The team at Conejos Tex-Mex Cantina prides itself on serving delicious Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes with an exciting twist, all in a welcoming atmosphere, co-owner Bobby Joe Hernandez said.

What’s on the menu: Hernandez said Conejos aims to serve not only familiar menu items, like fajitas and al pastor street tacos, but also new and unique dishes.

“We do off-the-wall stuff. It’s not just a Tex-Mex cantina,” he said.

Chef Eduardo Miguel “puts all his love” into the restaurant’s specials, which have recently included dishes like duck empanadas and a pork chop tomahawk, Hernandez said. Many regular customers get excited to see the new specials every time they visit.

What’s next: There are two new Conejos locations coming to Round Rock and Cedar Park. Hernandez said the group is aiming to open the Round Rock restaurant this summer and the Cedar Park one in the fall.

The Austin Metro Hockey Association, or AMHA, recently celebrated its five-year anniversary at The Crossover, a spokesperson for the organization said.

A closer look: Located right on the Cedar Park-Leander line, AMHA is the major governing body overseeing youth hockey in Austin, according to its website. The organization recently joined The Pond Hockey Club to create a new youth hockey community with “an intercity league, tournament teams and travel teams” all bearing a new name, the Austin Capitals, the group said in a statement. AMHA also hosts "Try Hockey For Free" events at schools to introduce new players to the sport.

• 1717 Scottsdale Drive, Ste. 210, Cedar Park

Check out six upcoming or ongoing transportation project updates across the Austin metro.

Upcoming projects
Austin will commit $104M to support future I-35 decks: Austin will commit more than $100 million to support future public amenity decks covering portions of I-35, after a scaled-down alternate proposal was tabled this spring. The city would develop larger caps and smaller stitches to cover the interstate, connecting downtown and East Austin with public decks that could house parks, plazas and small buildings or venues. Building all caps and stitches is now estimated to cost about $400 million, added amenities across all decks could cost nearly $260 million, and maintaining the structures will cost about $9 million annually once they're in place. 

Ongoing projects
Construction on Austin Avenue bridges in Georgetown to resume: The southbound Austin Avenue bridge decks will be demolished beginning this month in preparation for new bridge construction. Demolition will take approximately two months, and both bridges are anticipated to be completed and open to traffic next April. 

Dr. Akshay Yadhati, a surgeon with Austin Regional Clinic, performed two different high-tech spine surgeries this year that were both Austin-area firsts, according to a spokesperson for the medical group. Yadhati spoke to Community Impact about the procedures and what they mean for spine care in Central Texas.

The overview: Yadhati performed a robotic navigated spinal interbody fusion on an adult patient and an endoscopic spine surgery. Both techniques are significant steps forward in spinal care, he said, because they improve the safety and accuracy of the surgeries and minimize invasiveness and recovery time.

Why it matters: “If I were dealing with [these problems], these are the techniques I would want done on my back,” Yadhati said. “That’s the main theme that I try to anchor a lot of my decisions in. If I’m the patient, or my mom, dad, brother or wife is the patient, how do I want them to be going through a surgery?”