Community Impact reporters wrote and published more than 60 Georgetown-specific stories in December. Here are the five most-read articles: 

1. Check out these new and coming soon Georgetown-area businesses

2. New development to bring almost 400 homes to Georgetown

3. Bakery and cafe Paris Baguette planned for Georgetown

4. 11 new, coming soon traffic signals throughout Georgetown

5. New housing, retail and roads to serve residents along Ronald Reagan Boulevard in northwest Georgetown

Williamson County received over $20 million for road safety improvements through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program on Dec. 23.

The local impact: Using the SS4A grant, the county plans to install:

• 3,648 reflective signal backplates to improve traffic signal visibility at 238 intersections
• 75 pedestrian-activated warning lights at crosswalks
• 32 speed feedback signs

We Are Blood is encouraging Central Texas to kick off the new year by donating blood at a local hospital.

The overview: In honor of its 75th anniversary, the organization will host its Partners for Patients event from Jan. 2-9 at nearly 20 hospitals and emergency medical service agencies across Central Texas. The blood drive campaign, held during National Blood Donor Month, is intended to combat blood shortages experienced during and after the holidays, according to We Are Blood information.

How it works: Interested participants can sign up for a time slot to donate blood at several locations from Jan. 2-9.

Why it matters: “During the holidays, emergencies do not slow down,” said Davis Winget, Williamson County clinical practices captain, in a news release. “As first responders, we see firsthand how donated blood saves lives every day. Partnering with We Are Blood helps ensure patients have what they need when it matters most.”

Approximately three dozen new Texas laws are scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, impacting how artificial intelligence is used in state government, when local officials can raise taxes after natural disasters and how much of businesses' inventory is taxed.

The background: The changes come after Texas’s biennial legislative session ended in early June. Gov. Greg Abbott signed over 1,100 laws passed by state lawmakers, many of which took effect in June or September.

The details: Some of the bills becoming law in the new year are:

• House Bill 9, which will expand a tax exemption for business owners
• House Bill 30, which will tighten regulations on counties' and cities' abilities to raise tax rates after natural disasters
• House Bill 149, which will regulate the fast-growing AI industry
• House Bill 247, which will exempt certain border security infrastructure from property tax increases
• House Bill 1399, which will create a property tax exemption for stores selling animal feed
• House Bill 2508, which will establish a property tax exemption for the surviving spouse of certain military members