During its regular school board meeting Jan. 22, the Comal ISD board of trustees unanimously approved calling a general election for Single Member Districts 3 and 4.

What you need to know: The general election will take place May 2. Both trustee seats are for a three-year term, according to board documents.

Portions of each single-member district are situated in Comal, Hays and Kendall counties. The district will contract with Comal County to administer the election in all three counties, according to board documents.

Trustee Jason York is currently serving on the board in the Single-Member District 3 seat. Board Vice President Russ Garner is serving in the Single-Member District 4 seat. 

Sprouts Farmers Market debuted its first New Braunfels location Jan. 23 at 275 Creekside Crossing.

What they offer: The Phoenix-based grocer sells a variety of organic produce and meat. The store is set up like a traditional farmers market, with a produce section in the center of the store. There are also plant-based, keto, dairy-free and gluten-free items along with ready-to-eat sushi and sandwiches.

• 275 Creekside Crossing, New Braunfels 

The New Braunfels ISD board of trustees approved the district’s academic calendar for the 2026-27 school year Jan. 12.

What happened: The board approved the second of three proposed calendars, which received the highest positive feedback according to board documents.

The 2026-27 calendar was intentionally aligned with the 2025-26 calendar, which received significant community support during the previous year’s feedback process, said Chief of School Matthew DeLoach at the board’s Nov. 10 meeting, where the proposed calendars were initially presented.

NBISD teachers will return to work Aug. 3. School will begin Aug. 17 and end May 21. Graduations will be held May 23, according to the district website.

Dates to know: The district will observe the following student and staff holidays:

• Sept. 7: Labor Day
• Sept. 25 (pending): Comal County Fair Day
• Oct. 12: Columbus Day
• Nov. 23-27: Thanksgiving break
• Dec. 21-Jan. 1, 2027: Winter break
• Jan. 18, 2027: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• Feb. 15, 2027: Presidents Day
• March 8-12, 2027: Spring break
• April 16, 2027: Good Friday

• 14 additional critical care beds
• 64 new medical surgical beds
• A new kitchen
• A larger eating area

Two Democratic candidates are running to lead the Texas General Land Office in the upcoming March 3 primary election.

The big picture: Benjamin Flores and Jose Loya are vying for the Democratic nomination for Texas land commissioner. The winning Democratic candidate will face Republican incumbent Dawn Buckingham in November, and the winner of that election will begin serving as land commissioner in January 2027.

Buckingham, who is seeking a second four-year term as land commissioner, is running uncontested in the Republican primary. Community Impact runs candidate Q&As for contested races only.

The context: The General Land Office manages 13 million acres of state lands, with duties such as allocating disaster recovery funds, leasing state lands to generate revenue for the state's Permanent School Fund, preserving state landmarks such as the Alamo and overseeing several veterans programs. It is Texas’ oldest state agency, according to its website.