Residents around the west side of Lake Conroe may see Entergy crews on lake barges as the company works to replace transmission lines in the area. The work, which began Dec. 1, will continue through February 2026, according to a Facebook post from Entergy.

More details: The work will specifically be happening near the April Sound, Walden and Bentwater lake communities, according to Entergy’s Facebook post. Work will take place during the daytime, and no outages are expected.

Some context: Entergy is underway with a Southeast Texas Energy Plan, which involves the company working to build more power and natural gas plants, upgrading and constructing new transmission lines and strengthening infrastructure to be more weather-proof, according to its website.

Morelia Gourmet Paletas has officially opened its newest location in the Woodforest community, Marketing Director Luis Daniel Correa confirmed.

What you need to know: The shop will host a two-day grand opening celebration Dec. 5-6, where visitors can enjoy free ice cream paletas all day. The event will offer guests a chance to sample the brand’s signature handcrafted pops, made with premium ingredients and customizable with dips and toppings, Correa said.

• 901 Pine Market Ave, Ste. 200, Montgomery

The Houston-Galveston Area Council is hosting public meetings for its Safety Action Plans, a measure to improve transportation safety and reduce serious roadway injuries and fatalities, officials announced in a Dec. 1 news release.

With nearly 20% of traffic deaths in Texas—760 people a year, or two people a day—and another 3,725 people annually experiencing life-altering injuries on roads in the Houston-Galveston region, H-GAC created the SAP projects to generate plans to reduce the number of fatal or serious accidents.

Get involved: Community members can provide feedback on roadway safety online or attend a first-round public meeting for the local SAPs, per the release.

Meetings include:

• La Marque: Dec. 1 from 5-7 p.m. at La Marque City Hall
• League City: Dec. 3 from 6-8:30 p.m. at the Johnnie Arolfo Civic Center
• Sugar Land: Dec. 6 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at the T.E. Harman Center
• Pearland: Dec. 10 from 5-7 p.m. at the Pearland Chamber of Commerce
• Regional Joint Meeting (H-GAC/METRO/Gulf Coast Rail District): Feb. 12, 2026, from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Houston-Galveston Area Council

A dozen new Texas laws are scheduled to take effect Dec. 4. The new laws come 90 days after the end of a special legislative session that took place this summer.

The overview: Some of the bills becoming law Dec. 4 include:

• House Bill 8, which will replace the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, with three shorter exams beginning in fall 2027
• House Bill 18, which is designed to deter future legislators from leaving the Texas Capitol to prevent a legislative chamber from considering legislation, known as breaking quorum
• Senate Bill 54, which will roll back a short-lived rule that allowed registered Texas voters who moved within a county to update their address at the polls and immediately vote in their new precinct