During its Sept. 28 meeting, the Oak Ridge North City Council accepted a certificate of substantial completion on its new city hall from Identity Built LLC and approved a $64,333 payment for horizontal improvements on the site.

A closer look: The city council approved the city hall project in late 2024, with work scheduled to begin after the Robinson Road realignment project is completed. The certificate of substantial completion concerns underground infrastructure at the future city hall site. The $64,333 payment covers site work, including:

• Paving
• Drainage
• Related infrastructure

Also on the agenda: The council passed an ordinance regarding the lead content of plumbing connected to the city's water system to align with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality standards. Additionally, the council approved a $26,852.50 payment for repairs to the Marilyn Edgar Park Pool.

Andy’s Cleaners & Alterations announced in September that it has opened a new 3,000-square-foot location at 2100 Buckthorne Place in Grogan’s Mill Village in The Woodlands. The business opened its first location on Robinson Road in 2020 and also has a location on Rayford Road. The new location features:

• Private fitting rooms
• An upscale customer lobby
• A dedicated alterations workroom

What they offer: Co-owner Michelle Zeck leads the alterations department alongside three professional tailors specializing in fittings, alterations and custom garment work. The business also features a three-lane covered drive-through service with valets during business hours, along with 24-hour automated kiosks for convenient garment drop-off and pickup, available seven days a week.

Green Pulse Spinning is now open and offering spin classes in Spring as of Sept. 26, according to Jamese Morgan, director & Coordinator for Green Pulse Spinning.

The gist: Located at 602 Rayford Road, the business offers spin classes designed to help participants disconnect from stress. According to its website, the classes feature:

• Powerful music

• High energy

• Movement

• Community

Texas school districts using the state-developed Bluebonnet Learning curriculum saw slightly better year-over-year achievement last school year than other districts, according to Texas Education Agency data released Sept. 30.

What's happening: During the 2025-26 school year, 619 of Texas' roughly 1,200 public school districts opted in to implement at least one of the three Bluebonnet curriculum programs—elementary math, secondary math and elementary language arts.

On this spring's State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness exam, districts using the state-developed math materials saw student improvement that was 0.6 percentage points higher than students in other districts, while districts that implemented the reading materials performed 0.2 percentage points higher on the STAAR than other schools.

What they're saying: The TEA said the gains in student achievement an "encouraging sign of early progress."

Zeph Capo, president of the Texas American Federation of Teachers, a statewide educator union, disagreed, calling the results "rather paltry."

"It may take a few more years to determine if this is a valid trend or simply an anomaly," Capo said in a statement.