Tomball City Council selected interim Police Chief Shon Davis to be the permanent choice to lead the department, the council decided at its Oct. 19 meeting on Monday Night.

How we got here: Council members approved Davis's appointment unanimously after meeting behind closed doors in executive session to discuss the matter. Davis, a 19-year veteran of TPD, had been its interim chief since July.

Also on the agenda: A split Tomball City Council narrowly approved rezoning a residential lot to a mixed-use designation to allow two married realtors to open an office in the neighborhood.

Luke Tamez and Michelle Tamez asked the city council to rezone a home they purchased at the corner of Cherry Street and McPhail Street to let them open a realty brokerage office inside it. The area is a neighborhood peppered with existing businesses such as a chiropractor's office and a midwifery clinic.

Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen celebrated the opening of its new Tomball location with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 19.

According to past filings, construction for the $3.5 million project began on Jan. 26 for a parking lot, utilities and the new full-service restaurant.

Two-minute impact: The establishment serves family-style comfort food made in-house from scratch, and its website notes that the signature dish is the Honey Butter Croissant.

The new Tomball restaurant is located at 27659 Tomball Pkwy. and is now one of 180 locations across the country.

The Houston Airport System will host its first Flavor Fest, allowing non-travelers to sample airport cuisine to benefit Wings of Compassion, an organization providing temporary financial aid to airport system employees experiencing hardship.

The details: Tickets cost $30 per person and include validated parking. Because both events take place in pre-security areas, attendees do not need a flight or boarding pass.

The events will take place:

• Nov. 10 from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at William P. Hobby Airport, with parking in the Blue Garage. Participating restaurants include Killen's BBQ, Common Bond and Velvet Taco.

• Nov. 17 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, with parking in the CDE Garage. Participating restaurants include El Tiempo Cantina, The Annie and Little Purse Dumpling Den.

The festival will feature food and drinks, a live chef competition, People's Choice voting, live entertainment and retail partner giveaways.

Texas environmental regulators have continued processing certain data center permits in the month since Gov. Greg Abbott ordered a permitting pause, according to a new report from FracTracker, an oil and gas watchdog group.

The details: Abbott directed the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality last month to "halt all permits sought by data centers" while the Electric Reliability Council of Texas audits proposed projects.

Yet as of Oct. 16, the TCEQ had moved at least 35 data center-related applications forward, per an analysis of TCEQ records.

Zooming in: The agency has issued public notices for three data center projects since Abbott ordered the pause Sept. 21. It also approved stormwater coverage, certified air emissions limits or assigned engineers to other projects.

"No permits have been approved," Andrew Mahaleris, the governor's press secretary, said Oct. 20. "In line with the governor’s directive, TCEQ has not taken and will not take any proactive actions related to the approval of data center permits."

"These actions do not signal an agency trying to pause," FracTracker said in the report.