Bellaire residents can now vote early in a special election to fill a vacant City Council position from April 20 to April 28, or on May 2, election day. Here’s what voters need to know. 

The specifics: Polls on election day will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and early voting is available at the various times listed below.

Hours and dates for early voting are:

• April 20-24, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• April 25-26, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
•  April 27-28, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

How we got here: After Cindy Cohen-Taylor vacated her seat early in December, City Council officially adopted an ordinance in January to call a special election to fill the role.

One last thing: Community Impact will continue to cover local elections through election night May 2. Visit communityimpact.com/election for the latest local election results.

A project filing by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation shows that a new AutoZone will be constructed from the ground up along Woodvalley Drive.

The gist: AutoZone is an auto parts store that sells items such as car batteries, brake pads, alternators, engine oil, lighting and spark plugs. Accessories for sale also include air fresheners, wheel covers, floor mats and liners, speakers and windshield sunshades.

Additionally, the shop also offers some free services, including a check engine light report and testing for batteries, alternators and starters.

Also of note: The AutoZone will be built from the ground up, per the filing. The $936,364 project is set to start construction this June and wrap up in late November. Details are subject to change. 

• 3825 Woodvalley Drive, Houston

Some members of Houston City Council raised concerns about the cost of special elections after approving a $1.4 million price tag for the District C special election.

The cost: The April 4 special election, which ended in a runoff, saw over 9,400 people voting, according to Harris County election results. The district has over 169,000 registered voters, which equates to about 5.5% of voters.

Of the $1.4 million for the April 4 election, the funding went towards expenses for polling locations, ballots, election workers and administrative support. The city of Houston will pay the actual cost of the election under its contract agreement with the county, although Harris County runs the election. 

With state deadlines inching closer, the Harris County Flood Control District is chipping away at dozens of grant-funded flood recovery and mitigation projects—but county leaders believe pace of work and public transparency could be improved.

What you need to know: In an April 16 update to Commissioners Court, HCFCD Executive Director Tina Petersen shared the status of local flood projects funded with Community Development Block Grants for disaster recovery and mitigation, also known as CDBG-DR and CDBG-MIT.

At least 14 projects are still in the design phase as of April 1, per the report. Seven of the 11 disaster recovery projects are under construction, and three of 17 total mitigation projects have been awarded contracts. 

Why it matters: The flood control district must spend all CDBG-DR dollars by February 2027 and CDBG-MIT dollars by March 2028 or lose the funding.

The action taken: Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey called for HCFCD to provide monthly reports to Commissioners Court detailing for specific construction and financial updates for each project. The first report is expected May 1.

Texans interested in casting a ballot in next month’s primary runoff election have until April 27 to register to vote or update their registration, if applicable.

The background: Texas’ primary runoff election will be held May 26. A runoff is held when no candidate secures over half of the vote in a partisan primary race.

Registering to vote: Prospective voters must submit a paper application, which is available online. Applications must be printed, signed and mailed to the voter registration office in a voter’s county of residence.

On the ballot: Various federal, state and local races will appear on the May 26 runoff ballot.

At the top of the ticket, Republican voters will pick between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton to determine the party’s nominee for U.S. Senate. The winner of that race will face state Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, in November.

Something to note: The runoff election is separate from upcoming local elections, which take place May 2. Visit www.communityimpact.com/voter-guide for more information about those elections.