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Several health care providers in Cedar Park are expanding existing offices and opening new ones to meet demand from the area's growing population. Here are four recent updates from local providers.

1. Baylor Scott & White to expand Cedar Park clinic, bring more specialists: Baylor Scott & White Health is expanding its Cedar Park clinic, including adding several new full-time specialists in cardiology, orthopedics and podiatry.

2. Ally Medical Emergency Room opening this summer in Cedar Park: The facility will be the company’s eighth in the Austin area, a news release states, and will be staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

3. Ascension Seton Cedar Park uses innovative robotic technology for colorectal procedure in Austin-area first: Dr. Amar Shah, a board-certified colon and rectal surgeon, performed the "landmark" surgery, according to a news release.

4. Behold Family Eye Care coming soon to Cedar Park: The practice will offer a full range of vision services, including comprehensive eye exams and treatment for eye diseases, the owner said.

Williamson County commissioners exempted the contract for transportation of deceased individuals from the county's standard competitive bidding process June 9, allowing the four Justices of the Peace to continue using Tranquil Mortuary.

What happened: The county's purchasing department flagged that annual spending on deceased transportation had reached almost $253,000 across the four districts, surpassing the $100,000 threshold that typically triggers a formal request for proposal process.

A competitive bidding is recommended to maintain compliance and protect the county from potential lawsuits from other vendors, County Purchasing Agent Joy Simonton said.

However, the four Williamson County JPs opposed an RFP process, requesting that the court use a local government code provision to grant a discretionary exemption for services necessary to preserve public health and safety.

Tranquil Mortuary, the county's current provider, is the only reliable 24-hour local option, the JPs said, and hiring an out-of-county provider would lead to extended response times.

A Crunch Fitness in Austin, an AutoZone in Lago Vista and the Plaza Saltillo Station Double Track and Trail Project are among the five most expensive projects filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in the Austin metro this week.

1. Plaza Saltillo Station Double Track and Trail Project ($40.6 million): This project involves a change from single track to double track, building platforms and canopies for passenger waiting areas, and associated utility relocations and right-of-way flatwork.

2. Emergency Animal Hospital of Buda ($1.7 million): A new emergency animal hospital is coming to Buda, with construction set to begin in August.

3. Snack Time C-Store & Gas Station Building ($1.6 million): This project involves the construction of a single-story gas station building with a proposed deli.

4. Crunch Fitness ($1.5 million): A new Crunch Fitness location is coming to Austin. 

5. AutoZone ($1.2 million): A 6,800-square-foot AutoZone is coming to Lago Vista, with construction set to begin in December.

As the 2026-27 school year nears, the number of people selected to participate in Texas’ education savings account program has topped 100,000.

The overview: To date, just over 102,000 students have been accepted into the Texas Education Freedom Accounts program, which gives families state funds to send their children to private schools or homeschool them.

However, being awarded funds does not mean a student is guaranteed to be able to use that money at a participating private school this fall.

Zooming in: Over 2,600 private schools have been approved to accept TEFA funding, per the state comptroller's office. State law does not require schools participating in the program to accept all interested families.

Next steps: Families accepted into the program have until July 15 to do one of the following:

• Confirm enrollment at a private school involved in the program
• Notify the state of their homeschooling plans
• Opt out of the program