Texas Litter Control is a low-cost spay-and-neuter clinic with locations across Harris County and Montgomery County.

The backstory: TLC’s first location was in an 800-foot FEMA trailer located in Spring.

What happened: Deana Love, the executive director for TLC, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that focuses on providing animal spay and neuter services across four locations in Montgomery and Harris counties, said she became involved when she saw the burden that animal rescues were faced with, and she wanted to make a change.

What happened: After hearing about struggles faced by Houston-based animal clinic The Greater Good, Love said TLC stepped in to help. The Greater Good Veterinarian Dr. Dallas Kuehl was the first veterinarian Love used when she started in animal rescue work.

Cooking Girl is opening in Grogan's Mill Village Center in late July. This will be the 11th location for the restaurant.

What you need to know: The restaurant will serve a variety of dishes including Szechuan cuisine with menu items such as Dongpo's stew hock, Pyramid Rib and Sweet Duck of Chengdu.

• Opening late July

• 7 Switchbud Place, Ste. 194, The Woodlands

The Montgomery County Food Bank recently added five new board of directors members, according to a release. 

The new directors are:

• James Anderson, general manager at H-E-B

• Mark Linabury, president and CEO of the Greater East Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce

• David Vinson, superintendent of Conroe ISD

• Mary Anne Whitney, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Waste Connections

• Kaylea Williams, division associate and labor relations manager at Kroger

What they’re saying: "We are truly grateful to welcome these extraordinary leaders to the Montgomery County Food Bank board. They bring a depth of experience and a genuine commitment to serving our community, and we are honored they have chosen to dedicate their time and talent to this mission," said Jim Carman, chairman of the board and president of the Houston region for Howard Hughes.

In addition to the newly appointed directors, Brian Albert, partner at Kean Miller LLP The Woodlands has been named board secretary following the departure of Secretary Edmund Robb.

Sam Houston State University is now accepting applications for its new master’s program in applied biomedical sciences, per a July 7 news release. The inaugural cohort will begin this upcoming fall.

What you need to know: The new master’s program, which will be offered online, will include tracks in medical/healthcare artificial intelligence, healthcare technologies, regulatory affairs and clinical sciences, as previously reported. The application fee is waived for students who are applying for the fall cohort, per the news release. Interested students can apply through ApplyTexas, and the university will also be hosting virtual information sessions July 22 and July 30 from 12:30-1:30 p.m.

Some context: The new master’s program will also be connected to SHSU’s Institute for Medical Artificial Intelligence. The institute is working to advance education, research, innovation and the responsible use of AI in medicine and healthcare, per the news release.

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo officials announced the creation of a new C-level leadership position called chief operating officer and general manager.

In a nutshell: The new position—which will be filled by current Chief Revenue Officer Amber Burda—aims to unify strategic direction as well as align programming and strategy for the annual rodeo event, officials announced in a July 7 news release.

Burda has served as chief revenue officer since 2023, although she was initially hired in 2017 as the executive director of sponsorships, business and corporate development, where she led the creation of official rodeo sponsorships.

Sorting out details: Her focus will be on ensuring cross-departmental coordination to enhance operational efficiency, while aligning pricing and revenue strategies with the organization’s mission

In the new role, Burda will oversee most public-facing aspects of the rodeo, including:

• Mission
• Show operations
• Ticketing
• Sponsorships
• Stadium presentation
• The carnival