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Nearly five months after League City passed new marina permits and inspections, people who live on their boats, or live-aboards, say it has caused a “mass exodus.”

How we got here: League City City Council voted 7-1 to approve an ordinance creating new regulations for live-aboard vessels, abandoned and derelict vessels, and sanitation within city waterways at its Dec. 16 meeting.

In their own words: Dustin Dietrich and his wife lived on their boats in the Bay for over seven years, but after the ordinance passed, they moved to Galveston, as Dietrich said many of their friends have done.

The impact: League City City Council voted 7-1 at its May 12 meeting to amend the ordinance it approved last year to increase how many days people can live on their boat before needing a permit and make it easier to reapply for a permit, as well as increase the penalties for dumping.

The Walmart in League City, located on FM 646, hosted a grand reopening celebration May 15 after the company completed renovations on the location, a staff person said. The location did not close operations during the renovations, the staff person said.

How we got here: In 2025 Walmart announced nearly 650 stores nationwide were selected for major renovations in 2025, with 67 of those stores within Texas and eight in the Greater Houston region, including the League City location, according to previous reporting by Community Impact.

Digging deeper: According to the previous reporting, the nationwide renovations included:

• Expanding store capacity

• Creating additional online pickup and delivery areas

• Constructing private pharmacy screening rooms and checkout areas

• Redesigning signage and branding

Harris County officials are gearing up for another summer of tough budget decisions as the projected shortfall for fiscal year 2026-27 could reach up to $257 million, according to a May 14 presentation to Commissioners Court.

The overview: Based on current spending forecasts, Harris County’s general fund shortfall for FY 2026-27 is projected to range from $129 million to $257 million pending the adopted property tax rate, OMB Director Daniel Ramos told Commissioners Court.

More details: While Harris County’s spending has increased year over year—jumping 12% in FY 2025-26 compared to the prior year—revenue sources aren’t keeping pace, the presentation shows. The county is on track to conclude the current fiscal year Sept. 30 with a $27 million shortfall, Ramos said. 

Quote of note: “You’re going to be hearing about Harris County fees, cuts [and] others soon enough if we don’t figure out a way to be more efficient,” County Judge Lina Hidalgo said. “We put the county and the people of Harris County at a $200 million hole irresponsibly last year.”

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."