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A report from the University of Houston shows housing instability is a consistent predictor of poor health outcomes among Fort Bend County residents.

The report, titled Housing Instability and Mental Health, was authored by Jeronimo Cortina, a professor in the department of political science at UH, in partnership with Fort Bend County Health & Human Services and PolicyMap, according to a May 1 news release.

The details: Following a countywide survey, the study shows that affordability pressures, unstable occupancy and unsafe or substandard conditions raise residents’ risk of stress, depression and anxiety, per the release.

Key findings include: 

• 33% of residents surveyed experienced moderate perceived stress
• 60% experienced mild anxiety
• 17% experienced mild to moderate depression

Fort Bend ISD residents will soon have a centralized place to purchase districtwide apparel and promotional items on demand.

The overview: At a May 11 meeting, Fort Bend ISD’s board of trustees voted to enter into a $2.7 million agreement with local marketing agency STS Brand to develop, operate and manage the district’s online spirit store.

The 24/7 centralized, user-friendly virtual retailer will serve as Fort Bend ISD’s main hub for access to district apparel, outerwear, accessories, promotional items and merchandise for occasions such as back-to-school season, homecoming, graduation, championships and other district initiatives, per agenda documents.

Next steps: The three-year contract will begin June 1 and will last through May 31, 2031, with two optional one-year extensions, per agenda documents.

After dozens of Texas primary races ended without a clear winner in March, candidates for those seats will face off in an overtime round, known as a runoff election, this month. Texans can vote early in the runoff election from May 18-22, with election day May 26.

How it works: State law requires that primary candidates receive more than 50% of the votes cast to advance to a general election.

In the May 26 runoff election, Republican and Democratic voters will choose who they want to represent them in statewide offices, legislative and Congressional seats, the State Board of Education and county-level positions. The winner of each runoff race will appear on the ballot in November.

On the ballot: The statewide Republican runoff races include:

• U.S. Senate: John Cornyn and Ken Paxton
• Texas attorney general: Mayes Middleton and Chip Roy
• Texas railroad commissioner: Jim Wright and Bo French

• Texas attorney general: Nathan Johnson and Joe Jaworski
• Texas lieutenant governor: Vikki Goodwin and Marcos Vélez

A 2023 Texas law allowing state and local police to arrest people suspected of entering the country illegally is scheduled to take effect May 15.

The overview: Texas legislators passed Senate Bill 4, a state immigration enforcement law, in late 2023. The law was originally set to take effect in March 2024, but has been tied up in court for more than two years.

For the first time, the law would allow Texas police to arrest migrants they suspect crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without authorization and allow judges to order migrants’ removal if they are found guilty of illegal entry.

The background: SB 4 had been largely blocked by a series of court rulings since early 2024. A federal appeals court dismissed a lawsuit against SB 4 April 24, and a separate lawsuit was filed May 4.

On May 13, U.S. District Judge David A. Ezra—who previously deemed SB 4 unconstitutional—heard arguments in the secondary lawsuit, although he did not issue a ruling before press time May 13.