League City City Council at its Aug. 11 meeting will consider passing an ordinance calling for a special election referendum on Nov. 3 where voters could decide on League City Police Department’s continued use of automated license plate reader cameras.

The details: Mayor Nick Long, who sponsored having council vote on whether to call the special election, said he was inspired by feedback from concerned residents and about what they said were abuses of Flock cameras in nearby Houston and Pasadena.

Also of note: If council approves calling the special election, it will be the first referendum the city has called since it updated its charter in 2025 to allow it, Long said.

Stay tuned: The council will meet at 6 p.m. Aug. 11 at Council Chambers, located at 200 W. Walker St., League City.

URBN Dental recently opened a new location in Clear Lake in May, staff said. 

What they offer: The new dental office offers routine checkup, cosmetic enhancement, restorative treatment and urgent dental care.

Digging deeper: Services include cleanings, digital X-rays, veneers, teeth whitening, dental implants, crowns and fillings, as well as specialized treatments including Vivos therapy for sleep apnea and Pearl AI diagnostic technology. 

📍1840 E. NASA Parkway, Houston

Harris County commissioners took no action Aug. 6 on the county’s minority- and women-owned business contract program following a ruling from a federal judge deeming the city of Houston’s program unconstitutional.

The big picture: Run by the Harris County Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity, the program was established in November 2020 by commissioners to provide equity among women- and minority-owned businesses for county contracts. 

The discussion: A number of business owners and community leaders said the program was vital to help small businesses gain access to larger contract opportunities when competing with more established companies. Business owners also emphasized the program did not guarantee every business owner would receive county contracts, as they were still subject to the bidding process and proving the ability to do the work needed.

Quote of note: “The program provides us opportunity,” said Steve Fraga, Tejas Office Products owner.
”We still have to be financially sound. We still need to run our companies like a majority-owned company.”

Within the next year, Texans will likely see changes to when they can vote early in elections, including expanded weekend voting hours.

The overview: Last year, state lawmakers passed Senate Bill 2753, which shifts Texas’ early voting window closer to election day, cutting out a three-day gap between the two voting periods and adding more Saturday and Sunday voting.

While the changes did not take effect immediately and were designed to help boost voter turnout, local election administrators said the law will also significantly raise costs for municipalities and delay the release of election results.

Election officials said the current three-day break allows staff to set up polling places for election day and prepare submitted ballots so results from early and mail-in voting can be released quickly after the polls close on election night.

The impact: Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth estimated that the shift would raise the cost of administering a large election by 30% and increase costs for smaller elections by 9%, due to personnel, equipment and voter education needs.