Texas State University has been selected for a new statewide initiative—the Texas Rural Hospital Officers Academy—that will strengthen financial and operational leadership and stability of rural hospitals and protect access to health care across Texas.

The background: The academy was established by House Bill 18 during the 2025 Texas legislative session and will deliver more than 100 hours of specialized training each year for leaders of rural hospitals and health systems throughout the state. The academy's goal is to address the growing risk of hospital closures, according to a news release from Texas State.

Zooming in: The program aims to reduce financial instability that can lead to service reductions or hospital closures by strengthening leadership. According to the release, training in the academy will include competencies for operating hospitals in resource-constrained rural environments, such as:

• Regulatory compliance
• Revenue optimization
• Health care management

A U.S. Marine veteran wounded in combat is settling into a mortgage-free Buda home with his family after receiving the keys through a veteran support program in March.

Zooming in: Sgt. Luis Valadez said he was inspired to enlist in the Marine Corps after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. He served five years as a Field Artillery Cannoneer, deploying overseas to Japan and Iraq, where he was wounded in combat.

He was awarded the Combat Action Ribbon and Iraq Campaign Medal, among other honors, according to officials with the Military Warriors Support Foundation, or MWSF.

The details: The Valadez family was escorted to their new home on March 19 by the Austin Patriot Guard Riders, where they were welcomed by neighbors and given the keys. Officials said the home was fully furnished—including a stocked kitchen and customized rooms for the kids.

“We're just so grateful right now,” Valadez said, adding that he and his family are excited to call Buda home.

Check out the latest Austin metro transportation project updates.

Upcoming projects
Lakeline Boulevard shared-use path
Project: A 10-foot paved shared-use path is planned along Lakeline Boulevard in Cedar Park between New Hope Drive and Little Elm Trail to improve pedestrian and bicycle connectivity.
Update: According to city officials, design is 90% complete. Plans have been revised to modify an existing roadway bridge rather than construct a new pedestrian bridge, with final design and permitting ongoing.

• Timeline: 2024-26
• Cost: $10.5 million
• Funding source: Texas Department of Transportation

• Timeline: 2026-29
• Cost: $68.4 million
• Funding source: Austin 2016 mobility bond, TxDOT

More than 53,000 students will be invited to join Texas’ education savings account program this week, the state comptroller’s office said May 4.

The details: Families will be notified by email between May 4-6 if they were awarded funds in the second round of the Texas Education Freedom Accounts program, per a news release from the comptroller’s office.

To date, nearly 96,000 students have been selected to participate, with these students set to receive about $820 million of the $1 billion state lawmakers allocated for the program, an agency spokesperson said. Of the 53,000 second-round awardees, over 51,000 are from low-income families. The other 2,000 students accepted this week were found to qualify for disability-related funding, the agency said.

The background: Families accepted to the TEFA program will receive state funds to send their children to private schools or homeschool them for the 2026-27 school year.

Proponents of the new program have said it will expand educational opportunities, while critics have expressed concerns that the program will unfairly benefit students already enrolled in private schools.