Stay in the know with the five most-read Bastrop-Cedar Creek stories in June.

1. Town halls set for 3 Cedar Creek data centers spanning nearly 1,500 acres: Three EdgeConneX data center campus projects are in various stages of development and review near Cedar Creek.

2. $2.5M Bastrop Whataburger planned at current site: Whataburger officials filed plans June 25 for a $2.5 million project at its current Bastrop site, including a new 3,800-square-foot restaurant with sit-in dining and drive-thru service.

3. Bastrop's Texas Roadhouse sets late July opening: Texas Roadhouse is expected to open in late July at Sendero—Bastrop's 75-acre mixed-use development.

4. Bastrop's H-E-B Plus debuts 2-year, $30M renovation: The 140,000-square-foot H-E-B Plus reopened in May after a $30 million renovation.

5. Closer to care: Bastrop explores path to full-service hospital: Bastrop leaders are studying whether a full-service hospital could work locally after a feasibility study showed most residents leave the area for inpatient, specialty and acute care.

Westlake Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery will launch its first Bastrop location later this year.

What we know: Originally set to finish construction in November 2025, the 2,750-square-foot facility is now on track to open on the last day of summer, clinic staff told Community Impact.

What they offer: Westlake Dermatology's Bastrop clinic will offer medical dermatology, red light photodynamic therapy, and cosmetic services such as chemical peels, microneedling and nonsurgical hair loss treatment.

Learn more: Founded in Westlake Hills in 2002, the company now operates nearly two dozen locations across the Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio areas.

• Opening Aug. 31
• Sendero, 853 SH 71, Bastrop

Blind and low vision travelers at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport now have access to Aira Explorer, a free app that provides on-demand visual interpreting assistance throughout the travel process at AUS. 

How it works: The app connects travelers with a professionally trained visual interpreter and utilizes the traveler's smartphone camera and microphone to provide real-time assistance for a variety of travel-related tasks. Interpreters can: 

• Describe surroundings
• Read signs and information displays
• Help with navigation throughout the airport, including curbside drop-off locations, airline check-in counters, security checkpoints, and gates
• Locate amenities such as dining options, shops, bathrooms and pet relief areas

Check out Austin area stories trending June 29-July 2.

1. Plans filed for proposed gas station, retail center near Hutto-Georgetown-Round Rock border

2. Developer of The Domain partners with legacy family on 1,200-acres

3. Dirty soda drink shop to open in San Marcos

4. Lagoon-anchored Leander Springs development advances to Leander City Council

5. Hopdoddy Burger Bar acquired by New York-based restaurant group

6. Closer to care: Bastrop explores path to full-service hospital

Former state Sen. Don Huffines was appointed as the Texas comptroller of public accounts, Gov. Greg Abbott announced July 2.

Huffines, a Dallas-area native with a bachelor's degree in business administration in finance from The University of Texas at Austin, will take over as the state's finance and budgeting officer from acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock. Huffines will officially begin his service Aug. 1.

Huffines defeated Hancock, who became acting comptroller one year ago, in the March Republican primary. He'll now face former state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt in the November general election for a four-year term.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas operates the state power grid, overseeing the flow of electricity to over 27 million customers. Yet ERCOT does not directly participate in Texas’ electric market or own any of the facilities that deliver power across the state.

The big picture: Power generation plants, transmission facilities and distribution lines are owned by outside companies, meaning that local power outages are typically isolated and handled by individual companies, rather than ERCOT.

How it works: In 1999, Texas legislators passed a law deregulating the state’s retail electric market. The law was designed to “introduce competition in Texas’ electric market by allowing consumers to choose their retail electric provider,” according to ERCOT.

Previously, most Texas utility companies owned all aspects of the electric supply chain, including generation, transmission and the delivery of power to customers.

Today, approximately 85% of electric customers in Texas can choose their retail electric provider, including those across the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth regions. Customers in Austin and San Antonio get their electricity from municipally owned utilities.