation and environmental education.
Additionally, San Antonio Botanical Garden is extending an open call to conservation organizations, academic institutions, businesses and community partners that are interested in becoming involved in restoration efforts that will start as early as this month.
Second special session ends without new laws on THC, property taxes
Around 1 a.m. Sept. 4, the Texas Legislature gaveled out of its second special session of the year. On the heels of a two-week Democratic walkout that stymied bills during a previous legislative overtime, lawmakers moved quickly to pass 16 of Gov. Greg Abbott’s 24 priorities in under three weeks.
The details: A long-debated plan to ban or restrict sales of hemp-derived THC and a measure aimed at reining in local property tax growth were among the proposals that did not make the cut. Those proposals fell apart in the final days of the special session, after House and Senate lawmakers were unable to reach agreements.
Also of note: Lawmakers also did not pass bills intended to improve emergency preparedness and communications in the wake of the deadly July 4-5 floods; shield certain law enforcement files from public disclosure; and bar local governments from hiring outside lobbyists.
The governor can call a special session at any time; however, legislative leaders indicated they did not expect to return to Austin to tackle the remaining agenda items.
