Nearly 28 years after retired couple Jeff and Laura Otto opened a used bookstore to clear out a growing stack of novels in their garage and keep themselves busy, Books Abound has become a quiet refuge for readers. The longtime store, sustained by customer trades and occasional donations, now doubles as a lifeline for local avid readers and incarcerated readers.

Staying local: Jeff Otto, a former Exxon employee, spends most of his time trading and selling books to local readers. Even as platforms such as Amazon and other digital platforms chip away at business, the Otto’s said they will continue promoting traditional books while supporting paperbacks.

What's special about it? The used bookstore operates with a majority of books sourced from trade-ins and about 10% through donations. With books priced at half their cover price, Books Abound allows all paperback book trades and only accepts hardcover books through donations.

AT&T officials said the new Tomball store opened on Nov. 21 and is now offering mobile and internet services.

The details: Per the website, there are two additional AT&T Tomball locations in the area.

Waymo is gearing up to roll out fully autonomous driving in Houston and Dallas.

The gist: The move comes as Waymo begins driverless operations in Miami, with launches planned in four additional cities—Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Orlando—over the next several weeks, according to a Nov. 18 news release.

Waymo leaders said expanding to new markets has become increasingly streamlined thanks to its “generalizable” Waymo Driver and a consistent operational playbook.

According to the company, the shift to fully autonomous driving—once viewed as a major technological leap—has become routine as its safety systems and deployment strategy mature.

Diving in deeper: The company reports its vehicles have already shown strong safety performance, with 11 times fewer serious-injury collisions compared with human drivers in its current operating areas.

On the heels of what proponents have called “historic” property tax relief, some Texas lawmakers are questioning whether the state can afford to continue increasing the tax exemptions passed in 2023 and 2025.

The big picture: Texas homeowners pay property taxes to various local entities, although lawmakers can limit how much entities increase taxes each year and provide state funding to expand tax exemptions.

Texas is spending $51 billion on property tax relief in fiscal years 2026 and 2027 alone and may be required to spend more to maintain existing tax exemptions in future bienniums, lawmakers said.

What they're saying: "We're kind of maxed out at what we can do for property tax reform, from a budget perspective," said Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, during a Nov. 20 event.

"$51 billion ongoing, it's a huge amount to continue to support. To think about doing anything more seems very fiscally irresponsible," Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, said.

The other side: Rep. Ellen Troxclair, R-Lakeway, said creating limits on local government spending would be critical to keeping Texas affordable.