After months of coordinated efforts between the city of Bellaire and the Harris County Flood Control District, construction of the Meyergrove Phase 2 Detention Basin is finally slated to begin, furthering improvements to the city’s flood mitigation system.

This comes after Bellaire officials approved an interlocal agreement, as well as a drainage and detention easement, between the city and HCFCD at the Aug. 3 City Council meeting.

The gist: Under the interlocal agreement, the district is set to construct the basin on a parcel south of the Cypress Ditch between North Braeswood Boulevard and Brays Bayou, according to agenda documents.

This second phase of construction to the Meyergrove Stormwater Detention Basin will create an additional 8.1 acre-feet of water storage—increasing the ditch’s overall capacity—to reduce the amount of street flooding in nearby neighborhoods.

The impact: Agenda documents from Aug. 3 state that continued improvements to the basin are part of the city’s larger contributions to the Cypress Ditch Regional Flood Mitigation Project.

Meyerland will be the second home to Pudgy’s Fine Cookies, the decadent cookie shop known for its thick cookies.

What is it: Pudgy’s serves cookies with unique flavors and combinations, often stuffed with ingredients. Some of its flavors include:

• Bonanza Brulee: a twist between a banana foster and creme brulee

• The Pudgy: a classic chocolate chip

• Wild Campfire: a scorched s'more cookie

Other details: According to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the 1,328-square-foot space location is undergoing interior remodeling renovations that are expected to be completed by August 31. It is estimated to cost $127,400.

• 4798 Beechnut St., Houston

Houston ISD students will be welcomed back to campuses Aug. 10, but families might have a few tasks left to complete before the start of the 2026-27 school year.

The big picture: New HISD students must be enrolled, while the Annual Student Update must be completed for returning students, according to HISD’s website. To enroll new students, items needed are:

• The student’s birth certificate
• A parent/guardian’s ID
• Proof of grade
• Proof of address
• Vaccination records

• Updated primary contact information
• Emergency contacts

Houston is creating jobs at roughly four times the pace of the rest of the country, according to the Greater Houston Partnership's annual Midyear Economic Update.

The overview: During the presentation, which highlights trends in the regional economy over the last year, Colin Baker, the organization's director of economic research, said Houston accounted for about 8% of the nation's job growth over the past 12 months.

“[Houston had] quite a bit of a healthier job market here compared to the rest of the country,” Baker said.

Measuring the impact: Baker said Houston created 39,700 jobs in fiscal year 2025-26, which is about four times the pace of the rest of the country. The United States as a whole saw around 531,000 jobs created in the past 12 months.

Houston’s job market growth is No. 3 in the U.S., below New York City and Dallas, according to the presentation.

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.”