Chops Barber Lounge in Pearland will celebrate its grand opening in late April.

The details: The lounge, which had its soft opening on March 17, will offer all types of haircuts from fades, tapers, scissor cuts to beard trims and lineups.

Quote of note: "By God’s timing and plan, what started as a hobby in a high school locker room turned into something much bigger—a purpose," Morales said.

📍1635 E. Broadway St., Pearland

A new 24-hour emergency room in the Bay Area started seeing patients in March, an employee with the business told Community Impact. 

The overview: First Priority ER offers hospital-grade emergency care for adults and children, according to the clinic’s website. A list of services includes pediatric care, urgent care and trauma injury care. 

Something to note: As stated on the website, the emergency room is open 24 hours, seven days a week. 

📍16660 State Hwy. 3, Webster

Need to catch up on Community Impact’s coverage from this week? Check out five trending stories in the Greater Houston area from April 20-24.

•New DPS building coming soon to League City
•Lake Conroe Dam celebrates new state historical marker
•Neighborhood Fishin' program bringing catfish, rainbow trout to local lakes
•Picos sets official closing date as owner Arnaldo Richards continues to search for new location
•Registration opens for West U summer classes

The March Housing Market Update from the Houston Association of Realtors, released April 8, shows signs of stability and growth in the Houston housing market. Factors behind this stability include slowly falling house prices and sales gains in single-family homes and townhomes/condominiums.

The conditions: According to HAR, single-family home sales rose by 3.7% with 7,644 homes sold in March compared to the 7,369 sold last March. Home prices fell slightly as well by 1.5%, leveling to a median price of $333,000. Houses saw a slight increase in days on the market, rising to 67 days compared to 62 days last year. Total property sales across the Houston area grew by 3.6%, with 9,001 properties sold, and the number of active property listings rose by 8.8%, equaling 55,611.

What the experts say: HAR Chief Economist Ted C. Jones said the current state of the global economy has led to some instability in interest rates; however, the market has stabilized in comparison to last year.

With state deadlines inching closer, the Harris County Flood Control District is chipping away at dozens of grant-funded flood recovery and mitigation projects—but county leaders believe pace of work and public transparency could be improved.

What you need to know: In an April 16 update to Commissioners Court, HCFCD Executive Director Tina Petersen shared the status of local flood projects funded with Community Development Block Grants for disaster recovery and mitigation, also known as CDBG-DR and CDBG-MIT.

At least 14 projects are still in the design phase as of April 1, per the report. Seven of the 11 disaster recovery projects are under construction, and three of 17 total mitigation projects have been awarded contracts. 

Why it matters: The flood control district must spend all CDBG-DR dollars by February 2027 and CDBG-MIT dollars by March 2028 or lose the funding.

The action taken: Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey called for HCFCD to provide monthly reports to Commissioners Court detailing for specific construction and financial updates for each project. The first report is expected May 1.