Equipment replacements, a new van and a utility billing clerk position are among the fiscal year 2026-27 budget requests presented by Manvel’s finance and personnel departments at City Council’s July 20 workshop.

What you need to know: The personnel department, which includes human resources and information technology is requesting equipment upgrades and additional staffing for FY 2026-27. The finance department is requesting additional staffing to support its four-person team, which manages several functions, including general ledger, audits, payroll and utility billing operations, Director of Finance Rosie Donaire said.

What’s next? Council will review the proposed budget during public meetings throughout August and September, including a planned public town hall where residents can learn about the proposed budget and provide feedback ahead of adoption, city documents show.

Check out the real estate data for the Pearland, Friendswood and Manvel area for June and how it compares to the same month last year.

What you need to know: The number of days homes sat on the market varied in June 2026 compared to June 2025. While just two ZIP codes saw a decrease in the median number of days homes sat on the market, two saw an increase, data shows.

Beginning Dec. 17, Frontier Airlines will offer daily nonstop service from Houston to Puerto Rico, airline officials announced via a July 14 news release. 

The big picture: The new route will run between George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston and Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan. With the latest addition, Frontier Airlines will serve 21 destinations from IAH.

In December 2025, the airline added new routes from IAH to three Latin American countries, as previously reported by Community Impact. 

Quote of note: "We are pleased to grow our service at IAHn ensuring low-cost travel options remain available for Texas consumers as they travel to Puerto Rico," said Josh Flyr, vice president of network and operations design for Frontier Airlines, in a statement. "With premium upgrades paired with our signature affordability, we are thrilled to show travelers why we are America's Low Fare Airline." 

Sandy Creek resident Georgia Bishop was out of town when 22 inches of rain fell on parts of northwest Travis County over the July 4, 2025, weekend. When Bishop returned home days later, her community was significantly changed.

What happened: Residents of the hard-hit Sandy Creek neighborhood described a “wall of water” that tore through their community last July, washing away homes, cars and roads. Nine people died in the flooding, including Bishop’s best friend, 16-year-old Felicity Jarmon.

The context: One year later, residents of the unincorporated Travis County community are still working to rebuild from last July’s catastrophic flooding. Central Texas has seen two straight years of intense, deadly flooding in July, leaving some residents on edge as they recover from last year’s disaster and mourn lost loved ones.

Community Impact spoke with Bishop and Kylie Nidever, whose neighborhood in Hunt flooded last year, on July 13, days before heavy rainfall hit large swaths of the state once again. Officials confirmed two deaths due to this year's floods, while 137 people died last July.