The city of Georgetown held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Dec. 12 for its new Light & Waterworks District Plaza.

A closer look: The $2.25 million project adds a performance stage, an event lawn, a designated food truck area and outdoor seating to downtown.

Located between and behind the Georgetown Public Library and the historic Light & Waterworks building for which it's named, the district aims to be an additional downtown gathering place, Mayor Josh Schroeder said.

Quote of note: "We love our downtown square, but we want to see all that vibrant activity spread out throughout our entire downtown. This is going to be one of those magnets that's going to pull people all throughout our downtown area," Schroeder said.

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.

Central Texas counties could begin receiving up to $1.25 million each in state funding for flood warning sirens in the coming weeks and months, officials announced Dec. 16.

The overview: The funding comes less than six months after historic flooding hit parts of Central and West Texas over the July 4 weekend, killing at least 137 residents and visitors. During special legislative sessions this summer, state lawmakers approved requirements that 30 counties included in a July disaster declaration install flood warning systems with the help of $50 million in state grants.

Zooming in: Each county is expected to receive up to $1.25 million from the Texas Water Development Board. Counties seeking more money will need their requests approved by the three-member board.

Counties are required to submit detailed project plans to the TWDB and can use the grants to install physical infrastructure such as sirens, rain gauges, flood gauges and solar panels to power the warning systems. The money can also be used for local flood education, outreach and training programs, TWDB staff said.