Global technology company Arm Inc. was awarded a $4.16 million state grant to support the expansion of its Austin campus, an estimated $71 million project.

The details: The award to United Kingdom-based Arm is the latest through the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund, or TSIF, the grant program established under the Texas CHIPS Act of 2023.

What's happening: The expansion project including a new semiconductor lab at Arm's Texas office, located at 5707 Southwest Parkway, Bldg. 1, Ste. 100, is expected to create more than 320 jobs. The facility is central to the design of advanced processors for mobile, cloud, and data center uses, according to Abbott's office.

The background: The new state grant is one of nearly two dozen awards announced through the innovation fund program since late 2024, a majority of which has been directed to the Central Texas region.

Less homes sold in Southwest Austin and Dripping Springs in January 2026 compared to January 2025, according to Unlock MLS data.

The details: All eight ZIP codes in the market saw a decrease in homes sold year over year, with 78739 seeing the greatest decrease. 

The market saw a 21.8% decrease in closed sales in January 2026 compared to 2025. Additionally, there was a 10% decrease in new home listings for January, an almost 3% decrease in the number of homes under contract and a 16% decrease in the total dollar volume sold, according to Unlock MLS data.

What else: The average home sales price, however, increased year over year. The 78737 ZIP code saw the highest increase in price by almost 29%. The median sales price for the market increased from $568,000 in January 2025 to $590,000 in January 2026.

A plurality of homes sold in Southwest Austin and Dripping Springs were in the $300,000 to $499,999 price range in January 2026. This is similar to December 2025, as previously reported by Community Impact.

Throughout March and April, community members can engage in volunteer opportunities, special admission days at museums and experience various presentations and activities at film and TV festival SXSW. This list is not comprehensive.

Texas Wildlife Day
Attendees will participate in hands-on activities let by local nature groups and the museum’s education team.

• March 7, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Free with purchase of museum admission, free-$10 (general admission pricing)
• Texas Science & Natural History Museum, 2400 Trinity Street, Austin

• March 12-18
• $745 (music badge); $1,095 (film and TV badge); $1,270 (innovation badge); $1,865 (platinum badge)
• Venues vary based on specific festival event

Check out the top six most-read stories from Feb. 16-19.

1. New LCRA reservoir could add 13B gallons to Central Texas water supply

2. Scheels targets an August opening for new Cedar Park location

3. Midway files suit against Hutto officials, seeks $300M in damages

4. San Pedro Limon opens additional location in Georgetown

5. Bastrop OKs $525K land buy for downtown parking

6. Bastrop park closures to begin Feb. 23

During an arctic blast last month, the Texas power grid remained stable throughout the storm and the state came away largely unscathed. The Lone Star State has not seen widespread blackouts since February 2021, when millions of Texans lost power and nearly 250 people died.

The response: In Uri’s wake, state lawmakers and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas made changes to restructure ERCOT’s governing board, mandate earlier public alerts during tight grid conditions and require that energy providers “weatherize” their facilities to withstand extremely hot or cold temperatures.

Roughly 40,000 megawatts of power—enough to serve about 10 million residential customers—have been added to the grid since 2021 and the state’s energy supply has become more diverse.

Looking ahead: State leaders have expressed confidence that the grid would hold up during “a storm similar to Uri.” Yet some energy analysts caution that rapidly rising electric demand, driven by the construction of new data centers throughout Texas, means challenges may still lie ahead.