Houston will open 22 cooling centers this summer for residents and will receive over $80,000 for air conditioning units and cooling devices for residents in need.

The details: Mayor John Whitmire, along with Reliant Energy and Houston Health Department officials, announced the launch of the Beat the Heat cooling centers. They also announced Reliant’s plans to donate funds to the city to provide vulnerable residents with air conditioning units and cooling devices.

This is the 21st year of the company's partnership with the city.

“It took many years of collaboration and partnership with our friends at Reliant,” Whitmire said during a June 1 news conference. “It also took neighborhood citizens to participate, spread the word that in Houston, Texas, we look out for our seniors, our young people.”

Whitmire also added that the city is providing generators to several multiservice centers across the city.

Tex-Mex restaurant Molina’s Cantina will celebrate its 85th anniversary on June 12.

What’s special about it?: To celebrate, each of its three locations will host celebrations with anniversary fiestas June 11-13, one-a-week summer deals and a look back at the family, staff and dishes that shaped the restaurant.

Fiestas will consist of festive decor, all-day happy hour, roaming mariachi bands from 6-8 p.m., cake, photodrops and prize giveaways.

From June 1 to July 31, Molina’s will also offer a special one-day anniversary deal each week that will be announced on the restaurant’s Instagram and Facebook pages. Deals will include limited-time throwback menu pricing and buy-one-get-one deals.

A family affair: Molina’s Cantina was founded in 1941 by Raul and Mary Molina.

The Molina family said this anniversary is a tribute to their grandparents’ vision, their parents’ dedication and their customers and team members.

Over the weekend, Houston officials cut the ribbon on the Main Street Promenade, a downtown project that has been under construction since last summer.

About the project: The $17 million project included transforming seven blocks in Downtown Houston into a pedestrian-friendly corridor that would connect key areas with a variety of plazas, shaded walkways, public spaces and outdoor dining spots.

Key features of the promenade include:

• The expanded pedestrian walkway
• Increased tree canopy by 154% with the addition of 85 new trees
• New "outdoor rooms" designed for flexible use such as dining, social gatherings and small events

Clear Lake residents and boaters have long been concerned about the hundreds of abandoned boats littering Clear Lake and surrounding bays, but while dozens of boats remain in Clear Lake, efforts to remove them have been slow. 

Recently, the Texas Land Commissioner and the office of Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia partnered to remove a 24-foot sailboat near Clear Lake Park and pledged to remove more boats. 

Why it matters: The Texas General Land Office, or GLO, and the commissioner’s office held the derelict-vessel removal event at the park May 28, according to a GLO news release. 

Stay tuned: Two additional boats are in the process of being removed and destroyed, according to the release.

Texas’ sweeping immigration enforcement law can take effect for now, a federal appeals court ruled May 29.

The background: Senate Bill 4 gives Texas officials the unprecedented authority to arrest and deport migrants suspected of crossing the Texas-Mexico border illegally. State lawmakers passed the measure in late 2023, and it has largely been tied up in court since.

The latest: In an unpublished order May 29, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowed SB 4 to take effect as the case continues, lifting a lower court order that had blocked portions of the law. 

What they're saying: In a joint statement, a trio of civil rights groups decried the May 29 decision as “disappointing and out of step with the Constitution,” saying that they would continue to fight the law in court.

Gov. Greg Abbott celebrated the order as a “major border security victory.” State agencies have not detailed their plans to arrest, detain or deport migrants under SB 4.