Austin Watershed Protection and Austin Capital Delivery Services are continuing to make progress on flood risk reduction projects in the Northwest Austin area.

The overview: The final phase of the Little Walnut Creek Flood Risk Reduction project is expected to be complete within the next six months and will divert floodwaters from the creek to underground culverts, expand the stormwater detention pond at Quail Creek Park, and replace and upgrade water and wastewater lines.

The Oak Knoll Flood Risk Reduction project is also underway, with completion expected in 2027. The project includes installing new storm drain pipes and inlets, and increasing the capacity of the Chelsea Moor detention pond.

What else? Officials announced in April that crews completed the January Drive Flood Risk Reduction project. Work included over 1,700 feet of new storm drain pipes to reroute and upsize the existing storm drain system to be underneath January Drive, placing most of the system within the public right of way for easier long-term maintenance. Other work included landscape restoration to remove invasive plant species. 

Chi'Lantro, a Korean and Tex-Mex fusion restaurant, closed its location on Burnet Road effective April 30, according to the founder, Jae Kim.

The details: The location was Chi'Lantro’s second brick and mortar, Kim said, which opened in 2015. The team closed the location because they couldn’t find a long-term sustainable plan. The rent price at Chi'Lantro’s Burnet location was set to increase more than 30% upon renewal, Kim shared. 

“[These] are never easy decisions, especially when so much history is tied to a space,” Kim said. 

• Closed April 30

• 5222 Burnet Road, Austin

As health care costs continue rising in Texas and across the nation, state lawmakers are working to understand the factors that make health care unaffordable and what can be done to rein in prices.

The big picture: About 5.2 million Texans, or 16.7% of the state’s population, did not have health insurance in 2024, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

For years, advocates have called on Texas lawmakers to pass laws to drive down health care costs and improve access to health insurance. During a two-day hearing April 30 and May 1, a Texas House committee examined why health care costs are rising. Lawmakers will discuss potential policy solutions later this year, committee chair Rep. James Frank, R-Wichita Falls, said.

What's happening: Yale University professor Zack Cooper said that since 2000, U.S. health care spending has grown three times faster than inflation. The average health insurance premium for a family of four is $27,000 per year, he said.

“Every family is basically buying a new Toyota Corolla worth of health insurance," Cooper told lawmakers.