To help reduce pet overpopulation while supporting responsible pet ownership, Harris County Pets is expanding low-cost spay and neuter services with appointments available every Tuesday and Thursday throughout February.

What you need to know: Starting Feb. 3, Harris County Pets—the open-admission animal shelter for unincorporated Harris County—is offering spay and neuter surgeries for $40 per pet performed by licensed veterinarians, per a Feb. 2 news release. 

In observance of Spay and Neuter Awareness Month and Responsible Pet Owners Month, HCP will serve up to 20 dogs and cats each date.

Quote of note: “At Harris County Pets, prevention is one of the most powerful tools we have to save lives,” said Corey Steele, director of HCP and the Veterinary Public Health Division at Harris County Public Health.

The details: Per the release, demand for these services are high, and appointments are required and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

JETSET Pilates, a high intensity and low impact workout studio, is expanding its Texas presence with a new studio in Bridgeland, per a news release from the master-planned community.

What they offer: JETSET specializes in 50-minute pilates-style conditioning classes on the reformer machine with a focus on strength, flexibility and endurance, according to the studio's website. All instructors go through training specific to JETSET, and classes are designed for all fitness levels, per the release.

Learn more: Expected to open this spring, the Cypress studio will be located at Village Green at Bridgeland Central and independently operated by franchise owners Chance Montgomery and his wife, Holly, according to the release. Their daughter will also co-manage the business.

Quote of note: "We knew from the moment we drove through the community that Bridgeland would be the ideal spot," Montgomery said in a statement. "The community is visually inspiring, and the design of Village Green aligns perfectly with the elevated look and feel of the JETSET brand."

• 20115 Bridgeland Creek Parkway, Cypress

The Houston Association of Realtors has named René Galvan as its new president and CEO, the first leadership change in more than three decades after longtime executive Bob Hale retired Jan. 31, according to a Feb. 2 news release.

What we know: Galvan has been part of HAR’s leadership team since 1996 and served as executive vice president since 1998, per the release. HAR officials said he worked alongside Hale early in his career to help shape the original concept for HAR.com, which launched in 1997 and has since expanded statewide.

In the release, Galvan said his focus will be strengthening the services and tools the association’s roughly 50,000 members use “in this rapidly changing real estate environment.”

HAR said Hale—who served as president and CEO for 37 years—retired after 53 years with the association. The board honored him with the title of CEO emeritus, and Hale said he was confident the organization is “in excellent hands” with Galvan leading it.

The Coastal Texas Project, also known as the Ike Dike, received $5 million in federal funding, the largest single federal investment in the project since Congress authorized the project in 2022. 

The overview: The $34 billion project aims to protect Houston’s critical energy and shipping corridors from storm damage by building a system of gates and dune systems designed to mitigate storm surge, according to previous reporting by Community Impact. 

The background: The 87th Texas Legislature established the GCPD in 2021, and it serves as the state sponsor for the project, according to the release.

Although the project was authorized in 2022, funding has been slow to come in, and the $5 million marks the largest single federal investment to date, according to the release.

Quote of note: “Texas is home to the largest concentration of oil and gas infrastructure in the United States, and safeguarding our coast from catastrophic storms protects every American,” Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said in the news release.

Texas families can soon apply to receive state funds for private education or homeschooling under the state’s new education savings account program, known as Texas Education Freedom Accounts.

What's happening: The application opens at 9 a.m. Feb. 4 and is designed to be completed in about 15 minutes, according to the state comptroller’s office. Families can apply through 11:59 p.m. March 17.

Parents must submit information about their family's residency, household income, their children's educational history and each child's special education status, if applicable.

The details: To be eligible for the program, students must:

• Reside in Texas
• Be U.S. citizens or lawful residents
• Be eligible to attend a Texas public school, open-enrollment charter school or pre-K program