Construction on a new Popeyes location in Humble is projected to begin in October, according to a Jan. 19 filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

The details: The $1.2 million project will consist of the construction of a roughly 2,540-square-foot facility for the restaurant, per the filing.

Popeyes offers a variety of fried chicken and sides such as mashed potatoes, biscuits, rice and Cajun fries.

While a projected opening date is not yet available, the filing states construction on the project is expected to wrap up in April.

• 15705 Woodland Hills, Humble

With over 35 years of scuba diving experience, Mark London, the owner of Deep Abyss Scuba in Humble, said he is happy to teach his passion to others.

A closer look: Deep Abyss Scuba, which opened in June 2024, offers underwater diving classes and certification programs for many skill levels, London said. The shop also sells, rents and repairs diving equipment; and provides escorted scuba trip packages in Belize.

The entry-level scuba certification course is open to participants age 10 and older, London said. During the lessons—which include four dives in both a pool and open water—London teaches students basic diving skills and how to react in emergencies.

Quote of note: “[Families] love to go to the ocean and swim and take travel vacations, and it's a good way to bond and learn about the environment,” London said.

Founded over 20 years ago, the Lone Star College Academy for Lifelong Learning program offers free and low-cost classes, events and activities for adults age 50 and older taught by volunteer teachers.

About the program: Founded at the Montgomery campus in 2000, Duval said other campuses soon followed and began offering the Academy for Lifelong Learning program at the Cy-Fair, Kingwood and North Harris campuses in 2004. Later expanding to other campuses, the program has remained an influential opportunity for seniors who want to continue expanding their skills.

With over 23 categories of courses offered, Duval said art, history and culinary classes are among the most popular.

Quote of note: “Once you're retired, a lot of people just don't know what else to do. They don't know where to go to hang out, or they lose contact with some of their friends who are still working,” Duval said. “So our goal is to keep them active and help them make new friends and keep them engaged with other people who have similar interests.”
 

Need to catch up on Community Impact’s coverage from this week? Check out these trending stories across the northern portion of the Greater Houston area from July 27-31.

1. Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce to relocate to Cypress

2. Magnolia, Brookshire among HAR’s Q2 list of Houston’s hottest communities

3. Latin-owned, Eden Coffee & Tea now open Jersey Village

4. Colombian coffee, boba tea: Check out the newest beverage spots in Cy-Fair

5. See 28 restaurants taking part in Houston Restaurant Weeks in The Woodlands area

This summer, Texas is launching a new process to study the viability of data centers and other large projects seeking to connect to the state’s power grid. The process’ strict requirements could deter major industrial projects from coming to the state, experts warn.

The overview: The Electric Reliability Commission of Texas’ new "batch study process" will require that large projects be evaluated in groups, rather than individually. The process was developed in response to Texas’ data center boom.

What they're saying: All projects that would use at least 75 megawatts of electricity will be required to participate in the batch process—including industrial and hydrogen production facilities. However, industrial and manufacturing projects operate differently from data centers and may not be able to meet some of the batch requirements, industry representatives said July 29.

In a state that works to attract major companies and bills itself as business-friendly, that’s a concern, lawmakers said.

"Where are y'all at on trying to differentiate those types of traditional, enterprise, big commercial, large load projects?" Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, asked.