The Back Nine is expected to open this fall in Kingwood, owner Rooter Chandler confirmed via email July 30. 

What to expect: The simulated indoor golf venue will offer 24/7 access to public or private bays for golfers of all experience levels. Chandler noted the venue will offer different membership levels to meet various needs.

Quote of note: "Whether you are a beginner or avid golfer, our indoor golfing experience lets you play world-class courses in a private, high-tech environment," Chandler said. "We are redefining indoor golf by combining technology with convenience." 

Stay tuned: Details about the grand opening celebration are still to be determined. 

• Tentatively opening Sept. 1 
• 2815 W. Lake Houston Parkway, Ste. 100, Kingwood 

Check out what's happening in the Lake Houston area from Aug. 14-18.

Music & Motors: This family-friendly car meet will feature live music by The Continental House Band, a vendor market and a variety of cars, trucks and custom builds.

• Aug. 14, 6-9 p.m.
• Free (admission)
• 308 Main St., Humble

• Aug. 14, 8:30 p.m.
• Free (admission)
• 4501 Magnolia Cove Drive, Kingwood

• Aug. 18, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
• $40-$50
• 8233 Will Clayton Parkway, Humble

The city of Houston is on track to spend about $9 million less on police overtime in fiscal year 2025-26 compared to last year.

Budget explained: In fiscal year 2024-25, the city spent $39.7 million on overtime pay for the police department, according to Houston’s finance department. For FY 2025-26, the city is expected to spend approximately $30.9 million on overtime. However, city officials said that while the cost is lower than the previous year, it is still slightly over the budgeted amount, which was $30.8 million.

On the other hand, the Houston Fire Department is projected to be under budget by $3.4 million for overtime spending. The department budgeted for $82.6 million in FY 2025-26 and is projected to spend just over $79 million.

Something to note: Finance Director Melissa Dubowski said much of the overtime spending is unpredictable and event-driven. She said the final savings are still not yet calculated, as the city is still finalizing its savings and paying invoices before it can give a final offset.

CenterPoint Energy officials announced a new initiative which aims to provide a savings of up to $5 billion to all residential and small to medium businesses over the next decade in a Aug. 11 news release.

The big picture: The initiative stems from both the strengthening of requirements for large load energy users like data centers in the 89th Legislative Session and a project to add 14 gigawatts of energy load to CenterPoint Energy's service area.

Senate Bill 6 was authorized in the 89th Legislative Session and requires any development which expects to utilize over 75 megawatts of power at any point to pay higher overall energy costs.

In their words: "We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to generate historic levels of customer savings of more than $5 billion statewide by leveraging new investment in large projects to build a more affordable, reliable and resilient electric grid for millions of customers," CenterPoint Energy Chairman and CEO Jason Wells said.