League City City Council voted 7-1 to amend a mutual aid agreement with the city of Dickinson to increase fees for dispatched emergency medical services at its April 28 meeting.

The backstory: The two cities first entered into the agreement in 2020, under which the requesting party would provide EMS services and later reimburse the other cities, according to city documents.

Digging deeper: However, League City has seen an increase in EMS requests from Dickinson, and the reimbursement rates established in 2020 no longer reflect the cost to League City of maintaining EMS readiness, according to city documents.

Those opposed: Council member Sean Saunders, who voted against increasing the fees, said he understood the city’s decision to charge Dickinson fees due to the large number of calls, but pointed out that other cities do not do so.

J N J In Home Care Services have been operating for a year to serve the Southeast Houston community.

What they offer: The team has over 30 years of experience as certified nursing assistants, and offers "compassionate and dependable in-home care to help individuals maintain their independence and comfort in familiar surroundings," CEO Janet Garner said.

While the in-home care service does not have a brick and mortar location, its serves Webster, Friendswood, Pearland, League City, Kemah, Seabrook and Southeast Houston, Garner said.

The team offers four, six, eight, 10, 12 hours available and 24-hour care services is available, if or when needed.

Greater Houston suburban areas such as Waller, Brookshire and Baytown are trending strong for home sales growth, according to the Houston Association of Realtors' latest Hottest Communities report for the first quarter of 2026.

At a glance: The Huffman area, east of Atascocita, tops the list with a 117.1% increase in home sales since the end of 2025, the report shows. Similarly, transactions in Brookshire, located west of Katy, more than doubled compared to the previous year, and the fast-growing Waller community saw a 99% jump in transactions.

Meyerland, Baytown and Magnolia also showed significant growth in transactions compared to last year. 

The cause: The communities are leading the rankings for home sales due to a combination of new construction and affordability, with seven of the top 10 reporting average home prices under the Houston-area average of $420,510, per an April 27 news release.

Also of note: As for luxury communities—where home prices exceed $1 million—the top-performing areas include Tanglewood, Bellaire and Memorial Villages, all of which are located just outside of Houston's Inner Loop.

Texas residents are increasingly facing damaging storms that drive up home insurance rates and other housing costs. Ahead of the state's 2027 legislative session, consumer advocates and insurance industry representatives are urging lawmakers to consider affordability solutions.

What's happening: The average Texas home insurance premium—the amount paid to an insurance company—was $3,291 in 2024, according to the latest Texas Department of Insurance data. In total, premiums rose about 50% between 2022-24.

Texas’ high propensity for natural disasters has been “the No. 1 driver” behind recent rate increases, said Rich Johnson, a spokesperson for the Insurance Council of Texas.

Stay tuned: While Texas can't legislate itself out of weather risks, lawmakers have considered some policy changes to increase disaster resiliency and boost regulatory oversight of the insurance industry. Proposals range from creating grants to help residents weather-proof their homes to placing limits on future rate hikes.

In the early hours of July 4, 2025, an intense rainstorm pummeled communities in the Texas Hill Country, submerging low-water crossings as segments of the Guadalupe River rose more than 30 feet in 90 minutes. Twenty-seven young campers and counselors died at Camp Mystic, a private Christian girls summer camp located along the river in Hunt.

Those deaths could have been prevented if camp leadership took action sooner or had a written evacuation plan in place, investigators told a panel of state lawmakers tasked with studying the flood response during an April 27 hearing.

Quote of note: “Questions about what should happen next are many, but for me, one thing is clear: This tragedy could have been prevented,” Sen. Pete Flores, R-Pleasanton, said.

Zooming in: Camp Mystic staff had more than two hours to evacuate 386 campers from their cabins, investigator Casey Garrett said.

In violation of state law, the camp did not have a written evacuation plan and counselors were not trained on what to do in an emergency, she said.