For the first time since November 2021, Canyon Lake has reached full capacity, following a series of large storms that caused flooding along the Guadalupe River, the lake’s main tributary.

How it happened: Canyon Lake levels have increased in part due to rainfall in the upper Guadalupe River Basin from the July 4, 2025, floods, which increased inflows into the reservoir and raised the elevation by nearly 15 feet by August 2025, Lindsey Campbell, communications director for the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, or GBRA, said in an email to Community Impact. The lake’s water levels also reached 909 feet mean sea level, or MSL, following heavy rainfall from the week of July 13. The reservoir was at 61% capacity in July 2025, according to data from the Texas Water Development Board.

Now that the lake is full, seven boat ramps managed by Comal County have reopened, with plans to open more in the future once debris clears Precinct 1 Comal County Commissioner Doug Leecock said.

A family-owned cafe is opening a second location within the Mayfair community this fall.

San Marcos-based Ollie's Market is opening its second area location in New Braunfels within Midtown Mayfair, according to a news release. Midtown Mayfair is the master-planned community's recreation and retail hub.

The details: Ollie's Market was founded by locals Natalie and Eli Zablosky, who opened their first location in San Marcos in August 2025. The Zabloskys said they have built their business on the belief that communities deserve access to clean, unprocessed food. The husband-and-wife duo works directly with local farmers and regional producers to craft their food and beverages.

"Ollie's Market has always been an extension of how we eat at home," Natalie Zablosky said in the release. "It started as a way to bring what I was raised with in San Marcos back into the community food scene. New Braunfels feels like a natural next step—a community that shares the same values we built this market on."

• 5708 Guthrie Trail, New Braunfels

At the beginning of 2025, the city of Kyle Police Department began considering implementing a “Drones as First Responders,” or DFR, program.

The Kyle City Council approved the purchase of two drones for the Police Department, partially funded through a Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority grant, or MVCPA, in October 2025.

The overview: The program utilizes remotely controlled drones to observe and report information during active crimes, pursuits or emergencies to first responders and law enforcement.

The drones provide a live feed to dispatchers, allowing them to communicate directly with first responders and provide direction and situational insight.

The Police Department prioritizes certain crimes and events in determining when to deploy the drones, Kyle Police Chief Jeff Barnett said.

In addition to the DFR program, the city of Kyle operates 38 Flock Safety automated license plate reader cameras, or ALPRs, and 12 live feed cameras. Since their tentative implementation in March, the drones have seen success in their operations. DFRs can be utilized in tandem with ALPRs in the city, Barnett said.

This summer, Texas is launching a new process to study the viability of data centers and other large projects seeking to connect to the state’s power grid. The process’ strict requirements could deter major industrial projects from coming to the state, experts warn.

The overview: The Electric Reliability Commission of Texas’ new "batch study process" will require that large projects be evaluated in groups, rather than individually. The process was developed in response to Texas’ data center boom.

What they're saying: All projects that would use at least 75 megawatts of electricity will be required to participate in the batch process—including industrial and hydrogen production facilities. However, industrial and manufacturing projects operate differently from data centers and may not be able to meet some of the batch requirements, industry representatives said July 29.

In a state that works to attract major companies and bills itself as business-friendly, that’s a concern, lawmakers said.

"Where are y'all at on trying to differentiate those types of traditional, enterprise, big commercial, large load projects?" Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, asked.