Porter Fire Department will host a grand opening celebration for the department's new station in Kingwood in mid-May.

Some context: As previously reported by Community Impact, PFD Station 125 is a three-bay station that hosts a full-time crew of four and houses a fire engine and an evacuation boat. The $6.5 million project wrapped up in mid-March and primarily serves neighborhoods including Kings Manor, Kings Mill, Oakhurst and Oakhurst Park.

Check it out: Open to the community, the grand opening celebration will take place from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. May 16, and include a ribbon cutting ceremony, station tours and refreshments. Parking will be available across the street at Kings Manor Elementary School, located at 21111 Royal Crossing Drive, Kingwood.

• Grand opening May 16
• 21106 Royal Crossing Drive, Kingwood

Humble ISD officials are proposing a 3% overall general pay increase for staff members as part of the district’s 2026-27 budget.

The details: HISD Chief Financial Officer Billy Beattie briefed trustees on the proposed compensation increase during the board’s April 14 meeting. 

“The biggest priority we had in this budget was trying to be as competitive as we could with compensation,” Beattie said. “We could be more cautious with this, but inflation has been running high, ... [and] a 3% raise would go a long way.”

Beattie said the proposed pay increase is coming as districts across the region struggle with budget deficits. He noted at least 79% of the 14 area school districts located near HISD have adopted deficit budgets in each of the last three school years.

“We have not adopted deficit budgets, and that was a priority again to maintain that balanced budget that we’ve had in place,” Beattie said.

What’s next: Trustees are next scheduled to host a budget workshop May 12 before potentially adopting a budget June 9.

According to the April 15 Houston Association of Realtors’ March Rental Market Update, Houston's rental market has seen an increase in leased listings.

The details: For March, HAR reports there were 4,718 leased listings for single-family rentals on the market, a 15.8% increase compared to last March. For pending listings, there was an increase of 7.8% compared to last year, totaling 6,172 homes on the market. Lease prices in comparison to last March dipped by 2.1% to $2,242 from $2,290. Homes have also spent slightly longer in the market, from 43 to 47 days.

What else: According to HAR, the townhome and condominium market has also seen changes in March; 673 properties were leased this March, leading to a 12.4% increase compared to the 599 properties last March.

Alongside the rental market, the number of new listings for townhomes and condominiums has grown by 10.1% to 1,082 properties; last March’s listing amount was 983 properties. Meanwhile, the number of days on market has grown to 61 days this March from 53 days last March.

Demand on the Texas power grid could more than quadruple in the next six years, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas announced April 15.

The details: The state grid operator projected that peak electric demand could hit 367,790 megawatts by 2032—more than four times the current demand record of 85,508 megawatts, which was set during an August 2023 heat wave. Much of this forecasted growth is due to data centers, according to ERCOT documents.

However, ERCOT leaders warned that the growth forecast is “preliminary” and needs adjustments.

What's happening: During an April 17 meeting, ERCOT officials told the Public Utility Commission of Texas that they plan to work with utility providers to issue a revised forecast in the coming weeks.

“I think it's clear we need to engage in the process and look at ways to refine this number to something that's more usable,” PUC Chair Thomas Gleeson said.

Stay tuned: ERCOT said it expects peak electric demand on the grid this summer will hit between 90,500-98,000 megawatts, which would shatter the current demand record.