SATX-NEM: Impact 10/27/2025

Judson ISD's board of trustees approved the submission of four campus turnaround plans to the Texas Education Agency on Oct. 16.

How we got here: According to board documents, a turnaround plan is a comprehensive improvement plan required by the state for campuses that receive multiple unacceptable TEA ratings. Texas schools are rated on an A-F scale based on the criteria of student achievement, student progress and closing opportunity gaps, according to Community Impact reporting.

Kirby Middle School, Henry Metzger Middle School and Park Village Elementary School were given unacceptable, or "F" ratings from the TEA for the 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years. This requires the district to implement a turnaround plan with the purpose of earning a "C" rating by the TEA within two years, according to board documents.

Masters Elementary School received "F" ratings for 2023-24 and 2024-25, requiring the district to develop a turnaround plan for the campus.

The sporting goods superstore has officially opened its doors in Northeast San Antonio, marking the chain retailer’s expansion of the new concept.

What's happening: DICK’s House of Sport officially opened on Oct. 24 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and weekend celebration.

The new store is located at 4100 IKEA-RBFCU Parkway, right next to the IKEA in Live Oak.

“We came here on Sept. 12 with an empty shell,” the new store’s Executive Director, Mario Trevino, said during the ribbon cutting. “Now it’s Oct. 24th and it’s completely amazing.”

The breakdown: Compared to traditional DICK’S Sporting Goods storefronts, the new House of Sport superstore is much larger at 100,000 square feet with two stories.

These special locations include interactive recreational activities such as a rock-climbing wall, golf simulators, batting cages and more, according to the store’s website.

There’s also a soccer field adjacent to the retail center for customers to utilize.

Additionally, there’s a plethora of equipment maintenance services for baseball gloves, bikes and other sports goods.

• 4100 IKEA-RBFCU Parkway, Live Oak

New businesses in Boerne and New Braunfels, including a new automotive headquarters, headline Community Impact coverage of the San Antonio metro the week of Oct. 20-24.

• A new primary care doctor and a new country store open in Boerne
• Vaughan Automotive opens up a Boerne headquarters
• Local officials hold summit to discuss I-35 growth
• 20 business updates in New Braunfels
• Comal County transitional housing project sees progress
• Early voting begins in North San Antonio

Travis County officials approved a $124,953 feasibility study Oct. 21 to explore a potential commuter rail line between Austin and San Antonio.

The big picture: Championed by Travis County Judge Andy Brown, the study will examine passenger rail options along state-managed land near highways, potentially connecting the Amtrak station in San Antonio to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Brown said the goal is to use existing corridors like SH 130 and I-10 to avoid major land acquisition and speed up development.

Why it matters: Brown said a rail line could remove up to 25% of I-35 traffic between the two cities as the corridor’s population—projected to reach 8 million by 2050—continues to grow. The study will run 175 days and include engineering, ridership and cost analyses.

Zooming out: The project complements a separate TxDOT study reviewing 11 alternatives along I-35, including commuter rail and multimodal lanes. Rail ranked as the top community preference in 2024 public feedback sessions.

Two constitutional amendments on the Nov. 4 ballot would impact the operation and oversight of Texas’ judicial system if approved by voters.

The details: State Proposition 3 seeks to require judges to deny bail for certain felony offenses, keeping more defendants in jail as they await trial. Proponents of the measure, which passed the Legislature with bipartisan support, said in June that it would improve public safety by keeping violent offenders behind bars.

Proposition 12 would rework the 13-member State Commission on Judicial Conduct, allowing the governor to appoint a majority of the commissioners and requiring most sanctions for judges accused of misconduct to be issued publicly. The bipartisan proposition faced pushback from some House Democrats who expressed concerns that allowing the governor to appoint a majority of commissioners would politicize the nonpartisan judicial conduct commission and give Abbott more power to remove from office judges whom he does not agree with.

Zooming out: The measures are among 17 state propositions being considered by Texas voters in the Nov. 4 election.