Two major projects at the Twin Lakes Family YMCA in Cedar Park are slated to open at the end of May, according to Laura Arredondo, YMCA of Central Texas chief marketing officer.

The YMCA broke ground on the Avery Family Pavilion and the Orr Family RCI Adventure Course in May 2025.

The details: The Avery Family Pavilion will serve as a versatile meeting space for everything from sporting events to birthday parties to weddings.

The RCI Adventure Course will feature zip lines, ropes courses, a sky trail and multilevel climbing structures for both children and adults.

Williamson County commissioners discussed next steps for the planned Justice Center complex, including selecting a site, at their meeting Dec. 16.

The details: Cameron Glass, a representative with project manager Kitchell, presented an overview of Phase 1 and discussed next steps at the meeting.

After evaluating current conditions and assessing long-term Justice Center needs, Kitchell confirmed the county will need to construct a new facility.

“We found that in a lot of cases, you are out of space,” Glass said. “The facility's been kept up, … but it does start to show its age inside.”

What’s next: The planning firm looked at 37 potential sites for the complex in Phase 1 and narrowed down a “short list” for further consideration in Phase 2, Glass said.

Phase 2 will also include programming concepts and will wrap up in mid-2026, Glass said. The county hopes to open the new Justice Center complex by 2030, according to a tentative project schedule.

Neal Amador started running in his mid-50s after his wife suffered a back injury. To help her heal, she took up walking and Amador joined in support. The pair started a couch-to-5K program in 2014 and Amador has been running ever since.

“In a seven month window, I went from not having run before to doing a 5K, a 10K and a half marathon,” Amador said.

The background: Mark King, owner of Fleet Feet Round Rock, first opened the store in 2013 and opted to host a run club at the location. Amador joined a Fleet Feet run club in 2015 and in early 2016 he took over as director, continuing to mentor and coach fellow runners. He recently completed his 23rd half marathon and said if he can start running, anyone can. 

The run clubs have a 5K and 10K programs available for runners with scheduled training sessions and goal races.

Community Impact compiled important holiday travel-related information, including what to know about traffic and airport activity, gas price data, and driver safety tips ahead of the year-end travel season, which runs Dec. 20-Jan. 1.

The overview: Texans should give themselves extra time to reach their destinations the weekend before Christmas, with many travelers expected to hit the road Dec. 21-22. Congestion is also expected as some Texans return home Dec. 26, according to INRIX, a transportation data company.

Minimal traffic is expected Dec. 24-25 and Dec. 31-Jan. 1, although AAA warned in a Dec. 10 news release that unexpected delays could arise from severe weather or crashes.

For the first time, more than 8 million people nationwide are expected to take domestic flights during the year-end holidays.

More information: Texas drivers will likely pay less for gas this holiday season than in recent years, AAA fuel data shows. On average, one gallon of unleaded gas costs about $2.51 in Texas as of Dec. 18, down from $2.65 one year prior.