In a Dec. 9 Budget & Fiscal Affairs meeting, committee members voted in favor of moving forward with an amendment that will require city officials and the mayor’s administration to be more transparent on changes made to major infrastructure projects within each district.

The approval allows the ordinance to be placed on a future City Council agenda for a vote.

What’s happening: Council member Julian Ramirez first proposed the amendment in June, along with two other related proposals to the city’s $16.7 billion Capital Improvement Plan. The three amendments are intended to create more transparency when changes are made to major projects, including:

• Requiring monthly reports to every council member on project changes, such as delays, cancellations or alterations
• The potential to request a public hearing on proposed changes
• Allowing council members to object and vote on changes

Residents living around the Bayou Greenways Park may see a metal gate with a "closed for repairs" sign wrapped around the playground at Stude Park, as officials with the Memorial Heights Redevelopment Authority and Houston Parks Board begin to look at replacing the structure.

What we know: The redevelopment authority is working with landscape architects at SWA Group to design and build improvements within Stude Park. Sherry Weesner, president of the redevelopment authority, said the first phase of the plan is to replace the playground, which is a roughly $1.2 million project that is currently in the design phase.

The process is also anticipated to include overall improvements to Stude Park's connectivity, usability and safety, as well as changes to the adjacent green space network.

Get involved: Officials with the TIRZ board launched a public engagement survey to receive feedback from residents on what other long-term improvements they would like to see at the park.

Weesner said the survey is anticipated to remain open until the end of 2025.

When Harris County commissioners meet Dec. 11, they’ll review several agenda items on the docket, including updates on the county jail and discussions on renewing full property tax exemptions for child care providers and tackling countywide food insecurity.

The context: Items for discussion at the upcoming December court meeting include the reauthorization of full property tax exemptions for eligible child care providers in the county. In 2024, an estimated 327 Harris County child care providers qualified for 100% property tax exemption after Harris County commissioners authorized the exemptions at a March 26, 2024, court meeting.

Also on the agenda: Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones is requesting that Harris County Public Health develop a countywide strategy to address food insecurity, according to her agenda item pending approval. The overall food insecurity rate for Harris County is 18.2% as of 2023, according to Feeding America’s 2025 “Map the Meal Gap” report published May 14. That percentile has risen since 2019, when it was 13.9%—or 644,710 people—according to the 2023 report.

Texas voters will see 18 statewide races on the ballot in 2026.

The overview: Texas will hold Republican and Democratic primary elections on March 3 to determine who will appear on the statewide ballot in November. Texas is one of 17 states with open primaries, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, meaning registered voters can cast their ballots in either primary and do not need to register with a specific party.

What to know: The 18 statewide races on the 2026 primary ballots are:

• U.S. Senate
• Governor
• Lieutenant governor
• Attorney general
• Comptroller of public accounts
• General land commissioner
• Agriculture commissioner
• Railroad commissioner
• Texas Supreme Court, chief justice
• Texas Supreme Court justice, Place 2
• Texas Supreme Court justice, Place 7
• Texas Supreme Court justice, Place 8
• Texas Court of Criminal Appeals judge, Place 3
• Texas Court of Criminal Appeals judge, Place 4
• Texas Court of Criminal Appeals judge, Place 9
• 15th Court of Appeals, chief justice
• 15th Court of Appeals justice, Place 2
• 15th Court of Appeals justice, Place 3