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Georgetown ISD employees and their families will be able to access services through Next Level Medical as part of the district’s healthcare benefits for the upcoming school year.

Set to kick in Sept. 1, those covered under GISD’s medical plan can access a variety of medical services through Next Level at no cost—a move intended to address increasing healthcare costs.

About the program: GISD employees will maintain their Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas medical insurance coverage while now having access to Next Level’s services. The partnership will come at no cost to district employees or their families.

Kenneth Adix, GISD's former chief financial officer who spearheaded this plan, said Next Level can provide primary care, urgent care, lab work, telemedicine and mental health services.

Cost to the district: GISD Superintendent Devin Padavil said districts are facing a "two-headed snake" when it comes to health insurance as costs are increasing for both districts and employees.

Birds Barbershop opened its 10th Austin-area location in the Wolf Ranch area in Georgetown in August.

An Austin-owned full-service salon and barbershop, the business provides haircuts, color and grooming services for men, women and children. 

• 1314 W. University Ave., Ste. 105, Georgetown

A new 900-home single-family community is soon to be under construction near Rockride Lane and CR 110, with completed homes expected to be available for purchase in 2027, according to representative for developer Risewell Homes.

About the project: Homes in the Starling community will range in size from 1,700-3,600 square feet, have three to five bedrooms and two to four bathrooms, per the developer. Each home will also have either a two- or three-car garage.

Price ranges are not yet available for homes.

What's next: Construction will break ground in the next couple of months, around September or October, per the representative.

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

Austin Transit Partnership office search continues as officials press for lower costs, risks: The Austin Transit Partnership continues to pursue new offices for its growing workforce as its development of Austin Light Rail ramps up. A decision on the transit planning organization's next home could come in September, months after officials declined to approve a $32 million luxury office lease downtown following opposition from Mayor Kirk Watson.

Road work projects around CedarView development to be completed before Scheels opening: Two roadwork projects around the CedarView development in north Cedar Park— at the intersection of New Hope Drive and Enchanted Rock Drive, and New Hope Drive and Main Street-Block House Drive—will be completed by late August by the time Scheels opens Aug. 29.

WilCo commissioners support TxDOT I-35 expansion project: Williamson County commissioners voted Aug. 18 to formally support the expansion of I-35 through the county, a project led by the Texas Department of Transportation and sent the department a list of requests.

Texas’ audit of hundreds of proposed data centers will likely wrap up by the end of the year, grid officials said Aug. 20.

The overview: Up to 300 proposals will be audited to ensure they meet certain criteria before the data centers can begin connecting to the state electric grid. If all the plans are approved, these facilities alone could use about 200 gigawatts of electricity—more than twice Texas’ 91-gigawatt peak demand record, which was set on July 22.

How we got here: On Aug. 3, Gov. Greg Abbott directed ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission of Texas to audit proposed data centers regarding their water and electricity use; tax exemptions; impacts on residents; and facility ownership.

More details: Only large loads, or facilities that are expected to use at least 75 megawatts of electricity, will be fully audited. However, ERCOT will also survey proposed data centers that would use 25 megawatts of electricity or more.

ERCOT plans to release reports detailing the results of the audit and surveys on Dec. 10, officials said.