Several projects are underway in The Woodlands area as part of the 2025 Montgomery County road bond. Montgomery County Precinct 3 officials announced Nov. 10 that five intersection improvement projects have already been completed, among other projects that began work this fall. 

Completed projects
Rayford Road at East Benders Landing
Project: The asphalt pavement was widened on Rayford Road past the intersection with East Benders Landing to create a merge lane for vehicles leaving Benders Landing Estates.
Update: The project was completed.

Grogans Mill Road at Lake Woodlands Drive turn-lane extension
Project: The project extended the left-turn lane to the median opening on northbound Grogans Mill Road and turning onto westbound Lake Woodlands Drive.
Update: As of a November update, the project was completed.

The Back Nine Golf is coming soon to Shenandoah, owner Fernando Mladineo said.

The details: The Back Nine Golf is a 24/7 indoor golf experience that offers simulators, lessons, leagues and private events within a 3,000-square-foot building.

• 17947 I-45, Ste. 216, Shenandoah

Full-time bus drivers working for Tomball ISD will now be paid at least $25 per hour, after trustees approved a compensation increase during their Nov. 11 meeting. 

The gist: Superintendent Martha Salazar-Zamora said during trustees’ Nov. 10 workshop meeting that the district has had challenges with bus driver shortages and filling driver positions. The new pay increases go into effect Nov. 15, district officials said. 

The details: According to information from Salazar-Zamora and the district, the salary bumps raise starting pay for:

• Full-time drivers from $19.10 per hour to $25 per hour
• Driver trainees from $18 per hour to $20 per hour
• Driver substitutes from $19.10 to $22 per hour
• Non-commercial driver license drivers from $14.04 to $17 per hour

A new mobile bookstore is rolling into communities across Greater Houston, offering readers a joyful way to shop, owner Christie Hopson said.

A closer look: Enchanted Chapters hosts weekend pop-up events at breweries, festivals and other local gatherings, Hopson said. The mobile bookstore carries a variety of genres from romance to fantasy, thriller, mystery and children's books.

For November, Enchanted Chapters will appear at events in Cypress, Tomball, Seabrook, Katy and Conroe. Hopson said the goal is to bring the joy of discovering books directly to readers.

Texas is the nation’s largest energy producer, leading other U.S. states in both natural gas production and renewable energy generation, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows. Yet as people, businesses and data centers continue to move to the state, experts say Texas leaders need to harness new strategies to make energy more affordable and ensure the state power grid remains reliable.

The details: Amid high inflation nationwide, energy prices are on the rise in Texas, and residents are feeling the strain, experts said at the Texas Energy Summit, which ran from Nov. 4-6 in Austin.

In a June 2025 report, the Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute, a nonprofit research organization, found that 65% of low-income Texans recently engaged in “energy-limiting behaviors,” such as turning off their air conditioning to reduce electric bills or underheating their homes in the winter. 

What they're saying: Experts said state lawmakers and officials could invest in energy efficiency and residential demand response programs to tackle affordability and grid reliability issues.