The San Jacinto College board of trustees approved Laura Bettencourt as provost of the San Jacinto College North Campus. 

Career history: Bettencourt, who will begin her role June 15, brings more than 20 years of executive leadership, most recently as senior associate vice chancellor for academic support at Lone Star College, according to a June 1 news release from the college. 

Quote of note: “Dr. Bettencourt is a student-focused leader who brings a strong commitment to academic excellence, innovation, and community engagement. Her extensive experience in higher education, and her passion for supporting students and expanding access and opportunities for them, makes her an outstanding choice to lead our North Campus,” Alexander Okwonna, incoming deputy chancellor and college president, said in the release.

After walking up the bar’s wooden steps, patrons at Chelsea Wine Bar open the door to an Old World ambience, displaying storied antiques and knick-knacks Owner John Devereux collected over the years, such as the hanging pendant light from Rice Hotel and the wooden bar top sourced from the Port Authority office of Galveston, dating back to the early 1900s.

The overview: Mural scenes painted by artist Shelley Shanks cover the walls and ceilings, including warm scenes Manager Bill LeMay said were inspired by Paul Gauguin’s depictions of Tahiti and Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s famous painting Luncheon of the Boating Party, a colorful impression of friends enjoying wine along the Seine.

What else: In July, Chelsea Wine Bar in El Lago will celebrate 19 years of pouring and creating a gathering space for people to connect and enjoy wine in a space staff said is unlike any other in the area.

• 4106 E. NASA Parkway, Ste. F, El Lago

As extreme weather events become more frequent, CenterPoint Energy announced June 1 that it is expanding its storm preparedness efforts through a partnership with Technosylva, a provider of weather, wildfire and flood modeling software.

Quote of note: “Preparing for extreme weather today requires earlier insight and better coordination than ever before,” said Jason Wells, chair, president and chief executive officer of CenterPoint Energy. “Our goal is to build the most resilient coastal grid in the nation to benefit our customers and communities.”

The overview: Technosylva's platform combines outage forecasting, storm modeling, flood risk analysis and wildfire monitoring into a single system. According to a news release from CenterPoint, the platform helps teams track weather conditions several days in advance, position crews and equipment before storms arrive and improve restoration planning. The National Weather Service forecasts eight to 14 named storms in the Atlantic basin this season, including three to six hurricanes, according to CenterPoint.

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.