The Chick-fil-A location in Valley Ranch Town Center will be closed July 27-28 for renovations to the store's drive-thru, according to a July 25 social media post from the business. The restaurant is expected to reopen July 29.

Craving chicken? Chick-fil-A serves fried and grilled chicken sandwiches, nuggets and salads, according to the company's website. The restaurant also offers wraps, milkshakes, lemonade and waffle fries.

Remember this? The Chick-fil-A in VRTC also underwent a remodel in April 2025, as previously reported by Community Impact.

• 11877 Grand Parkway, New Caney

Pat’s Donuts’ newest location in New Caney is expected to be completed by December, said a spokesperson for the business via message July 22. Construction on the store kicked off May 5.

Learn more: Pat's Donuts sells doughnuts, pastries and breakfast foods—such as tacos, kolaches and croissant sandwiches—according to the company's website. Iced and hot coffee, cappuccinos and other drinks are also available.

• Opening date TBA
• 23487 Hwy. 242, New Caney

Montgomery County Commissioners remained conflicted on how much funding to go for in a potential bond for the construction of a new justice center as the Aug. 6 deadline to call the election approaches.

By the numbers: Out of several scenarios, Budget Officer Amanda Carter said the preliminary bond number should fall between $300-$400 million. One option for a $300 million bond election in November 2026, would cause a $0.0137 increase in the debt service tax rate. For the $400 million scenario, the rate increase would be $0.0180; going from $0.0445 cents in 2026 and 2027 to $0.0625 in 2028.

A $350 million bond would be a $0.0160 tax rate increase by 2029, John Robuck, financial advisor for the county, BOK Financial Securities, Inc. said. Tax rates are also being evaluated and compared for different home values ranging from $100,000-$600,000.

The timeline: The two bond election timelines available are for November 2026 and May 2027.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire announced July 23 that the city is giving away 10,000 free tickets to watch the Houston Dynamo and Dash teams play at Shell Energy Stadium.

The setup: The new civic collaboration comes after Houston closed out hosting seven matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and a 39-day fan festival. Whitmire said city officials and their partners now want to focus on growing the game of soccer locally using the momentum from the success of the tournament.

How it works: Residents can visit the Dynamo website to see games for the remainder of the 2026 season for both the men's and women's teams from July through September. To receive the free tickets, they can use the code HOUSTON26 at the official First Match On Us portal on the website. Jessica O'Neill, president of business operations for Dynamo Dash, said there are up to two free tickets per person until availability runs out. Houston officials will also provide printed tickets to community partners to give out to residents.

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