Pflugerville City Council unanimously approved the Secure, Accountable, Fair and Explainable, or SAFE, Technology policy at its Oct. 27 meeting. 

The details: The policy went into effect immediately and established safeguards and oversight for the city’s use of AI, surveillance technology and data sharing.

The policy classifies city technology as low, moderate or high risk based on its intended use and potential impact, according to a city news release. New safeguards include:

• Resident oversight

• Human review

• Data privacy

• Surveillance restrictions

• Data sharing

• Public transparency

The discussion: The policy comes after the city decided to end its contract with Flock Safety when a resident’s review of Flock's records raised questions about who could search data collected by the cameras. Council member Rudy Metayer said the council learned a lot of lessons from the Flock situation. 

“Moving forward, lessons learned, we are going to make sure we have more governance and eyes on these things,” Metayer said.

Hopdoddy Burger Bar is now open in Pflugerville.

The details

Located in Stonehill Town Center, the burger spot serves specialty burgers, including the Saucy Seoul with a Korean beef patty and the Cadillac Wagyu. In addition to burgers, Hopdoddy serves tossed chicken tenders, salads, hand-spun milkshakes, craft beer and cocktails.

Hopdoddy Burger Bar has several Austin-area locations, including in Round Rock, Cedar Park and Leander.

The restaurant shares a building with a new Cava location, which opened Oct. 21.

• Opened Oct. 27

• 18708 Limestone Commercial Drive, Ste. 120, Pflugerville

Holly Wilson, an organic gardening instructor and Native Plant Society of Texas teacher with 40 years of experience, shares advice for maintaining a healthy garden in Central Texas. Wilson recommends planting in the fall, from mid-October through the end of November, to allow plants to establish deeper root systems that tolerate drought.

To maintain a healthy and sustainable garden, Wilson advises:

• Considering a plant's mature size, soil, water, sun and shade requirements before purchasing.
• Using integrated pest management and avoiding chemical pesticides.
• Making compost and vermicompost to provide nutrients and fertilizer.
• Mixing compost into the soil before planting, or gently mixing it around the plant afterward to avoid disturbing the root system.
• Using native plants, which support the environment better than non-native or exotic plants.
• Utilizing the Native Plant Society of Texas website database for gardening resources.

More than 4.5 million Texans cast ballots in the first seven days of early voting in the Nov. 3 election, state data shows.

The overview: From Oct. 19-25, 23.8% of Texas' 19 million registered voters had voted in-person or by mail, according to voter turnout data submitted by counties and reported by the secretary of state. This is slightly below early voting turnout at the same point in 2018 and several percentage points above turnout in 2022.

Some context: Turnout this fall follows voter enthusiasm during the March primary election, when more Texans voted early than in recent primaries. In total, about 4.5 million people—or one-fourth of voters registered at the time—cast ballots in Texas' March election, setting a primary turnout record.

At the polls: Registered voters can visit any polling place in their county through Oct. 30, the last day of early voting. Election Day is Nov. 3. Texans can read Q&As with dozens of candidates, find local polling sites and print a custom sample ballot at communityimpact.com/voter-guide.