The Montgomery County Food Bank recently added five new board of directors, according to a July 8 news release. 

The details: 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

Diamond Impact Training Center is an indoor softball and baseball training center that specializes in athlete training and development and officially opened on June 1, officials confirmed. 

Two-minute impact: Diamond Impact Training Center has been designed to be a modern, climate-controlled training facility that can provide a comfortable environment for athletes to develop their skills, officials said. The facility offers a wide variety of services to support its athletes in their training, including, but not limited to:

• Batting cage rentals 

• Private lessons

• Player development programs

• Specialty clinics

• Summer camps

The training facility implements HitTrax technology, which provides real-time swing analysis, performance metrics, and interactive game experiences, officials said. 

Quote of note: “We are committed to providing a premier training experience for baseball and softball athletes of all ages and skill levels. Our goal is to help players improve their skills in a fun, positive, and professional environment,” officials said in an email. 

• Opened June 1

• 23629 Gosling Road, Spring 

Per a July 9 Hamra Enterprises release, several locations have plans to reopen across the North Houston area after going dark since August 2025. Stores reopening per the release include seven locations in Katy, Cy-Fair, Spring and Conroe and will begin with the Spring and Katy locations in July, CEO Mike Hamra told Fast Company in a statement.

The details: After abruptly shutting down several locations in the wake of a high-profile dispute last summer, per the release, new owners with Hamra Enterprises confirmed several Houston area re-openings.

Quote of note: “The Houston-area restaurants have been dark since August 2025, when their previous owner—ordered by a judge to stop using the Panera name—closed them down and sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection,” read the release.

Also of note: The Panera Bread restaurants are Hamra’s first in Texas and will mark the company’s expansion into its 12th state. It has been a Panera Bread franchisee since 1997, according to the release and includes 88 Panera cafés across eight states.

In Texas, 246 of the state’s 254 counties are designated by the federal government as “mental health professional shortage areas,” meaning local law enforcement are often tasked with responding to mental health crisis calls.

The situation: All Texas peace officers are required to complete crisis intervention and deescalation trainings, according to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.

What's happening: Across Community Impact’s coverage areas, some city and county law enforcement agencies are partnering with local mental health professionals to respond to crisis calls. However, law enforcement and criminal justice leaders from smaller communities told state legislators July 7 that they have “limited tools” to effectively respond to mental health calls and help people in crisis.

“We do not have any inpatient mental health facilities in my county—we've never had that, and we've needed them for decades,” Comal County Criminal District Attorney Jennifer Tharp said July 7. “We originally started out sending individuals to the San Antonio area, and right now we are transporting individuals for inpatient treatment to North Austin.”

Need to catch up on Community Impact’s coverage from last week? Check out five trending stories from the North Houston area from July 6-10.

1. Wing drone delivery service expands to 8 additional Greater Houston-area Walmarts

2. Texas Litter Control provides affordable veterinary services in The Woodlands area since 2012

3. Bombers Volleyball now offering volleyball training in Cypress

4. United Airlines launches new nonstop service between IAH, Cartagena

5. Montgomery County Food Bank announces 5 new additions to board of directors