Travis County commissioners approved $5.65 million Oct. 6 for repairs and legal costs at a closed county landfill beneath the Austin Country Flea Market at 9500 E. US 290.

What’s happening: The landfill has produced polluted liquid, called leachate, since it closed in 1982.

Most of the money will go toward repairs, according to a county memo, with the rest covering legal costs in the county’s effort to take the property.

Zooming in: The county is in three lawsuits over the site, according to a county court filing:

• The state sued the county in May 2025 over its care of the landfill.

• Landowner Moo Moo Meadows LLC and Graham Development Corp. sued the county in federal court in July 2025.

• The county sued Moo Moo Meadows in December 2025 to take the property through eminent domain.

Zoom Room, an indoor dog training gym, closed in early October after filing for bankruptcy, according to an email sent out to customers.

The overview: Zoom Room offered dog training and socializing, including obedience classes, agility training and dog playgroups, among other services.

Zoom Room South Austin is listed as “permanently closed” on Yelp and Google.

A sign reading “bankrupt” is posted on the front door of the building.

What else: The company’s other location in North Austin is also closed.

• 5300 S. MoPac Expressway, Ste. 504, Austin

A new gym in Kyle, a Rooms To Go in Leander and a Brakes Plus in Georgetown are among the five most expensive projects filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in the Austin metro this week.

1. Project Longhorn ($366 million): This project includes constructing a new one-story data center building.

2. Texas Military Department Camp Mabry Building 8 ($36 million): This project involves constructing a 145,000-square-foot, two-story building.

3. EōS Fitness ($6.4 million): This project involves constructing a 42,556-square-foot structure, including a 2,558-square-foot outdoor exercise area, to be used as a health and fitness club.

4. Rooms To Go ($5.8 million): A Rooms To Go is coming to Leander, with construction set to wrap up next December.

5. Brakes Plus ($1.5 million): This project involves the construction of an auto service facility with associated site work.

6. Juanes Mexican Restaurant ($300,000): A new Mexican restaurant is coming to Round Rock, with construction set to wrap up in December.

Texans interested in casting their midterm election ballots before Election Day can do so from Oct. 19-30, the state's early voting period.

The overview: Registered voters can visit any polling place in their county during early voting. They will receive a ballot with federal, state and local races—from the U.S. Senate and Texas governor to city and school district officials.

Dates to know

• Oct. 19: Early in-person voting begins

• Oct. 23: Deadline to apply to vote by mail

• Oct. 30: Early in-person voting ends

• Nov. 3: Election Day

Something to note: Local election officials are also working through a backlog of voter registrations after the Texas Department of Public Safety failed to send some registration records to counties, according to previous reporting. Texans who registered before the Oct. 5 deadline but do not appear on the rolls can still cast a provisional ballot, per the secretary of state.

More details: To check out candidate Q&As and review all races on local ballots, visit communityimpact.com/voter-guide.