HTX-HRM: Impact 11/3/2025

Houston City Council members approved an ordinance Oct. 29 to utilize $1.52 million out of the Parks and Recreation Dedication Fund to make improvements to the Memorial Park Golf Course Driving Range, an amenity that opened in 1995.

About the project: According to the agenda item, the range needs repair due to a combination of factors, including prolonged heavy rainfall, severe ground sloping and insufficient drainage and irrigation infrastructure, all of which has led to frequent closures of the facility.

To improve the heavily used park amenity, city officials intend to:

• Soften severe slopes on the driving range floor
• Improve surface water runoff
• Install new drainage infrastructure
• Replace irrigation system

Recess, a new business coming soon to Houston, will feature supervised kids' play areas on the first floor and a full-service bistro and bar on the second, according to the establishment’s website.

The overview: Located near River Oaks Shopping Center, the space will prioritize both parents and children equally.

The restaurant and bar will overlook the play areas, which the website states will be secured by staff-controlled gates. Additionally, Recess plans to integrate wristbands that track individual children.

How it works: Recess will have two primary play areas: one supervised by staff and one by parents. Children potty-trained will be eligible to play in the staff-supervised area, while younger toddlers and infants will play under parental supervision.

• 1500 Waugh Drive, Ste. 150, Houston

According to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, a new Eataly location is coming soon to an existing retail space in Houston.

The details: Eataly’s new location will be located in a 20,050-square-foot building in a hybrid space that combines a mix of restaurants, specialty marketplaces, cafes and grab-and-go food counters and include a full interior renovation, per TDLR. Construction for the $11.5 million project will begin in January next year and be completed by September.

What else: Eataly is an Italian eatery and store with 11 international locations, 14 locations in the United States and one location in Dallas, Texas, per the website. At Eataly, customers can find high-quality Italian food and wine, per the website, as well as retail items such as uncooked pastas, coffee, olive oil and chocolate.

Harris County commissioners voted unanimously Oct. 30 to push back the proposed Dec. 11 public hearing for the Harris Health and the Ben Taub Hospital expansion in Houston’s Texas Medical Center. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo was absent.

The bottom line: Several amendments, internal deadlines and meetings are now being coordinated by county and city of Houston stakeholders as part of a potential expansion plan that will include community input and a formal presentation in January. Commissioners set the new date for the public hearing in March.

The context: Harris Health officials are in the process of a major expansion of Ben Taub Hospital, which would incorporate 8.9 acres of Hermann Park. Esmaeil Porsa, Harris Health president and CEO, said at the Oct. 30 meeting that the expansion must occur at this location for several reasons that would support more than 1 million uninsured individuals.

“It would allow this facility to be part of Ben Taub and won’t need additional licensing,” Porsa said.

Millions of Texans may see delays in their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits beginning Nov. 1, as the federal government shutdown reaches the one-month mark.

The latest: The federal food assistance program is set to run out of funding in November, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Two federal judges ruled Oct. 31 that the Trump Administration must use federal contingency funds, which are stockpiled for emergency expenses, to fund SNAP in November, although the next steps surrounding SNAP benefits were unclear as of press time.

The local impact: Over 3.5 million Texans receive SNAP benefits each month, according to Feeding Texas, the statewide network of food banks.

“People are at risk of going hungry if the government doesn't reopen and SNAP benefits are delayed. … These are already vulnerable Texans,” Feeding Texas CEO Celia Cole said in an Oct. 27 interview.

Food banks across the state Texas food banks previously expanded their operations to meet increased demand as thousands of federal workers go without paychecks during the shutdown.