A $21 million project that launched in 2023 to provide water and sewer services to the community of Tamina is nearing completion this year.

The context: The project will allow Shenandoah to provide services to property owners and businesses in the community of around 1,000 residents.

What you need to know: The project is close to completion as Phase 2 is currently underway, per Shenandoah officials. The lines were completed on the west and northeast side of Tamina as of Jan. 7, interim City Manager Joseph Peart said.

Stay tuned: The final Southeast Phase of the water and sewer project is expected to be completed by July. Water plant construction is scheduled for completion in September.  

Benny's Bar and Bistreaux is now open in Magnolia, officials confirmed.

What they serve: Benny's Bar and Bistreaux offers a variety of Cajun cuisine such as crawfish étouffée and gumbo as well as shrimp and grits and fried alligator.

• Opened Feb. 2
• 9311 FM 1488, Ste. 120, Magnolia

A total of 137,395 in-person and mail-in ballots have been cast in Harris County, more than halfway through the 10-day early voting period ahead of the March 3 primary election.

In a nutshell: Early in-person voting runs from Feb. 17-27, and election day is March 3. 

In Harris County, voters can cast their ballot at any polling location during early voting and on election day. The county has 60 early voting locations.

In Texas, to vote in either a Democratic or Republican primary election, voters do not have to be registered to vote in that party, but must choose one party's election.

Quote of note: “Primary elections are the first step to November,” Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth said via the release. “As we enter the midterm election season, I urge voters to educate themselves on the issues and candidates, and to make their voices heard early in the process.”

Some context: During the March 2024 primary election, 211,223 voters cast ballots during the entire early voting period, as previously reported by Community Impact.

During the first week of early voting for the March primary election, Feb. 17-22, close to 7% of registered voters in Montgomery County cast their ballots, according to Montgomery County Election Central.

Breaking it down: Spread throughout six days, 31,061 total votes were cast—or 6.62% of registered voters—according to data from Montgomery County Election Central. The Democratic Party saw 8,265 total votes, and the Republican Party saw 22,794.  
As of Feb. 22, there were 468,963 registered voters within the county, according to Montgomery County Election Central.

The highest number of votes cast for the Democratic Party came Feb. 21; meanwhile, the highest vote count for the Republican Party came Feb. 20, according to the county election data.