During its May 4 meeting, Tomball City Council approved a $135,531 contract regarding the implementation and construction of bollards downtown, as part of special event security improvements.

The discussion: During the workshop portion of the meeting, Public Works Director Drew Huffman told the council that the bollards would be located along Market Street for Pine, Walnut, Elm and Oak streets. Huffman said the entire bollard plan is for the Tomball German Heritage Festivals, which take place annually in March and December.

What else: Huffman said there is no effect of the bollards on the future FM 2920 construction, as concrete and water barricades will continue to be used along Main and Cherry streets.

One more thing: The bollards come out of the ground by hand; they are not hydraulically activated, Huffman said. They can be padlocked, so once they go in, they cannot be removed unless one has the key.

Several businesses have opened around the Tomball and Magnolia area. Check them out below. This list is not comprehensive.

Discount Tire
The location offers online scheduling and includes multiple service bays for car, truck, SUV and trailer tire services. The store also features a seated waiting area with viewing bays into the service area.

• Opened March 17
• 13870 Jordan Lewis Way, Magnolia

• Opened March 26
• 22532 Hwy. 249, Houston

• Opened April 16
• 24225 Kuykendahl Road, Ste. 300, Tomball

From Mother's Day brunch to markets, there are several events to celebrate Mother's Day in the Greater Houston area.

Mother's Day Downtown Conroe Sip & Stroll
This event is designed to pamper mothers with a shopping experience featuring local vendors with handcrafted gifts, jewelry and seasonal finds. The first to arrive will be given a free, limited edition Mother's Day tote bag.

• May 9, 10 a.m.

• Free

• 213 North Thompson St., Conroe

Mother's Day Once Upon a Tea
The Tomball Methodist Church is holding a Mother's Day event with refreshments, games, a flower bar and kids' activities.

• May 9, 10 a.m.-noon

• $20 (per person over 18 years old)

• Tomball Methodist Church, 1603 Baker Drive, Tomball

Mother’s Day Edition screening
Rooftop Cinema Club is celebrating Mother's Day with several screenings including "Mamma Mia!" and "Gilmore Girls."

• May 10, 5 p.m. ("Mamma Mia!’", May 12, 7 p.m. ("Gilmore Girls")

• $19.75-$27

• Uptown Houston, 1700 Post Oak Blvd., Houston

The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on April 28 announced the lineup for its 2026 Performing Arts Series, which offers free admission to live music, film, dance and family-friendly programming, according to a news release.

What to expect: The lineup begins in June and runs through December. Here's a look at the events happening this year:

• June 5: "Lilo and Stitch" screening with a Polynesian dance performance by My Hula Hut
• June 17: The Houston Symphony presents "The Music of Journey"
• June 23: "The Princess Bride" with live score by The Houston Symphony

In a one-year snapshot of Greater Houston attitudes, residents expressed the largest drop in confidence about regional job opportunities in more than 40 years, according to survey results released April 27 from the Kinder Institute for Urban Research.

About the data: Rice University researchers collected nearly 9,000 responses between January and February from residents in Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties.

At a glance: One quarter of residents across all three counties named the economy as the “biggest problem” facing the Houston area this year compared to 16% in 2025, survey results show.

Crime and safety was the second-most commonly identified problem, followed by the cost of housing for Harris County residents and traffic for residents of Fort Bend and Montgomery counties. 

Another detail: The percentage of residents reporting they are “just getting by” or “finding it difficult to get by” increased across all income groups in the past year, survey results show.

Also of note: About 7 in 10 residents expressed concern about the environment’s effects on their health, researchers found. 

On May 26, Texas Republican voters will choose their nominee for the U.S. Senate in a runoff election between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton.

The big picture: The Republican race for U.S. Senate is one of several statewide contests that advanced to May runoffs after no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the March 3 primary election.

Cornyn and Paxton were the two highest-performing candidates in the eight-way primary race, with Cornyn securing 42% of the vote to Paxton's 41%.

At the polls: Early voting in Texas' runoff elections runs from May 18-22, and runoff election day is May 26.

Looking ahead: The winner of the May 26 overtime round will face the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate—state Rep. James Talarico of Austin—in the November midterm election. Third-party and independent candidates may also appear on the November ballot, and the winner of that election will be sworn in to the U.S. Senate in January 2027.