Pflugerville ISD is entering the final year of construction on its Advanced Pathways for Excellence Center, ahead of its August 2027 opening.

The big picture: Trustees appointed PfISD principal and educator Daniel Garcia to be the career and education center’s founding principal. Garcia said in an email the facility aims to be a launchpad for success into college, the workforce or the military.

The APEX Center will serve high school students in a variety of CTE courses across the district. Transportation will be provided from each high school campus and students will still take their academic courses at their home campus.

The details: Garcia said the APEX Center will centralize CTE programs into one building with high-tech, expensive specialized equipment. Programs housed at the facility will offer students the opportunity to pursue valuable industry certifications and college credits at no cost.

Key programs housed at the APEX Center include:

• Advanced manufacturing used in automation and semiconductors

• Automotive technology

• Construction trades

• Culinary arts

• Fire science

• Welding

Additionally, students in the district’s Pflugerville Community Connect (18+ Program) will utilize the center to gain hands-on career training, independent living skills and workplace opportunities.

A Soapy Falls Express Car Wash is coming to Pflugerville.

The details: The business currently operates locations in Hutto, Round Rock and Cedar Park, and offers automated wash services with membership options that allow customers to wash their vehicles multiple times per month.

• 600 E. Oxford Drive, Pflugerville

A Kia dealership in Austin, a Walmart in Liberty Hill and an Olive Garden in Kyle are among the five most expensive projects filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in the Austin metro this week.

1. Kia of Central Austin ($36 million): A new 206,601-square-foot Kia dealership is set to begin construction in Austin next spring.

2. Walmart ($12.2 million): A new Walmart Supercenter is coming to Liberty Hill with construction set to begin in October.

3. Hill Country Bible Georgetown ($6.2 million): This project involves the construction of new admin and student ministry buildings at the Hill Country Bible Church in Georgetown.

4. Olive Garden ($4.1 million): A new Olive Garden restaurant is coming to Kyle, with construction set to wrap up late next year.

5. 3rd Wave Climbing Gym ($2.3 million): This project involves the renovation and change of occupancy of an existing warehouse building into an indoor climbing gym facility.

The first public air taxi test in Texas debuted in Fort Worth Sept. 10 with an audience that included U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy, Sen. Ted Cruz and numerous federal, state and regional leaders.

The takeaway: The Texas Department of Transportation, in partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration, officially launched Project Nexus at Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport. The project is a pilot program for electric vertical takeoff and landing, or eVTOLs.

The initiative will bring together federal, state and regional transportation leaders with aviation manufacturers and operators to begin testing how advanced air mobility can be safely integrated into the nation’s transportation system, according to a news release.

“For those of y'all who are old enough to remember 'The Jetsons,' I remember flying cars and we’re at the verge of seeing flying cars,” Cruz said. “We’re at the verge of air taxis and drones and transportation being transformed.”

Texas does not have a single system to connect first responders in emergencies, meaning local and state agencies often operate on a network of radio systems that are not always compatible with one another.

The big picture: State leaders said there are more than 50 different radio systems used by first responder agencies across Texas.

"We have situations where counties and cities are on separate ones, and they never know it until they have to [communicate with] each other," state Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian, said during a Sept. 14 legislative hearing.

Looking ahead: King has vowed to pass a bill to integrate first responder communications under a statewide system during the 2027 legislative session, with some emergency management experts calling interagency communications "the No. 1 issue" in the aftermath of disasters.

"[This] is not simply a communication issue—it's a responder safety issue and an operational effectiveness issue," said Kyle Mills, head of planning and preparedness for the Texas A&M Forest Service.