ATX-GEO: Impact 9/26/2025

Georgetown area ZIP codes 78626 and 78628 saw 14 fewer and 12 fewer homes sell, respectively, this August compared to August 2024, according to recently released data by Unlock MLS.

This comes as the other area ZIP code—78633— saw 12 more homes sell year over year in August.

Several businesses marked five years of operating in Georgetown this summer. This list is not comprehensive.

Doug Smith Performing Arts Center
The center opened for student summer camps in June 2020. As the physical location for The Palace Theatre’s education department, it is celebrating five years offering camps, classes and theater for young audiences.

Marisol's Mexican Grill
The Mexican restaurant celebrated five years in Georgetown in July. First opened on July 14, 2020, Marisol’s offers a menu of traditional Tex-Mex dishes like enchiladas, fajitas and burritos, as well as a breakfast, dessert and American menu.

The Golden Rule
Owned by Cody Hirt and Brad Strittmatter, the restaurant celebrated its fifth anniversary this summer. The menu offers traditional American fare with some international twists.

The Baked Bear
The custom ice cream sandwich shop celebrated its fifth anniversary in Georgetown in June. Owned by franchisees Bobby and Melissa Aleman, the store offers a variety of cookies, brownies, ice creams and toppings to build your own sandwich.

In the inaugural year of the Williamson County Death Inquest Investigators Program, the county has seen almost 25% more death inquest cases than in 2024.

The history: The Williamson County Death Inquest Investigators Program began in January to relieve the workload of the four justices of the peace.

About the program: The DIIs respond to all death scenes, and take on the majority of the inquest process, which includes:

• Receiving reports of deaths in Williamson County
• Conducting independent investigations for circumstances of death
• Preparing official investigative reports

Austin Community College’s RiverHacks hackathon will coincide with NASA’s third annual International Space App Challenge, where teams can participate in open data challenges and network with space leaders and experts.

The gist: The ACC Center for Government and Civic Services is collaborating with The Space Workforce Incubator for Texas to host the RiverHacks hackathon and the Austin portion of the NASA International Space Apps Challenge, Oct. 4-5 at the Rio Grande campus.

The global event encourages participants to leverage free, open data from NASA and their international space agency partners to create innovative solutions for Earth- and space-related challenges.

Open data may include:

• Satellite imagery
• Climate and weather records
• Planetary data
• Astronomical data
• Earth observation data

Many Texas retailers can no longer sell consumable THC products to customers under 21 years old after the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission approved two emergency rules Sept. 23.

The overview: The new rules, which were drafted after Gov. Greg Abbott issued a Sept. 10 executive order requesting tighter THC regulations, apply only to retailers that sell alcohol. The rules state that businesses may not sell, serve or deliver consumable hemp products to minors and must check all customers' IDs before selling them THC products.

Zooming in: About 60,000 Texas businesses hold TABC licenses and will be prohibited from selling THC products to minors. Those businesses include bars, restaurants, liquor stores, grocery stores and some convenience stores.

However, the rule does not apply to THC retailers that do not sell alcohol or have a TABC license, such as smoke shops, gas stations or online sellers. The TABC and the Texas Department of State Health Services are working to determine how to best enforce age restrictions for THC retailers that do not sell alcohol, agency spokespeople said.