Rice University welcomed its largest incoming freshman class to date, seeing more than 1,350 students during its long-held move-in day tradition Aug. 16, college officials announced in an Aug. 17 news release.

The big picture: These freshmen are among the university’s newest undergraduate cohort, which, altogether, comprises over 1,400 students spread out across its 12 residential colleges. They will graduate as part of the class of 2030.

The specifics: Rice’s latest batch of freshmen was selected from a 38,603 first-year applicant pool, a 5% increase compared to last year, according to data shared by The Rice Thresher. In addition to this, more than 50 transfer students were admitted for fall 2026.

Officials said that the university has seen an upward trend in undergraduate enrollment for the past six years, given its growth by approximately 25% since 2020.

A Switchyards work club will soon come to Bellaire.

What is it: Switchyards is a neighborhood work club that provides workspace and amenities for users. Often used by people who work remotely, it is a place where people can work, hold meetings, make phone calls and work in a quiet space.

Some of its amenities include 24/7 access, Wi-F, coffee, workspace with different environments for quiet work or collaboration, phone booths for calls and meeting rooms.

It also allows members to access other locations and bring guests for free. Membership is $129 per month or $100 per month for an annual membership.

Houston has a location in Montrose and a second in the East End set to open at the end of August. Bellaire will be the Houston area’s third location.

The details: According to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the 3,990-square-foot space is being remodeled for the work club. Construction is expected to be completed by early September. 

• 5212 Bellaire Blvd., Bellaire

On Aug. 26, The Woodlands Township and the city of Houston are scheduled to consider an amendment to their 2007 Regional Participation Agreement that would permanently eliminate the possibility of Houston annexing The Woodlands Township and provide for $50 million in payments to Houston by 2030, according to agendas posted Aug. 19.

What you need to know: The Woodlands Township released a statement via Chair Brad Bailey that the amendment would end the long-term Regional Participation Fund payment structure between the entities, providing for a total of about $27.4 million in payments from The Woodlands Township to the city over the next three years as well as releasing restrictions on the $22.6 million currently in the RPF to make those funds available to the city of Houston.

City of Houston materials show the payment schedule as:

• $22.63 by Dec. 31 this year
• $9 million by the end of 2027
• $9 million by the end of 2028
• $9.37 million final payment by Dec. 31, 2029

The Harris County salary grievance committee recommended a 30% raise for the county treasurer in a 6-3 vote Aug. 20.

What happened: County Treasurer Carla Wyatt made an appeal to the nine-member committee, asking for a 118% salary increase to bring her in line with the income of the county’s other elected officials. The committee did not meet Wyatt’s request, instead recommending a 30% pay bump to $181,411.

The impact: Wyatt’s request comes as the county is facing a $181 million shortfall. With the new fiscal year starting Oct. 1, OMB and the court will work to finalize the budget and mitigate the projected shortfall. The court is expected to set the tax rate at its Sept. 8 meeting and adopt the new budget Sept. 17.

The Texas Department of Insurance must take action to promote competition and “prohibit excessive or unfairly discriminatory rate setting" in the state's homeowners insurance market, Gov. Greg Abbott said Aug. 24.

The background: Texans are paying the fourth-highest home insurance premiums in the nation, Community Impact previously reported. State data shows that the average Texas home insurance premium nearly doubled from $1,791 in 2016 to $3,506 in 2025.

The details: Abbott asked the TDI to prohibit insurers from using the age of a home and homeowners' personal data when setting rates; create a task force targeting insurance fraud; study the impact of inflated insurance claims; and require insurers to consider a homeowner's participation in a roof fortification program when writing policies.

Another perspective: "Under Greg Abbott, Texas has been one of the most expensive states in the country to own and maintain a home," Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic candidate for Texas governor, said in a statement. "If Abbott really wanted to lower costs, he would have done it in the last 12 years."