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Houston Premium Outlets announced in a June 15 news release that the shopping center will gain two new stores in June along with two store relocations.

The overview: Shoe retailer Birkenstock and outdoor gear retailer The North Face will join the Cypress outlet mall this month. Birkenstock will be located near Victoria's Secret, and The North Face will be near Aeropostale.

What else?: Clothing retailers Perry Ellis and U.S. Polo Association Outlet have both recently relocated, per the news release. Perry Ellis can now be found near crocs, and U.S. Polo Association Outlet near HeyDude.

• Birkenstock opening June 16; The North Face opening June 19

• 29300 Hempstead Road, Cypress

Cy-Fair ISD students in grades third through eighth outscored state averages in all but two exam subjects in the Spring 2026 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness exams.

The breakdown: CFISD student’s scores dipped below the state averages in third and eight grade math by one and nine percentage points, respectively. Seventh grade math scores for CFISD students was 16 percentage points above the state average.

Students saw improved performance year-over-year in all exams except:

• Third grade math

• Seventh grade math

• Third grade reading

• Fourth grade reading

Before you go: Students can find their STAAR results using their unique student access code online.

During the 2026 State of Housing in Harris County and Houston webinar June 16, local experts discussed key findings demonstrating that rising costs are making it more challenging for Houston-area residents to afford housing.

What the experts say: Southeast Texas Regional Director for Texas Housers Julia Orgunia said while home rental costs are increasing at a faster rate than inflation, over half of Harris County renters are cost-burdened, meaning renters are spending more than 30% of their income on housing costs.

Quote of note: “I think that that's really surprising, and kind of goes against the narrative that many of us have in our head of we are not always a boom town, but we are always growing, and we are always producing, and you drive around and you see new homes being built ... you see all of these new homes going up, but to realize that it is at a historically low level was surprising,” Tory Gunsolley, chief program officer for Harris County Housing and Community Development, said.

In a new 12-year partnership with intelligent mobility solutions company Miovision, Harris County emergency medical services will now be able to develop quicker routes to destinations in the northwest area during an emergency.

The breakdown: Miovision is the provider of Opticom, a cloud-based system that recognizes first responder vehicles at traffic signals and changes signals to ensure emergency vehicles are able to clear intersections in a timely manner.

While Harris County ESDs implemented a similar system in 2007 to provide more streamlined communication between traffic signals and first responders, a number were damaged or destroyed due to multiple severe storms and weathering since 2017.

Quote of note: "When we saw Miovision’s Opticom system, it was a no-brainer. The fact that we don't need resources committed to supporting the day-to-day operation of the system is a godsend because in public safety, you never have enough money and you never have enough people," Mike Pate, project manager at Harris County ESD 16, said.