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New Braunfels City Council approved a resolution submitting multiple projects to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All, or SS4A, and Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant, or RCE, Programs on May 11.

What you need to know: The projects that will be submitted to the SS4A grant program are:

• Installation of a roundabout to improve safety at the intersection of Landa Street, North Seguin Avenue and Zink Street
• Updating the city’s Street Safety Action Plan, Vision Zero and Elliot Knox Blvd Multimodal Corridor Study

A locally owned neighborhood wine bar named Wine Folks is setting up shop at 967 N. Academy Ave. in New Braunfels.

Wine Folks is owned by husband and wife duo Danielle and Jason Grantham. Danielle Grantham said they are hoping to open in June.

Looking for a libation? Wine Folks will offer beer, wine and provisions. There will also be a retail section for wine by the bottle, Texas craft beers, artisan snacks and more.

“We want to be the place you come to relax, try something new, laugh with friends or make new ones and leave with a smile,” Danielle Grantham said.

Wine Folks will also boast a bar and lounge area for wine by the glass, draft beers and nonalcoholic beverage options.

• 967 N. Academy Ave., New Braunfels

Business is booming in San Marcos with new stores, restaurants and hotels opening or on the horizon. From footwear brands to baked goods stops, check out 11 new business updates from San Marcos.

Now open

Birkenstock

• Opened April 22

• 3939 S. I-35, Ste. 1350, San Marcos

LivAway Suites

• Opened Feb. 17

• 1550 River Road, San Marcos

Coming soon

Dos Gatos Kolache Bakery

• Opening by 2027

• 1004 N. I-35 frontage road, San Marcos

Legacy Arts

• Opening fall 2026

• Southwest corner of S. LBJ Drive and Cheatham St.

What’s next: Filings made with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation

Amiri: Company officials plan to finish out the 2,462-square-foot retail store by June 15.

Home Depot: The 107,797-square-foot store will be the first in San Marcos.

In the news

City of San Marcos: San Marcos crews began installing the city’s first-ever gateway sign.

Texas State University: The university unveiled a new sculpture by artist Nathan Mabry on April 25.

Alvin Ord’s Sandwich Shop: The owner announced the shop’s temporary closure and “change in leadership."

Roughly 76,000 fewer students were enrolled in Texas public schools this academic year than the year prior, according to May 11 report.

The overview: The 2025-26 school year marks the second recorded enrollment drop in recent history, according to Texas Education Agency data collected since the 1987-88 academic year. The first decline happened in the 2020-21 school year, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hispanic students accounted for 81% of the enrollment loss in the 2025-26 school year, the policy research group Texas 2036 found.

The local impact: School districts across Community Impact’s coverage areas are in the process of closing and consolidating campuses, citing enrollment declines and budget shortfalls. Statewide data shows that 130 campuses have been selected for closure in the past two years.

What they're saying: “This year, we are down students, and these [drops] are somewhat more accelerated than statewide demographic trends indicated,” TEA Commissioner Mike Morath told lawmakers May 11. “We cannot tell you the precise cause of this. We just know that it has occurred.”