The city of Bastrop will begin the process of acquiring property on Church Street, where the Allen-Bell House has remained since 1855. During a July 28 city council session, a unanimous vote marked the initial phase toward restoring the historic landmark.

Looking back: The Allen-Bell House stands as one of the 130-plus historic landmarks in Bastrop—which prides itself as the "Most Historic Small Town in Texas.” 

The local perspective: “It is more than an old house. It is a tangible connection to the people, craftsmanship and history that shape Bastrop,” Bastrop Museum and Visitor Center board member Lee Ann Calaway said. “Demolishing one of our most historically significant homes would not simply remove a building. It would erase an irreplaceable piece of our community story.”

A housing development in Pflugerville, an apartment complex in Austin and pool expansions at Veteran’s Memorial Park in Cedar Park are among the five most expensive projects filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in the Austin metro this week.

1. Carmel East Phase 4 ($529.9 million): Carmel East Phase 4 is part of the final 954-homesite expansion of the Carmel Master-planned community in Pflugerville, Texas.

2. Aluna ($75 million): This project involves the construction of 7,305 square feet of leasing office and clubhouse space for a 372-unit apartment community.

3. Veterans Memorial Pool Expansion ($10.5 million): This project includes a proposed 8,000 square-foot wave pool building, a 1,250 square-foot event building and a 3,000 square-foot splash area at Veterans Memorial Park.

4. AA AUS Lounge ($10 million): This project includes interior renovation of the American Airlines lounge in the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

5. Westlake Dermatology ($5 million): This project involves the construction of a 4,262-square-foot building that will be the site of a new Westlake Dermatology location.

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport officials announced in a July 29 news release that the airport recorded its busiest month ever for passenger traffic in June, servicing 2,102,853 departing and arriving passengers.

The details: Per the release, AUS' passenger traffic growth for June 2026 was up 4.4% compared to June 2025. Data also shows that Southwest Airlines saw the most passenger traffic in June with with 916,510 passengers served, up 10.9% year-over-year. While JetBlue Airways only serviced 26,929 passengers, it had the highest year-over-year passenger increase at 241.7%. The number of Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, British Airways, Lufthansa, Copa Airlines and VivaAerobus passengers were also up year-over-year, while American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Allegiant Air, Air Canada, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Aeromexico and Sun Country Airlines saw a decrease in passengers year-over-year. WestJet had the highest dip with 2,104 passengers, down 44%.

In case you missed it: Along with ongoing multi-year expansion efforts which includes terminal and airfield infrastructure work, the airport has launched several new airline routes and accessibility initiatives in recent months.

At least 85,000 students will use Texas' new education savings accounts during the 2026-27 school year, an Aug. 3 report shows. Enrollment may grow as the school year kicks off and more families opt in to the program.

The overview: The Texas Education Freedom Accounts program gives families state funds to send their children to private schools or homeschool them, with priority going to students with disabilities and children from low-income households.

About 24% of students participating in the TEFA program have a disability, according to state data, and 80% of participants are from low-income families.

Zooming in: The largest numbers of students participating in the program live in Texas’ largest school districts, data shows. The report lists that 3,327 participants live in Houston ISD’s boundaries, followed by 2,645 participants from Dallas ISD, 2,271 participants from Northside ISD and 2,024 participants from Fort Bend ISD.

Previous state data showed that about 43% of students selected for the program had previously attended a Texas public school, although the Aug. 3 report did not include that information.