Dripping Springs ISD trustees approved approximately 300 new library materials, following a report from the School Library Advisory Committee on Nov. 17.

What’s new: The SLAC was established earlier this year after Senate Bill 13 passed in the 89th legislative session, which aims to gives school boards and parents more oversight over library materials.

Parents can now:

• View all library materials available to their child
• Edit which materials their child may check out
• View a log of materials their child has previously checked out

A new "state-of-the-art" hospital and medical research campus from The University of Texas at Austin and MD Anderson Cancer Center may move from its planned location downtown to a site in Northwest Austin, UT officials announced this month.

What's happening: The UT Medical Center was first announced in summer 2023 as a major new piece of UT Austin's academic health system. The project, then estimated at $2.5 billion, was envisioned as a pair of medical towers housing an MD Anderson clinical and research cancer center and UT Austin specialty hospital on the old Frank Erwin Center site off I-35.

However, university officials are now considering UT land near The Domain as the possible future home of the UT Medical Center. A timeline for a decision on whether to locate the medical campus downtown or in Northwest Austin has yet to be determined.

The possible shift away from downtown comes months after state law was changed to allow the hospital towers to be built on the Erwin Center property.

Nonprofit organizations and churches will host free Thanksgiving meals across the Austin area, including events in Dripping Springs, Bastrop, Leander, Cedar Park, Georgetown and more. Volunteers are also encouraged to get involved by reaching out to organizations directly. 

United Way for Greater Austin 
United Way for Greater Austin will host its annual H-E-B Feast of Sharing, providing the community with turkey and trimmings. 

• Nov. 25, 4-8 p.m.
• Free
• 900 Barton Springs Road, Austin

Airport operations at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport have returned to normal following this month’s brief government shutdown, but officials expect heavy traffic as holiday travel ramps up after a record year.

What you should know: Travelers are encouraged to arrive early—2 1/2 hours before domestic flights and three hours for international—and to build in extra time if checking bags, returning rental cars or parking. Individuals can check real-time parking availability or reserve spots in the Blue Garage, Red Garage or Economy lots, though shuttles may see delays.

What else? Allegiant and Frontier passengers should remember that both airlines operate from the separate South Terminal. Flyers can speed up check-in by using mobile boarding passes, kiosks or curbside options. All three TSA checkpoints open at 3 a.m., with PreCheck, Clear and military lanes at Checkpoint 2 West.

On last thing: Travelers can access ADA shuttles, wheelchair assistance through airlines and TSA Cares. Construction tied to the Journey With AUS expansion continues, and an online map helps visitors navigate restaurants, gates and amenities.

This year, voters in communities across Texas were skeptical of local property tax hikes and supportive of larger tax breaks for homeowners and businesses, results from the Nov. 4 election show.

The overview: Voters in Community Impact’s coverage areas approved just over half of the local bond propositions and tax rate elections on the November ballot, according to previous Community Impact reporting. Statewide, 40% of tax rate elections and 45.9% of bond propositions passed, according to Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican and property tax policy writer.

Zooming in: Cities, counties, school districts and other local government entities use funding from tax hikes to build new schools and facilities; hire educators and first responders; and maintain local infrastructure. However, amid high inflation nationwide, more Texas residents are tightening their belts and asking local officials to do the same, fiscal policy experts told Community Impact.

Local governments whose tax hikes were shot down are now grappling with how to make cuts while maintaining essential services, Community Impact reporting shows.