ATX-CPF: Impact 9/1/2025

The market vendors offer a variety of locally grown produce, bread, plants, gluten free and dairy free goods, honey, meat and more. New vendors come in about every 1-2 weeks, manager Emily Boone said. 

The year-round market began at Lakeline Mall about four months after Texas Farmers’ Market at Bell moved from Lakeline Mall to the Bell District. The Lakeline Farmers Market is not associated with the Texas Farmers’ Market at Bell, Boone said. 

Boone has opened two other makerts prior to Lakeline Farmers Market, including Silos Farmers Market in Hutto and Domain Farmers Market in Austin. Boone owns an allergy-friendly dog bakery called Best Friends Dog Bakery, which she sold as a vendor at different markets before starting her own. 

In the future, Boone plans to host various events at the market including homestead workshops, dog socials, plant swaps and additional community programs. 

• 11200 Lakeline Mall Drive, Cedar Park

Rise Dental Modern Wellness is prepared to open in the Cedar Park community this October.

The details: The office applies a wellness-based approach to dentistry, founder and lead dentist Dr. Thu Trinh said.

“The technical term is ‘biological dentistry,’” she said. “We focus on overall wellness and the mouth and body connection, and we use the latest technology so patients can understand their health.”

Dr. Trinh said she and her team were intentional about designing the interior of the office to demonstrate Rise’s unique approach to dentistry.

What they offer: Rise Dental offers preventive dental care services, including regular check-ups and cleanings, as well as more extensive dental work, including crowns and fillings. The office also offers some specialty treatments, such as laser and ozone therapy.

• 1651 S. Bell Blvd., Ste. 300, Cedar Park

Higher education costs, a booming population and aging workforce are all challenges identified by health care executives at the state and local level in a first-time health care forum held at Austin PBS in August.

The setup: Hosted by Workforce Solutions Capital Area, Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area and the Central Texas Healthcare Partnership, with support from the St. David's Foundation, the State of Healthcare Workforce Forum brought experts from the state and regional level to discuss challenges impacting the health care industry and its workforce Aug. 26. 

Here are the top trending Community Impact stories in the Austin metro from Aug. 25-29.

1. Former hotel converted into affordable apartment complex in North Austin

2. Georgetown to use eminent domain to complete Williams Drive intersection improvements

3. Georgetown to deliver Round Rock water to Liberty Hill

4. A regional destination: Texas’ second-largest retail store set to bring visitors to Cedar Park

5. New Dave’s Hot Chicken location undergoing construction in Cedar Park

6. Double R Hat House offers hand-shaped cowboy hats 'that last'

Austin Water is moving to spend nearly $42 million on a 143-acre campus on the east side to support its operations, including a nearby wastewater plant expansion.

City officials will vote on the acquisition at 6500 Tracor Lane, covering millions of square feet on both sides of US 183 on the east side. AW doesn't have any firm plans for the property yet; if the purchase is approved, the utility will move ahead on a campus planning process.

The land deal stems from a 2019 facilities evaluation completed for AW by a consultant, which recommended consolidating space and moving away from many of the utility's aging or leased properties.

Gov. Greg Abbott signed Texas’ new congressional map into law Aug. 29, declaring in a video posted to social media that “Texas is now more red in the United States Congress.”

The details: Under Texas’ current congressional boundaries, Republicans hold 25 of Texas’ 38 congressional seats. State lawmakers have said the new map will help them gain up to five more during the 2026 midterm elections.

Texas Democrats have called the mid-decade redistricting effort unconstitutional and "racially discriminatory," while Republicans asserted that the map "complies with the law" and was designed to help more Republicans get elected to the U.S. House.

Next steps: Texas’ new congressional map is set to take effect in early December, although it will be discussed in court two months earlier. After state senators approved the map Aug. 23, the League of United Latin American Citizens and a group of Texas residents filed a lawsuit asking that the map be found unconstitutional.

A panel of three federal judges will hear arguments in the case Oct. 1-10 in El Paso.