Harris County commissioners will meet Jan. 29 with more than 300 agenda items on the docket, including discussion items regarding Harris Health’s proposed hospital expansion in Hermann Park, the county’s response to Winter Storm Fern and the countywide policy for law enforcement salaries.

What you need to know: Harris Health officials have complied with Commissioners Court’s October request and have prepared their public presentation on community engagement efforts regarding the $410 million Ben Taub Hospital expansion in the Texas Medical Center.

After the presentation, Commissioners Court will hold its Chapter 26 public hearing on the agenda item and is expected to also vote to authorize a formal public hearing on the hospital expansion March 19.

Also of note: Officials with Harris County’s budget office look to discuss the countywide policy for the new law enforcement salary scale. Law enforcement pay parity has reached various points at Commissioners Court, including a decision to spend $104 million on county law enforcement pay in the fiscal year 2025-26 budget, which required identifying necessary savings to provide for raises. 

Spring-based dessert shop Luliet Creamery & Bake Shop will open a new Vintage Park location in February, founder Nelia Shehaj announced on social media Jan. 14.

At a glance: Shehaj said Luliet acquired Treat! Gourmet Cupcakes in the Vintage Park shopping center, and the business is currently working on refurbishing the space with plans to open in February. 

Treat! Gourmet Cupcakes, which opened in 2010, announced its closure in November and had its last day of business Dec. 24. Shehaj in her announcement called the cupcake shop a "staple for celebrations."

From the oven: The Vintage Park shop will feature Luliet's full menu, including scratch-made cookies and cupcakes, French macarons, house-made ice cream and custom cake orders, per the announcement. 

Zooming out: The expansion marks Luliet's third storefront, with the original shop located on FM 2920 in Spring and a second location on FM 1488 in Conroe.

• 126 Vintage Park Blvd., Houston

Houston’s single-family rental market experienced solid growth in 2025, according to a new update from the Houston Association of Realtors.

Long story short: HAR reports single-family rental leases have increased 9.4% year over year, with a total of 3,283 homes leased in December. There was a 21.2% increase in listings, with 5,486 listings added to the Multiple Listing Service in December compared to 4,525 the prior year.  

A Harris County district judge granted an emergency court order on Jan. 26 to extend early voting in the runoff election for Texas’ 18th Congressional District after severe winter weather forced the closure of polling places Jan. 25-26.

The order requires Harris County to open all early voting locations from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Jan. 28 and from noon-7 p.m. Jan. 29 to restore the voting hours lost when polls closed due to hazardous weather conditions.

What happened: Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth announced Jan. 24 that all early voting centers would be closed Jan. 25-26 due to inclement weather. Early voting was originally slated to run Jan. 21-27 with election day Jan. 31.

What they're saying: On Jan. 25, organizations including the Texas Civil Rights Project, Houston Justice and Pure Justice announced they had filed a lawsuit to expand early voting. Both Democratic candidates, Christian D. Menefee and Amanda Edwards, said they were in support of extending early voting.