Ebisu Life Store, Austin’s newest Japanese lifestyle shop, officially opened May 22 in Northwest Austin, according to co-owner Fiona Hu. 

What they offer: Owners Fiona and Michael Hu have stocked the shop with blind boxes, anime, plush toys, snacks, drinks, skincare items and household goods, according to Ebisu's social media. 

Shoppers can find brands like Pokémon, Smiski and Sanrio merchandise. For snacks, patrons can pick up Pocky, as well as special KitKat and Oreo flavors.

Learn more: For Ebisu's first week open, the owners are offering promotions including giveaways, gifts and sales on select items. The promotions are valid through May 29 and more information can be found on the businesses Instagram page.

• 8557 Research Blvd., Ste. 130, Austin

Construction at several Round Rock ISD campuses will kick off this summer, as the district continues progress on improvements funded by the 2024 bond. 

What they're saying: Representatives of HPM, the firm managing the 2024 bond program on behalf of the district, provided an update in a May 19 board meeting about ongoing and completed projects across RRISD campuses. 

What's next? Comprehensive construction projects at the following facilities will get underway this summer: 

• Berkman Elementary School 
• C.D. Fulkes Auditorium 
• CTE renovations 
• Forest North Elementary School 
• Great Oaks Elementary School 
• McNeil High School 
• Stony Point High School 
• District support services at A.W. Grimes Boulevard 
• Westwood High School

A new Carvana, Austin Country Club renovations and a higher education center are among the five most expensive projects filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in the Austin metro this week.

Carvana ($65 million): Located off SH 130 in Manor, the business will offer automotive sales and services.

Austin Country Club ($38 million): This project involves construction at the country club, including a parking garage, a fitness building and a dining building. Renovations will also be made to an existing youth building.

Ayn Rand Center ($30 million): Located near the University of Texas at Austin, the center will consist of a library, exhibition spaces, offices and higher education classrooms.

One of the Kids Therapy Center ($10 million): The therapy center, which has locations in Cedar Park and South Austin, offers applied behavior analysis, speech, occupational therapy, swim therapy and more.

O'Reilly Auto Parts ($1.4 million): Construction on the automotive store in San Marcos is set to begin this fall.

Austin-area voters cast their ballots in the May 26 runoff to determine who will appear on the ballot in November for state and national races.

At the polls: Unofficial early voting data was released in the evening of May 26, representing ballots cast May 18-22 during early voting and on election day.

What you need to know: Runoff winners will move on to the Nov. 3 general election. The following results are for contested races only.

For the first time in more than a decade, there is no incumbent in the Texas attorney general's race as Ken Paxton runs for the U.S. Senate. Voters across Texas made their picks for attorney general in the May 26 runoff election, with the winning candidate from each political party moving on to the November election.

The context: The Republican and Democratic attorney general races are among several statewide contests that advanced to May runoffs after no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the March 3 primary election.

The attorney general serves as Texas' top lawyer and law enforcement officer.

About the candidates: On the right, state Sen. Mayes Middleton of Galveston and U.S. Rep. Chip Roy of Austin are each seeking the Republican nomination for the seat.

On the left, state Sen. Nathan Johnson of Dallas and former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski are vying for the Democratic nomination.

Keep reading to see the results in the two attorney general races and find other runoff results at communityimpact.com/voter-guide.

In the May 26 runoff election, Republican voters across Texas cast their votes in a contentious U.S. Senate race between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

The context: The Republican race for U.S. Senate is one of several statewide contests that advanced to May runoffs after no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the March 3 primary election.

About the candidates: Cornyn, an incumbent senator with nearly 24 years in office, is seeking to hold his seat for another six years while being challenged by Paxton, the once-impeached state attorney general who was recently endorsed by President Donald Trump. Read each candidate's priorities in their own words here.  

The winning Republican candidate will face the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, state Rep. James Talarico of Austin, in November.
 
Keep reading to see the results in the Cornyn-Paxton race and find other runoff results at communityimpact.com/voter-guide.