Three seats on Pflugerville City Council and two seats on the Pflugerville ISD board of trustees are on the ballot for the Nov. 3 election.

The big picture: Places 2, 4 and 6 on the Pflugerville City Council are up for election. These seats are currently held by Ceasar Ruiz, Rudy Metayer and David Rogers, respectively. Metayer is term limited and cannot seek reelection. 

In PfISD, Place 6 and 7 are up for election. These positions are currently held by Jean Mayer and Chevonne Lorigo-Johst, respectively.

Pflugerville City Council members and PfISD board members serve three-year terms. All positions are at-large, meaning all voters within the appropriate boundaries can vote in each race, and elected officials serve the entire community. 

Pflugerville voters will also weigh in on 14 proposed changes to the city's charter.

A closer look: The filing period for the November election closed Aug. 17.

Learn more about who filled to be on the ballot.

Kids Empire, an indoor playground for children, is opening a location in Pflugerville.

The details: Kids Empire has leased 8,500 square feet of retail space at Stone Hill Town Center, according to a press release from real estate service provider Weitzman. The upcoming business was also confirmed by the city, and a map from commercial real estate company NewQuest shows the business will be located next to the Cinemark movie theater.

The concept was developed in Southern California as a way to provide parents with a safe place for children to play and explore. Kids Empire has more than 100 locations nationwide.

• 18818 Hill Top Commercial Drive, Pflugerville

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.

About the project: Commissioners requested that the expansion include a minimum of two additional non-tolled lanes in each direction, two managed lanes in each direction, and collector or distributor roads through Round Rock, according to county documents.

The project will support the region’s population growth, which increased by 23.6% from April 2020 to July 2025, and is projected to reach over a million residents by 2045, documents state.

This population growth is expected to increase average daily traffic in the Austin-area from 244,450 vehicles on I-35 in 2018 to around 367,900 vehicles by 2050, according to county documents.

What else? The deadline to submit formal comments regarding the project is Aug. 28, Precinct 2 commissioner Cynthia Long said. 

Check out six trending Austin-area stories from Aug. 24-27. 

1. Bad Habits Card Company now open in Georgetown

2. Tejas Meat Supply closes Round Rock restaurant, butcher shop

3. COTALAND Theme Park to host grand opening event in late September

4. Scheels holds ribbon cutting ahead of Aug. 29 opening

5. Amazon picks East Austin for multi-billion dollar robotics facility

6. Hutto, Williamson County poised for $674M Blue Origin facility

This November, Libertarian Ted Brown, Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico are running to be Texas' next U.S. senator.

The overview: Each state has two U.S. senators serving staggered terms, with Ted Cruz and John Cornyn currently representing Texas. Cornyn ran for reelection but lost his primary race, and the winner of the November election will replace him in January.

Paxton advanced to the general election after beating Cornyn in a primary runoff, while Talarico beat two other contenders in the Democratic primary, Community Impact reported. Brown was selected as the Texas Libertarian Party's candidate during an April nominating convention.

At the polls: Early voting runs from Oct. 19-30 for dozens of statewide and local races. Election Day is Nov. 3.

Since late May, all autonomous vehicle companies have been required to receive authorization from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles to operate on Texas roads. During an Aug. 25 hearing, state senators heard the first testimony on autonomous vehicle safety since the new regulations took effect.

The overview: To date, the DMV has received 42 complaints about driverless vehicles, officials said.

No complaints have led the agency to suspend or revoke an autonomous vehicle operator's authorization. That occurs "when the operation has resulted in or is likely to result in serious bodily injury," according to Corrie Thompson, who leads the DMV’s enforcement division.

Zooming in: Lawmakers said they wanted to ensure driverless vehicles were not rolling out too quickly, adding that they hoped the vehicles would help address Texas' high rate of fatal crashes.

Lt. William White, who leads the Austin Police Department’s highway enforcement division, said first responders have seen consistent issues with AVs, including when a Waymo blocked an ambulance for about 28 seconds following the deadly March 1 Sixth Street shooting.