Last fall, Gary Parente launched Curbside Compost with a simple goal—make composting easier for Williamson County residents and turn everyday food scraps into a small, steady act of sustainability.

About the program: As a Cedar Park resident, Parente launched his organic recycling concept to extend composting services to residents north of Austin—which already has mandated compost pickup from the city.

Curbside Compost provides an airtight bin for residents to dispose of their food scraps in, which they then place on the curb on their scheduled pickup day. Parente leads the services, collecting the scraps, cleaning the bins and leaving a new liner. Residents can sign up for the composting service for $29 per month.

Quote of note: “We ensure these materials are recycled back into the earth, enriching local soil and supporting a healthier ecosystem,” Parente said.

The 183 North Mobility Project is nearly finished, with new southbound express lanes and a flyover connection to MoPac opening Feb. 28.

What to expect: Drivers exiting the express lanes have multiple options:

• Stay right to continue south on US 183 toward Burnet Road, Payton Gin Road, Lamar Boulevard, or I‑35.
• Stay left for a direct route onto the MoPac Express Lane.
• Or exit right onto a side road to bypass traffic lights at Steck Avenue and Spicewood Springs Road.

The express lanes will use variable toll pricing, with the price displayed before entry.

What else? The northbound express lanes opened earlier this year, along with a direct connector linking MoPac and 183. The $612 million project, funded with toll revenue bonds and federal funding, also added a fourth non-tolled lane in each direction and includes 4,200 feet of shared-use paths and 11 miles of ADA-compliant sidewalks. Crews are now completing finishing touches and landscaping. Some lane closures will continue, but the project is expected to be fully completed later this year.

Round Rock ISD marked the opening of its employee health clinic in February with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The district is one of only two in Central Texas to offer a worksite-based health clinic, along with Georgetown ISD. 

How we got here: The district's board of trustees first entertained discussion of a clinic geared toward its employees in February 2025. The idea, Chief of Human Resources Eddie Curran said, would be to provide the same services employees receive through their primary care doctors but at a fraction of the cost, as the district observed a 15% increase in health care costs from 2021 to 2025.

The board later approved a contract with Marathon Health in August to run the clinic.

What's next?: District officials said the pharmacy will have a delayed timeline and is not expected to come online until April. 

The Texas Education Agency must correct roughly 4,200 errors in its elementary and middle school curriculum, the State Board of Education ruled Feb. 25.

The overview: The changes to the Bluebonnet Learning materials, a set of state-developed textbooks, include replacing improperly licensed images, fixing formatting errors or typos and correcting factual errors.

The SBOE approved the Bluebonnet materials in November 2024. The curriculum, which became available to districts ahead of the 2025-26 school year, has been criticized for frequent biblical references in the reading materials, although proponents said the materials would help improve student outcomes.

Zooming in: Before approving the changes, several board members expressed concerns about the “unprecedented” number of issues with the state-developed textbooks, noting that Texas taxpayers will cover the costs of reprinting the updated materials, as they were developed with state funds.

“I’m very concerned that, as a board, we have set a precedent for sloppy publishing. Many times, even if it's a typo, it could become an error of fact,” SBOE member Pam Little, R-Fairview, said.