A calm blue palette, big windows looking out to the trees and the steady sound of water in an outdoor healing garden—the details are deliberate the moment someone steps inside Children’s Safe Harbor’s new facility, Victoria Constance, executive director and CEO of Children’s Safe Harbor, said.

The impact: A new, expanded Children’s Safe Harbor building in Conroe is now open—an upgrade the nonprofit said will increase how many children and families it can serve, strengthen coordination with investigators and expand prevention training across the community.

Children’s Safe Harbor provides comprehensive, trauma-informed services for children and families from the moment a concern is identified through healing and recovery. Constance said those services include forensic interviewing, family advocacy, mental health counseling and sexual assault nurse medical exams—delivered in a child-focused, multidisciplinary model that prioritizes “justice, healing, and hope,” while guiding non-offending caregivers with resources and advocacy throughout the process.

The two-story, 45,000-square-foot facility was built to support both current demand and long-term growth, Constance said.

Lumos Nail Bar hosted its soft opening on Feb. 11 and plans to have its grand opening in the next few weeks, manager Kevin Do said. The nail bar will offer manicures, pedicures and other self-care spa services to customers.

• 9662 Hwy. 242, Ste. 400, Conroe

The Conroe ISD board of trustees has approved the creation of the Conroe ISD Special Education Parent Advisory Council, or SEPAC, at the Feb. 17 board meeting.

It was established in a 6-1 vote, with trustee Aggie Gambino abstaining.

What to know: Kendra Wiggins, CISD’s executive director of special education, said SEPAC would serve as a collaborative forum between the district and parents or guardians of students receiving special education services and 504 services, which serve students with disabilities who attend schools receiving federal financial assistance, per the Texas Education Agency.

Notable quote: “We want to unite together to make sure that we are providing the best services for our students and that overall we are looking at partnership over complaints and working together on what’s best for our students,” Wiggins said.

With candidate filing now closed, Conroe and Montgomery voters will face a full slate of contested races in May, setting up decisions that will reshape council lineups and, in some cases, bring in brand-new officeholders.

What you need to know: Conroe voters will decide council Places 3, 4 and 5, plus the municipal judge, according to the city’s posted election information. None of the incumbents in the Conroe City Council seats up for election this year are running for reelection, based on the candidate list posted by the city.

Montgomery voters will decide their mayor plus City Council Places 2 and 4.

Also of note: Election day is scheduled forMay 2, with polls open 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Early voting will run from April 20-25 and April 27-28.

The voter registration deadline is April 2, according to the Texas secretary of state.

Single-family sales declined to 4,999 homes compared to a year earlier, when 5,047 homes sold in January 2025, HAR reports. The median home price decreased to $322,045, its lowest level since January 2024, when it stood at $320,000.

What else: The average single-family home price rose 2.8% to $416,722, driven largely by more activity in the luxury market, according to the report. The luxury segment was the strongest-performing sector, with transactions up 15.5% year over year, the report states. As inventory expanded, homes averaged 66 days on the market, up from 61 days in 2025.

Quote of note: “With rates expected to ease a little this year, buyers who have been waiting on the sidelines may start to feel more confident and enter the market. That should help maintain demand and create additional opportunities for sellers throughout the year,” HAR Chair Theresa Hill said.

• 2026 Tour de Houston bike ride set for April 12
• Houston to apply for $80M in federal grants to enhance security at FIFA World Cup
• $617M NRG Energy power plant moves forward at Greens Bayou site, state says
• Houston City College launches workforce connection, reconnect programs
• University of Houston-Downtown to guarantee admission for Houston ISD graduates