Fort Bend ISD will move forward with its new special education transportation center to improve efficiency and communication for special education transportation.

In a nutshell: At a March 30 meeting, the Fort Bend ISD board of trustees approved a $7.11 million construction contract with JR Thomas Group Inc. for a Special Education Transportation Center for Excellence aimed to provide specialized transportation operations as well as refine staff effectiveness, coordination and service delivery.

Deputy Superintendent of Operations Kathleen Brown previously said the center would support the district’s growing special education population by consolidating transportation planning and operations staff currently spread across three sites—Julie Rivers, Hodges Bend and Lake Olympia—into one centralized location at 622 Julie Rivers Drive, Sugar Land.

Next steps: Work on the new center is expected to begin in April, with completion expected by October, district officials said.

Sutaria Training and Fitness, or STF Houston, has opened a second gym location in Sugar Land, officials confirmed.

The gist: The strength and conditioning gym offers private and semi-private personal training, as well as nutrition programming and fitness programs for individuals over the age of 65, according to its website.

About the owner: Jay Sutaria, owner and Sugar Land resident of 29 years, told Community Impact he felt like this type of space was missing in the area. He said he built the business to impact those around him, especially the people he grew up with and their parents. 

• 7507 Branford Place, Sugar Land

TSA PreCheck and CLEAR screenings have returned to George Bush Intercontinental Airport, according to an April 2 news release.

The details: Airport officials said standard TSA screenings, TSA PreCheck and CLEAR are currently available at Terminals A, C and E at IAH, but they noted access to TSA PreCheck and CLEAR is not guaranteed and may change day to day based on staffing, per the release.

A closer look: Officials said recent federal action providing back pay to TSA officers has helped staffing levels at the airport, but they noted the federal government shutdown remains ongoing.

Also of note: Officials said passengers needing additional assistance, including those traveling with children or requiring accessibility support, should contact their airline before entering a TSA line.

The Texas power grid is undergoing “generational” growth, experts said during the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ annual summit March 31 in Round Rock. Much of that growth is due to data centers—an industry under scrutiny from state lawmakers as some Texas communities push back against proposed developments.

The big picture: Over 2,000 projects totaling 453,000 megawatts are currently looking to connect to the state grid, ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas said April 1. About 357,000 megawatts of those connection requests are potential data centers, ERCOT documents show.

Looking ahead: Communities should take the lead on discussions about individual data center projects, Vegas told reporters. He said that when “communities that are ready to support those investments,” ERCOT is prepared to help data centers connect to the grid.

During a March 31 discussion on data centers, panelists noted that the projects have an “increasingly high” negative reputation in communities across the state. Austin consultant Eric Goff said developers often need to make commitments to local residents to earn their support for data center proposals.