When Jennifer Bittner moved to the Austin area in June 2023, she feared her family would need to make frequent, hours-long trips to Houston to access specialized care for her children.

A closer look: Bittner, who has three medically complex children, said specialty services were still expanding when her family first settled into the area. Today, Bittner’s family makes just two trips to Houston each year for care related to her sons’ rare disease.

Both boys receive regular care at Austin’s Texas Children’s Hospital while her daughter receives care at Dell Children’s Medical Center in Central Austin. For families like the Bittners, the opening of new hospitals in the Austin metro has expanded access to specialized programs much closer to home.

By the numbers: Between 2017 and 2024, Williamson County’s child population increased by 19.2%, or 26,034.

As one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the country, Austin and its northern suburbs have seen a rapid increase in the need for pediatric specialties. In 2020, then-President of Dell Children’s Medical Center Christopher Born said that more than 5,500 children in Central Texas had traveled outside the region for complex care since 2009.

With more than $120,000 in additional funding, Leander residents can expect an expanded Independence Day celebration honoring America’s 250th anniversary during the city’s annual free Liberty Fest on July 3.

As part of the expanded programming, the city will host a drone show at 9:30 p.m., followed by a fireworks display.

What to expect: Since parking is not allowed at Devine Lake Park, attendees can park at Danielson Middle School and Glenn High School for free beginning at 5 p.m. A free, wheel-chair accessible shuttle service at Glenn High School will begin loading passengers to Devine Lake Park at 5:30 p.m.

Those planning to be dropped off should use Bagdad Elementary School along Deercreek Lane.

Festival gates will open at 6 p.m., half an hour before Braedon Barnhill is scheduled to perform. 

During the festival, the Leander Public Art and Culture Commission will unveil the 250 Community Mosaic Mural, which features 256 tiles individually painted by attendees June 6 at Old Town Street Festival.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas operates the state power grid, overseeing the flow of electricity to over 27 million customers. Yet ERCOT does not directly participate in Texas’ electric market or own any of the facilities that deliver power across the state.

The big picture: Power generation plants, transmission facilities and distribution lines are owned by outside companies, meaning that local power outages are typically isolated and handled by individual companies, rather than ERCOT.

How it works: In 1999, Texas legislators passed a law deregulating the state’s retail electric market. The law was designed to “introduce competition in Texas’ electric market by allowing consumers to choose their retail electric provider,” according to ERCOT.

Previously, most Texas utility companies owned all aspects of the electric supply chain, including generation, transmission and the delivery of power to customers.

Today, approximately 85% of electric customers in Texas can choose their retail electric provider, including those across the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth regions. Customers in Austin and San Antonio get their electricity from municipally owned utilities.