Mill Street Youth Center, which aims to offer free after-school programs and job training for New Braunfels teens, is getting ready to open.

The $15 million project, led by the New Braunfels Youth Collaborative, will be housed in the former New Braunfels High School building at 430 W. Mill St., according to the center’s website. The historic building, which dates back to the mid-1800s, has been renovated to serve a modern cohort of sixth- to 12th-grade students.

The details: The 27,000-square-foot facility will include a wide range of spaces designed for both recreation and skill-building, Launch Lab Director Jaime Johnson said.

The center will be open to all students regardless of school district. Transportation to and from the facility is planned, and meals and after-school snacks will be provided. While the center is designed primarily for teens, it will also be a resource for the broader community, Jaime said.

New Braunfels Candle Co. is celebrating its 10-year anniversary in New Braunfels this spring.

What's happening: The candle store, owned by local husband and wife-duo Rex and Michelle Rexilius, is located at 555 S. Castell Ave.

The business will celebrate with an event on March 28 to commemorate the milestone. 

What they offer: New Braunfels Candle Co. originally opened in 2016 and sells handmade candles, wax melts and natural fragrances. The business also offers candle making classes and "pouring parties" where patrons can learn how to make candles.

The shop also sells crystals and personal hygiene products, like body wash and beard oil.

• 555 S. Castell Ave., New Braunfels

Road projects are moving forward in the Schertz, Cibolo, Live Oak and Selma areas as I-35 construction changes driving patterns. Learn more about three road project updates.

I-35 NEX Central
Project: The 9.5-mile project includes three elevated lanes, comprising two main lanes and one high-occupancy vehicle lane for both northbound and southbound directions. The elevated lanes will provide direct connections to Loop 410 North and Loop 1604 West.
Update: On Feb. 15, all lanes of eastbound Loop 1604 from Nacogdoches Road to IKEA-RBFCU Parkway were set to a new traffic pattern. The eastbound Loop 1604 mainlanes will be temporarily detoured to the eastbound bypass ramp east of Nacogdoches Road, then realigned to the eastbound Loop 1604 mainlanes at IKEA-RBFCU Parkway.

FM 1103
Project: Work on this project will consist of the expansion of the roadway from two lanes to four lanes, with a raised median or continuous left-turn lane, bike lanes and sidewalks.
Update: Traffic on FM 1103 was shifted in February, initiating the third phase of the project. 

During an arctic blast last month, the Texas power grid remained stable throughout the storm and the state came away largely unscathed. The Lone Star State has not seen widespread blackouts since February 2021, when millions of Texans lost power and nearly 250 people died.

The response: In Uri’s wake, state lawmakers and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas made changes to restructure ERCOT’s governing board, mandate earlier public alerts during tight grid conditions and require that energy providers “weatherize” their facilities to withstand extremely hot or cold temperatures.

Roughly 40,000 megawatts of power—enough to serve about 10 million residential customers—have been added to the grid since 2021 and the state’s energy supply has become more diverse.

Looking ahead: State leaders have expressed confidence that the grid would hold up during “a storm similar to Uri.” Yet some energy analysts caution that rapidly rising electric demand, driven by the construction of new data centers throughout Texas, means challenges may still lie ahead.