In a unanimous decision Nov. 17, Bellaire City Council members voted to add a new section to an existing ordinance that now regulates the use of streets, sidewalks and public places.

What residents need to know: According to the agenda item, the new section will prohibit the following activities on all public sidewalks in the city of Bellaire, including:

• The use of motorized vehicles
• Placement of personal items
• Sitting or lying down on a public sidewalk

Giving Machines are returning to Houston this holiday season, allowing residents to donate to area nonprofits by purchasing items through the specialty vending machines, according to a news release.

Quote of note: “This Christmas season, the Giving Machines help the entire Houston community to share the light of Christ by following His example and giving to those in need,” Elder Robert Ellis, Area Seventy for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said via news release. “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is honored to partner with these life-changing charities across Houston, our country, and the world."

More details: Residents can purchase items such as meals, medical care and clothing for area nonprofits, which, according to the news release, will include:

• Target Hunger
• East Fort Bend Human Needs Ministry
• BEAR, or Be A Resource
• TOMAGWA HealthCare Ministries
• Interfaith of The Woodlands
• Church World Service
• Splash International

Houston City Council on Nov. 19 approved a nearly $9 million purchase of new police and public works vehicles, adding 70 more to the city’s fleet.

In a nutshell: During its Nov. 19 regular meeting, City Council approved the purchase of 30 new emergency vehicles for the Houston Police Department, totaling approximately $1.3 million, according to agenda documents.

Funding sources from the fiscal year 2025-26 budget include $1.3 million from the Police Consolidated Construction Fund and $1,800 from the general fund, per city documents.

Also of note: The city will also purchase 40 new vehicles for the Houston Public Works Department, totaling approximately $7.6 million. The vehicles will replace older public works vehicles as well as add to the fleet, according to city documents.

The HPW vehicles—set to last for the next seven years—will be used for environmental inspections, traffic and drainage field work and Houston Water operations, among other city needs.

Harris County officials announced the launch of a new online platform designed to make it easier for business and property owners to process tax payments ahead of tax bills arriving in the mail throughout November.

Quote of note: Tax Assessor Annette Ramirez announced the new online system launch of “My Harris County Tax Account” on Nov. 19 in Downtown Houston.

“Anything that we can do to make it easier to help our homeowners stay current on their taxes and not go delinquent, that is my goal,” Ramirez said.

What to expect: Key features on the new platform will include:

• Prepayment plans for 2026 taxes starting in February or March
• Automatic monthly payment withdrawals to avoid penalties and interest

The takeaway: Users can now create a profile on the new tax site, Ramirez said, and starting in February, homeowners and business owners can start a prepaid tax payment plan and choose how many months in advance to spread payments automatically.  

Google is targeting Texas for future investments in data and artificial infrastructure, with $40 billion expected to be spent on adding three new data centers.

Federal, state and local leaders announced the new centers to be constructed in Armstrong and Haskell counties at a Nov. 14 event at the first Texas Google Data Center in Midlothian, near the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The gist: One new data center will be constructed in Armstrong County near Amarillo, and two new data centers will be constructed in Haskell County near Abilene. One center in Haskell County will also use a new solar and battery energy storage plant.

“They say that everything is bigger in Texas—and that certainly applies to the golden opportunity with AI,” Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said.

Also of note: The driverless car company Waymo is expanding to North Texas in 2026, Pichai said.