With primary election day here, here’s what to know about candidates and polling locations in the Houston Bay Area.

At the polls: When going to vote on election day, Galveston County voters must vote at their designated polling place.

According to the Texas Secretary of State’s office, voters must bring one of the following when going to vote:

• Texas driver's license
• Texas election identification certificate
• Texas personal identification card
• Texas handgun license
• U.S. military identification card with a photo
• U.S. citizenship certificate with a photo
• U.S. passport

Construction remains on schedule for the new Texas A&M Space Institute, Director Nancy Currie-Gregg said in an email Feb. 18.

What you need to know: The institute will be the first building in NASA’s new Exploration Park, a 240-acre commercial property with space-related goals neighboring the NASA Johnson Space Center.

The institute will serve as a resource for researchers to explore beyond the lower Earth orbit, back to the moon and on to Mars, according to documents from Texas A&M University.

The details: To date, the institute has signed leases with U.S.-based robotics company Venturi Astrolab, which develops lunar rovers to operate on the moon’s surface, and Houston-based aerospace company Intuitive Machines, which builds lunar landers and space systems for NASA.

Since the new institute broke ground in November 2024, “significant progress has been made,” Currie-Gregg said. This includes:

• All concrete work
• Installation of metal wall panels on the moon and Mars scapes
• Completion of the primary steel structures

Austin-founded coffee shop Summer Moon Coffee's newest location will open its doors at the Tuscan Lakes in League City on March 14, an employee with the business said. 

Two-minute impact: Summer Moon Coffee has over 25 locations in Texas, including one in Friendswood, but this will be the brand's first League City location, according to the company's website. 

On the menu: The coffee shop sells hot and cold coffee drinks, including the Summer Moon Latte, Blue Moon Latte and Winter Moon Latte as well as whole coffee bean bags in over 10 different flavors. The coffee house is known for its wood-fired coffee roasting process and signature Moon Milk creamer. 

• 1340 E. League City Parkway, League City

Select international travelers departing from George Bush Intercontinental Airport will check in at Terminal E effective Feb. 27, Houston Airport System officials announced via news release Feb. 27.

What's changed: Previously housed in Terminal D, Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines have transitioned to IAH's newly expanded Terminal E. Per the release, passengers are encouraged to confirm their check-in location directly with their airline prior to arrival.

Officials said customer service representatives in bright orange polos are stationed in Terminals D and E to assist passengers; passengers arriving at Terminal D will be directed to make a 10-minute walk to Terminal E.

Stay tuned: Additional airlines will continue to transition from Terminal D to Terminal E in phases over the next few weeks, officials said. Officials said lounge locations and parking access remain unchanged.

Primary election day in Texas is March 3. With dozens of state, regional and local races on the ballot, voters in the Republican and Democratic primaries will determine their parties’ nominees for the November midterm election.

At the polls: Polling places across Texas will be open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. March 3, according to the secretary of state.

On election day, voters in the following counties in Community Impact’s coverage areas can vote at any polling location within their county of residence: Bastrop, Bexar, Brazoria, Brazos, Collin, Comal, Fort Bend, Galveston, Guadalupe, Harris, Hays, Tarrant and Travis. Registered voters in other counties are required to visit a polling place specific to their voting precinct.

Voters are required to bring photo identification to the polls.

On the ballot: Voters will choose their political parties’ nominees for the U.S. Senate, seven state offices, 10 state judicial seats, 38 congressional seats, nearly all state legislative seats and over half of the State Board of Education. Candidates who win their primaries will advance to the November ballot.

Dozens of Texans shared their feedback Feb. 25 on the current phase of a lengthy revision of the state’s social studies curriculum standards. Parents, educators and students urged the State Board of Education to slow the revision process down and give those drafting the new curriculum more time to work.

The overview: The state is currently overhauling the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for social studies, which are the standards dictating what public school students should learn at each grade level. The board is expected to adopt the new standards this summer before they are rolled out to classrooms in 2030.

“We have one opportunity to get this right for an entire generation of students,” said Meghan Dougherty, an Austin-area social studies specialist involved in the revision process.

Zooming in: Several educators involved in drafting the new curriculum plan said current proposals included "too much content" with a heavy emphasis on Texas history, while some appointed content advisers and SBOE members argued schools should teach lessons focused on "American exceptionalism [and] Texan exceptionalism."