The Oregon-based coffee company Dutch Bros Coffee is slated to open a new location in Kingwood in the fourth quarter of 2026, as confirmed by company officials on Oct. 6.

Some context: The upcoming 986-square-foot coffee shop will be located at 1261 Kingwood Drive and will feature both drive-thru and walk-up areas. Dutch Bros Coffee already has three other locations open across the Lake Houston area.

On the menu: The company's menu features:

• Specialty coffee

• Smoothies

• Freezes

• Teas

• A private-label Dutch Bros Blue Rebel energy drink

• Nitrogen-infused cold brew coffee

Two facility renovation projects at Lone Star College System campuses are scheduled to kick off in 2027 after the college system’s board of trustees voted to push the projects to the next stage on Oct. 1.

Upcoming projects

1. Empowerment Center relocation, remodel

Project: LSC-Cy-Fair’s Empowerment Center—a food and clothing pantry for students in need—will be moved from separate locations in the CASA building to the Technology Center.

• Timeline: January 2027-May 2027

• Cost: $417,000 (construction)

2. LSC-Kingwood flood repairs

Project: Flood damage at LSC-Kingwood caused by Hurricane Harvey in 2017 will be repaired, according to Oct. 1 meeting documents. The project has been delayed while awaiting approval from state and federal agencies.

• Timeline: summer 2027-summer 2029

• Cost: $1,011,293 (architectural services)

Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare and Harris County Attorney Abbie Kamin announced the launch of the Protective Order Extended Team, or POET, on Oct. 2. The program is designed to expand access to domestic violence legal protections and support survivors countywide.

About the program: The nine-member POET team consists of trained social workers and administrators who will work at locations throughout the county. The program offers its services to survivors for free, regardless of background, immigration status or circumstance. To assist survivors, advocates will meet them at neutral locations to:

• Walk through the protective order process

• Create a safety plan

• Conduct a danger assessment

What else? Advocates and staff will file protective order paperwork and represent survivors in court for free. Survivors do not need to contact law enforcement to receive help. The program is funded through $7.5 million approved by the Harris County Commissioners Court in 2025, which funded four advocate positions. Kamin's office has agreed to fund five additional advocate positions.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) board members unanimously approved the fiscal year 2026-27 budget of $1.7 billion during a Sept. 30 meeting.

What’s different? METRO now expects to collect $29.2 million more in sales-tax revenue than it originally projected, a 2.6% increase. The additional revenue allowed the agency to avoid service reductions that had previously been considered, according to a news release.

The adopted budget includes $1.015 billion for operating expenses, a 2.4% decrease from the current budget, and $371.5 million for capital projects, nearly 40% less than the FY2025-26 budget.

METRO said the budget also avoids restructuring its debt or using reserve funds during the 2027 fiscal year.

Also of note: METRO officials expect total ridership to grow 2.8% in FY 2026-27, according to budget documents.

The fiscal year began Oct. 1.

The average annual insurance premium for a Texas homeowner rose 79% in six years, from less than $2,000 in 2020 to more than $3,500 this year, Texas Insurance Commissioner Amanda Crawford told state lawmakers Oct. 5.

The overview: The rise in home insurance costs has been caused by severe weather, high inflationary costs impacting home repairs and "the concentration of risk" in the insurance market, Crawford said.

Experts said hardening homes against severe weather could help reduce expensive losses from disasters, resulting in lower insurance premiums.

Zooming in: Proponents of home-hardening incentives have pointed to their success in other Gulf Coast states, such as Alabama. Texas consumer advocacy groups and the insurance industry backed proposals to create a similar grant program last year, according to previous Community Impact reporting, but those measures did not pass.

"Resilience helps homeowners long before it shows up in an insurance bill because a stronger home holds up better when the storm comes," said Chelsea Stallings, a regional vice president for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies.