Houston City Council approved an agreement March 25 to treat the city of Bellaire’s sanitary sewer water in exchange for land that will help with flood mitigation.

What this means: Houston will provide sanitary sewer services to Bellaire for the next 100 years in exchange for the Ruffino Hills tract in Bellaire. The agreement also transfers three tracts of land to Bellaire and gives the city a $5.4 million credit for wastewater impact fees.

The city will provide sewer services to Bellaire, averaging 1.6 million gallons per day, with peak flows of up to 6.4 million gallons over two hours, according to the ordinance.

The ordinance also states that Bellaire’s wholesale wastewater service rate will be $1.90 per 1,000 gallons and that when Bellaire connects to Houston’s collection system, Bellaire will be required to pay a one-time impact fee, for which the $5.4 million credit can be applied. 

Some context: The agreement will help address flooding in the area for both cities.

Rice Village visitors can now get a dose of espresso from Ella Coffee in the morning and cocktails by Simone on Sunset in the evening—all in the same place.  

The details: Ella Coffee has relocated to the space where the wine and cocktail bar Simone on Sunset is established, with the two concepts operating at different hours. 

On the menu: Featured menu items listed on Ella Coffee’s website include avocado toast, parfaits and macarons. The shop also sells its signature coffee bean blend for $20 and $38. 

• 2418 Sunset Blvd., Ste. B, Houston

Over the last five years, more than half of public school districts across the Greater Houston area lost students, with one district seeing a more than 15% decline in enrollment, according to Texas Education Agency data released March 6.

The overview: Community Impact analyzed data from the TEA to learn how many students were enrolled at public school districts for the 2025-26 school year compared to the 2021-22 school year. 

Zooming in: The districts with the highest percentage of students gained over the last five years—from 2021-26—are:

• Splendora ISD with 34.6% enrollment growth
• Lamar CISD with 23.3% enrollment growth
• Tomball ISD and New Caney ISD with 14.9% enrollment growth each

• Aldine ISD with 15.4% enrollment decline
• Houston ISD with 13.3% enrollment decline
• Pasadena ISD with 10.5% enrollment decline
• Alief ISD with 10.4% enrollment decline

North Texas and Houston are set to receive a combined $116 million in grants to support public safety efforts ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, according to a March 25 news release from Gov. Greg Abbott’s office.

What it means: The funding will be distributed to the city of Houston and the North Central Texas Council of Governments to support additional safety personnel, equipment and other public safety resources tied to World Cup events, according to the release. The grants are part of the FIFA World Cup Grant Program, which will distribute $625 million to host cities nationwide.

Some context: The 2026 FIFA World Cup will run from June 11 to July 19, with multiple matches scheduled at AT&T Stadium in Arlington and NRG Stadium in Houston. The Dallas-Fort Worth area will host nine matches, which is more than any other U.S. host city, while Houston will host seven, including two knockout-stage games, according to FIFA’s website.