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Katy ISD and Lamar CISD were two of the few districts in the state that did not see a decrease in enrollment during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Texas Education Agency.

What’s happening: While Katy ISD has seen consistent enrollment growth since 2016, the district’s lower enrollment in 2025 is due to the declining birth rates statewide, the buildout of residential subdivisions in the Katy area and the aging of the overall student population in Texas.

Demographic firm Population and Survey Analysts found Katy ISD’s students have been aging through the grade levels for the past decade. Larger cohorts are concentrated in grades 5-11, while recent kindergarten and elementary classes are smaller.

What else: Meanwhile, LCISD officials said kindergarten and overall enrollment are projected to increase up to 2031.

LCISD Chief Learning Officer Christ Cottongame said the district’s demographer Zonda Demographics found growth has “slowed down just a little bit,” though is expected to increase between 1,600-1,900 students per year for at least the next 10 years.

Habibi Bites is bringing a fusion of Middle Eastern and Mexican flavors to Katy, owner Waleed Aziz confirmed.

What to expect: Located inside the Valero gas station on North Fry Road, Aziz said the eatery offers gyro burritos, falafels, loaded fries, crispy shawarma and a habibi Dubai crunch cup for dessert.

• 6841 N. Fry Road, Katy

Houston airport workers will receive a minimum wage increase of $5 for a new wage of $20 an hour, which will gradually rise to $23 an hour by 2028.

What this means: Mayor John Whitmire signed an executive order Aug. 12 alongside members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the labor union that represents airport workers, that would immediately begin the new wages.

Workers employed by air carriers, concessions and airport contractors will qualify for the raise.

“This helps, but this is just the beginning,” Whitmire said. “It's not going to be just wages. It's going to be working conditions.”

Before signing the executive order, the minimum wage was $15 an hour at Houston airports, including Hobby and IAH. This is the first salary increase for Houston workers since 2023, when former Mayor Sylvester Turner raised their minimum wage from $12 to $15 an hour.

One more thing: The increase is scheduled to go up to $21 in January 2027, $22 in October 2027 and by 2028 it will be $23 an hour.

From 2020-25, more than 45,000 wildfires burned over 2.7 million acres of Texas land, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.

Ahead of the 2027 state legislative session, lawmakers are looking into ways to better prevent wildfires from happening and prepare communities to respond when fires do start.

The background: In 2025, state lawmakers passed Senate Bill 34, which required the Texas A&M Forest Service to create a statewide database of firefighting equipment; established a council to improve emergency communications between local, state and federal agencies; and increased funding to help rural volunteer fire departments purchase equipment from $30 million to $40 million.

Quote of note: Sen. Kevin Sparks, a Midland Republican who authored the law, said more work needs to be done to increase wildfire preparedness across the state.

"As we move forward, our focus should be on a more proactive approach that prioritizes prevention and mitigation alongside response preparedness," Sparks said during an Aug. 11 hearing of the Senate Natural Resources Committee, which he chairs.