Mayoral candidate Michael French and incumbent Neal Linnartz will be heading to a runoff election this June.

What you need to know: A runoff is called when no candidate receives more than 50% of the votes cast, per the Texas Constitution. The race will be held in both Comal and Guadalupe counties, according to the city of New Braunfels website.

Early voting in Comal County will be held on the following dates and at the following times:

• June 1-5, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

• June 6, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

• June 8-9, 7 a.m.-7 p.m.

Early voting in Guadalupe County will be held on the following dates and at the following times:

• June 1-5, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

• June 6, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

• June 8-9, 7 a.m.-7 p.m.

New Braunfels City Council approved a resolution supporting obtaining National Register of Historic Places designation for two properties within Dittlinger Family Residential Historic District on May 11.

The New Braunfels Historic Landmark Commission held a public hearing April 14 and voted unanimously to recommend the resolution to City Council, according to agenda documents.

In a nutshell: The district contains late 19th century and early 20th century resources on two properties—581 W. Coll St. and 372 Magazine Ave.—in the city’s Sophienburg Historic District, according to agenda documents.

The historic-age resources in the area date from around 1895-1925 and are associated with the Dittlinger family. The district was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places for its examples of National Folks, Late Victorian and Early 20th Century Revival architectural design. It was almost nominated due to its association with architect James Wahrenberger, agenda documents state.

The item was approved on the consent agenda, and there was no discussion.

The latest data from Unlock MLS shows signs that the housing market is ticking up in Central Texas, with higher year-over-year home sales and homes selling closer to their original listing price.

The details: Representing the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metropolitan statistical area, or MSA, the data released May 12 shows residential home sales increased 2% year over year in April for the MSA, reaching 2,648. That's the highest number of monthly home sales so far this year, up from a 0.5% year-over-year increase in March and decreases in both January and February. 

“What stands out in April’s data is the shift in buyer psychology and overall market momentum," said Vaike O’Grady, market research advisor at Unlock MLS, in a news release. "Many buyers who had been delaying their home search took advantage of the temporary dip in mortgage rates we saw earlier this year and moved quickly once conditions became more manageable."

Increasing pending and closed sales point to a market where buyers are "stepping into the market with more urgency," O'Grady said.

Two major provisions of Texas' immigration enforcement law were blocked by a federal judge May 14, extending a yearslong legal battle over state and federal authority to remove undocumented migrants from the country.

What's happening: Siding with two Honduran immigrants who sued the state, U.S. District Judge David A. Ezra struck down two components of Senate Bill 4 hours before the 2023 law was set to take effect. An unchallenged portion of SB 4 will become law May 15.

More details: A May 4 lawsuit challenged sections of the law that would allow Texas police to arrest people suspected of illegally crossing the Texas-Mexico border multiple times and authorize state judges to issue deportation orders for those arrested.

Ezra granted a preliminary injunction against those parts of the law May 14, writing that only the federal government has the authority to enforce immigration restrictions.

Stay tuned: The state attorney general's office is expected to appeal the ruling, but did not respond to a request for comment before press time.