HTX-BAY: Impact 9/10/2025

If asked as a child what type of store she wanted to open, Taylor Norton would have replied a bookstore. She described her younger self as a girly girl who was interested in fashion—but had no intentions of owning a boutique.

However, once she entered the retail scene, she fell in love with it. 

The backstory: Norton opened MaKenzie Layne five years ago in League City, and she’s on a mission to inspire confidence in others through their closet.

Quote of note: “I say all the time, it takes a very special breed, but once you are in it and you love it, it just never leaves your blood. … I think there is something special about being a part of people's lives in such a way,” Norton said. 

📍1830 W. Main St., League City

Tex-Mex restaurant Margarita Jones is looking to open its second ever location in Seabrook by the end of September, an employee with the business said.

What they offer: The restaurant offers daily specials, as well as tacos, soups, enchiladas, seafood and other traditional dishes, among other items, according to its menu.
📍1818 NASA Road 1, Seabrook

Austin-based private school Alpha School is aiming to expedite learning for more students using artificial intelligence at new academies opening across the country.

What happened: On Sept. 9, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon visited Alpha School in Austin alongside Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath. Alpha School co-founder MacKenzie Price highlighted how the school is using AI to personalize and improve students’ education.

What they're saying: “It's the most exciting thing I've seen in education in a long time,” McMahon said about Alpha School. “I'm incredibly enthusiastic about this.”

How it works: Students complete their academic learning in two hours each day using an AI platform known as 2 Hour Learning. Price said the Alpha School model enables students to learn twice as fast as they would in a traditional school setting.

The update: Alpha School opened several new academies across the United States this school year, including a K-3 school in Plano and K-8 school in Fort Worth. The company is planning to open an academy in Houston this winter.

An increasing jail population, slower case processing and increasing court backlog delays are among the potential consequences Harris County judges and other judicial officials warned commissioners about Sept. 9 if several initiatives go unfunded.

The context: Harris County commissioners and department leaders are weighing how to offset at least $102 million in cuts before adopting the fiscal year 2025-26 budget on Sept. 18.

More details: Harris County Criminal Court Judge Stacy Barrow serves on the 487th district court and asked Commissioners Court to fund $2.2 million toward the associate judge program, which covers 12 staff positions and serves several court functions, judges said, including assisting with case processing, handling bond cases and covering court dockets during weekends and holiday shifts.

 “Our request today is [for] Commissioners Court is to partner with us in progress to fund the felony associate judge program for an additional year in response to the shift in [the] criminal justice landscape," Barrow said.