Conroe’s new Oscar Johnson Jr. Enrichment and Recreation Center is still in its warranty phase, but city officials said May 28 they are working through several post-construction issues at the nearly $40 million, 87,000-square-foot facility.

The update came during a Conroe City Council meeting, where staff discussed issues involving the building’s crawl space, plumbing, sewer lines and an anchor on the roof.

What happened: Parks and Recreation staff said the agenda item was tied to updates on Owen Park and the Oscar Johnson Jr. Enrichment and Recreation Center, including the center’s commercial kitchen remodel. In the meeting, Purchasing Contract Administrator Brandy Taylor said the city had bid out the commercial kitchen project, but it is currently on hold and was planned to be funded through leftover construction money from the Oscar Johnson facility.

The details: When asked by Mayor Duke Coon what issues were being fixed, Purvis pointed to the crawl space and plumbing.

On June 4, Lone Star College System's board of trustees will consider calling an election for three trustee seats in November.

The big picture: LSCS trustees for Districts 3, 4 and 9 are slated to be up for election Nov. 3, according to June 4 meeting documents for the college system. Trustee terms last six years for LSCS.

According to the LSCS website, the trustees scheduled to be up for election in November are:

• Board Secretery Iesheia Wilson for District 3
• Art Murillo for District 4
• Jim Cain for District 9

• District 3 covers parts of south-central Cy-Fair and northwest portions of central Houston
• District 4 includes portions of north-central Houston
• District 9 covers pieces of Tomball, north Klein and Cypress

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.