Gold Sponsors

The H-E-B Center at Cedar Park will host 17 high school graduation ceremonies from May 21 to June 1. Here's what anyone planning on attending one of those graduations should know.

At a glance: For all graduations, doors will open one hour before the start of the ceremony. All guests must go through a security checkpoint. Clear bags cannot be larger than 16 by 8 by 16 inches; nonclear bags cannot be larger than 5 by 9 by 2 inches.

Prohibited items include:

• Noisemakers
• Balloons
• Signs larger than 22 by 28 inches
• Banners and flags
• Glass containers
• Outside food and beverage
• Coolers
• Tripods, monopods and selfie sticks
• Umbrellas longer than 12 inches
• Weapons

Following the March 3 Republican primary election in Williamson County, Jeff Mayes and David McDonald advanced to the runoff for the Williamson County Precinct 2 commissioner seat.

The background: McDonald won 46.06% of the votes, amounting to 5,837 ballots cast, and Mayes received 29.48% of votes, or 3,736 ballots cast, according to the Williamson County Elections Department.

No Democratic candidates ran for the position. This means the winner of the runoff will be unopposed in November.

What you need to know: There are 19 early voting locations in Williamson County, and 30 election day voting locations. Voters can cast their ballot at any polling location in the county during early voting and on election day. 

Early voting runs from May 18-22, and runoff election day is May 26.

Check out the latest transportation projects across the Austin metro. 

Upcoming projects
Bee Cave Road AI traffic signals
Project: West Lake Hills will install nine artificial intelligence traffic signals along Bee Cave Road to try and improve traffic efficiency along the corridor.
Update: City Council moved forward with funding the traffic signals April 22.

• Timeline: TBD
• Cost: $360,000
• Funding source: city tax revenue proceeds, general fund

• Timeline: August 2024-summer 2027
• Cost: $52.4 million
• Funding source: Williamson County 2019 road bond

The latest data from Unlock MLS shows signs that the housing market is ticking up in Central Texas, with higher year-over-year home sales and homes selling closer to their original listing price.

The details: Representing the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metropolitan statistical area, or MSA, the data released May 12 shows residential home sales increased 2% year over year in April for the MSA, reaching 2,648. That's the highest number of monthly home sales so far this year, up from a 0.5% year-over-year increase in March and decreases in both January and February. 

“What stands out in April’s data is the shift in buyer psychology and overall market momentum," said Vaike O’Grady, market research advisor at Unlock MLS, in a news release. "Many buyers who had been delaying their home search took advantage of the temporary dip in mortgage rates we saw earlier this year and moved quickly once conditions became more manageable."

Increasing pending and closed sales point to a market where buyers are "stepping into the market with more urgency," O'Grady said.

Following pressure from summer camp operators, lawmakers and legislative leaders, Texas is suspending a requirement that all camps install “end-to-end” fiber-optic internet infrastructure before opening this summer.

The background: After catastrophic flooding in Central Texas killed more than 130 people—including 28 deaths at Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian camp—last July, state lawmakers passed a pair of laws designed to strengthen safety and emergency preparedness requirements for all Texas summer camps. One provision of the laws requires that camps install two types of broadband internet, including a fiber-optic system.

Nineteen camp operators sued the state over the fiber-optic rule in April, citing million-dollar installation fees and limited access to fiber-optic services in rural parts of Texas.

What's happening: The Department of State Health Services, which licenses youth camps, said it reached an agreement with the camp operators May 7. Under the agreement, Texas camps that maintain “redundant” broadband internet services—such as cellular, microwave or satellite technology—will not have their license revoked or denied as long as they meet all other safety requirements.