In a studio nestled against the banks of Brushy Creek, Round Rock potters can find community with one another and develop their craft as artists.

About the owner: Round Rock Community Clay is locally owned and operated by Emily Adams, a ceramicist with over a decade of experience as an artist and teacher. She also has her own pottery brand, No Brainer Pottery.

When members visit the studio, they are also greeted and supervised by Adams’s 8-month-old miniature Australian shepherd, Roxie.

About the business: Round Rock Community Clay is a communal studio in the Creekside Retail center. The studio opened in June 2022, bringing a variety of classes and large studio space to the area.

Community members interested in appearing on the ballot for Round Rock ISD board of trustees places 3, 4, 5 and 6 can file their application through Aug. 17.

What you need to know: The filing period to appear on the ballot in the Nov. 3 election opened July 18 and will run through Aug. 17. The deadline to file for write-in candidacy is Aug. 21.

Places 3, 4, 5 and 6, currently occupied by trustees Amber Landrum, Alicia Markum, Amy Weir and Fabian Cuero. The latter was appointed to serve the remainder of the term for Place 6 following the departure of former trustee Tiffanie Harrison.

About the position: Those who win their seats in the regular election will serve a four-year term, representing the district at large. RRISD board seats are volunteer, unpaid positions.

Check out the latest transportation project updates across the Austin metro. 

Upcoming projects

Austin Light Rail vehicle design to advance under $39M contract with Stadler: Switzerland-based Stadler has been selected to deliver the train cars for Austin Light Rail, the third and final major vendor brought on for the project's first stages this year. Officials with the Austin Transit Partnership advanced a $39 million contract with Stadler to design the fully electric vehicles July 15.

Ongoing projects

North-south route coming to Round Rock’s west side: Residents on Round Rock’s west side will soon have a true alternative to I-35 once the city and county complete the full extension of Wyoming Springs Drive, officials said in June. Ongoing and future road projects are set to help drivers and pedestrians reach their destinations faster and with less traffic.

Completed projects

New bridge over Onion Creek opens in Buda, increasing city access: The bridge will provide community members and first responders a faster route to travel in the city, connecting Cole Springs Road with FM 2770.

Texas’ power grid operator and regulator have laid out their plans to regulate data centers that connect to the state grid and ensure data center companies, not residents, pay for the industry’s growth.

What's happening: To shield Texans from the negative impacts of data center growth, the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas are:

• Prohibiting data centers from taking existing power resources off the grid
• Launching a new process to evaluate large projects looking to connect to the grid
• Creating standards that large consumers must meet before joining the grid
• Developing incentives for large consumers to reduce their energy use ahead of a grid emergency
• Requiring large companies to pay for the grid infrastructure needed to serve them
• Improving ERCOT’s process for projecting future demand