In the development of a five-year plan, Alamo Regional Transit is gathering community feedback regarding transportation challenges.

Residents in counties supported by ART, including Kendall County, can share how they use transportation services and what challenges they may face in accessing transportation. ART serves 12 rural counties surrounding San Antonio, offering rides for seniors, medical trips, event outings and other uses.

The details: Utilizing survey data, ART plans to better understand how the community gets to the places they need, what transportation obstacles they encounter and how transportation services could be improved. According to the survey, the information will be rolled into a five-year plan.

In 2025, Kendall County commissioners renewed a contract with ART, extending the services for an additional year for $8,000, according to the contract.

During the March 24 Commissioners Court meeting, commissioners authorized the survey to be linked on the county website as a way to encourage the community to provide feedback. Alongside contributions to the ART five-year plan, survey results could help county officials plan future investments in transportation services.

During the month of March, two Chase Bank locations have soft-opened in the Boerne area, located off Bandera Road and in the Lemon Creek Ranch development. According to a March 23 news release, the two locations will celebrate grand openings in April and May.

The overview: On April 16, the branch at 441 W. Bandera Road, Boerne, will celebrate a grand opening. On May 12, the branch at 10049 Lemon Creek Blvd., Boerne will have a grand opening. As part of its local expansion, a new community manager was hired to serve customers in the area.

The new community manager, Johnnie Davis, will help provide financial coaching at no charge, working with community and non-profit organizations, according to the release. Workshops include sessions on saving, budgeting and building credit.

• 441 W. Bandera Road, Boerne; 10049 Lemon Creek Blvd., Boerne

On March 4, the San Antonio City Council received a briefing from both CPS Energy and the San Antonio Water System, or SAWS, on the potential growth and impact of data centers on the city.

During the meeting, Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones and council members expressed optimism that San Antonio will become a leader in responsible data center growth.

“We have the opportunity right now to lead in Texas to create a playbook where the rest of South Texas … could look at that and be like, look at what San Antonio is doing, what the team in San Antonio has done,” District 3 council member Phyllis Viagran said.

Current situation: During the briefing, council members emphasized they are not anti-data center, but they are anti-unplanned, unbuffered growth. Multiple members said any future data center growth must be filtered through the need to create a comprehensive model tailored to local water resources—such as the Edwards Aquifer and SAWS’ recycled water system— grid structure, land use and neighborhood concerns.

From Bluebonnet Volkswagen to the Hampton Inn, check out six of the latest filings to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in the San Antonio area. These listings are preliminary and subject to change.

Monkee's of Fair Oak Ranch
The clothing brand has filed to finish out a new 1,244-square-foot retail space.

• Location: 10049 Lemon Creek Blvd. Ste. 115, Boerne

• Location: 283 S. I-35 South, New Braunfels

• Location: 17702 N. I-35, Schertz

Beginning April 1, Texans can no longer use food stamps to purchase sweetened beverages and candy.

How we got here: During the 2025 legislative session, Texas lawmakers passed Senate Bill 379, which prohibits Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits from being used to purchase candy and sweetened drinks. In August, the federal government approved a waiver allowing Texas to implement the prohibition beginning April 1.

Texas will be the ninth state to prohibit SNAP benefits from being used on sugary items, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

How it works: Under SB 379, Texans will not be allowed to use their SNAP benefits to buy sweetened drinks containing any artificial sweeteners or at least 5 grams of added sugar, according to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. SB 379 also bans the purchase of candy with Lone Star Cards.

It is up to Texas businesses to determine which items are no longer SNAP-eligible, update their store purchase systems and train staff to recognize the newly restricted items, according to the HHSC.