There are several updates to transportation projects around the Magnolia area. Check them out below. This list is not comprehensive.

FM 1488 widening west of Magnolia
Project: Between the Waller County Line and FM 1774, FM 1488 is being widened from two to four lanes with a continuous left turn lane.
Update: According to the latest media update received from the Texas Department of Transportation on Nov. 10, this project is 98% completed.

• Timeline: November 2020-fourth quarter 2025
• Cost: $35.35 million
• Funding source: state funds

• Timeline: September-fourth quarter 2025
• Cost: $1.1 million
• Funding sources: federal, state funds

Don Julios Mexican Restaurant officials confirmed the family-owned restaurant opened on Oct. 2 and is now offering Mexican and Tex-Mex.

The details: Don Julios Mexican Restaurant is located at the former Lemon y Sal building. In late September, former owner Abraham Carillo confirmed the eatery closed. According to restaurant officials, Don Julios Mexican Restaurant is now serving fajitas, burritos, enchiladas, tacos and nachos. The eatery also offers a full bar and specialty drinks.

• 28303 Dobbin-Huffsmith Road, Ste. D, Magnolia

There are several events taking place this weekend around the Tomball area. Check them out below. This list is not comprehensive.

Pink Friday
Businesses in Old Town Tomball are coming together for Pink Friday, a small business shopping event. Local businesses in downtown will be open and feature deals and new arrivals.

• Nov. 21, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
• Free (admission)
• Downtown Tomball

• Nov. 22, 10 a.m.
• Free (admission)
• Main Street, Tomball

At the Montgomery County Commissioners Court meeting Nov. 18, commissioners got an update on the county's historical courthouse master plan and approved additional funding for the new mental health treatment facility that broke ground in August.

Meeting highlights: Commissioners approved the historical courthouse master plan last year. The plan is almost 50% completed, including the historical and architectural research, said Jason Smith, deputy chief of staff for Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough.

Some context: The state of Texas has more than 240 courthouses that are at least 50 years old, and it has more historic courthouses than any other state, according to the Texas Historical Commission website.

Items worth mentioning: The commissioners also approved $117,500 for the expansion of the Montgomery County Mental Health Treatment Facility in Precinct 1.

Harris County officials announced the launch of a new online platform designed to make it easier for business and property owners to process tax payments ahead of tax bills arriving in the mail throughout November.

Quote of note: Tax Assessor Annette Ramirez announced the new online system launch of “My Harris County Tax Account” on Nov. 19 in Downtown Houston.

“Anything that we can do to make it easier to help our homeowners stay current on their taxes and not go delinquent, that is my goal,” Ramirez said.

What to expect: Key features on the new platform will include:

• Prepayment plans for 2026 taxes starting in February or March
• Automatic monthly payment withdrawals to avoid penalties and interest

The takeaway: Users can now create a profile on the new tax site, Ramirez said, and starting in February, homeowners and business owners can start a prepaid tax payment plan and choose how many months in advance to spread payments automatically.  

Thanksgiving week is expected to be one of the busiest U.S. travel periods in history, according to projections from AAA. A record 5.8 million Texans are projected to travel at least 50 miles from home Nov. 25-Dec. 1.

Zooming in: About 5.3 million Texans are expected to drive to their Thanksgiving destinations, according to a Nov. 17 news release, while about 328,000 people will fly and 140,000 will use other forms of transportation.

The impact: Texans should give themselves extra time to reach their destinations during Thanksgiving week, with the most congestion expected Nov. 25-26. Traffic is also expected to be heavy as Texans return home Nov. 30, according to INRIX, a transportation data company.

Minimal traffic is expected on Thanksgiving Day.

More details: Texas drivers will pay about the same for gas as they did last Thanksgiving, according to AAA Texas. One gallon of regular unleaded gas cost about $2.65 in Texas as of Nov. 13, down from $2.69 last year.

Google is targeting Texas for future investments in data and artificial infrastructure, with $40 billion expected to be spent on adding three new data centers.

Federal, state and local leaders announced the new centers to be constructed in Armstrong and Haskell counties at a Nov. 14 event at the first Texas Google Data Center in Midlothian, near the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The gist: One new data center will be constructed in Armstrong County near Amarillo, and two new data centers will be constructed in Haskell County near Abilene. One center in Haskell County will also use a new solar and battery energy storage plant.

“They say that everything is bigger in Texas—and that certainly applies to the golden opportunity with AI,” Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said.

Also of note: The driverless car company Waymo is expanding to North Texas in 2026, Pichai said.