Located in a navy blue building at the Waterpoint Shopping Center, Petite Suzette opened on April 21 to fill the community’s need for a French bistro, manager Mike Gardne said. Offering lunch, dinner and brunch on the weekends, the bistro has become the new local charming eatery offering a variety of French cuisine staples.

Craving French cuisine: With crepes as its bread and butter, Petite Suzette offers a variety of signature French dishes, starting with the shareable escargot bourguignon made with garlic and butter toast. Made with French ingredients from French distributors as well as local ingredients, Gardne said key French ingredients sourced include the bistro’s truffles and butter.

It’s 5 o’clock somewhere: With happy hour held from 3-5 p.m., Monday-Friday, Gardne said the eatery offers $2 specialty cocktails, wine by the glass and appetizers from the happy hour menu. Petite Suzette also offers a variety of coffees, mimosas and bloody marys.

Willis Kids Pediatric Dentistry is set to serve the Willis and Conroe community on March 2, officials confirmed.

Two-minute impact: Dr. Sumedga Sharma is the current owner and practitioner for Willis Kids Pediatric Dentistry.  For over 12 years, she has been helping children with dental care and has now come to Willis to establish her practice, Sharma said.  

Some of the services offered at Willis Kids Pediatric Dentistry include, but are not limited to:

• Emergency dental care for kids and teens
• Gentle cleanings
• Fillings and restorations
• Infant oral evaluations for breastfeeding challenges
• Tongue- and lip-tie diagnosis and treatment 
• Collaboration with lactation consultants to ensure healthy development

• 902 W. Montgomery St., Willis

At its regular Feb. 17 meeting, MISD trustees approved to utilize the empty space at the district’s career and technical education center, known as The Den, for a new faculty office space. The move stems from the aging and deteriorating state of the Education Support Center and the desire for its faculty to work in better conditions.

Why now: As it currently stands, the ESC does not have the proper working conditions to host its faculty. Superintendent Mark Ruffin said at the regular Feb. 17 board meeting that the ESC building is “aging and has significant structural concerns.” Some of these structural concerns include cracked bricks, drywall separations and sinking ceiling tiles, Ruffin said.

To address these concerns, the MISD board voted on $3.2 million as the guaranteed maximum price—$2.2 million less than the approved $5.4 million in 2022 bond funds set aside to repair the ESC. The office space is planned to be flexible, able to convert to instructional classrooms or student spaces as CTE programs grow, according to meeting documents.

The filing period for interested candidates looking to run for a public office position closed Feb. 13, with the election set for May 2. Five candidates are running for three spots on Montgomery ISD’s school board.

Meet the candidates: Take a look below at who filed to run for the MISD board positions. Positions 1 and 2 are uncontested, while Position 3 is a three-person race. Incumbent Laurie Turner did not file for reelection. 

*indicates incumbent

Montgomery ISD Position 1

• Eddie Winn*

• Shawn Denison*

• John Williams
• Jennie Drude
• Matt Mitchell

After nearly four years of development, Sam Houston State University officially cut the ribbon to open its new Health Professions Building on Feb. 17.

Two-minute impact: The $65 million, 81,000-square-foot facility has been in early development since 2023, according to prior reporting from Community Impact. Built to operate alongside the College of Osteopathic Medicine, the new facility's strategic location offers students a “regional home to several major health care systems,” according to a Feb. 18 news release. This allows students in SHSU's health programs to learn and work alongside health care professionals in real-world settings.

More details: SHSU will host four programs in the new facility:

• Master of Science in Athletic Training
• Master of Science in Dietetics
• Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies
• Doctor of Physical Therapy

Republican candidates in the contested March 3 primary for Montgomery County judge, as well as the unopposed Democratic primary candidate, shared their platforms in a Feb. 17 forum presented by The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce.

What to expect: Incumbent Mark Keough and challenger Wayne Mack, the current justice of the peace for Montgomery County Precinct 1, are seeking the Republican nomination for the Nov. 3 general election. Democratic candidate James Graf is unopposed in the primary election. Candidates for each party presented their platforms and answered questions in the forum separately.

What's next: Early voting began Feb. 17 and will end Feb. 27. A list of some of the positions on the sample ballot for voters in The Woodlands area in Montgomery County can be found here.

Election day is March 3.

A major new natural gas power project in east Houston just cleared another state milestone, pushing a planned 455-megawatt plant closer to reality as Texas races to add generation amid rising demand.

What this means: Gov. Greg Abbott announced the new unit planned at the existing Greens Bayou facility has been designated a qualified project under the Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation program, according to a Feb. 17 news release. The plant represents $617 million in capital investment and is expected to start producing electricity for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas region in 2028, according to the governor’s office.

The project is intended to strengthen grid reliability and create jobs, crediting state leaders and local partners for helping move the plan ahead, per the release.

What’s next: According to the release, with the JETI designation now in place, the focus shifts to the buildout and timeline leading up to the planned 2028 start date—when the additional capacity is expected to begin feeding electricity into the ERCOT grid.