Pearland Fire Chief Jack J. Taylor announced he will retire Feb. 2 after four years of serving the Pearland Fire Department.

The details: The city will host a retirement celebration at 10 a.m. Jan. 30 at Pearland Fire Station No. 4, located at 8325 Freedom Drive, Pearland.

Quote of note: “To the members of the Pearland Fire Department, I love you all, and I can honestly say that my job here is now complete,” Taylor said in a social media post. “Keep raising the bar, stay safe and always remember—PFD is family.”

NAWA Coffee House will open in Friendswood in March, staff said.

The details: The coffee shop which takes it's meaning from the Arabic word for "the seed," will offer Middle Eastern tradition in a modern setting, according to a social media post from the business.

📍2210 S. Friendswood Drive, Friendswood

2026 is a big election year in Texas. Voters will see 18 statewide races, all congressional seats, most state legislative seats and a variety of local positions on the ballot.

The overview: The Republican and Democratic primary elections will be held March 3, and the midterm election is set for Nov. 3.

Texas holds primaries for all partisan elected positions, such as state officials; state and federal lawmakers; and county judges, commissioners and justices of the peace. Third-party candidates, including independents, Libertarian Party candidates and Green Party candidates, have separate election processes will not be listed on the primary ballots in March. Eligible candidates representing various parties will appear on the November ballot.

Looking back: All statewide offices on the ballot are currently held by Republicans, although some are not running for reelection. No Democrat or third-party candidate has won a statewide office in Texas since 1994, election records show.

Check out the full article for more details on election processes and an overview of state-level races.