New Braunfels is working toward having a new hike and bike trail in the Gruene Historic District.

In a 5-1 vote, New Braunfels City Council approved an advance funding agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation, or TxDOT, to fund the Waterway Lane Hike and Bike Trail project during a meeting on Sept. 28.

New Braunfels Mayor Michael French was the single dissenting vote.

By the numbers: The $3,659,475 project, which will span 2.4 miles and connect FM 306 to Gruene Road, is being included as part of TxDOT's Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside Program, or TASA.

The city will fund about 20% of the project, or $728,600. TASA will fund the remaining 80% of the project's cost, or $2,914,400, according to agenda documents.

Next steps: City staff will finalize the advance funding agreement with TxDOT and then start project design, city officials said in an email to Community Impact.

A new sandwich shop has opened within the Creekside shopping area of New Braunfels.

The overview: Potbelly Sandwich Works opened at 323 Creekside Crossing, Ste. 105 on Oct. 6.

The Chicago-based fast-casual restaurant serves a selection of sandwiches, wraps, salads and soups. Potbelly Sandwich Works also serves macaroni and cheese, shakes and cookies.

• 323 Creekside Crossing, Ste. 105, New Braunfels

The third H-E-B grocery store location in San Marcos celebrated its opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 6. The store’s official opening is Oct. 7.

The overview: Community leaders and H-E-B executives celebrated the 114,000-square-foot store’s opening. The location will create over 400 jobs and increase food access for residents on the east side of I-35.

Diving deeper: H-E-B made sizable donations to three local organizations, including the San Marcos CISD Education Foundation, Hays County Food Bank and Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University. Each organization received $10,000.

Additionally, the company planted native trees that provide shade, enhance outdoor learning and benefit students, families and wildlife for San Marcos High School. The planting was part of H-E-B’s Trees for Texans initiative.

What’s offered: The third San Marcos H-E-B features the city’s first True Texas BBQ restaurant, groceries, a full-service bakery and tortilleria, Sushiya hand-rolled sushi, a pharmacy with drive-thru services, and much more.

• Opened Oct. 7

• 1074 E. McCarty Lane, San Marcos

In 2015, the Texas Legislature passed a law changing the amount of time students are required to spend in public schools from 180 days to 75,600 minutes per school year.

More than a decade later, some state senators are considering again mandating the number of days schools are open, citing concerns about student performance in districts that use condensed weekly schedules.

The details: At least 181 districts and 572 campuses used four-day school weeks in the 2024-25 school year, per Texas Education Agency data.

A TEA study found that during the 2022-23 school year, students attending school four days per week had lower performance in certain subjects on the annual State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness than students at five-day schools.

"There is not a benefit that I see for a four-day school week for the child," Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, said. "We know there's learning loss. What is the advantage of a four-day [week]? Because I see none except to please somebody who wants to be off more days."