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.

A new La La Land Kind Cafe location is slated to take over the former, long-standing coffee shop Stinson’s, which shuttered its North Austin location on the corner of 45th Street and Burnet Road earlier this year.

The details: According to a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, remodeling of the building is set to start in late November, and wrap up in February 2026. The project is estimated to cost $240,000.

The company had not responded to requests for comment as of press time. It currently operates a South Congress Avenue location, along with several sites in the Dallas area.

• 4418 Burnet Road, Austin

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

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.