HTX-SLM: Impact 10/15/2025

Fort Bend County’s months-long redistricting process has come to an end, with commissioners voting 3-2 to approve a new map at an Oct. 13 special meeting. Precinct 2 Commissioner Grady Prestage and Precinct 4 Commissioner Dexter McCoy cast the dissenting votes.

Zooming in: The new map was one of five submitted to the court by the Citizens Redistricting Advisory Committee and keeps all elected officials within their districts, but will displace the Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace office, CRAC Chair Jacob Lee said.

What they’re saying: In Oct. 13 statements, George, Morales and Meyers praised the new map, with Morales calling it an “honest representation” of the county.

However, both Prestage and McCoy voiced concerns about the maps and possible repercussions of redistricting, including potential litigation against the county, at press conferences after the Oct. 13 meeting.

What’s next: Redistricting will be in the limelight in Fort Bend County again following the 2030 U.S. Census, when drawing new maps is mandatory.

Missouri City commuters will soon see the effects of an artificial intelligence-based traffic detection system aimed at monitoring traffic conditions and improving traffic signal timing along Hwy. 6.

Zooming in: At an Oct. 14 meeting, Missouri City City Council unanimously approved the $619,500 contract with Texas Highway Products to install the AI tool along the Hwy. 6 corridor from Colonial Lakes Drive to Creekmont Drive.

Unlike the city’s current traffic signals, the new system will analyze real-time data—typically from sensors, cameras or signal equipment—to detect road congestion, according to agenda documents. The primary function of the system is to confirm when lanes, intersections or crossings are free of traffic, allowing for improved traffic signal timing, enhanced safety and reduced congestion.

Zooming out: The system will be the same as the one currently in use in Sugar Land, said Joi Johnson, Missouri City's interim director of public works.

Going forward: While no timeline has been set for the project to begin yet, the contract will commence within one year of its execution, according to agenda documents.

Little Caesars, a national franchise known for its "Hot-N-Ready" pizza, will open its second location in Missouri City by early 2026, a company representative confirmed. 

What's on the menu: According to its website, pickup and delivery options will include: 

• Pizza, including the Detroit-style deep dish
• Signature sides, including Crazy Bread, garlic and parmesan-flavored breadsticks, Crazy Puffs, and handheld pizzas 
• Wings tossed in buffalo or barbecue sauce 
• Desserts, including cookie-dough brownies topped with candy 

• 9950 Hwy. 6, Ste. 100, Missouri City

In June, Fort Bend County commissioners approved a five-year extension to allow the sale of fireworks ahead of the Diwali holiday through 2030.

The extension builds on last year’s first-ever sale of fireworks for the holiday in Fort Bend following the Texas Legislature’s approval of House Bill 608, passed in 2023, which allows commissioners courts statewide the ability to allow firework sales during the Diwali season, Community Impact reported.

Why it matters: “We found out that people were buying fireworks during July 4, storing them at their home, which is very, very unsafe, so that they would have them to be able to use during Diwali,” Commissioner Dexter McCoy said. “And we knew that wasn't right.”

What they're saying: With so many diverse communities in Fort Bend County, the ordinance gives hope to voices that previously wouldn’t have a chance to shine through, Purav Patel, a volunteer for BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Stafford, said.

Looking ahead: Fireworks can be sold by permitted retailers from Oct. 13-23, according to agenda documents.

Over one year after Hurricane Beryl, 1 in 8 Houston-area residents reported their lives were still “very” or “somewhat” disrupted by Beryl, according to an Oct. 2 report from the Houston Population Research Center at the Kinder Institute.

Looking back: According to the report, Beryl caused an estimated $2.5 billion to $4.5 billion in property damage.

Quote of note: “Now, a year down the road, residents are having to grapple with the reality of repairs that are still needed, credit card bills from unexpected hotel rooms or refilling the fridge that are still unpaid, and their expectations that these things should already be resolved but they’re not,” Dan Potter, co-director of the research center and lead researcher on the survey work, said in the report.

Going forward: The Federal Emergency Management Agency has delivered the majority of its disaster aid, but there is still a gap to fill. As of early 2025, federal estimates suggested there was about $800 million in repairs needed between the destruction from Beryl and the May 2024 derecho.