Although grocery options have expanded over time, Norma Mercado, Bastrop County Cares executive director, said food access remains uneven across the county, particularly for those in rural or lower-income areas.

What's happening: Mercado listed distance, transportation and affordability as key factors, and said lower-cost grocery options for families that stretch limited household food budgets are needed.

She added that current renovations at H-E-B—set to be completed by late spring—and the March 6 opening of Sprouts Farmers Market should help with access.

Meanwhile, the Bastrop County Emergency Food Pantry is tackling affordability and opened a new facility Jan. 21, expanding its capacity to meet local needs.

What we know: With more people calling Bastrop home and a limited number of major grocery stores, residents are calling for more food options to keep up with that growth.

Becki Womble, president and CEO of the Bastrop Chamber of Commerce, called the upgraded H-E-B and Sprouts Farmers Market “more than just new places to shop.”

“They reflect the community’s growth and evolving needs,” she said.

From adventures with Scouting America at the Lost Pines Scout Reservation to an overnight wilderness survival at the Earth Native Campus, here are some of the summer camps offered in Bastrop County for 2026.

This list is not comprehensive.

Bastrop Bound
Type: art
Ages: 7-17
Dates: June 16-June 18
Cost: $115

• 1204 Chestnut St., Bastrop

• 1500 Emile St., Bastrop

• 921 Shiloh Road, Bastrop

The developer behind a new resort planned at Circuit of the Americas is seeking to reduce its required public parkland contributions and other environmental enhancements around the project.

Expansion at COTA has taken place in recent years under a planned unit development, or PUD, covering over 1,000 acres in far East Austin. That city zoning designation applies to larger, more complicated mixed-use projects and can grant broad building flexibility in exchange for "superior" improvements on site. While hotel elements were envisioned in the original PUD outline passed in 2020, an expanded $925 million project from RIDA Development is now moving through city review.

The PUD states that any hotel development at COTA wouldn't be allowed to open its doors until an 11.38-acre park and soccer fields were dedicated to the city. However, developers are now seeking to revise that requirement to allow them to donate an off-site park, or a fee payment city staff have graded at a lower value.

Learn more about trending Austin area news from March 2-5. 

1. Audit: Austin 'may not be able to' justify hundreds of millions in recent consultant spending

2. Peach Cobbler Factory to open Round Rock location this month

3. New shopping center, flex campus planned for Pflugerville neighborhoods

4. Bee Cave advances shifts to The Village at Spanish Oaks

5. First Watch debuts breakfast favorites in Bastrop March 16

6. From Petbar to wine bar: Check out 18 business updates in the Cedar Park area