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Local law enforcement and officials with Cy-Fair ISD are urging parents to avoid purchasing and allowing students to use high-powered motorized vehicles marketed as e-bikes due to a number of safety concerns.

The big picture: As electric mobility devices have gained popularity among kids and teens, the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable’s office is asking school districts to prohibit the use of unregistered motorized vehicles such as electric minibikes, pocket bikes, electric dirt bikes and motorcycles on district property.

Cy-Fair ISD Superintendent Doug Killian said the district is now “strongly discouraging” the use of motorized vehicles which do not require pedalling and can exceed 28 miles per hour.

Quote of note: “As these vehicles become increasingly common, our deputies continue to encounter juveniles operating them on public roadways and have responded to crashes involving children,” Constable Mark Herman said. “Our goal is to work collaboratively with our local school districts to enhance student safety through education, awareness, and proactive policies.”

Jersey Village City Council approved a tax rate increase of $0.003 compared to the previous tax year, alongside the fiscal year 2026-27 budget during the Aug. 18 regular meeting in a 4-1 vote with Council Member Brian McCauley opposed.

Latest update: Council approved a property tax rate of $0.817625 per $100 of valuation for FY 2026-27.

Finance Director Jennifer Brown said it can be difficult to get around a tax increase, as even just a cent over the no new revenue rate receives the same state required tax increase language as a higher increase.

“Considerable efforts were made to the budget to try to do our best to minimize any increase of the tax rate, but at the same time, provide the level of services that are [currently] being provided,” Council Member Simon Hughes said.

A closer look: City Manager Austin Bleess said the projected FY 2026-27 budget will open with just under $12.6 million in fund balance and will close out the fiscal year with $4.73 million, which is above the required reserve amounts.

The Cypress Creek watershed is receiving 793 acre-feet of additional stormwater storage capacity, with the goal of reducing flooding risks. 

At a glance: Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey, Harris County Flood Control District Director Marcus Stuckett and other officials announced a $18.6 million construction contract that will increase the watershed’s capacity at a groundbreaking ceremony held Aug. 19.

The watershed will connect with the T.C. Jester Stormwater Detention Basin, which is estimated to have 1,200 acre-feet of stormwater storage capacity upon completion, Stuckett said.

The impact: Jim Robertson, chairman of the Cypress Creek Greenway Project, told Community Impact the watershed deals with “very significant” flooding, which the region experienced during the Tax Day Flood in 2016 and Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

St. Luke’s Health will add its parent company to its name in October as it expands its partnership with Baylor School of Medicine, officials announced in an Aug. 17 news release.

Read all about it: The name addition aims to unite and emphasize the shared values between St. Luke’s Health and CommonSpirit Health, a faith-based healthcare provider that serves as a parent company for over 2,300 care sites in the nation, according to the release. 

The name change also aims to bridge the local and national networks.

Zooming out: Over the past year, Baylor School of Medicine and St. Luke’s have also expanded their partnership to invite more Baylor specialists to join St. Luke’s. 

Harris Health, the county’s public healthcare provider, proposed a tax rate increase for the upcoming fiscal year to the Commissioners Court Aug. 17.

The background: Victoria Nikitin, Harris Health’s chief financial officer, asked the court to consider a $0.1 increase to last year’s revenue rate. Harris Health also proposed receiving $10 million from the county, which would be broken into $6 million in “waived revenue” and a $4 million placeholder in operating expenses to support county services.

“This budget is a really tight one for us in the sense that we are still having a lot of processes that are in flight, related to technology and other strategic initiatives...but the majority of that is really due to inflation,” Nikitin said.

Stay tuned: If approved, the rate would go into effect Oct. 1, when the new fiscal year begins.