As a student at Round Rock High School, Paige Morgan Perry promised to bake her classmates' wedding cakes.

Now, as the owner of a bakery in downtown Round Rock, Perry said she has made good on that promise several times over.

The overview: Perry's business, Paige's Bakehouse, marked 18 years of operation in October, including nine years at the bakery's current location on Anderson Avenue.

Her goal, she said, is to infuse kindness into the community and improve the lives of her customers with baked goods.

On the menu: The bakery sells a variety of cakes, cookies, pastries and other sweets.

The business's signature BabyCakes, which are small square single-serve cakes, are available in several flavor options. The store also offers a selection of decorated cookies, smash cakes and a variety of pastries ready for purchase.

Additionally, customers can special-order essentially anything, Perry said, with enough notice.

Community Impact Editor Claire Shoop moderated a forum with Round Rock ISD board of trustees candidates on Oct. 13.

What you need to know: The event was hosted by the Round Rock ISD Council of PTAs and the Round Rock Chamber.

The hosts invited each candidate running for the four trustee positions on the ballot to attend.

Questions asked during the forum were collected through a community survey. Neither the questions nor the candidates' responses are verified or endorsed by the Round Rock Chamber, Round Rock ISD Council of PTAs or Community Impact.

The takeaway: The article includes the full recording of the event.

Early voting for the Nov. 3 election runs Oct. 19-30.

Check out the latest updates on upcoming or ongoing transportation projects across the Austin metro.

Upcoming projects

Freedom River Parkway East and West

Project: Construction of new east-west roadway connections from Hwy. 29 to RM 1869 and from Bagdad Road, or CR 279, to Hwy. 29, improving Liberty Hill bypass connectivity.

Update: Both projects remain in the design phase through 2026 as part of the Liberty Hill bypass connectivity network.

• Timeline: early 2027–early 2029

• Cost: $36.3 million (East); $61.5 million (West)

• Funding source: Williamson County 2023 road bond

Ongoing projects

MoKan Trail: Boggy Creek Bridge Segment

Project: The project is a 1.5-mile trail in Austin connecting the Pedernales Street bike path to the Southern Walnut Creek Trail.

Update: Phase 5, the bridge over Boggy Creek, is the trail's final piece and is expected to be complete by late 2026.

• Timeline: expected completion in late 2026

• Cost: $5.3 million–$5.8 million

• Funding source: 2020 mobility bond, Community Project Funding

As Election Day nears, candidates seeking to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate are raising—and spending—large sums of money, their campaign finance reports show.

The details: Candidates and political action committees, or PACs, involved in federal races had until midnight Oct. 15 to submit reports detailing their fundraising and spending from the third quarter of 2026—July 1 through Sept. 30.

• Democrat James Talarico raised $60.2 million and spent $67.2 million, according to his campaign finance report.

• Republican Ken Paxton, the state's current attorney general, reported raising $10.2 million and spending $7.1 million

• Libertarian Ted Brown's campaign finance report shows he raised about $5,208 and spent $3,410

Preparing for the polls: Early voting in Texas' midterm election runs from Oct. 19-30, and Election Day is Nov. 3.

Texans can view a personalized sample ballot with information about dozens of candidates and local propositions at communityimpact.com/voter-guide.