The Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office now has access to facial-recognition software that officials said can help identify people involved in cases using publicly accessible online facial images. 

The $17,100 Clearview AI licensing agreement was approved by commissioners March 24, as previously reported by Community Impact.

The gist: The one-year agreement took effect April 1 and expires March 31, 2027. County documents show the contract is financed with forfeiture funds.

The approval gives the sheriff’s office another investigative tool that officials said can help identify people involved in cases.

What's different about it? In a statement, Clearview AI Chief Legal Officer Thomas Mulcaire said the company’s services provide access to more than mugshots—they also include a database of publicly accessible online facial images and sources showing where the images originally appeared online.

Notable quote: “Clearview AI is another tool to help with identification of persons involved in a case, helping serve justice for responsible parties,” Bastrop County Sheriff Maurice Cook said during the March 24 meeting. “It is highly effective and accurate.”

After spending the last three years renovating, Lance and Alysen Bondy now offer a selection of wines and small bites at their recently opened winery in Smithville.

What’s happening? Set on 73 acres, Frontier Cellars offers a tasting room overlooking a two-acre lake. Alysen Bondy said guests can enjoy indoor and outdoor seating at the veteran-owned business, which makes its wines exclusively from Texas-grown grapes.

What they offer: The winery currently offers five wines—each bottle featuring artwork paired with a backstory tied to its label.

In addition to wines, Frontier Cellars offers a small bites menu featuring Neopolitan-style flatbread, herbed cheese spreads and charcuteries.

What they’re saying: “We feel honored to serve as stewards of the land, preserving as much of the original character as possible while pursuing our dream,” Alysen Bondy said.

• Opened March 7
• 157 Hector Road, Smithville

Austin planners have detailed a new citywide strategy to allow taller buildings in various places, in exchange for affordable housing. The proposal responds to direction from City Council last year to revise a similar program, and the impacts of a new state law.

The details: After over a year of sometimes-controversial rezonings and new construction under Austin's "DB90" building program, city planners have proposed a replacement this spring. The citywide density bonus, or DBC, would allow different building heights in different places.

What it means: DB90 allowed a blanket 90-foot total of building height for projects that committed to either including some affordable housing or paying the city fees.

Under DBC, additional building height ranging from 0-60 feet beyond current allowances could be tacked on in exchange for affordable housing.

Why it matters: City planners said the program's multiple tiers respond to different neighborhood contexts around Austin and a changing housing market.

Funding for Texas’ education savings account program is expected to dry up before it reaches all low-income applicants, the state comptroller’s office announced April 2.

The overview: More than a quarter of a million students applied for the first year of Texas Education Freedom Accounts, which will give participating families access to state funds to send their children to private school or homeschool them.

The details: Most eligible students will be placed on a waitlist for the 2026-27 school year, as the $1 billion program is expected to serve between 90,000 and 100,000 students.

State officials said all funds are expected to go to students with disabilities, their siblings and children from low-income families.

The state will use a four-tier, randomized lottery system to determine who is accepted. Once funding runs out, the remaining students will be placed on a waitlist.

How it works: Students with disabilities can receive up to $30,000 each in ESA funding, depending on their individual needs. 

Other accepted students will receive $10,474 for private education or $2,000 for homeschooling.