In 2025, Community Impact reporters covered a wide range of in-depth stories, including these 12 topics that landed on the front cover for the Bellaire, Meyerland and West University edition.

Take a look back at the news we covered last year.

January: Houston has gained 162 miles of bike lanes, trails since 2017
February: Talking Tourism: Houston leaders create plans for future upgrades to sports, convention centers
March: Houston's $70M plan to end street homelessness by 2026
April: Funding community growth: West University places $15M bond on May ballot
May: Bellaire's Discovery Center to build $2M nature playground
June: Houston hospitals unite to fight childhood cancer
July: Staying protected: Local homeowners navigate flood insurance options
August: A tale of two districts: Houston ISD state takeover still divisive despite student gains
September: Bellaire to start Cypress Ditch Project after decades of fighting floods
October: New congressional map could impact Inner Loop elections
November: Building the future: Rice University sees record growth with higher education demand
December: Proposed hospital expansion could impact parkland

The founder of Sprinkles Cupcakes announced the immediate and permanent closure of all Sprinkles locations across the country in a recent social media post. 

The context: Candace Nelson founded the cupcake business in 2005 and popularized the idea of the Cupcake ATM. In a video posted on Instagram, Nelson said she sold the company to private equity in 2012 and has no current ownership or operational involvement. 

Latest update: As of Jan. 2, the Sprinkles website is still live, but all bakery locations have been removed, and several pages state “page not found.”   

Airport passengers in the Greater Houston area who are also CLEAR members can utilize new biometric eGates aimed at expediting identity verification at both George Bush Intercontinental and Hobby airports.

Zooming out: While the security identity company CLEAR first announced the national airport partnership program rollout with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration on Aug. 19, Houston Airport officials announced in December that the biometric security gates were in use.

“With this new technology, travelers can verify their identity in under five seconds, bypassing the TSA podium and proceeding directly to physical screening,” a Dec. 9 news release states. 

The big picture: CLEAR officials said in August that the launch efforts will coincide with airports hosting international visitors flying to the U.S. for the FIFA World Cup in 2026.

What they're saying: “With more than 20 million international visitors expected to fly to the U.S. for the tournament — and domestic travel surging through U.S. host cities — checkpoint infrastructure will face unprecedented pressure,” the Aug. 19 news release states.

Missed any Community Impact articles from this week? Check out the top trending stories from Community Impact's coverage areas in Houston from Dec. 29-Jan. 2.

Lone Star College’s Academy for Lifelong Learning opens spring registration for adults 50-plus
Area residents ages 50 and older can explore everything from history and creative writing to hands-on hobbies through Lone Star College System’s Academy for Lifelong Learning, a low-cost program offering classes, activities and social connections across the system’s campuses, as stated in a Lone Star College Dec. 19 news release.

Read the story here.

333 Bar and Grill now open in Montgomery
The restaurant offers drinks and food to customers as well as live shows. The bar was the previous location of The Feed Store Grill and Bar, as previously reported by Community Impact.

Read the story here.