The University of Texas at Austin unveiled the rebranded UT Dell Medicine, its academic health system anchored by Dell Medical School. The system is primed for a multi-billion dollar expansion with the planned UT Dell Medical Center coming to Northwest Austin.

UT officials said the system combines patient care, research and education capacity, and unveiled its new name and logo on Oct. 27.

The cornerstone medical complex will be situated on 27 acres of the UT Campus for Advanced Research near The Domain. It'll include hundreds of patient beds and focus on cardiovascular, cancer, neurological, transplant and advanced intensive care. Cancer services will be developed and operated through a partnership with MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Initial site preparations begin a week after the October UT Dell Medicine ceremony, with the medical center expected to open in 2030.

What we know: The western section of Zilker Park will reopen on Halloween following two weekends of the Austin City Limits Music Festival and a city maintenance period. Earlier in October, the park experienced flooding during the festival's first weekend. Austin Parks and Recreation teams worked with C3 Presents and contractors to remedy the Great Lawn. Recovery tasks included:

• Debris removal

• Irrigation repairs

• Lawn aeration

• Rye seed distribution

• Selective watering for turf recovery

• Tilling and screening of volleyball courts

• Hydroseeded south areas of Barton Springs Road

More details: The western Great Lawn will remain open throughout the holiday season after its Oct. 31 opening. The outdoor volleyball courts will open from Oct. 31-Nov. 16, while Lou Neff Road will remain closed. The rest of the Great Lawn will be transformed into the Trail of Lights, which is open Dec. 10-23.

One more thing: Parking for the park is available at the Stratford Drive Parking Lot.

Cedar Park's first tattoo shop, Don't Tell Mama Tattoo, is expanding to South First Street in Austin. Owned by husband-and-wife duo Brooke and James Dupper, the business opened its Cedar Park location in 2025 and plans to open the new Austin-based shop on New Year's Day. The new location will offer all styles of tattoos through walk-ins and appointments, but it will not offer piercings.

Meet the team: The owners are opening the shop at 2006 S 1st St. with:

• Director of operations Erynn Olkowski

• Lead tattooer Ray Bazaan

• Shop manager Tabitha Baladez

More details: The owners are renovating a 696-square-foot house for the new shop. The building previously served as a tattoo shop for over two decades. The Duppers also opened a tattoo shop in Killeen in 2015 and opened Iron Rite Tattoo South in Georgetown four years ago.

Austin is hosting a variety of Halloween events this year, ranging from family-friendly activities to adults-only fun. The lineup includes:

• Fear Fair at Sign Bar, running from Sept. 16-Nov. 1, which features a maze, live actors, themed cocktails and a Witchy Vendor Market on Oct. 15.
• Crank’N’Stein on Oct. 24, the 10th annual Halloween bouldering competition at Crux Climbing Center, featuring black-light bouldering, a costume contest and free tattoos.
• The Greater Austin YMCA Spooktacular on Oct. 24, offering obstacle courses, bounce houses and music at four locations.
• Houdini Speaks to the Living from Oct. 28-31, a performance with history and live illusions.
• Panic at the Paramount on Oct. 28, featuring a screening of SCREAM and a Q&A with actor David Arquette.
• Halloween Carnival at Meanwhile Brewing Co. on Oct. 31, featuring a costume contest, face painting and temporary tattoos.
• Art of Mixology: Potions Class on Oct. 31, a guided cocktail-making class at Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa.

As Election Day nears, candidates seeking to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate are raising—and spending—large sums of money, their campaign finance reports show.

The details: Candidates and political action committees, or PACs, involved in federal races had until midnight Oct. 15 to submit reports detailing their fundraising and spending from the third quarter of 2026—July 1 through Sept. 30.

• Democrat James Talarico raised $60.2 million and spent $67.2 million, according to his campaign finance report.

• Republican Ken Paxton, the state's current attorney general, reported raising $10.2 million and spending $7.1 million

• Libertarian Ted Brown's campaign finance report shows he raised about $5,208 and spent $3,410

Preparing for the polls: Early voting in Texas' midterm election runs from Oct. 19-30, and Election Day is Nov. 3.

Texans can view a personalized sample ballot with information about dozens of candidates and local propositions at communityimpact.com/voter-guide.

New apartments in Austin, a Brazilian steakhouse in Cedar Park and a Burlington in Bastrop are among the five most expensive projects filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in the Austin metro this week.

1. Rio Grande Apartments ($97.3 million): This building will house 300 student housing apartment units. The building will be 30 stories tall with a lobby, study spaces, pool deck and leasing, amenity and fitness areas.

2. Grace Learning Center ($25 million): This project involves constructing a four-story, 48,000-square-foot worship assembly building for Grace Covenant Church.

3. Fogo de Chao ($4.5 million): A Fogo de Chao location is coming to Cedar Park. The Brazilian steakhouse has a location in downtown Austin.

4. Burlington ($3.3 million): A Burlington is coming to Bastrop as part of the Burleson Crossing East development.

5. P. Terry’s ($950,000): A new P. Terry’s Burger Stand location is coming to Liberty Hill, with construction set to begin early next year.