Community Impact Houston Metro

05/04/2022

Seafood restaurant La Palapa will open May 16 at 6507 FM 2920, Spring, pending approval from the local health department, restaurant officials said. Owned by Albert Soto, La Palapa will offer fresh seafood dishes with a Latin flare, with menu items ranging from fried calamari and Baja tacos to octopus carpaccio and shrimp empanadas.

Owned by Albert Soto, La Palapa will offer fresh seafood dishes with a Latin flare, with menu items ranging from fried calamari and Baja tacos to octopus carpaccio and shrimp empanadas.

05/04/2022

Early voting has ended for the May 7 local, special and constitutional amendment elections, and the Harris County Elections Administrator’s Office reported 72,734 total early votes were cast over the nine-day period.

05/04/2022

Robert Graham opened in Market Street in mid-April at 9595 Six Pines Drive, Ste. 1150, The Woodlands, next to the Hyatt Centric hotel. The luxury clothing retailer sells items for men and women, including designer clothing.

The luxury clothing retailer sells items for men and women, including designer clothing.

05/02/2022

Located at 21300 I-45, the theme park features of number of aquatic activities, including water slides, tube slides, boogie-board surfing, a wave pool, a lazy river and an interactive tree house.

Located at 21300 Interstate 45, the theme park features of number of aquatic activities, including water slides, tube slides, boogie-board surfing, a wave pool, a lazy river and an interactive tree house.

05/02/2022

Looking for local live music? Check out these six local spots in May.

Looking for local live music? Check out these six local spots in May

05/02/2022

The Washington Avenue corridor—a roughly 4.5-mile strip connecting downtown Houston to Memorial Park—contains about 70 establishments that sell alcohol, according to Chris Porter, a public information officer with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Some of these establishments are bars that have put Rice Military neighborhood residents on edge.

Two members of the Houston City Council, Abbie Kamin and Sallie Alcorn, are proposing amendments to the city’s noise ordinance they said they hope will work for residents and businesses alike. The Council is set to vote on the amendments at a May 4 meeting.

04/29/2022

Construction is underway on a project to expand Loop 494 between half a mile north of Kingwood Drive and north of Sorters McClellan Road from two to four lanes with a raised turf median, center turn lanes and intersections, and sidewalks. According to Danny Perez, public information officer for the Texas Department of Transportation, ISI Contracting is about 76% done with project construction.

The project will expand Loop 494 between half a mile north of Kingwood Drive and north of Sorters McClellan Road from two to four lanes with a raised turf median, center turn lanes and intersections, and sidewalks.

04/29/2022

Conroe City Council approved an ordinance to increase the city's property tax homestead exemption from 2.5% to 20% at its April 28 meeting, bringing relief to Conroe residents who recently received high property value projections, city officials noted.

Conroe City Council passed an ordinance to increase the city's homestead exemption to 20% at its April 28 meeting.

04/29/2022

Diamonds Direct opened its second location in the Houston area in March. Located next to the Baybrook Mall at 18610 Gulf Freeway, Friendswood, Diamonds Direct sells jewelry such as rings and necklaces.

Diamonds Direct opened its second location in the Houston area in March.

04/29/2022

Texas voters will decide local elections in numerous communities across the state May 7, but they will also vote on two propositions that will have implications on property taxes statewide. Blank said both constitutional amendments received bipartisan support from legislators in 2021, and he believes they are likely to pass to provide homeowners property tax relief, but they would place more of the public education funding burden on the state.

“Ultimately what you’re doing is you are shifting the burden from ... the homeowner automatically handing over some of our property tax into the public education system and switching that to rely on the Legislature to continue to fund public education at equal or higher levels than they have in the past,” he said.

Propositions 1 and 2 would provide homeowners with property tax relief and received bipartisan support from legislators in 2021, but they could place more of public education funding burden on the state.

04/28/2022

Dutch Bros Coffee is finishing construction at 27657 Business 249, Tomball. The Oregon-based drive-thru coffee company serves specialty coffee, smoothies, freezes, teas, a private-label Dutch Bros Blue Rebel energy drink and nitrogen-infused cold brew coffee.

Dutch Bros Coffee is finishing construction at 27657 Business 249, Tomball.

04/28/2022

Representatives of H-E-B confirmed in an email April 26 that the Magnolia store at FM 1488 and Spur 149 will open by the end of the year. H-E-B is the anchor of the Magnolia Place development, a mixed-use project underway by Stratus Properties, Community Impact Newspaper previously reported.

H-E-B is the anchor of the Magnolia Place development, a mixed-use project underway by Stratus Properties, Community Impact Newspaper previously reported.