Pinkorchids Nails, a manicure and pedicure salon, is coming to Pflugerville's Pecan Flex Space before this summer.

What they offer: The salon, spanning 1,300 square feet, will be equipped with seven pedicure chairs and six manicure tables.

They plan to offer traditional services such as dip and acrylic nails, while also emphasizing modern options like Gel-X and builder gel for manicures

Owner Binh Nguyen said her goal is to prioritize quality and health-conscious nail care.

• 2512 W. Pecan St., Ste. 130, Pflugerville

Hippo Massage is now open in Hutto.

The gist: The business offers full body massages with options ranging from 30 minutes to two hours. Customers can also visit to receive couples massages, pregnancy massages and foot massages.

To enhance the experience, customers can choose from a selection of add-ons, including cupping, essential oil and CBD oil.

• 567 Chris Kelley Blvd., Ste. 103, Hutto

Texas charter system Harmony Public Schools launched a new virtual learning platform on Jan. 5 that allows students across the state to take high school courses online.

The overview: The Harmony Online Learning program includes dozens of courses aligned with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards, all of which are self-paced, according to a news release.

More details: Students can choose from dozens of courses in core subjects, electives, Advanced Placement and Career and Technical Education, according to the program’s website. The offerings aim to help students complete credit recovery, get ahead with their requirements and access courses not available at their home campus. Credit earned through Harmony may be applied toward high school graduation requirements depending on local district policies, per the release.

One more thing: Interested families can enroll online, and spring courses begin Jan. 12, per the release. The cost of tuition per course is $325, a spokesperson from Harmony Public Schools told Community Impact.

Five months after historic flooding deluged parts of northwest Travis and southwest Williamson counties, recovery in the Sandy Creek community remains slow and complex. For residents, rebuilding has meant navigating permits, aid applications and long-term housing decisions alongside repairing physical damage.

Some context: The flooding, described by meteorologists as a rare 1,000-year event, renewed concerns about warning systems, infrastructure vulnerabilities and one-way-in, one-way-out neighborhoods. Travis County approved a temporary tax increase to cover recovery and mitigation costs, while shifting focus to long-term recovery groups which are helping distribute millions in aid through partnerships with nonprofits.

The outlook: Residents say navigating multiple systems remains overwhelming and slow, arguing recovery efforts need to move faster to meet the scale of the disaster. As county-led mitigation and funding efforts are handed off to ongoing support networks, many residents say true recovery will require faster systems, clearer communication and long-term state support.