The city of Cedar Park will launch a two-year pilot program to subsidize on-demand rides within the city after the City Council approved it at its Dec. 18 meeting.

The program is set to launch April 1, according to Randy Skinner, assistant director of transportation for the city of Cedar Park.

How it will work: The microtransit pilot program consists of two main elements—wheelchair-accessible rides for disabled residents through zTrip, and subsidized Uber rides for able-bodied people, Skinner said.

Uber riders will pay $5 per ride, and then the city subsidy will cover up to $10 per ride. The user will pay any additional cost. Each user may take up to 10 subsidized trips per month.

Riders who use wheelchairs will also pay a $5 base fee per ride. Those rides will be booked through zTrip, which offers wheelchair-accessible vehicles. The city will cover up to $46 per trip, including mileage and fees for wheelchair-accessible vehicle availability.

Officials approved an economic development deal for a new Apple TV series starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, the first local production to receive city support since Austin's media incentive program was revised this year.

The details: The $150,000 award for the duo's "Brothers" series comes under the city's updated Creative Content Incentive Program that has supported multiple media productions since 2014. The new Apple series had started filming in March before a "creative reset," according to the city, and shooting resumed in October.

The "Brothers" production will involve estimated 320 cast and crew, resulting in more than $6 million in eligible pay and an estimated $9 million spent on other expenses throughout the area.

Recently-approved changes to the city's creative content incentives mandate better pay and benefits for production crew members and other new requirements. The revised program is already drawing interest from multiple productions.

Here are the top Community Impact stories in the Austin area from Dec. 22-25.

1. Tunnels complete for Lake Travis deep-water intake project

2. Check out these 9 Austin-area restaurants open on Christmas Day

3. Check out these new and coming soon Georgetown-area businesses

4. Billboard on Bee Caves Road set for January court case

5. Cinemark Stone Hill Town Center upgrade coming soon

6. Austin sees 46% drop in pedestrian crashes after left-turn safety pilot

2026 is a big election year in Texas. Voters will see 18 statewide races, all congressional seats, most state legislative seats and a variety of local positions on the ballot.

The overview: The Republican and Democratic primary elections will be held March 3, and the midterm election is set for Nov. 3.

Texas holds primaries for all partisan elected positions, such as state officials; state and federal lawmakers; and county judges, commissioners and justices of the peace. Third-party candidates, including independents, Libertarian Party candidates and Green Party candidates, have separate election processes will not be listed on the primary ballots in March. Eligible candidates representing various parties will appear on the November ballot.

Looking back: All statewide offices on the ballot are currently held by Republicans, although some are not running for reelection. No Democrat or third-party candidate has won a statewide office in Texas since 1994, election records show.

Check out the full article for more details on election processes and an overview of state-level races.