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The Morning Impact — your neighborhood's most important stories, delivered every morning.
1. Valentina's Tex-Mex BBQ will not reopen South Austin food truck
Valentina's Tex-Mex BBQ officials confirmed the food truck at 11500 Menchaca Road, Austin, will not reopen.
Public relations spokesperson Morgan Howry said owners Miguel and Modesty Vidal came to the decision to permanently close the food truck to dedicate their time and attention to the new brick-and-mortar restaurant in Buda, which opened June 16 at the Buda Mill & Grain Co., 308 Main St., Ste. 101, Buda.
2. Saharan dust brings hazy skies, allergies to Austin area
Dust from the Sahara Desert in Africa is settling into the Austin area after traveling thousands of miles over the Atlantic Ocean, bringing hazy skies and stirring up allergies for Central Texans.
Jason Dunion, weather expert with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said this round of dust will subside between July 8-9; however, a heavier dust storm is on its way and expected to reach the Austin area the week of July 10.
3. New $40M Lake Dunlap Dam on schedule for late July completion in New Braunfels
Four years after a spill gate failure at Lake Dunlap, the reconstruction of the dam is nearing completion. After the dam broke, a partnership among the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, the Texas Water Development Board, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and a group of residents called the Preserve Lake Dunlap Association was formed.
As of May 29, all three floodgates had been installed, and the hydraulic pressure unit, which will power the gates, is still awaiting delivery.
4. Austin ISD teachers must pay back $2K stipend after district processing error
After a payroll processing error made by Austin ISD, teachers are now being forced to pay back a $2,000 stipend payment they received on their June 30 paychecks.
According to the email sent by Brandi Hosack, AISD chief human capital officer, a processing error led to teachers being mistakenly paid a $2,000 stipend that was intended only for newly hired bilingual, special education, career and technical education, math, and science teachers.
5. $800M-$1B multifamily, hotel, office and retail project breaks ground in New Braunfels
A long-dormant and abandoned textile factory is in the demolition phase of construction as part of a makeover expected to cost $800 million to $1 billion over the next several years of construction.
Construction on the roughly 28-acre site is set to begin one of two phases in the first quarter of 2024 and last until at least 2032.
