San Marcos - Buda - Kyle | April 2022

COMPILED BY ZARA FLORES

The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment

Three Six General

store and online. 512-557-5058. https://knds-boutique.square.site IN THE NEWS

nities reduce pollution and incorporate stormwater management techniques through 2024. The other $2 million grant will help promote research that will pro- vide climate impact information that can help inuence policy and decision making regarding climate change. 512-245-9200. www.meadowscenter.txstate.edu COMMUNITY The Edwards Aquifer Authority an- nounced Hays, Caldwell, Comal and other neighboring counties entered Stage 1 drought restrictions eective March 9. For San Marcos, the drought restrictions began March 13 at noon. In Stage 1, the aected areas must reduce water intake by 20%. San Marcos residents will only be allowed to water their property once per week via sprinklers; residents are also limited to one at-home car wash per week. The schedule is Monday: addresses ending in 0 or 1, Tuesday: addresses ending in 2 or 3, Wednesday: addresses ending in 4 or 5, Thursday: addresses ending in 6 or 7, Friday: addresses ending in 8 or 9. www.edwardsaquifer.org CLOSINGS 10 The UPS Store , located at 415 N. Guadalupe St., San Marcos, closed Jan. 31. The store was an extension of the United Parcel Service and oered shipping, printing, shredding and mail- box services. San Marcos has four other UPS Access Points to drop o and pick up packages. www.ups.com

The Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center is joined by the San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce for the ribbon cutting of Marla’s Place.

8 San Marcos Regional Airport , lo- cated at 1807 Airport Drive, San Marcos, was awarded the 2022 Reliever Airport of the Year award in March by the Texas Department of Transportation’s Aviation Division. The award is provided each year to an airport or airport manager that had a positive impact on the region. TxDOT ocials noted achievements by the airport, such as increased trac opera- tions, proactive airport management, and an upcoming multimillion-dollar project to reconstruct aircraft paths and other safety projects. 512-216-6039. 9 The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University, located at 211 San Marcos Springs Drive, San Marcos, was awarded $1.7 million on March 9 from the Coastal Management Program through the Texas General Land Oce and an additional $2 million on March 31 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for Climate Change Impact on Water Initiative facilitated by U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin. The GLO grant is spe- cically meant for the Meadows Center to continue work on the Clean Coast Texas Collaborative to help coastal commu- www.ysanmarcos.com SCHOOL NOTES

FEATURED IMPACT NOW OPEN The Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center and the San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting ceremony March 25 for the grand opening of Marla’s Place , a transitional housing facility, named after the former HCWC Executive Director Marla Johnson. The new facility is 22,000 square feet and will oer 12-18 months of safe and aordable housing for those escaping family violence. Design for the project began in 2015, and HCWC began raising the funds for the new complex in late 2016. The groundbreaking for the project was in August 2020. Now completed, there are two one- bedroom, 12 three-bedroom and four four-bedroom apartments throughout the property. “Early on in working at the center, we realized it was the larger families that were returning to abusive homes because they had no other options. Often, they didn’t have any family

members that could accommodate [larger families] ... [the largest] apartment can accommodate seven family members,” Director of Programs and Services Elva Gonzalez said. Marla’s Place will also oer tutoring for children and classes for adults such as GED and budgeting to help individuals get back on their feet, Community Engagement Coordinator Veronica Medina said. There are also Early Head Start Centers on-site that will provide child care and early childhood education given that aordable child care is often a barrier in abusive situations. Additionally, residents of Marla’s Place will have access to HCWC’s counseling and advocacy services and other resources to develop critical life skills, access to job training, and more to help them gain stability and independence. For safety reasons, Community Impact Newspaper will not be publishing the address of Marla’s Place.

24-hour helpline: 512-396-4357 info@hcwc.org, www.hcwc.org

SAN MARCOS BUDA KYLE EDITION • APRIL 2022