HTX-SLM: Impact 9/5/2025

The newly unveiled Sugar Land Academic Building 2—a three-story, 75,000-square-foot facility—now serves as the home for programs from the UH Cullen College of Engineering, providing learning spaces, laboratories and expanded student services to meet workforce demand in Fort Bend County, per an Aug. 25 news release.

Managing the impact: The new building comes amid rising enrollment at the university’s Sugar Land campus, where enrollment has grown from 3,584 students in the fall 2024 semester to nearly 5,000 students, Community Impact reported. 

How we got here: The $65 million facility, which began construction in October 2023, was approved by the Texas Legislature in 2021 as part of a $389 million capital construction bond awarded to the university to fund upgrades to campus facilities and infrastructure, Community Impact previously reported. 

Going forward: A formal grand opening ceremony for the Sugar Land Academic Building 2 is scheduled for mid-October. 

Swig, a Utah-based beverage shop, has opened a new location bringing its soda combinations to Missouri City.

What they offer: Per the website, patrons can create their own drinks including: 

• Dirty sodas mixed with flavor shots, fruits and creams
• Revivers, or energy-based drinks with blended options
• Refreshers, or flavored water-based drinks
• Hot chocolate, available hot or frozen

• Opened Aug. 21
• 20210 Fort Bend Parkway, Missouri City

Tomball Fire Station No. 5 is now home to Harris County’s first Safe Haven Baby Box, giving parents in crisis a safe and anonymous option to surrender their newborns, founder Monica Kelsey said.

The details: The baby box was dedicated Sept. 2 in partnership with Tomball Fire Rescue, Harris County Emergency Services District No. 15, the city of Tomball and community leaders, including St. Anne Catholic Church and the Cotton Foundation, which funded the installation.

Under Texas’ Safe Haven law, parents may legally surrender infants up to 60 days old at designated facilities. The new baby box—installed in an exterior wall of the fire station—locks automatically once a newborn is placed inside and alerts staff through interior sensors, ensuring immediate care, according to the Safe Haven Baby Box website.

Why it matters: The baby box is the 374th Safe Haven Baby Box in the U.S. and the 12th in Texas, Kelsey, who was herself abandoned at birth and has since championed the program nationwide, said.

Around 1 a.m. Sept. 4, the Texas Legislature gaveled out of its second special session of the year. On the heels of a two-week Democratic walkout that stymied bills during a previous legislative overtime, lawmakers moved quickly to pass 16 of Gov. Greg Abbott’s 24 priorities in under three weeks.

The details: A long-debated plan to ban or restrict sales of hemp-derived THC and a measure aimed at reining in local property tax growth were among the proposals that did not make the cut. Those proposals fell apart in the final days of the special session, after House and Senate lawmakers were unable to reach agreements. 

Also of note: Lawmakers also did not pass bills intended to improve emergency preparedness and communications in the wake of the deadly July 4-5 floods; shield certain law enforcement files from public disclosure; and bar local governments from hiring outside lobbyists. 

The governor can call a special session at any time; however, legislative leaders indicated they did not expect to return to Austin to tackle the remaining agenda items.