Katy ISD officials will move forward with an infrastructure improvement project at Lester Reinecker II East Transportation Center’s access road.

In a nutshell: At an April 20 meeting, the Katy ISD board of trustees approved a nearly $1.59 million contract with Stewart Builders LLC. The project will replace the current asphalt and concrete roadway with a new concrete pavement and sidewalks along Transportation Drive from Greenhouse Road to the center.

The project will also add drainage improvements along access roads serving Mayde Creek Junior High School, Mayde Creek High School and the transportation facility.

The cost: The improvements will be funded by the $840.6 million bond, which was approved by 95% of voters in November 2023, Community Impact reported.

Moving forward: The project is expected to be completed in August, per agenda documents.

Racket Social Club has opened its second Greater Houston location in Katy, manager Franco Barrella confirmed.

What they offer: Designed as a way for people to hang out and meet new friends, Barrella said the club specializes in padel, a sport similar to tennis and pickleball that incorporates a smaller court, tall ceilings and enclosed walls to prevent the ball from leaving the playing space.

The indoor padel club offers five climate-controlled courts as well as a pro shop, upscale snack bar and stretch-out area, according to its website. Classes are also available as well as leagues for more advanced players.

Zooming out: The club has three other locations including one near Willowbrook Mall at 12825 1/2 Cutten Road, per its website. The Willowbrook location has four outdoor padel courts and two outdoor pickleball courts.

• 21676 FM 1093, Richmond

With state deadlines inching closer, the Harris County Flood Control District is chipping away at dozens of grant-funded flood recovery and mitigation projects—but county leaders believe pace of work and public transparency could be improved.

What you need to know: In an April 16 update to Commissioners Court, HCFCD Executive Director Tina Petersen shared the status of local flood projects funded with Community Development Block Grants for disaster recovery and mitigation, also known as CDBG-DR and CDBG-MIT.

At least 14 projects are still in the design phase as of April 1, per the report. Seven of the 11 disaster recovery projects are under construction, and three of 17 total mitigation projects have been awarded contracts. 

Why it matters: The flood control district must spend all CDBG-DR dollars by February 2027 and CDBG-MIT dollars by March 2028 or lose the funding.

The action taken: Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey called for HCFCD to provide monthly reports to Commissioners Court detailing for specific construction and financial updates for each project. The first report is expected May 1.

The final phase of ticket sales for the 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament will drop April 22 at 10 a.m. on a first-come, first-served basis. The drop coincides with the 50-day countdown to the tournament.

What to expect: Tickets across all 104 matches, including the seven held in Houston this summer, will be made available for public purchase on the FIFA website, according to an April 21 news release.

Fans can choose tickets from across categories 1 to 3 and the front-row seat categories, depending on the match. Along with this ticket set, additional tickets will continue to be released to the public on an ongoing basis up until the final match July 19 in New Jersey.

Something to note: Ticket demand for the 2026 FIFA World Cup has been the highest in history. Over 5 million tickets have already been sold, leaving roughly 2 million seats left across the 16 World Cup stadiums.

Thousands of students who live in the Greater Houston area public school boundaries are attending another district or a charter school during the 2025-26 school year, with Houston, Alief and Fort Bend ISDs seeing the highest numbers, according to Texas Education Agency data released March 5.

The overview: Community Impact reviewed TEA data from the 2025-26 school year to determine the number of students departing public school districts and where they were transferring. 

By the numbers: The data from 28 Greater Houston school districts shows the ones with the highest transfer numbers were:

• Houston ISD with 60,430 net transfers out

• Alief ISD with 10,629 net transfers out

• Fort Bend ISD with 9,197 net transfers out

• Cypress-Fairbanks ISD with 7,075 net transfers out

• Aldine ISD with 6,620 net transfers out

Also of note: The data also shows some school districts saw a net increase in enrollment from transfers in 2025-26, including Deer Park, Friendswood, Galena Park and Montgomery ISDs.