The Austin City Council authorized a 6.89-acre acquisition near RM 2222 to expand the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve.

The gist: The city will pay $3.68 million for the Northwest Austin property, which connects with the existing Bright Leaf Preserve.

The acquisition is aimed at fire prevention and ecological preservation. According to city staff, the purchase will limit the expansion of the wildland-urban interface, protect floodplain and natural habitats, and simplify public land management. The transaction is funded through a city land acquisition fund created in 2024.

The Balcones Canyonlands Preserve is a roughly 50-square-mile conservation area managed by a variety of local entities. The newly acquired land will be managed as part of the preserve by Austin Water's Wildlands Conservation Division.

Mahj House, a mahjong studio, is celebrating its one-year anniversary on Nov. 11 with $1 open play from 10 a.m.-noon and 3-5 p.m.

The overview: Mahj House offers American mahjong classes, guided play, open play, competitive leagues and mahjong tables for rent.

The mahjong studio also sells a variety of mahjong sets and accessories, including tiles, racks, mats and other mahjong-themed gifts.

To celebrate the anniversary, from now through Nov. 13, customers can earn raffle tickets by booking and attending a class and spending $100 in store, among other ways in the studio. Mahj House will be raffling five gift bundles with prizes from local Austin brands and mahjong accessories.

What else: Mahj House is also launching an Angel Tree program with the Salvation Army on Nov. 9. Customers can pick a toy tag and shop for a child in need. Gifts must be returned by Dec. 1.

• One-year anniversary Nov. 11

Cities and counties across Central Texas have recently considered new and existing contracts with the security technology company Flock Safety as debates surrounding public safety and mass surveillance heighten.

The overview: Flock Safety builds a variety of products utilized by law enforcement agencies, businesses, schools and communities, including Automated License Plate Readers, video cameras and drones.

Gov. Greg Abbott froze the use of state funding for Flock cameras on Aug. 28.

Concerns from Central Texas residents include fears surrounding mass surveillance, collecting and sharing of data with outside agencies, such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, and misuse by law enforcement agencies.

In 2025, CEO and founder of Flock Safety Garrett Langley released a statement emphasizing that the company does not sell data, allows customers to decide independently what is shared with other agencies and does not have any contacts with ICE.

Cities and counties across Central Texas have responded in varying ways to the discussion surrounding the benefits and disadvantages of Flock equipment.

Educators, public officials and graduates from across the state gathered in Austin on Oct. 27 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Western Governors University in Texas. The online university offers certificates, bachelor's and master's degrees, which students can complete at their own pace.

About the organization: WGU was founded in 1997 by a bipartisan group of 19 governors in Western states to provide a more affordable and flexible option for higher education. In 2011, then-Gov. Rick Perry signed an executive order making Texas an official WGU affiliate.

Since 2011, WGU in Texas has reached the following milestones:

• 38,691 total graduates

• 45,545 degrees earned

• 24,087 students currently enrolled

Quote of note: "It was definitely one of those options that was super flexible, so that kind of fit my current schedule, especially since I work full-time," 2026 WGU graduate Jacob Gomez said. "It was super convenient for me."