ATX-SCA: Impact 9/4/2025

Austin's main homeless services hub could be moving away from its current South Austin location.

The details: For years, various homeless services have been offered from the Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center in South Austin. The location has proved controversial, drawing legal and legislative attempts to shut down operations there due to public nuisance and safety concerns. On Sept. 3, the city's Homeless Strategy Office announced plans to potentially acquire a new property off I-35 to serve as a replacement for Sunrise's services. It remains to be seen if Sunrise would also make the move across town, or if a new operator would be chosen.

No final decision about the new site has been made, and officials said resident input will inform whether the proposed relocation takes place. Depending on public sentiment, City Council could vote to move forward with the property acquisition in October ahead of the new center's opening next spring.

For over 50 years, Hill-Bert’s Burgers has kept Central Austin stomachs full with classic hamburgers, onion rings, milkshakes and more.

How we got here: As a newly-wed University of Texas at Austin student in 1963 with a baby on the way, Hilbert Maldonado was prompted to find a job as soon as possible. The catalyst sparked

Maldonado’s journey as an employee with various burger restaurants in the city: King Burger, Holiday House Restaurant and Burger Chef. After two years of hard work at Burger Chef, the owners decided to sell the business which opened a new opportunity for Maldonado.

“I impressed them quite a bit,” Maldonado said. “They gave me a raise and then they said they wanted to sell the business. They knew I was a new father and trying to make ends meet so they gave me a great deal. And that's how I got Hill-Bert's Burgers.”

• 5340 Cameron Road, Austin

The Heart Hospital of Austin at St. David's Round Rock Medical Center is the first in the nation to use a new vascular stent treatment for carotid artery disease, with a surgeon at the hospital being the first to use this treatment outside of clinical trials in July. 

What you need to know: Per a news release shared by the hospital system in August, Dr. Bradley Boone, M.D., chief of surgery at Heart Hospital of Austin at St. David’s Round Rock and vascular surgeon with Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeons, performed the first surgery in the country to use a carotid stent in the transcarotid artery revascularization technique since receiving approval from the Food and Drug Administration.