1. Early voting in Texas starts Monday and goes until Nov. 4. Election Day is Nov. 8. Use our guides to find an Austin-area polling location, and read about the candidates and propositions with this year's election coverage. 2. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Zilker Holiday Tree, and the Austin Parks and Recreation Department is seeking entries for its art contest. Children between the ages of 5 and 10 are encouraged to enter an original drawing of the tree that focuses on the theme of 50 or the color gold. The deadline to submit entries is Nov. 7. 3. Last week, Austin City Council passed The Grove at Shoal Creek zoning on first reading. The mixed-use developer wants the city to zone the land as a planned unit development, or PUD, but has been met with resistance from neighborhood groups. Now, the two parties have agreed to try resolving their issues through a third-party mediator. Austin City Council still has to approve the zoning on second and third readings, which could happen as soon as Nov. 10. 4. The Rainey Street area will undergo a traffic study that will be paid for by a developer who wants to build a 420-unit high rise residential complex in place of the Villas on Town Lake. The traffic study was a result of a compromise between the developer and the Rainey-area residents, who say the future development will cause even more traffic congestion if it's not addressed. 5. A new surgical hospital by St. David's HealthCare opened Wednesday. The renamed St. David’s Surgical Hospital—located at 1201 W Louis Henna Blvd, Austin—is part of a long-planned expansion of St. David’s North Austin Medical Center and will provide more space for St. David’s physicians to perform elective surgeries that are scheduled in advance, said Allen Harrison, CEO of the North Austin Medical Center.