HTX-CYP: Impact 9/5/2025

According to an Aug. 27 filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux will be replacing Sam's Boat in Cypress in 2026.

The details: Following the closure of Sam's Boat at the Towne Lake Center in Cypress, Walk-Ons Sports Bistreaux filed a $1.5 million renovation plan for the location with TDLR on Aug. 27. The sports bar and restaurant offers a variety of craft beers, cocktails, appetizers and entrees such as cajun quesadillas and blackened chicken alfredo.

• 9955 Barker Cypress Road, Ste. 100, Cypress

Tomball Fire Station No. 5 is now home to Harris County’s first Safe Haven Baby Box, giving parents in crisis a safe and anonymous option to surrender their newborns, founder Monica Kelsey said.

The details: The baby box was dedicated Sept. 2 in partnership with Tomball Fire Rescue, Harris County Emergency Services District No. 15, the city of Tomball and community leaders, including St. Anne Catholic Church and the Cotton Foundation, which funded the installation.

Under Texas’ Safe Haven law, parents may legally surrender infants up to 60 days old at designated facilities. The new baby box—installed in an exterior wall of the fire station—locks automatically once a newborn is placed inside and alerts staff through interior sensors, ensuring immediate care, according to the Safe Haven Baby Box website.

Why it matters: The baby box is the 374th Safe Haven Baby Box in the U.S. and the 12th in Texas, Kelsey, who was herself abandoned at birth and has since championed the program nationwide, said.

A proposed $114,290 annual salary bump for Harris County’s eight elected constables died at Harris County Commissioners Court on Aug. 26 as county leaders continue to develop the fiscal year 2025-26 budget.

In a nutshell: Harris County commissioners considered a proposed 64% salary increase for the county’s eight elected constables, which would raise their annual salary to $292,796. Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia proposed granting the constables the raise if they agree to consolidate their departments’ dispatch and evidence services. However, Garcia’s motion died for lack of a second.

Going forward: When it comes to reviewing salary pay and potential pay raises for elected county officials, such as Harris County’s eight elected constables, officials can pursue such measures through a salary grievance committee.