Harris County officials on Feb. 26 moved forward with the second round of Harris Health bond funding from a $2.5 billion referendum that voters approved in 2023.

The big picture: The bond will fund a range of capital improvement projects within the Harris Health system, including expansion of the Lyndon B. Johnson and Ben Taub hospitals, the latter of which has received backlash from some county residents in the last several months.

Harris Health received the first installment of bond funding totaling $850 million in May 2025. Chief Operating Officer Louis Smith told commissioners the system has spent approximately $667 million of that funding as of December.

Latest update: During their Feb. 26 meeting, Harris County commissioners authorized a go-forward order to issue a second $850 million installment. Chief Financial Officer Victoria Nikitin said Harris Health is expecting to receive the funding by June.

More details: In addition to the ongoing LBJ expansion and the pending Ben Taub expansion, the bond will fund the construction of new community clinics across Harris County. 

When Florencia Mansilla moved to the United States from Venezuela in her early adulthood, she had no idea what the world had in store for her. Leaving her job as a sports reporter in Venezuela, Mansilla said she became a mother sooner than she expected and dealt with her share of hardships before deciding to follow in her father’s footsteps and become the owner of a gelato shop.

Craving Gelato: At La Argentina Gelato, customers can enjoy scratch-made gelato with recipes created by Mansilla herself. During a process that can take hours, Mansilla creates 20 signature flavors of gelato daily while swapping out a few seasonally.

What's special about it? Argentina Gelato is celebrating its anniversary with free gelato from 4-6 p.m. March 1. Mansilla said customers can expect more dairy-free, health-focused options as well as new fruity flavors in the summer.

Select Houston-area residents who have the Waymo app downloaded are now able to take the first public rides in the fully autonomous vehicles, the company announced via news release Feb. 24.

What you need to know: Waymo will continue to invite new riders on a rolling basis to use the service as it kicks off service in Houston. Its service area in the city includes The Heights, downtown Houston and Montrose. Service will open to everyone later this year, according to the release.

Some context: The company previously announced its expansion to Houston last fall, Community Impact previously reported.

Quote of note: “I'm thrilled that we are now launching limited access public rides here in Houston,” Houston City Council member Sallie Alcorn said via news release. “It will give both Houstonians and visitors another safe, high-tech way to get around during exciting upcoming events like the World Baseball Classic and the World Cup."

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