Officials with the locally owned pizzeria Slice of Venice announced in an Oct. 7 Facebook post that the establishment is closing.

Incase you missed it: Located at 5275 Louetta Road in Spring, the eatery was founded by Inna Klebanskaya in January 2025 to offer authentic Italian cuisine, scratch-made pasta and pizza.

Before you go: The business will phase out its menu items leading up to its final day of operations:

• Scratch-made pasta will be served through Oct. 15.

• Pizzas and salads will be served through Oct. 18.

Voters in Harris County can interact with candidates up for election in November during a virtual open house Oct. 15 from 6-8:30 p.m. The free event is open to the public and is designed to help voters stay civically engaged before early voting begins Oct. 19.

The details: The Howard University Alumni Club of Houston is partnering with several organizations to host the event, including the Urban League of Texas, Houston Area Urban League, CAIR Texas, CAIR Action, LULAC Council 60 and the Greater Houston Coalition for Justice. All candidates running for election in Harris County were invited without fees, fundraising requirements, endorsements or ideological screenings.

• Eighteen candidates running for state, county and judicial seats are expected to participate.

• Confirmed participants include Dana De Van Walker, Gene Wu and Letitia Plummer.

• Attendees can learn about each office through a civics introduction, move between conversations and ask questions directly.

The Harris County Commissioners Court is scheduled to discuss several key county issues, including flood recovery projects and Flock cameras.

In a nutshell: Marcus Stuckett, the Harris County Flood Control District executive director, will provide updates on Hurricane Harvey recovery and flood mitigation projects. This discussion follows a one-year extension announced by Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham for qualifying projects that were at risk of missing a February 2027 deadline.

Also on the agenda: Commissioners will receive a report on the county's use of automated license plate readers, or ALPRs. The report will cover:

• The amount of money spent on ALPRs

• The number and location of the cameras

• A summary of the technology and its use

• Which agencies have access to the data

• How other jurisdictions safeguard ALPR data

The court will also discuss data center development and operations. Harris County has 55 operating, under-construction or planned data centers, which have raised resident concerns regarding utility use, noise and grid reliability.

Mayday Fairs, a Porter-based nonprofit, launched in August to support local firefighters and their families who are experiencing life-altering hardship.

About the organization: Founded by Maxine Cruz and Heather Probst, the organization serves firefighters throughout Harris and Montgomery counties.

The event: The nonprofit will host its first fundraiser, the Mayday Book Fair, on Oct. 17 from 4-8 p.m. at J&Co Vintage Market in Porter. Admission is free, and the event will feature:

• Vendors, a book swap and a silent auction

• Books and book-related items for sale

• A raffle for a new Kindle

Proceeds from the silent auction and the Mayday Fair booth will directly benefit the family of local firefighter Jesse Castillo, who recently died from stage 4 lung cancer.

The Texas comptroller's office is reviewing the finances and spending decisions of four public school districts: Austin, El Paso, Prosper and Barbers Hill ISDs.

The overview: The review was requested by Gov. Greg Abbott in August and will identify whether schools are directing taxpayer dollars toward students, teachers and classrooms over administrative costs, according to information from the two state agencies.

Zooming in: For the 2024-25 school year, the Texas Education Agency gave the selected districts the following financial ratings:

• Austin ISD: B rating; score of 88 (about 69,000 students)

• El Paso ISD: A rating; score of 92 (about 46,000 students)

• Prosper ISD: A rating; score of 94 (about 33,000 students)

• Barbers Hill ISD: A rating; score of 100 (about 8,000 students)

More details: Austin and Prosper ISDs are in Community Impact's coverage areas. According to previous reporting, Austin ISD passed an $887 million general fund budget for fiscal year 2026-27 after making $205 million in gross cuts this summer. Prosper ISD adopted a budget with an expected $42.2 million shortfall.