HTX-HRM: Impact 10/7/2025

After losing her eight-month-old daughter in 2019, Margaret Elkins Davis looked for ways to celebrate Isabel’s life. She considered renovating the community center at what her neighborhood liked to call “Pumpkin Park,” where she grew up going as a child and frequently took Isabel and her siblings.

Six years later, Davis is spearheading an $11.2 million renovation and is the founding president of the new nonprofit Friends of Pumpkin Park. 

About the project: For the past few years, Davis has talked with her community and met with officials from the Houston Parks Board and the Houston Parks and Recreation Department to plan out the details of the renovation. 

A few of the renovations include:

• New restroom building
• Redesigned walking trail
• New picnic grove

The new storefront in River Oaks opened this month and sells a variety of products, including designer makeup, expensive fragrances and luxury fashion.

The details: According to an Oct. 6 news release from Carolina Herrera, the nearly 3,000-square-foot store was created to reflect Texan design, showcasing aesthetics such as pink Venetian plaster and marble limestone floors.

The inside decor also features traditional brand designs, including curvilinear lines, soft pink hues, organic textures and bold hexagonal tilework.

📍4444 Westheimer Road, Ste. A-130, Houston

The University of Houston is launching UH Next, a new transfer program designed to help community college students more easily and affordably complete their bachelor’s degrees, starting in spring 2026.

The details: Housed in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, the pilot will streamline transfers after students complete associate degrees at one of five Houston-area community colleges, reducing the cost of a four-year degree.

UH Next is part of UH’s broader effort to improve affordability, alongside programs like Cougar Promise and various scholarships and financial aid options.

How it works: Enrolled students will follow four-year degree maps, co-created by advisors at both UH and the partner college to ensure they take the right courses in the right order, minimizing credit loss and keeping them on track for graduation, although the program is only available for select majors within each partner community college. 

Next steps: While there is no timeline for expansion to other colleges, officials said several are assessing opportunities to create a UH Next pathway.

All Texas retailers are barred from selling consumable THC products to customers under 21 years old after the Texas Department of State Health Services adopted two emergency rules Oct. 3.

The details: The new rules, which took effect immediately, state that businesses may lose their hemp licenses for selling THC products to minors.

Ten days earlier, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission approved emergency rules prohibiting bars, liquor stores and other alcohol retailers from selling THC products to anyone under 21. A TABC spokesperson told Community Impact the two state agencies are working together to enforce a Sept. 10 executive order by Gov. Greg Abbott, who called for age restrictions on THC sales and tighter guardrails on the multibillion-dollar industry.

More context: Approximately 8,000 businesses are licensed by the DSHS to sell consumable hemp products in Texas, including some retailers that also sell alcohol.

The emergency rules from both agencies will be in effect for 120 days and could be extended for an additional 60 days while permanent regulations are drafted.