Hays County household well owners will soon have the opportunity to test for contaminants when the Texas Well Owner Network, or TWON, hosts a private water well screening March 4, followed by a meeting to go over results March 5.

What you need to know: The screenings, presented by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and Texas Water Resources Institute, will test water samples for contaminants, including:

• Total coliform bacteria
• E. coli
• Nitrate-nitrogen
• Salinity

Get the scoop on eight Hays County-area events in March.

Guided Light-Up Kayak Tour: Attendees can explore Spring Lake in clear kayaks with underwater lighting while learning about its history and surrounding habitat—home to eight endangered and threatened species.

• Saturdays in March, San Marcos

• March 7, Kyle

• March 21, Buda

• March 22, Buda

Over 1,000 cocktail lovers, hospitality professionals and community members will join together in April to celebrate the eighth Bloody Mary Festival in Austin.

What you need to know: Throughout the course of the one-day festival, guests can sample 15 bloody marys and vote for their favorite. The event will also feature curated tastings, interactive programming and live music from Austin-based band Pendulum Hearts.

A closer look: All bloody marys will be crafted with local Goodnight Loving Vodka.

The local vendors and craft mix producers featured at the festival include:

• Vinaigrette
• Snooze A.M. Eatery
• Laurel Restaurant
• Texas Card House

• April 4, 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.; 3-6 p.m.
• Ticket prices vary
• 1100 E Fifth St., Austin

The Texas Education Agency must correct roughly 4,200 errors in its elementary and middle school curriculum, the State Board of Education ruled Feb. 25.

The overview: The changes to the Bluebonnet Learning materials, a set of state-developed textbooks, include replacing improperly licensed images, fixing formatting errors or typos and correcting factual errors.

The SBOE approved the Bluebonnet materials in November 2024. The curriculum, which became available to districts ahead of the 2025-26 school year, has been criticized for frequent biblical references in the reading materials, although proponents said the materials would help improve student outcomes.

Zooming in: Before approving the changes, several board members expressed concerns about the “unprecedented” number of issues with the state-developed textbooks, noting that Texas taxpayers will cover the costs of reprinting the updated materials, as they were developed with state funds.

“I’m very concerned that, as a board, we have set a precedent for sloppy publishing. Many times, even if it's a typo, it could become an error of fact,” SBOE member Pam Little, R-Fairview, said.