Houston ISD board managers voted to phase out the district’s graphic design offerings at four high schools at the board’s Jan. 15 meeting.

The details: Board managers were originally scheduled to vote on ending the programs at Heights, Kashmere, Northside and Waltrip high schools during the board’s Dec. 11 meeting before opting to table the vote until Jan. 15. While the programs will be phased out of the campuses beginning in the 2026-27 school year, HISD Chief Academic Officer Kristen Hole said interested students would still be able to take the courses at the Barbara Jordan Career Center.

A closer look: According to agenda documents, each of the four high schools is set to phase out its graphic design programs. Additionally, Waltrip High School will phase out its digital communications program.

What they’re saying: More than 70 individuals signed up to speak at the board’s Jan. 15 meeting, with many of those individuals voicing concerns over the district’s plan to phase out the programs.

In a Jan. 9 announcement on social media, Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille announced the upcoming closure of its River Oaks restaurant. 

The closure is the first since the company’s founding in 1979.

The big picture: The announcement stated that the difficult decision was caused by a contractual dispute with the restaurant’s landlord.

“We are incredibly grateful for the years of memories that our guests and team members have made, and are offering every single member of the restaurant’s staff an equivalent position at one of our seven other Perry’s locations in the Greater Houston area,” stated the post.

What they offer: Perry’s operates across nine states, and Houston’s seven locations make the city its most populous area. The restaurant serves steaks and seafood, including A-5 Japanese Wagyu beef, oysters and a cold seafood tower.

• 1997 W. Gray St., Houston

Need to catch up on Community Impact’s coverage from this week? Check out five trending stories in the Greater Houston area from Jan. 12-16.

What you need to know: Le Labo is opening in January at Market Street in The Woodlands, officials confirmed. A mid-month opening date is anticipated at the shopping center. 

What else: The Menil Collection in Houston will temporarily close the on-campus bookstore for renovations. In a Jan. 14 news release, officials with the popular art museum announced the on-campus Menil Bookstore will undergo renovations starting in spring 2026. 

GameStop, a large retail gaming hub in the United States, disclosed in a recent Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing that it closed 590 stores in fiscal year 2024 and expects to shutter a "significant number of additional stores" during FY2025.

What we know: While GameStop has yet to release a standalone press release on the closures, the company's SEC filing states that officials have conducted a "comprehensive store optimization review" and are identifying for closure based on market conditions and individual store performance.

In the company's documents, GameStop notes that a significant number of customers have chosen to download games instead of buying games physically in-store.

"If consumers’ preference for downloading video game content in lieu of physical software continues to increase, our business and financial performance may be adversely impacted," the filing states.

The projections: While GameStop has yet to release a formal list of all individual stores closing by city or region, an unofficial list has been compiled of stores that closed in January.
 

Houston will host the National Cheerleaders Association's All-Star National Championship in late February, drawing an estimated 65,000 competitors and spectators to the city’s downtown.

At a glance: This marks the first year the event has been held in Houston, according to a Jan. 6 news release from Houston First Corporation, operator of the George R. Brown Convention Center and other venues across the city.

The competition will be held Feb. 27-March 1 inside the GRB, with other activities extending to Discovery Green and the Toyota Center. Houston will host the championship for the next three years, as the NCA contracted with Houston First through 2028, per the release.

Two-minute impact: The championship event is expected to generate $150 million in spending in Houston over the course of the three-year commitment, according to the announcement. Houston First President and CEO Michael Heckman said in the release that the event will also bring business to more than 150 hotels in the Houston area.