AV's H -Town Headlines

Jalapeno Recall Reaches Five Major Texas Grocers

(Austin, TX)  —  Texas shoppers are facing a wide-ranging recall of prepared foods made with jalapenos linked to a Salmonella outbreak.  Taylor Fresh Foods recalled 16 products distributed in Texas through Kroger, Target, Trader Joe’s, Walmart and Whole Foods.  They include salsa, guacamole, dips, a salad, and a spicy roast beef sandwich, with best-if-used-by dates through August 16th.  The jalapenos have been linked to a Sinaloa [[ see-nah-LOH-ah ]], Mexico grower identified as the likely source of a broader outbreak that has sickened hundreds nationwide.  Taylor says no illnesses have been specifically linked to its recalled products yet.

Houston Schools Begin AI-Focused Classroom Experiment

(Houston, TX)  —  Thousands of Texas students are starting school under a new AI-focused learning model.  Houston ISD is launching the “Future-two” program at nine campuses Monday, serving about 37-hundred students.  Students will spend their first four hours on core academics, then move onto hands-on, largely screen-free activities aimed at skills like problem solving and teamwork.  At Gregg and Clemente Martinez elementary schools, some high-performing students can also use an AI platform for reading and math.  HISD says they are aiming to expand AI-focused learning to 100 district schools by 2031.

League City, Conroe May Put Flock Cameras Before Voters

(Conroe, TX)  —  League City and Conroe may soon ask voters to weigh in on the future of Flock Safety cameras.  The automated license plate readers have spread throughout the Houston area, prompting a debate about public safety, privacy and government surveillance.  The League City council will consider an election order today that would place the continued use of Flock cameras before voters in November.  A couple of Conroe City Council members have submitted a request to place discussion of the cameras on the council agenda for Thursday.

HPD Investigates After Two Bodies Found In Different Locations

(Houston, TX)  —  Houston police are investigating the separate discoveries of two bodies on Monday.  Officers responded around 11:30 a.m. to a report of a body alongside the North Freeway near Crosstimbers.  No word yet about the person’s identity or possible cause of death.  Houston police also responded around 10:15 a.m. to reports of a person struggling in the water in Brays Bayou near the Gulf Freeway.  The HPD Dive Team recovered the body of a man who was pronounced dead at the scene.  The man had no ID on him.

Life Sentence For Man Who Sexually Assaulted Pregnant Store Clerk In Conroe

(Conroe, TX)  —  A man convicted of an attack on a pregnant convenience store clerk in Conroe last year is sentenced to life in prison.  The Montgomery County D-A’s Office says Logan Parker won’t be eligible for parole for at least 30 years.  A jury found Parker guilty of aggravated sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping last week and sent him to prison on two concurrent life sentences.  The attack took place in April 2025 at a convenience store on State Highway 105.

New TEA Rule May Limit School Districts’ Ability To Close Struggling Schools

(Austin, TX)  —  A new Texas Education Agency rule will limit local school districts’ ability to close struggling schools in order to avoid state intervention.  The rule will apply a closed school’s failing grades to whichever school takes in the most students from the closed campus.  The state will release the schools’ A-through-F letter grades from 2026 on Friday of this week.  The new rule takes effect on Sunday.

Former Houston Whataburger To Be Turned Into Tex-Mex Place

(Houston, TX)  —  A former Whataburger on the Southwest Freeway feeder near Edloe is about to be turned into a Tex-Mex restaurant.  Laredo-based restaurant chain Taco Palenque reportedly plans to spend more than a million dollars to renovate the building.  Construction is scheduled to start on September 1st and finish in February.  The Whataburger franchise moved up the block, closer to Weslayan, to the site of a former Fuddruckers.  Taco Palenque already has three locations in the Houston area, about 50 in Texas and a few in Mexico.