CenterPoint Energy is installing new underground power lines in Katy as part of  its Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative aimed at providing customers with better service.

What’s happening: The new power lines will be more resilient through storms, reduce outage times for roughly 5,600 Katy customers and support the city’s growth with the new capacity, said Aaron Coronis, CenterPoint Energy service area manager.

Coronis said there are “more than 50 critical facilities” that will benefit from the circuit, including Katy City Hall, Fire Station No. 1, Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital and several assisted living centers.

The cost: The project was approved by the Public Utility Commission and will not utilize city funds, Coronis said. A portion of the cost will be passed on to all of CenterPoint's ratepayers and not just Katy residents. 

Looking ahead: Construction will begin in roughly 30 days and last approximately eight months, Coronis said. 

Freeman Self Storage is now under construction in the Elyson community, officials confirmed.

About the project: Developed by C3 Katy Ventures, the self storage facility will be a three-story, climate-controlled building with over 850 Class A units to meet the needs of the growing north Katy population, Lynn Freeman said.

• 23920 Freeman Road, Katy

Voters will choose between incumbent Gary Gates and Sandy Ibáñez for Texas House, District 28 in the Nov. 3 election.

The details: Candidates were asked to keep responses under 50 words, answer the questions provided and avoid attacking opponents. Answers may have been minimally edited or cut to adhere to those guidelines, or for style and clarity.

Here's what we asked them:

• Why are you running for this position?

• What would your top priorities be if elected?

• What are the biggest challenges facing this district?

• How do you plan to involve residents in the decision-making process?

• What projects are most important for the legislature to focus on for the future of Texas?

• What do you see as the greatest challenge for Texas/the Houston area in the next five years?

The nonprofit Houston Parks Board is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, HPB President and CEO Justin Schultz said.

The history: Founded in 1976, the group works to expand, improve and protect parks and green space in the Houston region by building, renovating and managing projects. Over the past 50 years, the board has invested about $500 million in parks and green space using public, philanthropic and corporate funding.

Also of note: The parks board typically works on about 50 projects at any given time, including more than 170 miles of connected trails. Moving forward, Schultz said the board has three main priorities:

• Adding 50 miles of trail to the existing network

• Investing in about 180 of Houston's neighborhood parks

• Building the Hill at Sims and MacGregor parks

Texans interested in casting their midterm election ballots before Election Day can do so from Oct. 19-30, the state's early voting period.

The overview: Registered voters can visit any polling place in their county during early voting. They will receive a ballot with federal, state and local races—from the U.S. Senate and Texas governor to city and school district officials.

Dates to know

• Oct. 19: Early in-person voting begins

• Oct. 23: Deadline to apply to vote by mail

• Oct. 30: Early in-person voting ends

• Nov. 3: Election Day

Something to note: Local election officials are also working through a backlog of voter registrations after the Texas Department of Public Safety failed to send some registration records to counties, according to previous reporting. Texans who registered before the Oct. 5 deadline but do not appear on the rolls can still cast a provisional ballot, per the secretary of state.

More details: To check out candidate Q&As and review all races on local ballots, visit communityimpact.com/voter-guide.