HTX-LHK: Impact 8/20/2026

Good Morning, Lake Houston, Humble & Kingwood!

Top Story

George Bush International Airport officials celebrate opening of Farmer's Fridge kiosks

George Bush International Airport officials celebrated an Aug. 7 opening of several new Farmer’s Fridge kiosks throughout the airport, according to a post on the airport’s Facebook page.

The details: Officials noted the grab-and-go offerings include fresh sandwiches, wraps, salads and other seasonal surprises, according to the post.

Officials noted four kiosks are currently installed near gates A9, A27, D17 and the airport’s Car Rental Facility.

Opened Aug. 7
2800 N. Terminal Road, Houston

Read here.

Latest Education News

Humble ISD secures B score for 2025-26 A-F accountability rating

Following three consecutive years of receiving C ratings, Humble ISD received a B rating for the 2025-26 school year in the Texas Education Agency’s A-F accountability ratings released Aug. 14.

The details: Texas schools are rated on an A-F scale based on three criteria: student achievement, school progress and closing the gaps, as previously reported by Community Impact.

HISD received 83 out of 100 points for 2025-26, TEA data shows.

A closer look: Additionally, TEA data shows the district has 11 A-rated campuses, 21 B-rated campuses, 11 C-rated campuses and four D-rated campuses. No HISD campuses received failing grades in the 2025-26 accountability ratings.

Jack M. Fields Sr. Elementary School saw the largest rating improvement, jumping 24 percentage points to rise from an F to a B rating, TEA data shows.

Quoter of note: “The relentless hard work of our teachers, principals, instructional staff and students is evident," Superintendent Roger Brown said in an Aug. 14 news release.

Dive deeper.

Beyond the classroom: How policy shifts, budget strains are reshaping Houston-area public schools

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County Coverage

Harris Health seeks tax rate increase amid inflation, more underfunded patients

Harris Health, the county’s public healthcare provider, proposed a tax rate increase for the upcoming fiscal year to the Commissioners Court Aug. 17.

The background: Victoria Nikitin, Harris Health’s chief financial officer, asked the court to consider a $0.1 increase to last year’s revenue rate. Harris Health also proposed receiving $10 million from the county, which would be broken into $6 million in “waived revenue” and a $4 million placeholder in operating expenses to support county services.

“This budget is a really tight one for us in the sense that we are still having a lot of processes that are in flight, related to technology and other strategic initiatives ... but the majority of that is really due to inflation,” Nikitin said.

Stay tuned: If approved, the rate would go into effect Oct. 1, when the new fiscal year begins.

Find out more.

Your Weekend To-Do List

Check out these weekend events across the metro area.

Dueling Pianos Night

High Caliber Gun Show

Aug. 21, 7 p.m.
8502 Rio Grande St., Jersey Village

Aug. 22-23, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
9055 Airport Road, Conroe

100-year celebration

Matcha and Pilates Market

Aug. 22, 12-4 p.m.
550 McKinney St., Houston

Aug. 22, 2-8 p.m.
2711 Plaza Drive, Sugar Land

To submit your own event, click here.

Statewide News

Live updates: ERCOT will complete data center audit in late 2026, officials say

The Texas House State Affairs Committee heard from power grid officials; data center developers and industry representatives; local government officials; cybersecurity experts; and utility companies during an Aug. 19 hearing on the growth of data centers in the state. Dozens of Texas residents also testified about the impact of data centers in their communities.

The details: Pablo Vegas, CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, said it will take the grid operator several months to audit about 200 gigawatts of data center proposals. ERCOT will request information from all large and medium-sized data centers that are expected to use at least 25 megawatts of electricity.

ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission were ordered on Aug. 3 to audit all data centers seeking to connect to Texas’ power grid. They anticipate completing that audit in late November or early December, Vegas said.