Engineering firm KPA Engineers has finished the initial schematics for proposed changes to the Austin Avenue corridor from Second Street to Leander Road, with plans to improve safety and walkability along the major north-south route through Georgetown.

What happened: KPA Engineers Vice President Trae Sutton presented the schematic update to Georgetown City Council at a workshop meeting Feb. 24.

The proposed upgrades include removing parking spaces from the downtown square to accommodate expanded sidewalk use, narrowing roadways to three lanes in some sections to slow vehicle speeds, and expanding roads in other areas to five lanes to allow for better traffic flow.

Traffic modeling through 2045 estimates the corridor upgrades will reduce future congestion, according to city documents. The proposed intersection upgrades are projected to cut afternoon peak delays at Austin Avenue and Hwy. 29 from 90 seconds to 47 seconds.

What’s next: The city has earmarked $2.88 million in funding for the project this fiscal year, and will seek proposals for final design consultants later this year.

Last fall, Gary Parente launched Curbside Compost with a simple goal—make composting easier for Williamson County residents and turn everyday food scraps into a small, steady act of sustainability.

About the program: As a Cedar Park resident, Parente launched his organic recycling concept to extend composting services to residents north of Austin—which already has mandated compost pickup from the city.

Curbside Compost provides an airtight bin for residents to dispose of their food scraps in, which they then place on the curb on their scheduled pickup day. Parente leads the services, collecting the scraps, cleaning the bins and leaving a new liner. Residents can sign up for the composting service for $29 per month.

Quote of note: “We ensure these materials are recycled back into the earth, enriching local soil and supporting a healthier ecosystem,” Parente said.

Construction on an expansion to the East Williamson County Higher Education Center reached a milestone Feb. 17, when officials celebrated the topping out of the new 70,000-square-foot building.

The gist: The new building will serve as a manufacturing technology center for Texas State Technical College, located in Hutto. The center will house training programs for semiconductor, industrial systems and precision machining technology.

The project costs roughly $47 million. The building is expected to open in spring 2027.

The Texas Education Agency must correct roughly 4,200 errors in its elementary and middle school curriculum, the State Board of Education ruled Feb. 25.

The overview: The changes to the Bluebonnet Learning materials, a set of state-developed textbooks, include replacing improperly licensed images, fixing formatting errors or typos and correcting factual errors.

The SBOE approved the Bluebonnet materials in November 2024. The curriculum, which became available to districts ahead of the 2025-26 school year, has been criticized for frequent biblical references in the reading materials, although proponents said the materials would help improve student outcomes.

Zooming in: Before approving the changes, several board members expressed concerns about the “unprecedented” number of issues with the state-developed textbooks, noting that Texas taxpayers will cover the costs of reprinting the updated materials, as they were developed with state funds.

“I’m very concerned that, as a board, we have set a precedent for sloppy publishing. Many times, even if it's a typo, it could become an error of fact,” SBOE member Pam Little, R-Fairview, said.