Here are eight places to keep an eye out for in 2026, as previously reported by Community Impact. This list is not comprehensive, and details are subject to change.

Miniso: International retailer Miniso is coming to the Rice Village area in 2026. The store will offer a collection of household and consumer goods, such as kitchenware, toys, stationary and cosmetics, with products and brands marketed towards young consumers, including Sanrio, Disney and Snoopy.

• Opening spring 2026
• 2501 Rice Blvd., Houston

Uberrito: Known for its burritos and bowls, the Tex-Mex franchise plans to open a third location in early 2026. Uberrito offers customers a variety of choices, including four types of tortillas, three types of beans and two types of rice.

As for protein, Uberrito serves beer-battered cod, grilled shrimp, shredded beef, fajita beef, ground beef, shredded pork carnitas, grilled chicken and vegan picadillo.

• Opening early 2026
• 3879 Southwest Freeway, Houston

Goodwill Houston’s new Gessner Education & Training Center is now open after a Dec. 9 ribbon-cutting celebration, employment specialist Carolyn Foster confirmed.

What we know: The center is designed to connect residents with career training, job-readiness support and job placement services, with programming focused on repair and maintenance, information technology and clean technology, as previously reported.

• 8225 S. Gessner Road, Houston 

As the holidays come to an end, there are several entities offering Christmas tree recycling and disposal drop-offs around the Greater Houston area. This list is not comprehensive.

The details
City of Bellaire: Bellaire will accept Christmas tree drop-offs Dec. 26-Jan. 12 at 4401 Edith St.

City of Houston: Houston residents can recycle trees at one of the city's 20 drop-off locations Dec. 26-Jan. 23.

City of Pearland: Residents in Pearland can drop their live Christmas trees off between Dec. 26 and Jan. 17 at the Stella Roberts Recycling Center.

San Jacinto River Authority: The San Jacinto River Authority will collect undecorated, live Christmas trees through Jan. 31.

City of West University Place: In West University Place, live trees will be collected Dec. 26-Jan. 9.

The Woodlands Township: Green Christmas trees will be collected curbside on regular service days.

City of Sugar Land: Live Christmas trees without ornaments and lights can be set out curbside for green waste pickup in Sugar Land.

After years of being locked in a standstill, planners of the Coastal Texas Project announced the approval of two engineering design contracts.

The details: The Gulf Coast Protection District announced Dec. 2 that it had approved two contracts with global engineering firms Jacobs and HDR to design the gates, beaches and dunes portions of the initially authorized $34 billion project, respectively.

Why it matters: The gates are expected to be the world’s largest flood gate system when built and will be located along the 2-mile-wide waterway between Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula. The dune system will strengthen coastal barriers against storm impact along the Bolivar Peninsula and West Galveston Island, according to a news release.