ATX-LLH: Impact 7/2/2026

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Piada Italian Street Food coming to Northline

A new restaurant is expected to begin construction in Leander's Northline neighborhood.

Piada Italian Street Food, a chain serving Italian cuisine, will begin construction in Northline this summer, according to a state project filing.

What to expect: Typical piada menus include pasta bowls, salads and Italian flatbread wraps. The restaurant also offers cannoli chips, flatbread sticks and garlic dough.

Construction is expected to begin July 24 and wrap up in September, according to the project’s filing. The same filing reports that the restaurant will occupy a 2,750-square-foot restaurant.

Piada, which has over a dozen restaurants in Texas, is also constructing a location in Pflugerville.

Estimated completion September 2026
516 E. San Gabriel Parkway, Ste. 110, Leander

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In Your Area

What to know about the Cedar Sparktacular 2026

Cedar Park Parks and Recreation will host its annual Independence Day celebration, the Cedar Sparktacular, July 4 at Milburn Park.

What you need to know: The celebration will begin at 5 p.m., and the fireworks show will begin at 9:30 p.m.

A section of Cypress Creek Road between El Salido Parkway and Lakeline Boulevard will be closed at 8:30 p.m. and will reopen after traffic clears following the event.

Parking for the event will be available nearby at Cedar Park Middle School, Cedar Park High School and Austin Community College, according to the city’s website. Parking at Milburn Park will be limited to accessible parking for people with disabilities.

After the fireworks, attendees are encouraged to stay and watch “Despicable Me 4” while waiting for the traffic to clear.

See more details.

Travis County Coverage

Travis County struggles to meet public defense obligations amid attorney shortage

The problem: Travis County must provide attorneys to residents who can't afford one by the end of the first business day after a request, but its primary contractor, the Capital Area Private Defender Service, has lost half its attorney roster over the past decade, dropping from roughly 250 attorneys to about 125.

Because 80% of county public defense cases flow through CAPDS, the shortage has real consequences for case quality and client outcomes.

What's being done: Travis County Community Legal Services Executive Geoff Burkhart presented nine potential solutions to Commissioners Court on June 24, ranging from $50,000 to more than $4 million, including expanding the Public Defender's Office, raising attorney fees, offering loan forgiveness and creating a pipeline through internships.

Preliminary budget investments are expected in late July, though officials warned the fix will span multiple budget cycles.

Read the full story.

Key Information

UT Dell Medical Center aims to transform health care access, training in Central Texas

North Austin will soon be home to a major expansion of The University of Texas’ medical, academic and research systems with the planned opening of the UT Dell Medical Center in 2030.

The overview: The 27-acre medical complex, a collaboration with the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, will break ground this fall. The center is expected to initially include a hospital tower, outpatient facilities and emergency department, with new facilities to be added in phases through 2032. The medical complex is one piece of the recently announced 300-acre UT Dell Campus for Advanced Research off MoPac.

Of note: The facility was initially expected to rise downtown near Dell Seton Medical Center, and state lawmakers removed building restrictions on a university-owned property for the UT-MD Anderson project. However, the project’s scope led officials to select Northwest Austin instead. The university confirmed the medical center will feature 300-500 patient beds for specialized care, including potential cutting-edge clinical trials and therapies, to ensure patients won’t have to navigate multiple facilities or search outside Central Texas to address their needs.

Learn more.