There are several events to attend in the Tomball and Magnolia area this weekend. Check them out below. This is not a comprehensive list and events are subject to change.

St. Pawtrick’s Weenie Races
Join Little Woodrow’s Tomball in an afternoon of Weenie Dog Races, including a DJ, prizes for the dogs, festive drink specials, crawfish and local vendors.

• March 7, 1 p.m.
• Free (admission)
• 11241 Timbertech Lane, Tomball

• March 6-7, 7:30-9:30 p.m., March 8, 2:30-4:30 p.m.
• $11.20 (general admission), $5.49 (LSC and Klein ISD employees), $1.49 (students)
• 930 University Park Campus Drive, Tomball

• March 7, 9:30 a.m.
• Free (admission)
• 38925 FM 1774, Magnolia

A new baseball and softball training facility is coming to the Spring area, owner Holly Perry confirmed. 

The gist: Diamond Impact Training Center will offer batting cage rentals, indoor training and lessons, Perry said. The facility will have pitching and batting lanes, and there are plans to host summer camps and clinics.

Perry said there is potential to offer birthday parties at the facility in the future. She also said the business will have a variety of merchandise for sale, including baseball and softball equipment. 

• 23629 Gosling Road, Spring

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."

Texas attracts dozens of company headquarters to the state annually, with at least 314 businesses moving their main office to Texas from other states between 2015-2024, data from the governor’s office shows.

Zooming in: At least 24 companies moved their headquarters to Texas in 2024, with more than half landing in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. Two companies relocated from other countries, with data center developer Hive Digital Technologies bringing its home base from Canada to San Antonio and pharmaceutical company IntraBio Inc. moving its headquarters from the United Kingdom to Austin.

How we got here: State officials and experts said Texas’ economic incentives and light regulatory environment are key reasons why companies brought their operations to the state in recent years.

“Texas wants companies to move here, and [company leaders] know that,” Megan Mauro, interim president and CEO of the Texas Association of Business, told Community Impact. “Our legislative policy is really impacted by the voices of employers here.”

Dozens of Texans shared their feedback Feb. 25 on the current phase of a lengthy revision of the state’s social studies curriculum standards. Parents, educators and students urged the State Board of Education to slow the revision process down and give those drafting the new curriculum more time to work.

The overview: The state is currently overhauling the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for social studies, which are the standards dictating what public school students should learn at each grade level. The board is expected to adopt the new standards this summer before they are rolled out to classrooms in 2030.

“We have one opportunity to get this right for an entire generation of students,” said Meghan Dougherty, an Austin-area social studies specialist involved in the revision process.

Zooming in: Several educators involved in drafting the new curriculum plan said current proposals included "too much content" with a heavy emphasis on Texas history, while some appointed content advisers and SBOE members argued schools should teach lessons focused on "American exceptionalism [and] Texan exceptionalism."