HTX-KTY: Impact 10/13/2025

Following concerns from Sheriff Eric Fagan, Fort Bend County commissioners unanimously voted to approve the creation of a committee to review police salaries at an Oct. 9 meeting.

Zooming in: According to agenda documents, the seven-person committee, dubbed the Blue Ribbon Committee, will consist of one person nominated by several departments.

Why it matters: The request is part of a trend in police departments citywide requesting pay raises following an $832 million agreement by Houston City Council to raise police pay by 36.5% over the next five years.

What’s next? Commissioners asked County Judge KP George to add nominations to the agenda for the next regular session of Commissioners Court, scheduled for Oct. 23.

Fruity Temptations, an eatery which prioritizes freshness, is now serving spicy and sweet specialty drinks, street tacos and nachos in Katy. 

On the menu: Along with tacos, the menu features other food items such as hot dogs, hamburgers, quesadillas and Mexican corn, according to its website. Customers can also order chopped fruit served with lemon, salt and Tajin as well as specialty drinks like Mangonada or Tamarindo Loco. 

• 1165 Katy Fort Bend Road, Ste. 140, Katy

Fort Bend Epicenter could see a full-service, first-class hotel and convention center after only three years in operation in Rosenberg.

Zooming in: At a Sept. 23 meeting, Rosenberg City Council heard a presentation on a $236 million expansion to Fort Bend County’s EpiCenter—a project that would bring a full-service, first-class flag hotel and convention center to the city, with hopes of adding retail space in the future.

Key project components include:

• A 218-room full-service, first-class flag hotel
• A 70,000-square-foot convention center
• Two parking garages, totaling 2,600 spaces

Home affordability in the Houston region has a more balanced position in the September housing affordability report from the Houston Association of Realtors.

At a glance: Single-family homes priced from $250,000 to $499,999, which accounted for more than 55% of all September sales, experienced a 1.3% decline compared to the same time last year, according to the report.

Digging deeper: The median home price was $327,000, which is 2.1% less than last year’s figure. The average price inched up 2% to $421,655, largely due to a rise in luxury home sales in September, per the release.

Quote of note: “The past few months have brought lower mortgage rates, and it has helped boost buyer confidence,” HAR Chair Shae Cottar with LPT Realty said in a statement.

Texas’ power grid is unlikely to have issues this December, according to an Oct. 3 report by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.

The details: During the winter, demand for electricity spikes when people get up in the morning and return home in the evening. This December, the tightest period is expected to be from 7-8 a.m. each day, when little to no solar power is being produced. ERCOT found that there will be a 1.81% chance of a grid emergency during that time.

“Under typical grid conditions, the deterministic scenario indicates that there should be sufficient generating capacity available," the report reads.

The background: Texas' grid withstood three cold snaps early this year. ERCOT last asked residents to voluntarily reduce their energy use in January 2024.

Legislative approach: State lawmakers approved legislation this spring that is designed to make the grid more reliable by tightening regulations on large electric consumers, such as data centers. In extreme grid conditions, those customers will be required to switch to backup power to reduce strain on the grid.