Road projects across Central Texas have seen major movement in the development process this month.

From over $12.4 million in federal grant support on two San Marcos projects to construction progress on two roads included in the 2022 Kyle Road Bond, check out four transportation updates.

Upcoming projects
Center Street project
Update: A Notice to Proceed was issued for the project on June 22, allowing the construction phase to begin.

Cape Street Shared Use Path
Update: The project was awarded $820,934 in federal CAMPO funding to support the approximately $1.03 million design phase.

Old Ranch Road 12 improvements
Update: The project was awarded $11.8 million in federal CAMPO funding to support the $14.7 million construction phase.

Ongoing projects
Windy Hill Road improvements
Update: Construction on the project began in April. Crews have completed street grading, widening and asphalt operations, striping, signage installation and stormwater pollution prevention installation.

A new store bringing heirloom-quality home furnishings to San Marcos for the first time is set to open this summer at Tanger Outlets.

The overview: Serena & Lily will join the outlet mall’s mix of upscale retailers and growing home furnishing options, including Restoration Hardware, West Elm and Design Within Reach, in mid-July, according to a Tanger Outlets news release.

The 9,923-square-foot store will be located next to the existing Wayfair location. The store will offer customers access to brand items featuring a variety of styles, including patterns, unique color palettes and natural materials.

“Serena & Lily’s anticipated opening builds on the strong collection of home furnishings retailers at Tanger San Marcos,” said Jarett Medders, Tanger San Marcos marketing director, in the news release.

What they sell: The store will offer a selection of furniture, upholstery, bedding, rugs, pillows, wallpaper, lighting and décor, all designed in-house by the Serena & Lily brand.

• 4015 S. I-35, Ste. 790, San Marcos

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.