West Lake Hills will begin the 2026 Street Maintenance Project on July 6 after City Council approved a nearly $1.7 million contract with Alpha Paving Industries at a June 24 council meeting.

The background: In 2021, West Lake Hills voters approved the Street Maintenance Sales Tax Program in order to provide dedicated funding for roadway improvements. In November 2025, voters reauthorized the street maintenance sales tax for eight more years.

The 2026 project will begin on Monday, July 6 and will consist of crack sealing and mill and overlay operations, per city documents. 

The details: Work will begin with crack sealing operations and will continue throughout the city.

Residents may experience minor delays, temporary traffic control and short term construction activity as crews work on the roads, per city documents.

A new pet hospital offering care in West Lake Hill is now open.

The overview: West Austin Pet Hospital, owned by Dr. Sean Quintana, opened late last month. The hospital offers a range of services to care for pets, including wellness exams, blood work, vaccinations, surgery, dental care, microchipping and more.

What else: The facility also provides urgent care visits and emergency care.

Pet owners can utilize the hospital’s wellness plans to help keep track of routine care and comprehensive preventative services.

• Opened June 27
• 701 Capital of Texas Hwy. S., Ste. N-480, West Lake Hills

North Austin will soon be home to a major expansion of The University of Texas’ medical, academic and research systems with the planned opening of the UT Dell Medical Center in 2030. 

The 27-acre medical complex, a collaboration with the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, will break ground this fall. The center is expected to initially include a hospital tower, outpatient facilities and emergency department, with new facilities to be added in phases through 2032. The medical complex is one piece of the recently announced 300-acre UT Dell Campus for Advanced Research off MoPac.

The facility was initially expected to rise downtown near Dell Seton Medical Center, and state lawmakers removed building restrictions on a university-owned property for the UT-MD Anderson project. However, the project’s scope led officials to select Northwest Austin instead. The university confirmed the medical center will feature 300-500 patient beds for specialized care, including potential cutting-edge clinical trials and therapies, to ensure patients won’t have to navigate multiple facilities or search outside Central Texas to address their needs.

Check out Austin area stories trending June 29-July 2.

1. Plans filed for proposed gas station, retail center near Hutto-Georgetown-Round Rock border

2. Developer of The Domain partners with legacy family on 1,200-acres

3. Dirty soda drink shop to open in San Marcos

4. Lagoon-anchored Leander Springs development advances to Leander City Council

5. Hopdoddy Burger Bar acquired by New York-based restaurant group

6. Closer to care: Bastrop explores path to full-service hospital

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas operates the state power grid, overseeing the flow of electricity to over 27 million customers. Yet ERCOT does not directly participate in Texas’ electric market or own any of the facilities that deliver power across the state.

The big picture: Power generation plants, transmission facilities and distribution lines are owned by outside companies, meaning that local power outages are typically isolated and handled by individual companies, rather than ERCOT.

How it works: In 1999, Texas legislators passed a law deregulating the state’s retail electric market. The law was designed to “introduce competition in Texas’ electric market by allowing consumers to choose their retail electric provider,” according to ERCOT.

Previously, most Texas utility companies owned all aspects of the electric supply chain, including generation, transmission and the delivery of power to customers.

Today, approximately 85% of electric customers in Texas can choose their retail electric provider, including those across the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth regions. Customers in Austin and San Antonio get their electricity from municipally owned utilities.