At a Dec. 4 meeting, The Woodlands Township board of directors approved Phase 1 of an Alden Bridge Sports Park renovation project that will bring a new look and amenities to the facility.

The details: The first phase of the project is expected to start construction in February and finish around March 2027, according to the timeline presented by John McGowan, the director of The Woodlands Township Parks & Recreation Department.

Also of note: Aside from the facility's community garden and baseball fields, Alden Bridge Sports Park will be completely closed during construction, McGowan said. This means groups that use the fields will have to find another location, he said.

"We will work with them and do what we can with that," McGowan said.

Jeremy Parsons, a country local artist originally from San Antonio, said he first started pursuing music as a junior in high school while looking for a hobby. Today, Parsons said he has had his fair share of triumphs in the music industry both locally and nationally. Giving credit to the Texas music scene and local artists such as Randy Rogers and Brandon Rhyder, Parsons said dance halls in Texas are filled with fresh inspiration.

Quote of note: "It's been a wild ride that I wouldn't change for anything," Parsons said. "I've been hungry, I've been broke, I've been heartbroken; you know, all the human things, except I've put them all into songs to use as reminders that we don't stay where we were. I started out playing all over Texas, then tried my luck at Nashville. [I] got what I needed from the town and then got out."

Upcoming concerts scheduled include:

• Dec. 19, 7 p.m.
• Free
• Cellar 24, 6700 Woodlands Parkway, The Woodlands

At a Dec. 4 meeting, The Woodlands Township board approved the start of a public bid process for the construction of a new cellular tower on township property and potential lease agreements.

The details: In March, the township board directed staff to look into bringing additional cell towers to The Woodlands, according to previous coverage by Community Impact.

Something to consider: The township will just be leasing the space for the cell towers and will get a percentage of the revenue generated from them, Township IT Director William Pham said.

Next steps: The construction of a cell tower on property designated as a township public park would require a public hearing, according to state law. The township is expected to put out a request for proposal by the end of the week of Dec. 12, which will include locations, design elements, cellular network improvements and the public hearing process, according to the meeting agenda and Pham.

Germany, Portugal and Saudi Arabia are three of the seven teams that have been flagged to play in Houston for the FIFA World Cup 2026 tournament in June.

Breaking it down: Seven total matches will be played in Houston, including five group stages and two knockout-round games between June 14 and July 9. The five group stages include:

• June 14: Germany vs. Curaçao
• June 17: Portugal vs. Congo DR/Jamaica/New Caledonia
• June 20: Netherlands vs. Albania/Poland/Sweden/Ukraine
• June 23: Portugal vs. Uzbekistan
• June 26: Cabo Verde vs. Saudi Arabia

Texas can use its newly redrawn congressional map in the 2026 elections, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Dec. 4.

The background: State lawmakers approved the new congressional boundaries this summer, after President Donald Trump asked them to produce a new map in an attempt to help Republicans maintain a narrow majority in the U.S. House, Community Impact previously reported. Texas Republicans have said they hoped the map would help the GOP secure 30 of Texas’ 38 congressional seats, up from 25 Republican-held seats today.

What's happening: The Supreme Court's ruling overturns a Nov. 18 injunction from an El Paso federal court, which deemed Texas’ redistricting plan "racially gerrymandered” and directed officials to use a 2021 congressional map instead.

“The District Court improperly inserted itself into an active primary campaign, causing much confusion and upsetting the delicate federal-state balance in elections,” the Supreme Court said in the unsigned Dec. 4 order.

The order comes just four days before the Dec. 8 deadline for Texas candidates to file to run in the March primary elections.