Following a grand opening in September, Sweet Space Shop is now open in New Caney, according to a post on the shop's Facebook page.

What they offer: The business offers a variety of treats, including ice cream, shakes, popsicles and natural juices. The business also has a mobile food truck for events and festivals.

Some context: The new ice cream shop is located in the space formerly occupied by Junie B's Snowcones, which closed in April, as previously reported by Community Impact.

• Soft opening held in mid-August, grand opening held Sept. 13

• 21120 Loop 494, New Caney

Officials with the East Montgomery County Improvement District and Oak View Group announced in a Sept. 16 news release that Melanie Granado has been named general manager for the upcoming Caney Pines Convention Center in New Caney.

The overview: In her new role, Granado will oversee day-to-day operations, including:

• Scheduling

• Operations

• Finance

• Advertising

• Sponsorship

• Hospitality

Some context: Granado previously served as the assistant general manager at the Hilliard Center in Corpus Christi, sales manager for Visit Corpus Christi and director of sales at the Ortiz Center. Oak View Group was approved to manage and operate the convention center in June, and the facility's name was announced in September.

Stay tuned: The 210,070-square-foot facility is scheduled to open in December in Valley Ranch's Entertainment District. It will be the third largest convention center in Houston and the seventh largest in Texas. Event bookings for 2027 are already underway.

The Montgomery County Commissioners Court approved a resolution declaring Sept. 25 as Dolly Parton Day to celebrate her music, philanthropy and local literacy impact. Parton died Aug. 25 at age 80, and the county selected Sept. 25 because the date can be written as 9/25, referencing her song 9 to 5. All Montgomery County library locations will offer programs commemorating Parton on that day.

Why it matters: The resolution highlights Parton's work promoting childhood literacy through Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, which provides free books to children from birth through age 5. Locally, the program is sponsored by Children's Books on Wheels.

Zooming in: The announcement coincides with Library Card Sign-Up Month in September. Residents who sign up for a new library card, renew an existing card or check out materials during September will be entered into a gift card drawing.

Lone Star College System leaders are aiming to pay off $404 million in bond debt by approximately 2030 or 2031. To help achieve this, Kristy Vienne, the vice chancellor of administration and finance, proposed an interest and sinking tax rate of $0.0219 per $100 valuation for fiscal year 2026-27. This proposed rate would bring the outstanding bond debt balance to about $311 million.

Explained: The college system's proposed total tax rate for fiscal year 2026-27 is $0.1058 per $100 valuation, which is lower than the current rate of $0.106. While some taxpayers in the Harris Central Appraisal District are expected to see a drop in their annual property tax bill, others in the Montgomery Central Appraisal District and the San Jacinto County Appraisal District are expected to see higher bills due to increased median property values. Taxpayers could also see higher bills if:

• Their home or land value increases

• They lose a property tax exemption

• Their property value exceeds the 10% appraisal cap

Going forward: A public hearing on the proposed tax rate is scheduled for Oct. 1.

Some Texas Republican leaders have vowed to get rid of the property taxes that homeowners pay to their local public school districts, and lawmakers are analyzing how much it would cost to do so.

The big picture: Texas school districts collect about $29 billion per year in maintenance and operations taxes, which cover schools' daily expenses.

Of that $29 billion in school tax revenue, the state comptroller's office estimates that about $8.6 billion is paid by homeowners, and the rest comes from commercial and industrial property taxes.

This means the state would need to spend at least $8.6 billion annually to zero out homeowners' school property tax bills, officials said.

Quote of note: "Broadly speaking, you have a question about how much you want to fund schools, and then separately, where does that money come from?" Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said during a Sept. 15 legislative hearing. "If you have a target of how much you want to spend, you need to make sure you have enough variable revenue sources to reach that."