Following recommendations to revise the heightened property tax rate proposal for fiscal year 2026-27, Bellaire City Council approved an ordinance adjusting the rate and tax levy Oct. 5 after a public hearing.

What happened: Officials adopted a tax rate of $0.4174 per $100 valuation, which will increase the total tax levy for the upcoming year by 2.86%, Chief Financial Officer Terrence Beaman said in the presentation.

This is the same property tax rate that was authorized for the prior year.

How we got here: On Sept. 21, council members unanimously voted to propose a tax rate of $0.4268 per $100 valuation. Immediately following this vote, City Council adopted the FY 2026-27 budget in accordance with the Truth-in-Taxation process.

The budget presumed the proposed tax rate, with allowance for future refinements to be made based on feedback received from the council, per agenda documents.

The shared discussion ultimately led to City Council’s recommendation that city staff revisit the proposed rate and evaluate how the city could maintain a flat tax rate for the new year.

A Swedish candy cart has made its way to Houston.

What is it: Haus Candy, a mobile, vintage-inspired Swedish candy cart, offers a rotating selection of 12-16 pick-and-mix candy varieties.

Pick-and-mix candy is a tradition in Sweden that founders Chelcie and Adam Aldred said they wanted to bring to Houston. Candies vary from sweet to sour, and from foams and gummies to chewy and gel-filled candies. The cart also offers gluten-free and gelatin-free options.

Some flavors include banana toffee, dizzy skulls, happy chews, sour apple and tutti frutti. The candy is imported from Sweden and free of most artificial dyes.

About the owners: Chelcie said she and her husband Adam "have a passion for design and a love for candy."

"We wanted Houston to have Swedish candy the way it's meant to be enjoyed: scooped from a cart with old-school candy shop charm," Chelcie said. "We were shocked when we realized Houston didn't have a Swedish candy cart yet, so we built the first one."

Jones Hall for the Performing Arts celebrated its 60th anniversary and the completion of the venue’s first full-scale renovation.

The gist: Leaders with Houston First, the city of Houston and Houston’s theater district gathered at Jones Hall on Oct. 5 for a tour of the newly renovated theater. Improvements include new seating and aisles, a reimagined lobby, new elevators, increased bathroom facilities and an expanded green room.

Improvements also featured technical and infrastructure renovations backstage, including new, modernized stage automation control.

Other details: Jones Hall is home to the Houston Symphony and other performing arts events. It was founded in 1966 and is named after Jesse Jones, a philanthropist and politician from Tennessee who moved to Houston as an adult.

Greater Houston is hosting several events this October in recognition of breast cancer awareness month. These events, which are subject to change, include:

• Light it up Pink on Oct. 1 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Market Street in The Woodlands, featuring a photo opportunity, a pink tote bag and a light-up baton.

• Pour for Pink on Oct. 1 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Sonoma Wine & Cheese in Katy, featuring a wine and cheese tasting and a mini market.

• In the Pink of Health Luncheon on Oct. 2 from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott to raise money for cancer prevention, education and outreach.

• Annual Breast Cancer Walkathon on Oct. 3 at 10 a.m. at Elizabeth Kaiser Meyer Park in Spring.

The average annual insurance premium for a Texas homeowner rose 79% in six years, from less than $2,000 in 2020 to more than $3,500 this year, Texas Insurance Commissioner Amanda Crawford told state lawmakers Oct. 5.

The overview: The rise in home insurance costs has been caused by severe weather, high inflationary costs impacting home repairs and "the concentration of risk" in the insurance market, Crawford said.

Experts said hardening homes against severe weather could help reduce expensive losses from disasters, resulting in lower insurance premiums.

Zooming in: Proponents of home-hardening incentives have pointed to their success in other Gulf Coast states, such as Alabama. Texas consumer advocacy groups and the insurance industry backed proposals to create a similar grant program last year, according to previous Community Impact reporting, but those measures did not pass.

"Resilience helps homeowners long before it shows up in an insurance bill because a stronger home holds up better when the storm comes," said Chelsea Stallings, a regional vice president for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies.