League City City Council will hear the final reading of the city’s proposed $333 million budget and a $0.36355 tax rate per $100 valuation of a home for fiscal year 2026-27.
City Council will vote on whether to officially adopt both the tax rate and budget. City Council unanimously approved the budget’s first reading at its Aug. 25 meeting.

Also of note: The city is proposing a $333 million budget, with public safety as the single largest operational cost, according to city documents.

Also on the agenda: City Council will also consider whether to grant a special use permit to allow for a gas station to be located along the south side of League City Parkway, east of Dakota Avenue and west of Highway 3, according to city documents.

Less than a year after Coconut Grove opened in Kemah in October 2025, the Mexican-fusion restaurant is closing its doors, according to a social media post from the business.

On the menu:Menu items included Mexican-fusion entrees including chicken tortilla soup, fajitas, specialty tacos and quesadillas, among other items.

In case you missed it: Coconut Grove's opening was part of a wider trend of businesses slowly returning to the Hwy. 146 corridor, following a five year project led by the Texas Department of Transportation to widen the highway, according to previous reporting by Community Impact.

📍207 FM 2094, Kemah

The community will have the opportunity to hear lectures from college professors this fall through San Jacinto College’s free evening lecture series running from September through December, according to an Aug. 26 news release from the college.

What you need to know: Each event will begin at 6:30 p.m. with time for conversation followed by a lecture from 7-8 p.m, according to the release.

The details: The fall 2026 schedule includes:

• Sept. 22, “From Akokisa Homeland to Frontier Community: The Early History of the Sheldon, Crosby, Channelview and North Shore Communities,” presented by Cody Pogue, government professor

• Oct. 27, “Echoes in the Night: Tracking Bats in a Major Metropolitan Landscape,” presented by Tyler Olivier, STEM and behavioral sciences department chair

• Nov. 17, “A Behind-the-Scenes View of How a Crime Scene Is Investigated,” presented by Corey Rice, criminal justice professor

• Dec. 8, “Inside the Jazz Combo: Reimagining a Classic Christmas Carol,” presented by Travis Maslen, music professor

With Harris County commissioners set to make budget amendments next week, Commissioner Rodney Ellis is making an appeal for $4.5 million to go toward four community safety programs and strategies.

The big picture: The request is based on a report from Ellis’ office and Georgetown Law’s Center for Innovations in Community Safety. It evaluates results from three county programs, recommending investment to expand and sustain them, in addition to creating a community safety department. The county launched HART, RISE and the domestic violence intervention and prevention programs four years ago, which the report examines.

The context: The Harris County Commissioners Court is facing a $181 million shortfall, as Community Impact previously reported.

Sophie Elsner, senior policy adviser for Ellis’ office, said the county’s deficit will continue to grow if there is no change to how money is spent. About 60% of the budget goes toward the criminal justice system, which includes law enforcement, courts, prosecution and defense, she said.

Texas senators indicated Sept. 1 that they intend to tighten regulations on data centers during next year’s legislative session, which begins in January.

What they're saying: “I think every member's district has had an impact from a data center conversation, so there will be plenty of bills trying to put things in place that are reasonable, responsible regulatory frameworks for data centers,” state Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, said.

The big picture: With some Texas residents and conservation groups sounding the alarm about water-intensive technologies used by some data centers, state agencies have warned that limited information is available on how much water the industry actually uses. Officials said they have also had trouble determining exactly how many data centers are operating in the state today, as there is no “comprehensive statewide list” of existing and planned facilities.

Estimates from state agencies and the University of Texas at Austin suggest that roughly 370 data centers are currently operating in Texas, with about 100 facilities under construction and another 180 being proposed.