Two City Council members dedicated thousands of dollars from their office budgets to local park improvements under newly approved policies regulating their spending.

The details: Council members Paige Ellis and Krista Laine, who respectively represent Southwest and Northwest Austin, transferred funding for an off-leash dog area at Circle C Metropolitan Park and improvements at Springwoods Neighborhood Park. Their donations totaled more than $100,000, mainly for the Circle C project, and build on long-term plans for both city parks.

Council office budget transfers to Austin Parks and Recreation are permitted under revised expensing guidelines adopted in January. Those policies allow council member to move funds to city departments, as long as officials publicly pass a resolution clearly documenting the scope of any transfer.

Boni's Bar Next Door opened next to Lenoir, a Michelin-recommended restaurant, in the Bouldin Creek neighborhood in early March.

What's on the menu: The bar serves Spanish-leaning and classic cocktails that range from $12-$15 per drink alongside Spanish wines starting at $10 per glass. Cider, beer on draft, non-alcoholic options and espresso drinks are also available.

The tapas-style menu features BBQ-spiced pork rinds, a pickle bowl, and oysters. Seasonal menu items include the soft-shell crawfish chips, stewed pork meatballs and preserved gulf white fish with lemon, capers and crackers.

The backstory: Boni's Bar Next Door is the latest concept by Lenoir owners and husband-and-wife Todd Duplechan and Jessica Maher.

Boni's is inspired by Maher's great grandfather Bonifacio, or Boni, who immigrated to Argentina from Spain before later settling in New Jersey where he met Maher's great grandmother, also from the same small Spain town. 

• 1805 S. First St., Austin

Beginning March 9, Austin ISD will hold community meetings to discuss the future of several district properties that are slated to close.

The big picture: Next school year, the district will close eight elementary schools and two middle schools amid declining enrollment and growing budgetary concerns. The district may choose to lease, sell or reuse these campuses as educational facilities either now or in the future, AISD’s website states.

The details: To decide on the future use of a closing school, AISD officials will evaluate whether the district will need the property within the next 20 years, according to AISD information.

The district is considering leasing or selling Becker, Dawson, Ridgetop, Sunset Valley and Widén elementaries as well as a portion of the land at Bedichek Middle School. The Bedichek building will house several district departments, 18-plus programming for young adult special education students and community partners, according to AISD information.

Get involved: AISD will hold community meetings at these six campuses beginning March 9 through April 7 from 5:30-7 p.m.

Check out six upcoming, ongoing or completed transportation projects across the Austin metro.

Upcoming projects

Old Fitzhugh Road
Project: The city of Dripping Springs is aiming to beautify Old Fitzhugh Road while improving traffic flow, pedestrian access and connectivity. 
Update: Per city officials, Old Fitzhugh Road will be restricted to one-way operations throughout construction. Driveway closures and reconstruction of private driveways will be coordinated with property owners before construction.

• Timeline: spring 2026-spring 2028
• Cost: $4.7 million
• Funding source: city of Dripping Springs, Hays County Parks and Open Space Grant, TxDOT

Texas held its primary elections on March 3, with Republican and Democratic voters selecting their parties’ nominees for scores of federal, state and local seats. Yet for some candidates, a major hurdle still remains before the November election.

The overview: Dozens of primary races are headed to May runoffs after no candidate picked up more than half of the vote, triggering an overtime round between the two highest-performing candidates.

The details:  Texas’ runoff election is set for May 26, the day after Memorial Day. Early voting runs from May 18-22, per the secretary of state.

State law requires primary candidates to receive more than 50% of the vote to advance to a general election, meaning a candidate must earn a majority of the vote—not just the highest number of votes—to win their primary outright. This rule means crowded races in Texas primaries and special elections frequently result in runoffs.

In those races, the top two vote-getters advance to a runoff.

Keep reading to learn about voting in the runoffs and who's on the ballot.