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René Galvan was appointed the new CEO and president of the Houston Association of Realtors in February, as previously reported. Galvan succeeded Bob Hale, who retired Jan. 31. In an interview with Community Impact, Galvan discussed his background, what HAR does and the real estate market in the Greater Houston area. 

More details: Some of the questions asked by Community Impact include: 

• Broadly speaking, what does the Houston Association of Realtors do, and how do Realtors and buyers interact with HAR?
• When it comes to the housing market in the Greater Houston area, what trends are you seeing?
• What factors, economic or otherwise, do you see affecting the Houston housing market?

The Fulshear Police Department now has another way to respond to emergency calls.

The big picture: The city's new drone first responder program will provide a new avenue for things such as missing person searches, community event monitoring and active incidents instead of using the traditional police helicopter, department officials announced in a May 7 Facebook post.

About the program: Through the program, officers are able to send drones to select calls for service providing real-time aerial information before officers arrive on scene, officials said in the post.

The program will assist with:

• Faster emergency response capabilities
• Enhanced officer and community safety
• Real-time artificial intelligence for responding officers
• Improved search and rescue operations
• Better situational awareness during critical incidents
• Traffic crash investigations
• More efficient deployment with of department resources

Cooking Girl Chinese Cuisine has opened another Greater Houston location in Katy, manager Sharon Yu confirmed.

On the menu: The restaurant offers an authentic Chinese dining experience with options such as Sichuan beef, dry pot duck or the triple delight sampler platter featuring beef, chicken and shrimp, according to its website.

• 330 S. Mason Road, Katy

The Harris County Flood Control District intends to work with the Texas General Land Office to extend funding deadlines for disaster recovery projects related to Hurricane Harvey, as about half are not on track to meet the timeline, HCFCD Executive Director Tina Petersen told Commissioners Court May 14.

The overview: According to a May 1 report from the flood control district, six of the 11 Hurricane Harvey recovery projects have an estimated completion date beyond the GLO’s Feb. 28, 2027, deadline.

Petersen said HCFCD will seek a nine-month extension and discuss contingency planning with the GLO. This will not be the first time Harris County asks for more flexibility, as the flood control district previously received a nine-month extension in March 2025, she said. 

Also of note: HCFCD is also working to deliver 17 flood mitigation projects, which aim to build resiliency against future extreme weather events, by a March 31, 2028, deadline. However, at least 12 projects are scheduled to run past the deadline, per the report, some of which extend well into 2029. 

The Texas Supreme Court on May 15 denied Gov. Greg Abbott’s request to remove state Rep. Gene Wu from office after the Houston Democrat led his colleagues in a walkout to protest congressional redistricting last summer.

The details: In the court’s majority opinion, Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock ruled that because Wu and other House Democrats “voluntarily returned” to the Capitol two weeks after their August departure, it was not necessary for the court to get involved.

The court also rejected a petition by Attorney General Ken Paxton to expel Wu and 12 other Democrats over the walkout, consolidating the two requests in one ruling.

What they're saying: Wu celebrated the ruling in a May 15 statement, saying that "the Constitution does not let a governor erase voters’ choices when their choices are inconvenient to him."

Abbott's office argued the governor's August lawsuit helped end the walkout and said the state was prepared to fight future quorum breaks: "If Democrats abandon their offices again, the governor will bring them right back to the Texas Supreme Court."