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$29M grant brings high-speed internet to rural Central Texas

The Texas Broadband Development Office awarded the Lower Colorado River Authority a $29 million grant that will expand high-speed internet access and improve flood-monitoring infrastructure throughout Central Texas. 

Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock announced the award Jan. 20. 

The details: The Texas Broadband Development Office expects the financing to accomplish several goals, including: 

  • Extending fiber into underserved and unserved areas 
  • Bolstering local economies 
  • Improving access to education, health care and emergency services

Notable quote: “This is exactly what smart infrastructure investment looks like,” Hancock said in a news release. “The July 4, 2025, floods were a sobering reminder that real-time data and reliable communications save lives. This project will both strengthen those capabilities and deliver daily broadband access to communities along the Lower Colorado."

 
coming soon
AutoZone to bring automotive parts closer to Cedar Creek drivers

Cedar Creek-area drivers can soon head to AutoZone the next time a dashboard light appears, as the town’s first location is planned to open in late 2026. 

What we know: The 6,816-square-foot store, which will cost approximately $906,487 to build out, is scheduled to begin construction on July 1 and be completed by October 28.

It will be located near a variety of other automotive businesses along Highway 71, including: 

  • Red Line Auto Sales
  • Fidel's Auto Salvage
  • Sames Bastrop Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM

There is currently only one AutoZone location in Bastrop County at 549 Hwy. 71, Bastrop—just west of H-E-B.

About the business: The Memphis-based business was founded in 1979 and has nearly 6,700 stores nationwide, including more than 700 in Texas. 
  • 192 Blue Flame Road, Cedar Creek
 
stay in the know

Winter weather watch in Bastrop County

TxDOT began pretreating U.S. 290 from Parmer Lane to the Bastrop County line on Jan. 21 and is urging drivers to limit unnecessary travel.

How we got here: The National Weather Service placed Bastrop County under a winter storm watch effective Jan. 23-25, citing possible ice, sleet and hazardous cold conditions.

YOUR WEEKEND TO-DO LIST

Check out these weekend events across the metro area.

To submit your own event, click here!

Austin  |  Jan. 23, 7 p.m.

Hi, How Are You Day 2026

More info

 

Austin  |  Jan. 24, 11 a.m.

Texas Brewery Running Series 5K Beer Run

More info

 

Bastrop  |  Jan. 24, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

Bastrop Empty Bowl

More info

 

Round Rock  |  Jan. 24, 6-9 p.m.

Daddy Daughter Dance

More info

 

Cedar Park  |  Jan. 25, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Texas Wine Flyer

More info

 
CI Texas
Texas alcohol commission finalizes rules for thousands of hemp-derived THC retailers

A set of permanent regulations for thousands of Texas businesses selling consumable hemp products took effect Jan. 21, after the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission adopted them one day earlier.

The overview: The latest hemp rules do not bring significant changes to the roughly 60,000 businesses under TABC oversight. They replace similar emergency rules adopted Sept. 23, prohibiting Texas alcohol retailers from selling hemp-derived THC products to customers under 21 years old.

“The key you heard today… is the effect of THC on younger folks' development—much like alcohol, the same reasons we regulate alcohol for those 21 years old [and up],” TABC chair Robert Eckels said.

Zooming in: The TABC has limited jurisdiction over the consumable hemp industry and can only require age limits and ID checks, agency leaders said. State health officials are considering more comprehensive regulations on the industry.

“The Department of State Health Services’ rules are going to be much more robust,” TABC general counsel James Person said Jan. 20. “They actually cover the products themselves: the [THC] content, the testing and whatnot."

 

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Amanda Cutshall
Editor

Leslie Bradshaw
General Manager

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