The Empanada Bar held its grand opening in Pearland on Aug. 18, a representative of the restaurant confirmed.

What’s in a name: The restaurant offers a variety of specialty empanadas, including raspberry cheesecake and The Pearwood, which contains pear with cinnamon and brown butter, as well as savory options such as beef and chicken.

📍1330 Broadway St., Pearland

Check out three completed road reconstructions in Manvel.

Completed projects:

Furnace/Oakhill Road reconstruction
Project: This project consisted of reconstructing and repaving Furnace/Oak Hill Road to improve the overall driving surface, enhance safety and extend the service life of the roadway. Approximately 0.84 miles of roadway was rehabilitated as part of this project.
Update: Construction was completed in February 2026.

• Timeline: wrapped in February

• Cost: $400,000

• Funding source: city funds

Old Chocolate Bayou Road reconstruction
Project: This project included the reconstruction and repaving of approximately 1 mile of Old Chocolate Bayou Road, extending from FM 1128 to Manvel's city limits.
Update: Construction was completed in February 2026.

• Timeline: wrapped in February

• Cost: $435,000

• Funding source: city-issued debt

Harris County commissioners are slated to discuss debt service payments, planning studies and capital improvements at its Aug. 25 business court meeting.

At a glance: The court will consider about $235.6 million in debt service payments for September and October, per the agenda. The payments will cover Harris County road bonds, permanent improvement bonds, Harris County Flood Control District bonds and Flood Contract Tax bonds. 

In other news: Three planning studies will also be up for discussion during the Aug. 25 meeting. Harris County Housing and Community Development is requesting $150,000 for the Resilience Hubs study, which will evaluate the creation of community spaces to provide daily and disaster response services. The other two studies, which the agenda does not provide details on, will look at projects in Precinct 4 and cost $1.4 million.

This November, Libertarian Ted Brown, Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico are running to be Texas' next U.S. senator.

The overview: Each state has two U.S. senators serving staggered terms, with Ted Cruz and John Cornyn currently representing Texas. Cornyn ran for reelection but lost his primary race, and the winner of the November election will replace him in January.

Paxton advanced to the general election after beating Cornyn in a primary runoff, while Talarico beat two other contenders in the Democratic primary, Community Impact reported. Brown was selected as the Texas Libertarian Party's candidate during an April nominating convention.

At the polls: Early voting runs from Oct. 19-30 for dozens of statewide and local races. Election Day is Nov. 3.