Meredith Williams and her husband, Ricky Morales, established Martha’s Gallery in 2018 as a DIY studio collective. Today, the Hyde Park-based art space has transitioned into a professional gallery with two locations, empowering local artists to achieve wider recognition.

The history: Noticing a need for affordable studio space for Austin’s smaller artists, Williams and Morales opened the gallery’s original location on East 7th Street and Webberville Road eight years ago.

In September 2020, the original location closed, and the couple moved the space to Hyde Park, where it is still operating as a gallery today.

The inspiration: When people think of Austin, they usually think of live music and barbecue, Williams said. Her vision for her hometown includes a broader definition of art—a visual art scene that attracts tourists akin to galleries in New York or Los Angeles.

“Ricky and I, both being from here, just want to leave a mark on the city that to us is meaningful and is from the heart,” Williams said.

Austin's redesigned city website launched early March 19, capping off a multimillion-dollar project intended to modernize and streamline the site.

The details: Austintexas.gov is now search-based, a layout the city called more intuitive for visitors by providing quicker navigation to the webpages or information they're seeking. The search tool was updated to add filtering options and other functions for more accurate results, according to the city, and is now the primary feature visitors are greeted with.

The redesign is the result of a multiyear, $5.5 million contract with Austin-based consultant Material Holdings authorized back in 2024. City communications and information technology officials previously said the redesign was needed to improve the website's organization and accessibility. Changes were long overdue, they said, as the previous version was overcrowded with thousands of individual webpages and proved difficult to navigate for some.

Hays County could gain up to approximately $411,000 in state funding to support emergency and incident response through six grant applications. The grant applications were approved by the Hays County Commissioners Court during a March 10 meeting.

The full story: The Hays County Office of Emergency Services, Sheriff's Office and Fire Marshal's Office will submit grant applications to the Office of the Governor, Urban Area Security Initiative.

The grants would fund equipment purchases and expanded training opportunities, according to agenda documents, including:

• Two isotope identifier backpacks designed to identify radiation
• Six Level A HazMat suits designed to protect against Class 1 and 2 hazardous materials
• Four utility vehicles designed to enhance incident response
• The Criminal Interdiction Unit’s attendance at the 2027 National Interdiction Conference, a training and networking opportunity
• Training for all members of the drone unit, helping to improve response times, enhance collaborative efforts and better practical skill application
• The Reid Technique of Investigative Interviewing and Advanced Interrogation Techniques, Forensic Technician and Forensic Photography 1 Fire Marshal's Office training

Ticket sales began March 18 for the inaugural Good Good Championship golf tournament headed to Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa’s Fazio Canyons Golf Course this November.

The details: The tournament is the second-to-last event in the PGA Tour’s FedExCup Fall, a series of events that allows players to improve their rank positions prior to the 2026 FedExCup Season starting at the end of November. The upcoming November game is the first time in three years the PGA Tour has come to Austin, according to PGA Tour.

The Good Good Tournament features a field size of 120 PGA Tour professionals, who will compete for a $6 million purse and 500 FedExCup points for the winner, according to the news release.

The event will be held Nov. 9-15 and is open to the public Nov. 12-15. General admission ticket prices are:

• Nov. 12: $80
• Nov. 13: $90
• Nov. 14: $120
• Nov. 15: $100