Off-leash dog park BARk House Social serves food, drinks in East Austin
BARk House Social, a private off-leash dog park serving food and drinks, opened to pets and their owners in East Austin in August.
The overview: The membership-based business provides access to a 1-acre, turf dog park that is mud free. The business features a splash park for pets, and serves puppy bowls and ice cream, Owner Sandra Vargas said.
Pet owners can enjoy lunch and dinner entrees from three food trucks with indoor and outdoor seating options. A full-service bar offers alcoholic beverages as well as espresso and matcha drinks.
How it works: Pet owners can become a member for $45 a month or purchase a day pass for $15. Memberships are only required for pets while people get in free.
Dogs must be at least four months old, have received all their vaccines and be spayed or neutered. Staff members, known as bark bouncers, clean up after the dogs and ensure they are well-behaved to provide a safe environment, Vargas said.
Travis County directs $34M in taxpayer funds for affordable child care
Less than a year after voters approved a countywide tax rate increase to expand affordable child care, Travis County officials have launched the first wave of investments under the Creating Access for Resilient Families, or CARES, initiative. Commissioners approved a $24 million contract with Workforce Solutions Capital Area, which will use existing programs to provide care for 1,000 children ages 0-3, and three interlocal agreements totaling $9.7 million with Austin ISD, Del Valle ISD and Manor ISD to expand pre-K and after-school programs.
The details: Austin ISD will extend Apple Blossom Centers’ half-day and after-school programs to 306 children; Del Valle ISD will serve 200 pre-K4 students; and Manor ISD will provide care for 1,593 children.
The initiatives are part of a broader plan to create nearly 9,800 child care opportunities countywide, including expanded nontraditional-hour programs and increased subsidy slots. County officials said more contracts are in the works, with an additional 1,700 slots expected in the coming months.
Gov. Abbott signs new congressional map; Texas Democrats vow to fight in court
Gov. Greg Abbott signed Texas’ new congressional map into law Aug. 29, declaring in a video posted to social media that “Texas is now more red in the United States Congress.”
The details: Under Texas’ current congressional boundaries, Republicans hold 25 of Texas’ 38 congressional seats. State lawmakers have said the new map will help them gain up to five more during the 2026 midterm elections.
Texas Democrats have called the mid-decade redistricting effort unconstitutional and "racially discriminatory," while Republicans asserted that the map "complies with the law" and was designed to help more Republicans get elected to the U.S. House.
Next steps: Texas’ new congressional map is set to take effect in early December, although it will be discussed in court two months earlier. After state senators approved the map Aug. 23, the League of United Latin American Citizens and a group of Texas residents filed a lawsuit asking that the map be found unconstitutional.
A panel of three federal judges will hear arguments in the case Oct. 1-10 in El Paso.
