League City officials are pursuing the acquisition of Walter Hall Park from Galveston County, allowing the city to use the park’s storage facilities for maintenance equipment, thus avoiding the higher cost to purchase undeveloped land for storage.

Zooming in: League City City Council and city staff discussed acquiring the 86-acre park from the county at a July 14 workshop, where Chin Wei, League City’s director of parks and cultural services, said the city had “outgrown its current maintenance facilities.”

The backstory: In a video posted by the city in July, Mayor Nick Long said the county approached the city and asked if the city would like to take over Walter Hall Park.

In case you missed it: Earlier this year, the city announced it opened a new kayak launch next to the city’s boat ramp on FM 270, expanding the League City’s Clear Creek Paddle Trail which also has a stop at Walter Hall Park, according to previous reporting by Community Impact.

Travelers flying through Houston's William P. Hobby Airport now have a new off-airport parking option with the opening of Hobby Airport Parking on July 13, according to a news release from Paquin Public Relations.

What you need to know: Located 2.5 miles from the airport, the new facility offers uncovered and covered parking, along with complimentary shuttle service, according to the release.

Walmart on July 23 announced a multiyear workforce development grant in Houston aimed at helping workers in several communities prepare for higher-quality career opportunities over the next five years, according to a news release.

Walmart and Walmart Foundation announced an initial $250,000 grant to the Greater Houston Partnership to expand the workforce priorities of the Houston Economic Mobility Coalition, while United Way of Houston, Houston City College and San Jacinto College will also be partners in the effort, according to the release.

Another detail: The announcement was made at the Walmart location at 3040 College Park Drive, Conroe, which is also the location of the Walmart Academy in the area, officials said. The grant coincides with the 10th anniversary of Walmart Academy, a private training program that has seen over 4 million training completions since 2016, according to the news release.

Texas is halting the approval of new data center projects until state regulators can audit all data centers seeking to connect to the power grid, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Aug. 3.

The overview: The governor directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to conduct “a comprehensive verification and audit” of all data center applicants “before any additional data centers are approved to move forward.” 

Data center regulation has emerged as a bipartisan issue in recent months, and the move comes amid both growing public criticism of Texas’ booming data center industry and recent political pressure for Abbott to respond.

Zooming in: Abbott asked the PUC and ERCOT to collect information about the tax exemptions each data center is collecting; details about each project's anticipated water and electricity usage; and how data center developers will work to limit noise, light pollution and other impacts on local communities.

Officials did not say how long the pause would last or when the audits would begin.