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WHAT’S GOING ON IN TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

September 8, 2026 by in Neighborhood News

Good morning.                  It’s Tuesday, September 08. 
Civic budgets and water bills lead the day, but Houston has a crown to celebrate: hometown dancer Regan Hutsell was named the 99th Miss America, the first Texan to win in more than 50 years.
Today’s Highlight
Houston Public Works is renewing collections on overdue water accounts, but the department told reporters that no shutoffs begin today despite earlier statements from Mayor John Whitmire. 
The city is instead sending notices to about 15,000 delinquent customers who collectively owe roughly $30 million, warning them of possible future disconnection. 
This first group targets accounts at least 90 days past due, owing more than $500, and equipped with Sensus remote-reading meters the city trusts. Customers get a final notice with a specific date before any interruption, and those with an active payment plan or billing dispute are protected. The city paused shutoffs for two years while fixing faulty meters.
 Quick Hits
 01 Harris County Commissioners Court holds a public hearing today on a proposed combined property-tax rate of 67 cents per $100 of appraised 
value, the highest since at least 2006.              The 7.6% increase would raise 
the  median homeowner’s bill about 12% as the county works to bridge a projected shortfall exceeding $180 million, with a final vote set for Sept. 17.
02 The Texas Department of Public Safety will restrict outside access to its 
Flock license-plate camera database to agencies that have signed formal agreements with the department. The change follows a review that found roughly 615,000 searches of the state network in June, nearly half of them coming from agencies outside Texas.
03 The Texas Workforce Commission voted to cut about 14,000 child care scholarship seats statewide for 2027, including 1,081 in the Greater Houston region. Boards will pause new enrollments as families exit because a one-time $100 million state investment was absorbed by rising care costs while more than 100,000 children wait for help.
04 Texas barbecue restaurants are pushing brisket prices past what many diners will pay, which a new survey pegs at roughly $40 per pound. 
Wholesale costs keep climbing, so Houston joints like Truth Barbeque hold at $37 while Austin’s Franklin Barbecue now charges $42 and Dallas-area Leroy and Lewis reaches $46.
05 At least 596 data centers are now operating or planned across Texas, according to updated research that added 14 facilities since June. 
The count matters because ERCOT reports nearly 2,000 projects awaiting 
grid interconnection, about 90% of them data centers straining the state’s power and water.
                                       What’s Coming Up
 The TS Lone Star State, Texas A&M Maritime Academy’s new 524-foot training ship, docks in Galveston at 10 a.m. today, ending a 21-year wait for a dedicated vessel. The university invites the public to watch the arrival from Seawolf Park, Pier 21 and Big Reef Nature Park.
 
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston opens “Going Underground: The Jewels of Bernard Schobinger” on Thursday in the Kinder Building, the Swiss artist’s first U.S. show with 54 works. Schobinger himself appears at a contemporary-jewelry symposium Sept. 26.