Locally owned Nadia’s Hair Shop marked five years since opening in Porter, according to owner Nadia Moreno Lopez.

What they offer: Nadia’s Hair Shop offers haircuts for men and women, with services including:

• Shear work

• Color services

• Waxing

• Shampoos

• Perms

• Hair treatments

• Blow-outs and hair styling

The backstory: Lopez, a New Caney High School graduate, has lived in the New Caney-Porter area for 24 years and originally opened her salon on Sept. 16, 2021. Located inside The Food Zone 1314, the shop serves customers in both English and Spanish.

• 23242 FM 1314, Porter

Construction to widen a portion of Old Houston Road from two to four lanes began Aug. 31.

The project: The $7.25 million project extends from the intersection of Old Houston Road and Hwy. 242 in New Caney to 0.8 mile south of the intersection.

The project will take place over the next year and will include the addition of:

• A continuous turn lane

• A new bridge over Dry Creek

• Roadside ditches

This work represents the first segment of a three-phase project to widen Old Houston Road between Hwy. 242 and FM 1314.

The history: The widening project is funded through Montgomery County's $480 million road bond, which voters approved in May 2025 to fund transportation projects.

According to the latest report from the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR), renters across the Greater Houston area are experiencing slight decreases in rent rates as the supply of units remains steady.

The breakdown: HAR officials stated in a Sept. 16 update that the continual availability of rental units has helped stabilize rent costs, with the rental market remaining well-balanced in August.

The report highlights the following key trends for August:

• The number of available rental units jumped nearly 5% year over year.

• The average cost of rent saw a small decrease.

• Townhome and condominium renters experienced the opposite trend, with average costs increasing by 2.4% year over year.

• The number of available townhome and condominium units on the market decreased as more renters filled those spaces.

The nonprofit organization United Way of Greater Houston announced Sept. 21 that CEO Amanda McMillian will retire on May 1, 2027. The board unanimously selected Angel Harris, the current vice president and chief advancement officer, to succeed her.

Harris will assume the president and CEO role immediately, while McMillian remains in her role through a nine-month transition.

Read all about it: Harris joined the nonprofit in 2021 with 30 years of nonprofit experience. In her five years in Houston, Harris has accomplished the following:

• Led organizational efforts for the Building Possibilities Campaign, raising more than $30 million to upgrade infrastructure and technology

• Helped rebrand marketing and communications initiatives

• Developed an eight-year revenue growth plan to generate over $580 million by 2031

A search for United Way's next chief advancement officer to replace Harris is currently underway, nonprofit officials said.

Something to note: United Way of Greater Houston is a nonprofit organization that connects residents in need with basic resources, financial stability programs, healthcare and support services, according to the organization's website.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality must stop issuing new permits for data centers, Gov. Greg Abbott said Sept. 21.

The overview: His order expands an existing pause on data center development in the state amid consistent public criticism of the booming industry. Abbott, who is running for a fourth term as governor, has recently moved to slow the growth of data centers after calling Texas “the epicenter of AI development" last year.

The context: Hundreds of proposed data centers are currently being audited by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the state power grid.

Some developers may be able to get around the ERCOT pause by building in-house power infrastructure that is not connected to the grid, experts have said.

However, any construction project impacting at least 1 acre of land requires permits from TCEQ.

What they're saying: "As Texas faces increasing pressure on our water supplies and electric grid, we need to ensure that data centers operate efficiently and sustainably," said Luke Metzger, executive director of Environment Texas.