As early voting begins Feb. 17, here is everything voters in Tomball and Magnolia need to know ahead of the March 3 election.

What residents should know: For the upcoming election, voters should note the following dates:

• Feb. 17: First day of early voting
• Feb. 20: Last day to apply for ballot by mail (received, not postmarked)
• Feb. 27: Last day of early voting
• March 3: Election day and the last day to receive ballot by mail (or Nov. 5 if carrier envelope is postmarked by 7 p.m. at location of election)

From The Ashes Theatre Company expanded into its first new permanent location, according to a Feb. 1 news release.

Diving in deeper: Already having performed in locations like the MATCH and Stageworks Theatre, From the Ashes Theatre performed in its new location with the show “AI Love You,” presented on Feb. 12-15.

• 16668 Champion Forest Drive, Spring

Montgomery County Community Foundation has tapped Ashley Logan as its next president and chief executive officer, according to a Feb. 11  news release from the foundation’s board. 

Logan is set to begin in March, replacing retiring President and CEO Julie Martineau.

Some context:  Logan brings more than 15 years of nonprofit experience and holds the Certified Fundraising Executive credential, the release states. Most recently, she worked at the Montgomery County Food Bank, where she served as director of development and, later, head of grants and foundation giving.

Her philanthropy work began with service as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Republic of Panama, where she developed and funded humanitarian projects, according to the release. A California native, Logan earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Logan will take over after Martineau’s 8 1/2-year tenure, during which the foundation’s endowment corpus grew 157% to more than $17.5 million, while grants and scholarships increased 151%, according to the release. 

Harris County voters will be able to start casting ballots on Feb. 17 across a number of county, state and federal races.

The big picture: Early voting for the March 3 primary elections begins Feb. 17 and will run through Feb. 27, according to the Harris County Elections office. During early voting, registered voters will be able to vote at any polling location in the county.

To find the nearest voting center, residents can use the county's interactive map to see 60 different locations. Early voting will run from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. on each day except for Feb. 22, when early voting will be available from noon-7 p.m.

What else? Election day is March 3, and Community Impact will be monitoring and providing updates on early voting and election day results. To see candidate questionnaires and keep up with results, please visit Community Impact's election coverage.

An airline at George Bush Intercontinental Airport will premiere two new nonstop routes to Mexico beginning June 1.

What’s new: Volaris—which opened at IAH in 2015—will launch flight routes from Houston to Querétaro, Mexico, and Puebla, Mexico. Flights will be offered three times per week, and tickets became available for purchase Feb. 3.

Notable quote: “Houston is a key market for the airline, and these connections to Querétaro and Puebla strengthen a network designed to serve the needs of our binational communities,” Volaris Executive Vice President Holger Blankenstein said.

Some context: Volaris also offers flights from Houston to:

• Guadalajara, Mexico
• Mexico City, Mexico
• Morelia, Mexico
• San Luis Potosí, Mexico
• San Salvador, El Salvador

The Houston Texans are setting up shop in Cypress. 

What we know: The NFL franchise is collaborating with Harris County Precincts 3 and 4 and Howard Hughes Holdings to invest $83 million into a new “Toro District” in Bridgeland, which will include new Texans headquarters and training facilities. Harris County commissioners approved the public-private partnership Feb. 12 following a closed-session meeting.

Spanning 83 acres, the mixed-use Toro District will create a destination hub of sports, entertainment, retail, dining, hotels and medical office space in Bridgeland Central, a rapidly growing 925 acres within the Cypress master-planned community.

Funding the project: Portions of the project will be funded through a newly created tax increment reinvestment zone, or TIRZ, which commissioners authorized during the Feb. 12 meeting. Harris County taxpayer dollars will not be used to fund construction of the Texans’ facilities, Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones said. 

More details: The initiative will also allow Harris County to expand administrative services in the area, such as access to voter services, tax filing and vehicle registration, the commissioners said.   

Early in-person voting in Texas’ primary elections begins Feb. 17 and lasts until Feb. 27.

How it works: Texas has an open primary system, where voters decide at the polling place whether to cast ballots in the Democratic or Republican primary. Voters may not participate in both primaries.

What to expect: Voters will be given a ballot with a slate of statewide seats and other races determined by the voting precinct they live in. During early voting, registered voters can visit any polling location in their county.

Candidates who win their primaries will advance to the Nov. 3 midterm election.

Why it matters: Early voting gives registered voters the opportunity to cast their ballots before primary election day March 3.

Voter advocacy groups and experts told Community Impact that a vote in the March primaries is “the most impactful vote” Texans can cast, due to consistently low voter turnout and competition in certain races. Over 18 million Texans are registered to vote, although about one-fifth of registered voters participated in recent primary elections.