The Chick-fil-A location in Valley Ranch Town Center has reopened after renovations were made to the store's drive-thru, said a spokesperson for Chick-fil-A via email July 31.

Looking back: The restaurant closed July 27-28 and reopened July 29. New automatic drive-thru doors—which are expected to make service more efficient—were installed at the Chick-fil-A location, the spokesperson said. The restaurant is owned by Zack Derelioglu.

What they offer: 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.

• 11877 Grand Parkway, New Caney

All New Caney ISD students will be welcomed back to campuses Aug. 6, but the start of the school day will be different for elementary, middle and high school students, according to the district's website. 

In a nutshell: The school day for NCISD elementary school students will run from 8:30 a.m.-3:55 p.m., according to NCISD’s website. Bell times include:

• Doors open: 7:45 a.m.
• Tardy bell: 8:30 a.m.
• School day ends: 3:55 p.m.

• Doors open: 6:30 a.m.
• Tardy bell: 7 a.m.
• School day ends: 2:25 p.m.

• Doors open: 7:15 a.m.
• Tardy bell: 7:40 a.m.
• School day ends: 3:20 p.m.

Montgomery County officials learned a federal grant will be available to help cover costs from the Pauline Road Fire, which affected 2,360 acres in the county in March 2025.

During the July 23 Montgomery County Commissioners Court meeting, Jason Millsaps, executive director for the county’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said a fire management assistance grant, or FMAG, for $40,379 approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in March was in the process of being finalized.

Another detail: Millsaps also shared a plan for mobile emergency response barriers to better implement traffic safety measures.

What else: Continuing an ongoing Commissioners Court discussion regarding the location for a new jail, Doolittle proposed the building of a new jail facility by the current jail on 41 acres by the Montgomery County Mental Health Facility located at 700 Hilbig Road.

Need to catch up on Community Impact’s coverage from this week? Check out these trending stories across the northern portion of the Greater Houston area from July 27-31.

1. Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce to relocate to Cypress

2. Magnolia, Brookshire among HAR’s Q2 list of Houston’s hottest communities

3. Latin-owned, Eden Coffee & Tea now open Jersey Village

4. Colombian coffee, boba tea: Check out the newest beverage spots in Cy-Fair

5. See 28 restaurants taking part in Houston Restaurant Weeks in The Woodlands area

This summer, Texas is launching a new process to study the viability of data centers and other large projects seeking to connect to the state’s power grid. The process’ strict requirements could deter major industrial projects from coming to the state, experts warn.

The overview: The Electric Reliability Commission of Texas’ new "batch study process" will require that large projects be evaluated in groups, rather than individually. The process was developed in response to Texas’ data center boom.

What they're saying: All projects that would use at least 75 megawatts of electricity will be required to participate in the batch process—including industrial and hydrogen production facilities. However, industrial and manufacturing projects operate differently from data centers and may not be able to meet some of the batch requirements, industry representatives said July 29.

In a state that works to attract major companies and bills itself as business-friendly, that’s a concern, lawmakers said.

"Where are y'all at on trying to differentiate those types of traditional, enterprise, big commercial, large load projects?" Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, asked.