Pearland City Attorney Darrin Coker retired on Jan. 28 after working for the city for 29 years, according to a social media post from Pearland Mayor Kevin Cole.

Quote of note: "Darrin has been a constant rock in the midst of incredible change as the city has grown from 25,000 to 133,000," Cole said in the post. "His fingerprints are all over and we are grateful for his career in Pearland."

The backstory: After growing up in Pearland, Coker served as a public educator for nine years before joining the city as an assistant city attorney in 1997 and being appointed to city attorney in 1998, according to the city's website.

Friendswood ISD students will start school Aug. 18 following board approval of the 2026-27 academic calendar at its Jan. 28 workshop session.

The details: The approved calendar closely mirrors the 2025-26 calendar, including keeping fall break on Oct. 15.

According to district documents, scheduled breaks for FISD include the following dates:

• Fall break: Oct. 15-20
• Thanksgiving break: Nov. 23-27
• Winter break: Dec. 21-Jan 1
• Spring break: March 8-12

Campaign finance reports filed in January covering the period from July 1-Dec. 31 show the two Republican candidates vying for the position of Precinct 2 Harris County commissioner in the primary election both raised just short of $75,000.

The gist: The total between the two Republican candidates equates to roughly 30% of contributions that incumbent Democratic candidate Adrian Garcia has received.

On the ballot: Republican candidates Raquel Hernandez Boujourne and Richard Vega are running for the position in the primary election and filed their reports with the Harris County Clerk’s Election Office.

Vega brought in the bulk of donations between the two candidates—with a recorded $70,380. Boujourne totaled $4,364.28 in her campaign donations.

Also of note: Garcia, who first assumed office in 2018, is running unopposed in the Democratic primary. His current term ends Dec. 31, 2026. The elected winner in the Republican primary will face Garcia in November. Garcia’s campaign donation total equaled $249,110.62, according to campaign reports.