A new Taco Bell location is now open in Hutto near Star Ranch.

The gist: The restaurant offers specialities like the Crunchwrap Supreme, Mexican pizzas and grilled cheese burritos. The new location is next to the QuikTrip gas station that opened along SH 130 last year.

The city’s other Taco Bell location is at 600 Hwy. 79, Hutto.

Over 77 acres recently annexed into Hutto will be dedicated to residential housing and commercial development following City Council’s approval Nov. 6.

Overview: The property known as the Kirk tract could host up to 272 residential lots, covering 49.6 acres, and dedicate another 11.2 acres to commercial development, according to conceptual plans presented to council in August.

Council previously postponed a vote on the land until a municipal services agreement could be made to provide water services to the area. The MSA was also approved by council, allowing the Jonah Water Special Utility District to provide the service.

The air traffic control tower at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is staffed at just 45% of its target, according to U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett.

The overview: Only 27 controllers are currently assigned to a tower that needs 60 to meet federal recommendations. The Federal Aviation Administration attributes nationwide shortages to disrupted hiring and training cycles. Controller turnover remains a top issue, according to FAA reports. While the FAA plans to hire 8,900 controllers by 2028, projected departures mean only a net gain of about 2,000. 

The local lens: Those gaps have raised safety concerns. Since late 2022, the FAA has recorded six near-miss incidents at ABIA. 
Local leaders warn that without faster staffing relief, reliability and safety could suffer as Austin’s aviation demand rises.

Quote of note: “These staffing-related disruptions are now systemic, recurring with increasing frequency and intensity. ... With record-setting passenger growth and a multi-billion-dollar expansion underway, AUS cannot meet its operational or safety commitments without immediate staffing relief,” ABIA CEO Ghizlane Badawi wrote in a letter to FAA administrators.

Every day for the past 25 years, at least one person has died in crashes on Texas roads. Texas officials and the families of some fatal crash victims commemorated the grim anniversary with a candlelight ceremony at the Texas Capitol on Nov. 7.

The impact: Jamie White said her 2-year-old daughter, Allie, was hit and killed by a distracted driver at Round Rock’s Old Settlers Park in September 2019.

“It only takes [a few] seconds… to kill somebody,” White said Nov. 7. “Can you imagine doing this, taking somebody's child from them, and living the rest of your life knowing that you caused that?”

Following Allie’s death, her parents launched Allie’s Way, a nonprofit aimed at ending distracted driving.

More details: TxDOT data shows that speed and impaired driving are involved in the majority of deadly crashes on Texas roads.

“These are not random events,” Texas Highway Patrol Chief Bryan Rippee said Nov. 7. “These are the results of making the wrong choices on our Texas highways."