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Round Rock pet owners will have a new place to bring their animals in need of timely care outside of regular office hours, when Healing Hearts Animal Urgent Care opens next month.

The overview: The practice is intended to fill a gap between primary veterinary services and emergency room services, offering urgent medical care for pets experiencing symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, ear infections, wounds or injuries, allergic reactions, limping or sudden discomfort. Staff will evaluate pets, provide treatment and offer owners guidance for the next steps.

The care center, which will also provide advanced surgical services, will work with owners’ regular vet’s office to provide continuity of care. The office plans to utilized an online check-in system to minimize wait times. While the practice plans to open in June, an official grand opening celebration is scheduled for July 11, featuring games, raffles, complimentary snacks, goodie bags and educational opportunities.

• Opening in late June

Michelin-starred chefs Phillip Frankland Lee and Margarita Kallas-Lee are set to open a neighborhood-style Italian restaurant in a space formerly occupied by Odd's Bar + Bistro, which closed in March.

About the business: The restaurant will be able to seat 100 people when it opens, according to an announcement from Scratch Restaurants Group, with a curated menu drawing inspiration from other restaurants under the group's umbrella, such as Pasta|Bar. The menu will include thin-crust pizzas, with Kallas-Lee's sourdough starter in the mix; handmade pastas, appetizers and salads; as well as secondi and desserts.

Beverage options will include Italian wines from smaller producers; local brews such as St. Elmo's Carl Kölsch and (512) Brewing's Pecan Porter; and a cocktail menu featuring both classics and original mixed drinks.

Check out the latest Austin metro transportation updates. 

Ongoing projects
Oak Hill Parkway
Project: The Texas Department of Transportation is currently reconstructing 7 miles of Hwy. 290 in Oak Hill, transforming the existing four-lane, undivided roadway to a six-lane divided highway with new frontage roads and 14 miles of shared-use paths.
Update: As early as mid-May, the Hwy. 290 and SH 71 flyovers will open. The Convict Hill cross-street bridge opened in April.

• Timeline: 2022-26

• Cost: $677 million

• Funding source: TxDOT

Completed projects
Gattis School Road Segment 3
Project: The city of Round Rock is expanding Gattis School Road—from A.W. Grimes Boulevard to Double Creek Drive—into a six-lane divided roadway, and adding pedestrian improvements, bicycle enhancements and right- and left-turn bays with new traffic signals to A.W. Grimes and Double Creek.
Update: Construction on segment 3 of the road was completed in May. Construction on segment 6 is still ongoing and expected to be complete by late 2027.

• Timeline: 2024-27

• Cost: $26 million (segment 3)

• Funding source: type B sales tax revenue (segment 3)

For the first time in over a decade, there is no incumbent in the Texas attorney general's race as Republican Ken Paxton runs for U.S. Senate. Candidates on both sides of the aisle will compete in runoff elections May 26 after no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the March 3 primaries.

State Sen. Mayes Middleton of Galveston and U.S. Rep. Chip Roy of Austin are each seeking the Republican nomination for the seat.

The overview: Middleton and Roy were the two highest-performing candidates in a four-person primary race. The winner of the May 26 overtime round will face the Democratic nominee and potential third-party candidates in November.

The context: The attorney general serves as Texas' top lawyer, defending the state in court, filing consumer protection lawsuits and issuing opinions interpreting state law. The agency also enforces Texas' child support laws, investigates human trafficking cases and manages access to public records.

At the polls: Texans can vote early May 18-22 and runoff election day is May 26.

Following pressure from summer camp operators, lawmakers and legislative leaders, Texas is suspending a requirement that all camps install “end-to-end” fiber-optic internet infrastructure before opening this summer.

The background: After catastrophic flooding in Central Texas killed more than 130 people—including 28 deaths at Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian camp—last July, state lawmakers passed a pair of laws designed to strengthen safety and emergency preparedness requirements for all Texas summer camps. One provision of the laws requires that camps install two types of broadband internet, including a fiber-optic system.

Nineteen camp operators sued the state over the fiber-optic rule in April, citing million-dollar installation fees and limited access to fiber-optic services in rural parts of Texas.

What's happening: The Department of State Health Services, which licenses youth camps, said it reached an agreement with the camp operators May 7. Under the agreement, Texas camps that maintain “redundant” broadband internet services—such as cellular, microwave or satellite technology—will not have their license revoked or denied as long as they meet all other safety requirements.