When Ali Trapp moved from New York City to Texas in 2018, she was ready to trade the mundane corporate world for racks of clothing and jewelry as a local boutique owner.

Trapp has owned Point of Origin, a women’s boutique in Lakeway, since moving in 2018.

Along with her five employees, she serves as the boutique’s accountant, purchaser, model and owner.

The background: Point of Origin has been in the Lakeway community for over 30 years. The boutique began as a card store and has evolved into a clothing and gift shop.

The details: Trapp hand selects almost all of the items in the boutique.

She travels to local markets across the state looking for pieces that fit her vision and style.

“The items have to be unique,” she said.

Over the past month the city councils across the Lake Travis - Westlake area have each had discussions and made decisions that affect the cities. From budget discussions to grants, check out three recent government stories from the area.

1. Lakeway approves over $2M in grants to Lakeway Marina and Trestle Studio: Trestle Studio purchased Lakeway Resort and Spa in May and is planning $29 million in improvements throughout the property.

The company requested $2 million from Lakeway’s hotel occupancy tax fund.

2. West Lake Hills starts preliminary discussions for the 2026-27 budget: West Lake Hills could have a nearly $73,000 surplus in the general fund for the fiscal year 2026-27 budget, yet increases to police and public works funding could eliminate this surplus.

3. Lakeway to consider adopting de minimis tax rate: In order to work towards eliminating the projected shortfall, Lakeway city staff recommended that council approves a de minimis tax rate for fiscal year 2027.

Texas is halting the approval of new data center projects until state regulators can audit all data centers seeking to connect to the power grid, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Aug. 3.

The overview: The governor directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to conduct “a comprehensive verification and audit” of all data center applicants “before any additional data centers are approved to move forward.” 

Data center regulation has emerged as a bipartisan issue in recent months, and the move comes amid both growing public criticism of Texas’ booming data center industry and recent political pressure for Abbott to respond.

Zooming in: Abbott asked the PUC and ERCOT to collect information about the tax exemptions each data center is collecting; details about each project's anticipated water and electricity usage; and how data center developers will work to limit noise, light pollution and other impacts on local communities.

Officials did not say how long the pause would last or when the audits would begin.