In a unanimous vote during its Sept. 8 meeting, Manvel City Council cut ties with Flock Safety and removed funding for the contract for the fiscal 2026-27 budget.

What happened: Manvel had used the cameras since 2024 through a four-year contract. Mayor Dan Davis, council members and several residents voiced concerns over privacy and expressed distrust in private surveillance networks.

Diving in deeper: Shortly after the vote, all 16 Flock cameras operating throughout the city were covered, and city staff provided a 30-day cancellation notice to Flock. Manvel's Police Department also immediately shut off external agency access to the camera feed.

What's next: City Council proposed several alternatives to replace the cameras, including:

• Investing in a human police data analyst to evaluate local crime trends

• Building a city-owned and operated automated license plate reader system to control and monitor data within the city

Pearland City Council approved a conditional use permit on Oct. 12 for Lexury Tattoos, a planned tattoo studio.

What you need to know: Founded by tattoo artist Alexa Loch and her business partner Wade Ni, the studio will operate in an existing leased commercial space along Broadway Street, east of Longwood Drive and west of Shauntel Street.

Quote of note: “We believe creative businesses play an important role in strengthening communities by giving residents places where imagination, craftsmanship and personal expression are celebrated,” the business stated in its letter of intent to the city.

Rush Bowls, a Colorado-based chain serving smoothie bowls, will soon open the shop's second Houston location in the University of Houston-Clear Lake's campus.

On the menu: The shop’s menu includes a variety of smoothie bowls, with toppings such as fresh fruit, granola and shredded coconut; blended smoothies; grab-and-go granola, banana bread and coconut bites; refresher-style beverages called revivers; and cold-brewed coffee, according to previous reporting by Community Impact.

📍2700 Bay Area Blvd., Houston

Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones announced that all Flock cameras on precinct property have been decommissioned and taken offline.

The specifics: The cameras, which monitor and record license plates to track vehicles, were located across nine parks and facilities. Precinct 4 previously had 48 security cameras and 13 automatic license plate readers, which have now been covered. The technology has faced public scrutiny at recent Harris County Commissioners Court meetings, where residents raised privacy and safety concerns.

What's next: The Harris County Commissioners Court is scheduled to discuss the county's use of automatic license plate readers during its Oct. 15 meeting. Several county departments, including the Sheriff's and Constables' Offices, will present a report covering:

• Amount of money spent on the readers

• Number and location of the readers

• Summary of the technology and its use

• Which agencies have access to the data

• What other jurisdictions are doing to safeguard the data

The Texas comptroller's office is reviewing the finances and spending decisions of four public school districts: Austin, El Paso, Prosper and Barbers Hill ISDs.

The overview: The review was requested by Gov. Greg Abbott in August and will identify whether schools are directing taxpayer dollars toward students, teachers and classrooms over administrative costs, according to information from the two state agencies.

Zooming in: For the 2024-25 school year, the Texas Education Agency gave the selected districts the following financial ratings:

• Austin ISD: B rating; score of 88 (about 69,000 students)

• El Paso ISD: A rating; score of 92 (about 46,000 students)

• Prosper ISD: A rating; score of 94 (about 33,000 students)

• Barbers Hill ISD: A rating; score of 100 (about 8,000 students)

More details: Austin and Prosper ISDs are in Community Impact's coverage areas. According to previous reporting, Austin ISD passed an $887 million general fund budget for fiscal year 2026-27 after making $205 million in gross cuts this summer. Prosper ISD adopted a budget with an expected $42.2 million shortfall.