Bellaire officials broke ground two months ago on a long-range planning effort for the city's new regional flood mitigation project, known as the Cypress Ditch project. Now, more dirt is being moved as contractors take the first steps toward site demolition.

Latest update: City Manager Sharon Citino said during a July 20 city council meeting that contractors for the project have been mobilized to begin preparing the area, infrastructure and facilities along Beechnut Street for demolition, the first step of the project.

Citino said site preparation includes removing the dirt and landscaping materials south of Beechnut Street first before contractors remove the buildings and work their way north to remove the vacant car wash facility nearby. This portion of the project is expected to take approximately three months, city officials said.

According to a July 20 update, the removal does include the installation of silt protection for nearby storm drains during the demolition process.

Lifestyle brand Hill House Home is opening its first boutique in Houston, according to a July 24 news release from Rice Real Estate Company.

Zooming in: The location is set to move into Rice Village’s 300,000-square-foot shopping district, which contains more than 60 premier merchants in one of the central pockets of Greater Houston.

Check this out: Founded in 2016 by designer Nell Diamond, the apparel store interweaves its romantic, heritage-inspired aesthetic into its vast selection of dresses, swimwear, bridal wear, pajamas, robes, accessories, kids and baby clothing. Per details from its website, Hill House is most commonly known for its signature Nap Dress, which utilizes soft fabric to create a “comfortable” fit that is fashionable for both day and night wear.

The boutique will open at 2515 University Blvd., Houston, sometime in the fall, according to a post on Hill House’s official Instagram.

2515 University Blvd., Houston2515 University Blvd., Houston

The FIFA World Cup 2026 Houston Host Committee released statistics July 22 on how the city performed during the tournament and its associated events.

The breakdown: The report included specific metrics related to attendance, transportation, public safety and operational data throughout the seven match days, 39-day fan festival and other related events such as the Houston Dynamo Soccer Celebration.

• 1,086,499 participants attended FIFA World Cup 2026 events in Houston
• 480,186 fans attended matches at Houston Stadium (68,598 per match)
• 81% of all ticket buyers traveled from outside the Houston area, with 44% of buyers being international

Harris County Commissioners will meet July 30 after a week of budget hearings to discuss moving forward on a number of road and flood mitigation projects.

The breakdown: According to agenda documents, commissioners will go over 228 items including hearing financial reports from five Harris County Emergency Services Districts. Commissioners will also discuss next steps and approve moving forward on several flood control and transportation projects across the county including:

• North Eldridge Parkway widening
• Meyergrove Stormwater Detention Basin, Phase 2
• Lakeshore subdivision improvements
• Halls Bayou Channel Conveyance Improvements, Phase 2

Texas’ power grid operator and regulator have laid out their plans to regulate data centers that connect to the state grid and ensure data center companies, not residents, pay for the industry’s growth.

What's happening: To shield Texans from the negative impacts of data center growth, the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas are:

• Prohibiting data centers from taking existing power resources off the grid
• Launching a new process to evaluate large projects looking to connect to the grid
• Creating standards that large consumers must meet before joining the grid
• Developing incentives for large consumers to reduce their energy use ahead of a grid emergency
• Requiring large companies to pay for the grid infrastructure needed to serve them
• Improving ERCOT’s process for projecting future demand