League City adopts FY 2025-26 budget, tax rate; budgets for drainage district takeover
League City has adopted a new budget and tax rate for fiscal year 2025-26.
The details: League City City Council voted 6-1 to approve the no-new-revenue tax rate of $0.36355 per $100 valuation of a home at its Sept. 9 meeting.
Diving in deeper: The city’s total budget for FY 2025-26 will be $524.1 million, according to previous reporting by Community Impact.
Former administrator returns to Johnson Space Center
After a short stint at NASA in Washington D.C., Vanessa Wyche is back at Johnson Space Center.
Long story short: NASA’s administration tapped Wyche, who at the time was director of Johnson Space Center, in February to be the acting associate administrator, making her one of the three highest-ranking individuals in the agency, Community Impact previously reported.
Quote of note:“I am looking forward to continuing to support NASA’s impactful missions as I return to the role of Center Director at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston,” Wyche said in a statement.
Diving in deeper: Her return comes at a time when NASA is working through a series of missions, titled Artemis, which are aimed at taking humans back to the moon and eventually to Mars.
What else: In a Sept. 3 press release, NASA officials announced Amit Kshatriya was to be the new associate administrator of the agency.
Cellphone ban, library materials: 8 new Texas laws impacting public schools
When Texas students returned to school in August, some substantial changes awaited them.
The overview:
House Bill 2 increases state funding for public schools by $8.4 billion.
House Bill 1481 prohibits students from using cellphones and other personal communication devices throughout the school day.
Senate Bill 12 requires parental consent for students to receive "medical, psychiatric and psychological treatment" on campus.
Senate Bill 13 gives parents and school boards more oversight of library materials.
House Bill 6 gives teachers more discretion to remove repeatedly disruptive or violent students from class.
Senate Bill 10 requires most schools to display donated posters of the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
Senate Bill 11 allows districts to set aside time for students and staff to pray or read religious texts at school.
Senate Bill 965 codifies school employees' rights to "engage in religious speech or prayer while on duty."
The context: The sweeping changes come after lawmakers passed what state leaders have called “transformative” education laws during this year’s regular legislative session, which ended June 2.
PREVIEW: Harris Health, Commissioner Ramsey to host Sept. 10 town hall
Harris Health and the office of Harris County Commissioner Precinct 3 Tom Ramsey will host a town hall meeting Sept. 10 to share updates and resources with the community.
The gist: The event will feature updates from Ramsey’s office as well as Harris Health, which will provide information on the $2.5 billion bond projects aimed at expanding access to quality health care in Kashmere Gardens neighborhoods. The Sheila Jackson Lee Center for Accelerating Health Outcomes will also present on current initiatives to address health disparities and access to health resources.
A panel discussion and Q&A session focused on nutrition security and heart health will round out the evening.
The meeting is free and open to the public. It will take place from 6-7:30 p.m. Sept. 10 at Trini Mendenhall Community Center on 1414 Wirt Road, Houston.
