Harris County Flood Control seeks public input on flood risk plans across 11 watersheds
Harris County Flood Control District officials are looking for residents to provide input with their flood experiences during extreme weather events and how the county’s 11 watersheds have impacted their communities.
Two-minute impact: Along with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the HCFCD is spearheading Phase 1 of what’s being called the Solutions for Advancing Floodplain Evaluation and Resilience study. The SAFER study’s aim, according to HCFCD, is to evaluate and identify large-scale flood risk reduction projects across these 11 watersheds in Harris County:
Brays Bayou
Buffalo Bayou
Clear Creek
Cypress Creek
Little Cypress Creek
Greens Bayou
Halls Bayou
Hunting Bayou
Sims Bayou
Vince Bayou
White Oak Bayou
What they're saying: HCFCD officials at an August Cypress Creek workshop said the multiyear, multiphase initiative will incorporate technical analysis to develop a strategy using both structural and non-structural tools such as detention basins, tunnels and floodplain risk analysis.
What residents should know: The online survey on the HCFCD website is available for Phase 1 public input until Sept. 25.
Relocation services company Let's Get Moving to open Spring-based operation hub
Relocation and logistics company, Let’s Get Moving, is set to open a new operating franchisee location in Spring. The company’s moving services are able to assist residents in Spring and surrounding north Houston areas, according to the company’s website.
The framework: Let’s Get Moving began in Toronto, Canada in 2010. From there, the business expanded into the United States and opened its first Houston franchise in 2023, according to an August news release. The new Spring-based operation hub opens in September, according to a customer service associate.
Meet the owner: Founder and CEO Tiam Behdarvandan said in an August news release that their team looking forward to helping families and businesses with their move.
Harris County authorities to crack down on DUIs during Labor Day weekend
An interagency crackdown on drivers impaired by alcohol or drugs in the Houston area began Aug. 28 for the extended Labor Day weekend, Harris County Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen announced.
The gist: Constable Precinct 1 deputies and officers from other law enforcement agencies will be out across Harris County to find and arrest drivers under the influence, according to a news release.
Notable quote: “The number of people killed or injured by drunk or drugged drivers remains at a scandalously high level in Harris and surrounding counties,” Rosen said. “On this last of this year’s extended summer weekends, due to Labor Day observances, I urge everyone to refrain from this deadly kind of driving, for their own sake and the public’s.”
Gov. Abbott signs new congressional map; Texas Democrats vow to fight in court
Gov. Greg Abbott signed Texas’ new congressional map into law Aug. 29, declaring in a video posted to social media that “Texas is now more red in the United States Congress.”
The details: Under Texas’ current congressional boundaries, Republicans hold 25 of Texas’ 38 congressional seats. State lawmakers have said the new map will help them gain up to five more during the 2026 midterm elections.
Texas Democrats have called the mid-decade redistricting effort unconstitutional and "racially discriminatory," while Republicans asserted that the map "complies with the law" and was designed to help more Republicans get elected to the U.S. House.
Next steps: Texas’ new congressional map is set to take effect in early December, although it will be discussed in court two months earlier. After state senators approved the map Aug. 23, the League of United Latin American Citizens and a group of Texas residents filed a lawsuit asking that the map be found unconstitutional.
A panel of three federal judges will hear arguments in the case Oct. 1-10 in El Paso.
