What began as a holiday tradition of baking cheesecakes with his mother has blossomed into a five-acre farm in Bastrop where owners Michael and Luci Holcomb create custom desserts for customers throughout the Austin area and run a farm of roughly 50 sheep.

The overview: The Holcombs have run the farm-based Stregare Baking Company since 2012, offering sheep’s milk cheesecakes and other baked goods from their Bastrop commercial kitchen, which opened to the public three years ago.

What's special about it: Unlike traditional bakeries with set menus, Holcomb bakes using their own sheep’s milk and specializes in custom orders with over 100 cheesecake flavors available.

Staying local: The bakery supplies desserts to local restaurants, including:

• Piney Creek Chop House

• Old Town Restaurant & Bar

• Santo Patio

• The Grace Miller

• Leo's Italian Grill

Customers can shop Saturday bake sales from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., where scones, cinnamon rolls, cookies and brownies sell for $2-$3 each. Custom cheesecakes range from $49-$59. 

• 178 E. Clearview Cemetery Road, Bastrop

Drive-thru coffee franchise Scooter’s Coffee is nearing completion after breaking ground March 31 at Bastrop's mixed-use development called Sendero.

What they offer: The eatery will offer hot and iced drinks, including coffee, lemonade, tea and Red Bull infusions.

Build-your-own smoothies and blenders will also be on the menu, with add-ins like protein or energy shots.

Other options will include menu items such as:

• Baked goods
• Breakfast burritos and sandwiches
• Omelet bites

• Opening in July
• Sendero, 821 SH 71 W., Bastrop

Check out the latest Austin metro transportation updates. 

Ongoing projects
Oak Hill Parkway
Project: The Texas Department of Transportation is currently reconstructing 7 miles of Hwy. 290 in Oak Hill, transforming the existing four-lane, undivided roadway to a six-lane divided highway with new frontage roads and 14 miles of shared-use paths.
Update: As early as mid-May, the Hwy. 290 and SH 71 flyovers will open. The Convict Hill cross-street bridge opened in April.

• Timeline: 2022-26

• Cost: $677 million

• Funding source: TxDOT

Completed projects
Gattis School Road Segment 3
Project: The city of Round Rock is expanding Gattis School Road—from A.W. Grimes Boulevard to Double Creek Drive—into a six-lane divided roadway, and adding pedestrian improvements, bicycle enhancements and right- and left-turn bays with new traffic signals to A.W. Grimes and Double Creek.
Update: Construction on segment 3 of the road was completed in May. Construction on segment 6 is still ongoing and expected to be complete by late 2027.

• Timeline: 2024-27

• Cost: $26 million (segment 3)

• Funding source: type B sales tax revenue (segment 3)

On May 26, Democratic voters will choose their nominee for Texas lieutenant governor in a runoff election between state Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin, and union leader Marcos Vélez.

The big picture: The Democratic race for lieutenant governor is one of several statewide contests that advanced to May runoffs after no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the March 3 primary election.

Goodwin and Vélez were the two highest-performing candidates in the three-person primary race, with Goodwin collecting 48% of the vote and Vélez receiving 31%. The winner of the May 26 overtime round will face incumbent Dan Patrick and potential third-party candidates in the November midterm election.

Some context: The lieutenant governor leads the Texas Senate and can exercise the powers of the governor if the governor dies, resigns, is removed from office or is absent from the state, according to the Texas State Historical Association.

At the polls: Texans can vote early from May 18-22, and runoff election day is May 26.