The bar and restaurant in downtown Round Rock known as Alcove Cantina has relaunched under a new name: Sociedad.

The overview: Along with a name change, the restaurant’s interior, menu, and tequila and mezcal selection was revamped. The menu features a variety of Mexican cuisine, such as a stacked enchiladas, steak ranchero, smokey chicken tinga, nachos and brisket bbq tacos.

The downtown business also frequently hosts live music and karaoke nights.

• Reopened April 10

The new Joanne Land Playground at Old Settlers Park will open this month.

The overview: The city of Round Rock will host a grand opening celebration on April 25.

The structure is twice the size of the original playground and will feature integrated lighting to allow for visitors after dark. It also includes rubber surfacing and plastic components designed to minimize heat absorption, according to the city. The grand opening ceremony will take place at 7:30 p.m.

What else: Along with the playground, the city will also host a ribbon cutting to celebrate Old Settlers Park’s new tennis and pickleball complex on the same day, at 6 p.m. The park party will continue throughout the evening, with a performance by DJ Hella Yella at the Lakeview stage, from 6-8:30 p.m. Country music artist Lucas John will then perform at 8:30 p.m.

Check out the latest upcoming, ongoing or completed transportation projects around the Austin metro.

Ongoing projects
Oak Knoll Flood Risk Reduction
Project: The project will improve the storm drain system in part of the Oak Knoll neighborhood to reduce the risk of flooding. 
Update: According to Austin Capital Delivery Services, crews will next install storm drains along Woodcrest Drive and Columbia Oaks Court, during which time a 24-hour flagger station on Columbia Oaks Drive and J. Gregg Cove will be set up to control traffic.

• Timeline: 2025-27

• Cost: $9 million

• Funding source: city of Austin 2018 bond

Completed projects 
CARTS boosts metro-bound Bastrop County routes to cut traffic, emissions
Bastrop County commuters gained new transit options March 2 with the launch of two regional bus routes culminating in downtown Austin: one connecting Bastrop and Smithville, and the other connecting Georgetown and Round Rock. Riders can park at CARTS Park & Ride locations and take coach buses into Austin, offering an alternative to driving and downtown parking.

The Hutto Planning and Zoning Commission recently heard a request from Zydeco Development to rezone a 40-acre piece of land to allow for a data center on the southeast corner of Ed Schmidt Boulevard and Limmer Loop.

The gist: Zydeco is asking the city to both amend Hutto’s future land use map, as well as rezone roughly 40 acres zoned for a planned unit development with plans for a 173-unit apartment complex and commercial space.

Wes Gilmer, principal with Zydeco, described the project as a “midscale data center” during the April 7 meeting. However, the proposal drew a crowd of area residents to Hutto City Hall to express their concerns over the project.

The proposal comes as data centers continue to surge into Central Texas. Hutto’s neighbor, Round Rock, recently saw plans for a new Skybox data center move forward after a rezoning request was approved. The industry has also been under the microscope of Texas officials, as lawmakers look to manage the growth of data centers across the state.

Texas education officials are currently overhauling the state’s social studies curriculum standards, with policymakers, teachers, parents and historians clashing over how students should be taught about the history of Texas, the U.S. and the world.

The overview: The State Board of Education reviews standards for all curriculum areas every 15-20 years, dictating what Texas' 5.5 million public school students should learn at each grade level.

As written, the plan would reduce how much time students spend learning about world history and cultures in favor of more Texas-focused subjects. Critics of the proposal have pushed to include a more diverse set of perspectives to ensure all students feel represented in the curriculum, while those who support it said students’ education should be centered around American exceptionalism, state history and Christianity.

Next steps: The SBOE, which has the final say on the curriculum changes, was taking an initial vote on the plan as of press time and is scheduled to adopt the final standards in June. The new requirements would be rolled out to classrooms in 2030.