ATX-CPF: Impact 11/7/2025

Leander residents Jeff and Mary Brubaker are preparing to open pet resort VIP Furbabies in Cedar Park. The business is currently in the permitting stage and is expected to open in January or early February 2026.

What they offer: VIP Furbabies will offer pet daycare, boarding and a spa for dog and cat grooming services. The business has a new parent special which includes a month of unlimited daycare for $99. 

• Opening early 2026
• 400 W. Whitestone Blvd., Ste. C, Cedar Park

Ma Bailey’s, a Leander-based women’s clinic and short-term housing facility that serves the greater Austin metro, is planning to expand into a full family practice medical clinic starting Jan. 1.

The details: The clinic will expand its services and begin offering both office appointments and home visits for new mothers and their families.

Founded by practicing doula Ruth Bailey in 2007, the organization provides postpartum care to new mothers who need support during a crucial period. The clinic helps families access perinatal care, aids in recovery, and provides counseling and loss support in the aftermath of a trauma. In addition to medical care, the facility allows patients to book short-term stays to help with their recovery.

The Ascension Seton Health Alliance, a network of doctors and hospitals in the Austin metro area, will invest $800 million in its Williamson County facilities through a nonprofit bond.

The breakdown: ASHA has plans to improve some of its existing facilities throughout the state, amounting to more than $1 billion, Jerry Kyle, a partner at public finance firm Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe, said at a Commissioners Court meeting Oct. 28.

Upgrades to Williamson County facilities include:

• $480 million for the Ascension Seton Cedar Park Hospital
• $25 million for the Ascension Seton Wound Care Center in Cedar Park
• $20 million for the Ascension Seton Emergency Center in Leander
• $275 million for the Seton Williamson Hospital in Round Rock

The Williamson County Homeless Coalition will conduct its annual point-in-time count, which occurs over the course of a single day in late January, to get a snapshot of the number of individuals and families experiencing homelessness in the county.

How it works: The PIT count covers all of Williamson County and takes place in two parts—a daytime count and an evening count—both on the same day.

During the day, volunteers go to locations where unhoused people might gather, such as food pantries, to count and speak with them in one-on-one interviews. In the evening, volunteers go out in groups, asking a specific set of questions to determine if individuals are unhoused.

Volunteers may also distribute items, such as blankets, socks or food donations. 

Get involved: The operation requires a large number of volunteers, typically around 50-100, though more volunteers can help cover wider areas.

The air traffic control tower at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is staffed at just 45% of its target, according to U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett.

The overview: Only 27 controllers are currently assigned to a tower that needs 60 to meet federal recommendations. The Federal Aviation Administration attributes nationwide shortages to disrupted hiring and training cycles. Controller turnover remains a top issue, according to FAA reports. While the FAA plans to hire 8,900 controllers by 2028, projected departures mean only a net gain of about 2,000. 

The local lens: Those gaps have raised safety concerns. Since late 2022, the FAA has recorded six near-miss incidents at ABIA. 
Local leaders warn that without faster staffing relief, reliability and safety could suffer as Austin’s aviation demand rises.

Quote of note: “These staffing-related disruptions are now systemic, recurring with increasing frequency and intensity. ... With record-setting passenger growth and a multi-billion-dollar expansion underway, AUS cannot meet its operational or safety commitments without immediate staffing relief,” ABIA CEO Ghizlane Badawi wrote in a letter to FAA administrators.