City officials are taking a closer look at how much parking Old Town Tomball may need as the area continues to grow and plans for Legacy Square take shape.

Tomball City Council and the Tomball Economic Development Corp. heard a presentation Aug. 3 from AIG Technical Services on the first phase of a parking and multimodal mobility study.

Officials emphasized the concepts are still preliminary, and no action was taken during the workshop.

What you need to know: The three-part initiative includes a high-level parking study, a multimodal mobility study and a downtown bollard plan. The parking study looks at existing conditions from 2025 and identifies potential needs over a five-year planning horizon.

The study area stretches from Hufsmith Road to James Street and from Baker Drive to Chestnut Street.

AIG identified 1,989 existing parking spaces within the study area, including:

• 1,068 private spaces
• 921 public spaces
• 323 public on-street spaces
• 598 public off-street spaces

Tomball residents and businesses are now under mandatory water restrictions after the city moved into Stage 2 of its drought contingency plan Aug. 4.

The city cited increased water demand and continued dry weather conditions for the change. Tomball entered Stage 1 on July 28, when residents and businesses were asked to voluntarily conserve water.

What you need to know: Under Stage 2, automatic irrigation systems and hose-end sprinklers may only be used from 7 p.m.-5 a.m. on designated watering days.

Odd-numbered addresses may water Wednesdays and Saturdays, while even-numbered addresses may water Thursdays and Sundays.

Residents can still use hand-held hoses, buckets or watering cans of 5 gallons or less, and drip irrigation systems at any time.

Vehicle washing and filling or refilling swimming pools are also limited to designated watering days between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. Commercial car washes and service stations are exempt from the vehicle-washing restriction.

A new laundry pickup and delivery service is now serving customers across the Greater Houston area. LaundryGrab opened in early 2026 and is aimed at helping busy residents who would rather spend time with their families than do laundry.

How it works: The delivery-only service allows customers to place orders online or via the company's app. According to a July 27 emailed statement, workers then collect the laundry from the residents' doorstep, wash and fold or dry clean the items and then deliver them back within a 24- to 48- hour timeframe. Pickup and delivery are free. Services include:

• Washing and folding

• Dry cleaning

• Cleaning household and event linens such as comforters, bedding, sheets, towels and tablecloths

• Same-day service for urgent orders

Starting rates for a wash and fold service are set at approximately $3.95 per pound. Dry cleaning is priced per garment, starting at $2.95 per item.

• Locations vary, delivery only (no storefront)

Ahead of the 2026 school year, the Texas Comptroller’s Office encourages all taxpayers to support Texas businesses while saving money on tax-free purchases on most clothing and school supplies during the annual tax-free weekend from Aug. 7-9. 

What you need to know: A variety of school supplies and clothing items can be purchased from a Texas store or an online or catalog seller doing business in Texas. In most cases, exemption certificates are not required to buy qualifying items tax free, according to the Texas Comptroller’s Office. 

Qualifying items include:

• Clothing
• Footwear 
• School supplies
• Face masks
• Backpacks

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.