Chief operating officer Steven Gutierrez presented a transportation plan to the Tomball ISD board addressing multiple community concerns, including communication issues, a bus driver shortage and the current makeup of the fleet.
The breakdown
For the past three school semesters, TISD officials have been working to address vacant bus driver positions throughout TISD. According to Gutierrez, TISD used to be near the top in regard to competitive pay for their bus drivers, but as of late, they have fallen near the middle. TISD  had 22 bus driver vacancies going back to the 2023-24 school year, which fell to 20 the next year and 10 the year after.
As it currently stands, TISD is projected to have only two vacant positions for the 2026-27 school year, which are both in the process of being filled with drivers in training. In total, TISD has 157 bus drivers in their fleet. The breakdown is as follows:

• 111 general drivers
• 36 special education drivers
• 10 on standby

Castells Dental Group, a new family and cosmetic dental practice, opened in Tomball in May. The new practice replaced James Geer DDS, which operated in the area for the last 40 years.
Two-minute impact
The new dental practice is currently owned and operated by Dr. Roddy Castells, who has worked in the dental industry for 14 years.
Dr. Castells said his reasoning for opening the new location in Tomball specifically was because Tomball is a “growing community that has the perks of a big city, but with a small-town feel.”
According to the dental practice’s website, Castells offers a wide range of dental services, including general, restorative, cosmetic and emergency dentistry as well as sleep apnea treatment.
Emergency treatments, such as wisdom teeth removal, implants or oral cancer screenings, are all available on site. The practice also offers an in-house savings plan to support any uninsured patients who may not have coverage.

• Opened May 1

• 1013 W. Main St., Tomball

• www.tomballdentist.com

The Executive Club at George Bush Intercontinental Airport has recently completed a full renovation, Houston Airport System officials announced in an Aug. 4 news release.

What's new? Operated by SSP America, the IAH Executive Club debuted a new modern look this summer featuring new furniture, fresh paint, updated decor and redesigned seating areas. Per the release, the lounge also features a central food and beverage area that includes buffet service and a dedicated bar.

Additional amenities include complimentary Wi-Fi, a meeting room and televisions, snacks, beverages and reading material.

Who it's for: Located on Level 2 of Terminal D near Gate D12, IAH's Executive Club serves qualifying international passengers flying with British Airways, Emirates and EVA Airlines. Qualified passengers will note access to the IAH Executive Club on their boarding pass, per the release. 

• Renovations completed this summer 
• 2800 N. Terminal Road, Houston

CenterPoint Energy officials announced a new initiative which aims to provide a savings of up to $5 billion to all residential and small to medium businesses over the next decade in a Aug. 11 news release.

The big picture: The initiative stems from both the strengthening of requirements for large load energy users like data centers in the 89th Legislative Session and a project to add 14 gigawatts of energy load to CenterPoint Energy's service area.

Senate Bill 6 was authorized in the 89th Legislative Session and requires any development that expects to utilize over 75 megawatts of power at any point to pay higher overall energy costs.

In their words: "We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to generate historic levels of customer savings of more than $5 billion statewide by leveraging new investment in large projects to build a more affordable, reliable and resilient electric grid for millions of customers," CenterPoint Energy Chairman and CEO Jason Wells said.