Dirty soda shop Swig brought its first Austin-area location to Anderson Mill in February.

The details: The shop is known for its customizable menu of soda flavors including Dr. Pepper, Coca Cola, Mountain Dew, Ginger Ale, Big Red, Pepsi, Sprite and Root Beer with fruits and creams to add in, such as passion fruit, mango, cherry, blackberry, vanilla cream and coconut cream.

The menu also includes lemonades, Fresca and hot chocolate plus snacks like pretzel bites and cookies.

• 13492 US 183, Ste. 210, Austin

As Round Rock ISD staff, administrators and trustees kick off planning for the 2026-27 fiscal year, the district's chief financial officer has named a few factors warranting consideration.

The details: Declining student enrollment, increased operational costs and property values are some of the top concerns Chief Financial Officer Dennis Covington said are on his radar in a Feb. 19 budget update.

What you need to know: Covington presented a preliminary budget projection of $492.16 million in revenue, paired with $490.13 million in expenses. This model is based on budgeted expenses being reduced by a minimum of 10%  across the board, lower enrollment and flat attendance compared to the 2025-26 financial year, he said.

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

Local transportation officials are making progress on the Austin Light Rail project, following the Austin Transit Partnership board's approval of a $60 million design-build contract for the first phase of the project Feb. 18. With this contract now in place, the project is on track to begin construction in 2027. 

The update: Austin Rail Constructors will help shape and build the design and construction of the transitway, tracks, systems, stations, bridges, traffic signals, utilities, drainage structures and streetscape improvements. Funding for the contract is included in ATP's 2025-26 budget. 

About the project: The 10-mile long project is part of Project Connect, which was approved by voters in 2020. The system will feature 15 stations along the alignment and all-electric trains running every 5-10 minutes throughout most of the day.

Looking ahead: While the approved contract is only for the first phase of the project, or 1A, the agency expects to come back to the ATP board later this summer to authorize services for phase 1B to finish the final design. 

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.