Conroe City Council is set to meet March 26 with several employee compensation and public safety items on the agenda.

In a nutshell: Among the items up for discussion, council will consider reinstating the STEP Pay Program for the 2025-26 budget cycle for fire and police civil service employees, with the pay increase proposed to be retroactive to each employee’s anniversary date. Council will also consider an exception to the city’s employee handbook tied to payment for unused sick leave and the sick leave incentive program.

Public safety purchases are also on the agenda. Council is slated to consider the purchase of 37 Staccato P-4.5 HD 9mm handguns for the police department. 

Council will also review the purchase of Vehicle Equipment Replacement Fund equipment.

Also of note: Another item would allow the city to participate in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Transit Shuttle Initiative, which includes using three to four city-owned transit buses that can transport 20 passengers each, per the agenda item.

Converde, a 55-plus residential community within the master-planned community Evergreen, is now open for presales, according to a March 20 news release. The community is 170 acres and planned for about 540 homes.

More details: There are three home collections available, featuring nine single-story floor plans. Homes will range from around 1,514 square feet to 2,524 square feet, with prices starting in the low $300,000s, according to the news release.

What else: Converde will also include an Open Wellness and Social Club that will feature amenities such as a fitness and wellness center, casual dining, a resort-style pool, pickleball courts and social spaces, according to the news release.

Montgomery County commissioners will discuss potential financing options, including a possible future bond election, for a justice center or courthouse facilities at the March 26 Commissioners Court meeting.

How we got here: In an Aug. 26 county commissioners meeting, Montgomery County commissioners voted to create the 523rd Criminal District Court due to growing caseloads and overcrowding at the county jail.

Also of note: County staff estimated that the total annual cost, including district attorney’s office, county clerk and court staff positions, would total around $1.5 million. The current courthouse was built in 1938, and the last time a rebuild was attempted was in 1997, according to county and district judges.

On March 20, student doctors at Sam Houston State University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine celebrated Match Day and learned where they would go for their residencies.

Some context: Student doctors interview with residency programs across the country, and submit a ranked list of the residency programs where they’d like to train, COM Dean Thomas Mohr said. The residency programs also rank the students they’ve interviewed, and after the preferences are processed, student doctors are paired with residency programs.

By the numbers: According to a March 20 news release:

• COM’s residency placement rate exceeded 99%.
• Almost 66% of student doctors will remain in Texas for their residencies.
• A little over 51% of student doctors matched into primary care specialties such as family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics.
• 26% of student doctors matched into emergency medicine.

There are several places to visit in the Greater Houston area to celebrate MLB’s Opening Day. Check them out below. This is not a comprehensive list and events are subject to change.

Stats Sportsbar
For the Astros Opening Day, Stats will be hosting a watch party with 23-ounce beers, $1 wings all night, $2 off Stats’ signature drinks and old fashioneds and $5.50 purple Gatorade shots.

• March 26, 5 p.m.
• Free (admission)
• 10850 Louetta Road, Houston

• March 26, 3 p.m.
• Free (admission)
• 2503 Covey Lane, Pearland

• March 26, noon-3 p.m.
• $62-$498 (March 26 game ticket)
• 501 Crawford St., Houston

On March 31, Texas’ roughly 9,000 licensed consumable hemp retailers will face sweeping regulations, including a more than 3,000% increase in annual licensing fees and a ban on most smokable cannabis products.

The overview: The new rules, which also include age verification requirements, stricter packaging guidelines and more rounds of product testing, were originally proposed in December. The Texas Department of State Health Services, which regulates the state’s hemp industry, adopted the rules March 2.

The debate: Supporters of the increased regulations previously said they hoped the changes would result in more comprehensive oversight of Texas’ hemp industry and improve consumer safety. 

Some experts said they were concerned the new rules were taking effect too quickly and could lead some hemp businesses to close their doors.

"It is really tragic that these entrepreneurs are being faced with this, especially in a state like Texas that touts being pro-business ... and here we are shutting down businesses and relegating consumers to an illicit market," said Heather Fazio, director of the Texas Cannabis Policy Center.