This Community is Great Because of the People
I had realistic expectations but hopes for this project. I had a feeling it would only be a few articles.
I got involved in my neighborhood's politics by serving the remaining term of a board member, then chose not to run for re-election. I hold the record for shortest tenure of a board member on our HOA! I hope to have done a decent job for my community, but thought it best to get out while people still have a (mostly) favorable opinion of me.
Serving on the board was time consuming, I wasn't able to investigate or write articles. Nor did it feel proper to contribute to a public platform, even a tiny one, while serving in an elected position.
Life requires me to step down from contributing to this site for the foreseeable future. There is a chance I'll return, but far enough off it's speculation.
I met wonderful people and believe this is a great community because of them. What makes me sad are the stories I started investigating but didn't get to a publish-worthy state. Despite our small coverage area, we have a lot going on around here.
I've had the opportunity to chat with folks in the area about their classic cars and trucks. I encourage anyone interested in the classics, say hi if you see them out and about. Everyone I met was happy to share a story about why that vehicle matters.
The newly constructed "road" right off Old 71 closer to the Austin side is a private driveway with no immediate plans for further construction. Took some digging, but no story there. No comment on the pile of tires.
There are many businesses in our area, or owned by folks here. The temporary closing of the Bastrop Starbucks has been great for the local coffee shop scene. Tecuen is owned by one of our own Old 71ers! If you need help with sprinklers or want to know more about local plants, Bastrop Botanical Gardens has an overwhelming amount of information. I never got a chance to go, but I wanted to visit that shop that's just says Fossils... maybe someday.
I learned the Bastrop Energy Center, the natural gas power plant at the end of Tucker Hill lane, is ramping up to provide about 3x more power. I wasn't able to find many reports on it, but it makes sense with all the new construction. Although an anonymous conversation with an employee at a local bar lead me to believe the increase is overkill--even with current construction.
Speaking of power and construction, on the other side of Hwy 71, it's not a vineyard, but a 201 MW solar project called Waterloo Solar 1. I was hoping to use my trick, "Hi I'm James with a local news site" to get a tour but they weren't interested. It's built by Meta (Facebook) and expected to be in operation by 2027.
I did research on the population of our area, but never got the story out of the data worth a share. I can say, we are a significant part of Bastrop county. We can ban together for change if needed!
I'm not taking down the site or scrapping any drafts. The About page will still call for help. If anyone comes along and wants to practice the (lost) art and science of journalism there is opportunity off Old 71. Even though my participation was short-lived, I enjoyed the experience.