On Dec. 17, Houston City Council opted to postpone a decision on whether to use $30 million of the city’s Storm Water Fund to demolish dilapidated buildings throughout the city.

The overview: The $30 million Houston Public Works projects would impact “dangerous buildings throughout the city,” and include assessing buildings, getting rid of asbestos, removing hazardous materials and demolishing structures. City Council considered three contracts with firms for the projects before pushing the decision to a future meeting.

Dive deeper: Each Houston City Council district has at least one building included in the work recommended by Houston Public Works. However, 86% of the buildings are located in districts B, D, I and H with the totals being:

• 112 buildings in District B
• 86 buildings in District D
• 50 buildings in District I
• 48 buildings in District H

Officials with Sambrooks Hospitality first announced in September that Candente would replace the former Mandito's Tex-Mex restaurant in Bellaire and open as the restaurant's second location, following its original outpost in Montrose, which has been operating since 2019.

“It’s a privilege to open in Bellaire and get to know and serve a new clientele,” Sambrooks said. “We’re excited to introduce our style of authentic, handcrafted Tex-Mex that has made us a Houston dining staple.”

What they offer: The Bellaire location will serve lunch, dinner and weekend brunch.

According to the news release, the restaurant's menu is identical to Montrose with customer favorites such as the house nachos, chile con queso, tortilla soup, Frito pie and ceviche, as well as birria tacos, chile gravy enchiladas and carne guisada. Large entrees also include combo dinners, burritos, enchilada plates and a variety of wood-grilled fajitas.

• 5101 Bellaire Blvd., Bellaire

With the holiday season right around the corner, see what grocery stores in the Houston area will be open and closed Dec. 24-25. This list is not comprehensive.

Trader Joe's

• Dec. 24: 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
• Dec. 25: Closed

• Dec. 24: 6 a.m.-9 p.m. (stores), 9 a.m.-4 p.m. (pharmacy)
• Dec. 25: Closed

• Dec. 24 6 a.m.-8 p.m. (stores), Closes at 5 p.m. (pharmacy),  7 a.m.-7 p.m. (curbside), 7 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (home delivery)
• Dec. 25: closed

A historic 20-story downtown Houston building has officially been renamed and dedicated after the late U.S. Rep and former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner on Dec. 17.

The gist: ​​​​​The Harris County Sylvester Turner Administration building is located at 1010 Lamar St., Houston, and houses Harris County’s Department of Economic Equity and Opportunity and will be the future site for members of the Harris County Attorney’s Office, according to county officials.

Quote of note: Members of Sylvester Turner’s family attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony alongside both the city of Houston and Harris County officials. His daughter Ashley Turner Captain said her father took a lot of pride working with the county.

“Thank you all so much for voting unanimously to honor my dad in this way by naming a building after him,” Captain said. “You know, he took a lot of pride in working closely with the county. That wasn't by accident. He really did feel like we needed to work together as the city of Houston and Harris County.”

Central Texas counties could begin receiving up to $1.25 million each in state funding for flood warning sirens in the coming weeks and months, officials announced Dec. 16.

The overview: The funding comes less than six months after historic flooding hit parts of Central and West Texas over the July 4 weekend, killing at least 137 residents and visitors. During special legislative sessions this summer, state lawmakers approved requirements that 30 counties included in a July disaster declaration install flood warning systems with the help of $50 million in state grants.

Zooming in: Each county is expected to receive up to $1.25 million from the Texas Water Development Board. Counties seeking more money will need their requests approved by the three-member board.

Counties are required to submit detailed project plans to the TWDB and can use the grants to install physical infrastructure such as sirens, rain gauges, flood gauges and solar panels to power the warning systems. The money can also be used for local flood education, outreach and training programs, TWDB staff said.