Dental clinic Ideal Dental opened a new location in South Austin in June. 

The details: Led by Dr. Trang Huynh, the clinic provides a variety of dentistry services, including:

• General, preventative and restorative dentistry, including teeth cleanings, crowns, bridges and dentures 

• Orthodontics such as Invisalign and traditional braces

• Cosmetic dentistry such as teeth whitening and veneers

• Oral surgery for wisdom teeth, extractions and bone grafting with sedation options 

• Emergency dental care for broken teeth, loose teeth crowns and other tooth pain 

Something to note: Ideal Dental has a dozen other locations across the Austin metro. 

• 200 W. Slaughter Lane, Ste. 101, Austin

Austin will pay more than $5 million for a multiyear independent audit of all city departments, advancing the recurring citywide assessment program created by City Council this year.

The details: The ongoing audit review will cover Austin's government, the programs and services it supports and its third-party contracting. It'll include comparisons to peer cities, regular public reporting, and recommendations for improvements to city officials and department leaders. The new efficiency audit will likely take several years, and repeat into the future.

While citywide assessments are now established in Austin's code, a local political group is campaigning for a similar but separate auditing requirement. Save Austin Now successfully added its "Independent Affordability and Efficiency Initiative" measure to the November ballot as an amendment to the city charter, which can only be changed in an election. Its version of a citywide audit has several differences from the council-approved version moving forward.

Travis County's push to expand affordable child care is running up against a workforce shortage.

The problem: Travis County committed $51.7 million to make child care affordable, but there aren't enough teachers to staff the classrooms that money is meant to open.

Providers sit at 65% capacity as low wages drive turnover past 40% a year.

The wage issue: For the first time, Travis County will require child care providers to pay a baseline wage—pegged near Austin's $22.05 per hour living wage—to win contracts.

The county will begin procuring an administrator for the designated slots program, including a minimum wage for teachers, this fall.