Houston approved making the 1200 block of Arlington Street in the Heights area a residential parking permit area during the day.

What this means: This will require a valid permit for on-street parking Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. along the 1200 block of Arlington, which is near Heights High School. If an unauthorized vehicle parks in the area during those hours, it will be towed.

According to the city, some commuters on the street are from the high school, which is on the 1300 block. The new permit area consists of 24 legal parking spaces.

Something to note: The change is part of the city’s code that allows residential parking permit areas in neighborhoods where excessive commuter parking is considered a problem for residents. In the city, 214 permit areas have been designated.

According to the city, 88% of households supported the petition to create the permit area.

A new online marketplace called Shef launched in Houston this month, connecting residents with local chefs who prepare and deliver fresh, homemade meals.

The specifics: Houston is the 10th market to join the platform. The service offers 1,351 diverse dishes from 60 different cuisines, allowing customers to choose meals by cuisine or preference, such as high-protein, vegetarian, gluten-free, GLP-1 friendly and kid-approved.

How it works: To use the service, customers select their zip code, household size, weekly meal count, diet preferences, proteins and favorite cuisines. Shef then recommends meals made by nearby chefs for delivery during the week.

One more thing: Weekly meal subscriptions start at 4 meals per week and cost $35 for the first week.

Shef is available for residents across the Greater Houston area, including Houston proper and cities such as Bellaire, Pasadena, Clear Lake, Cypress, Katy and Spring/Klein. Service also extends into Fort Bend County, including Sugar Land, Missouri City, Pearland and Friendswood.

The Knowles-Rowland House held its ribbon-cutting to open as permanent supportive housing for homeless individuals in Midtown on Oct. 13.

Beyoncé, along with her mother, Tina, and daughters, Blue Ivy and Rumi, attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony held at St. John’s Downtown, the church the Knowles family attended.

About the program: The facility has 31 single-occupancy units equipped with a full-sized bathroom, a kitchen and a sleeping area. It also has on-site resident service coordinators, who will help residents with access to services such as mental health counseling, substance use treatment, transportation assistance and access to food. 

Quote of note: “We know homelessness is going to be even more of a challenge as housing costs continue to rise, as employment begins to fracture, there will be more people falling through the cracks,” Pastor Rudy Rasmus said. “What we’re doing is taking steps to help people not fall through the cracks.” 

One more thing: Officials said that residents will be completely moved into the facility by Nov. 1.

A University of Houston poll of likely general election voters found Democratic candidates leading in three Harris County races.

The big picture: The online survey of 2,750 participants was conducted Oct. 3-8 by the Hobby School of Public Affairs. Researchers noted that while voters are concerned about crime and property taxes, this has not translated into a desire to reverse the county's Democratic tilt.

Zooming in: The poll revealed the following matchups for county seats:

• Democrat Letitia Plummer leads Republican Orlando Sanchez 47% to 40% in the county judge race, with 13% undecided.

• Democratic Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia leads Richard Vega by 12 percentage points, with 8% undecided.

• Democratic Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones leads Steve Radack by 8 percentage points, with 10% undecided.

Another detail: The survey found 72% of voters disapprove of a recent 7.6% property tax rate increase. Additionally, 56% of likely voters oppose using Flock Safety cameras for law enforcement.