ISSUE 2 · SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2026 · LIFE BY DESIGN, NOT DEFAULT
THE HERALD ✦ LA PORTE This Week |
Two meetings this week, and they could not be more different. On Thursday the council holds a special session with one item: how to decorate City Hall for Christmas. Next Tuesday, the committee drawing new council districts takes up a proposed map.
This week: what’s on each agenda, the industrial deal that pays a big share of the city’s bills, and the one result from last Monday we can confirm.
THE HERALD ✦ LA PORTE Liberty Watch |
Thu 10/8 special session 5:30 p.m. | $95,352 holiday décor on the Sept 28 agenda | Oct 13 redistricting committee | 9–0 secondary dwelling approved Sept 28 |
Thursday, October 8, 5:30 p.m. — City Hall Council Chamber, 604 W. Fairmont Parkway. A special meeting with one business item: “possible action to provide administrative staff direction on City Hall Christmas Decorations.” Citizen comment comes first.
The backstory: the September 28 agenda asked council to approve holiday décor — $76,281.82 plus a $19,070.25 contingency, $95,352.07 in all, through Premier Lighting Enterprises and Holiday Concierge. Now it’s back as its own meeting. Minutes from September 28 aren’t posted yet, so what council did that night isn’t on the record.
Tuesday, October 13, 6 p.m. — the 2026 Redistricting Advisory Committee considers “redistricting plan changes and/or recommendations” to council for the new single-member district map. A quorum of council may attend.
Confirmed from last Monday: council approved a secondary dwelling unit at 10913 Houston Dr., 9–0. The patrol-officer ordinance, the redistricting criteria and the Flock camera report from issue 1 await posted minutes; we’ll report them when they’re on the record.
| Your move: $95,000 for decorations is a fair thing to have an opinion about. Thursday’s meeting opens with citizen comment — it’s the place to say it. |
Sources: Oct 8 special meeting agenda (eSCRIBE) · Sept 28 agenda, item 7.b · Oct 13 redistricting committee agenda · City news: secondary dwelling approved
THE HERALD ✦ LA PORTE Mapping Our Community: The Industrial Deal That Pays for La Porte |
Drive north of Highway 225 and you’re in the Battleground industrial district — about 5,500 acres along the Ship Channel, created in 1958. Bayport, created in 1970, adds 2,500 more. Most of it isn’t inside the city, but it pays the city anyway.
162 companies under contract | $24.3M industrial payments FY2025 | 64% of what city taxes would be | 2031 contracts expire |
Under its contracts, industry paid La Porte $24.3 million in FY2025 — up from about $14.4 million in FY2016, and above the $22 million the city budgeted. The city collects 64% of what it would get if all the industry were inside city limits. Property taxes and these payments together make up 48% of the city’s revenue.
The lens worth keeping: those contracts run to December 31, 2031. That’s five budgets away. What La Porte negotiates before then shapes every tax bill after it.
| GO DEEPER The La Porte record: budgets, tax rates, votes and who governs, every figure sourced — councilonlocalrelations.org/tx/la-porte/ Start here — the Primers: 01 The Long Flat Line (how the family changed) · 02 The Documents We Live Under (the written rules that limit power) · 03 The Household (what a household buys, priced in years of work) · all primers → From the Council: Starting Monday, the Council’s seats introduce themselves, one each weekday, beginning with the Chairman’s Why I Built a Council. Get them by email → |
Sources: CLR record — La Porte (FY2025 ACFR, Note G)
THE HERALD ✦ LA PORTE Around the Block |
| National Night Out — 6–8 p.m. La Porte PD officers visit neighborhood block parties across town. | ||
| Little Explorers: Toypalooza — 10:15 and 11:15 a.m., La Porte Branch Library, 600 S. Broadway. Ages 0–5; dress to get messy; free ticket. | ||
| Pour Your Art Out — 3:30 p.m., La Porte Branch Library. Free after-school art for elementary kids. | ||
| Teen Time: DIY Mini Shrines — 3:30–5 p.m., La Porte Branch Library. Hispanic Heritage Month nichos. | ||
| Little Readers: Bedtime Stories — 10:15 a.m., La Porte Branch Library. Ages 0–5. |
Your move: National Night Out is the easiest way to meet the neighbors who’ll share your new council district. Run a La Porte event? Send it by Thursday.
Sources: National Night Out (city calendar) · Toypalooza · Pour Your Art Out · Mini Shrines · Bedtime Stories
THE HERALD ✦ LA PORTE Prosperity Spotlight |
Michelle's Home Furnishings & Decor
Michelle's Home Furnishings & Decor is a family-owned furniture and home decor store that has been on Spencer Highway for more than 16 years.
Longtime shoppers may know it by its old name, Antiques, Decor & More. The same family and team renamed it recently.
It carries new furniture from brands including Ashley, Hooker and Liberty, plus lighting, floral arrangements, jewelry and vintage pieces, and it delivers locally.
| Michelle's Home Furnishings & Decor · 8380 Spencer Highway, La Porte · 281-478-4044 Mon 10–5 · Tue–Fri 10–6 · Sat 10–5 · Sun noon–5 · michelleshomefurnishings.com |
Sources: Michelle's Home Furnishings & Decor
THE HERALD ✦ LA PORTE Food Scene |
Tortilla's Mexican Restaurant
Tortilla's has served Tex-Mex on Spencer Highway since 1990, from one location.
Besides the dining room, it caters, books private parties and takes table reservations online.
Know the story behind it? Reply and tell us. We'd like to hear who started it.
| Tortilla's Mexican Restaurant · 9602 Spencer Highway, La Porte · (281) 479-1710 Mon–Thu & Sat 11 a.m.–9 p.m. · Fri 11–10 · Sun 11–8 · tortillastexmex.com |
Sources: Tortilla's Mexican Restaurant
✦ Trivia Question |
What does the name “La Porte” mean? (Answer at the bottom.)
✦ Quote of the Day |
“Facts are stubborn things.” — John Adams, 1770
✦ Secret Little Hack |
Leaving town? La Porte PD will do residential vacation checks on your house while you’re gone. Request one online with your dates, an emergency contact, and what should (and shouldn’t) be moving at the house (La Porte PD vacation checks).
THE HERALD ✦ LA PORTE Real Estate Pulse |
$279,065 median sale price (3 mo. to Aug) | +5.3% vs. a year ago | 34 days median time on market | 98.7% of list price at sale |
Prices are up 5% and homes are selling faster than a year ago (34 days, down from 42), with 131 sold in August. Sale prices feed the appraisals that set next year’s bill. Your move: know your number at hcad.org.
Sources: Redfin — La Porte housing market
| Looking to buy or sell? Nina Bright, Realtor — call or text 832-689-3170. Full disclosure: Nina is David’s wife. |
THE HERALD ✦ LA PORTE Service Opportunities |
Host or join a block party for National Night Out on Tuesday. Or foster or adopt: the city shelter on Spencer Highway is full of dogs waiting on a first home.
THE HERALD ✦ LA PORTE Adopt a Friend |
 | Meet Lima 1 year · Female · Jack Russell Terrier / American Staffordshire Terrier mix A one-year-old, white with brown, expected to grow to 26–60 pounds. See Lima’s listing → |
| La Porte Animal Adoption Center and Shelter · 10901 Spencer Hwy, La Porte · 281-471-3810 Tue–Fri noon–6 p.m., Sat–Sun 11 a.m.–4 p.m. (closed Monday) · adoption page |
THE HERALD ✦ LA PORTE Growth & Learning |
Give your kids a map of La Porte and six crayons, and ask them to split the city into six districts with the same number of people in each. Then ask: what changed when you moved one line? That’s the exact work the redistricting committee does on October 13. More at unrivaledacademy.com.
THE HERALD ✦ LA PORTE Local Theory & Remnant Radio |
 | Now playing: Sovereign Ground — the latest Local Theory album (April 3, 2026 · 15 tracks). Listen · vote on the mixes. Remnant Radio streams the whole catalog 24/7 at radio.thinkandactlocally.com · Spotify. Fourteen releases. Sovereignty through sound. |
THE HERALD ✦ LA PORTE Weather Forecast |
Sun Storms possible 84° 74° | Mon Partly sunny 86° 73° | Tue Sunny 88° 73° | Wed Sunny 88° 75° | Thu Mostly sunny 86° 74° | Fri Storms possible 84° 73° | Sat Storms possible 84° 75° |
About a 50% chance of storms today, then sunny and dry Monday through Wednesday, highs 86–88. Storm chances come back late Thursday and run about 30% Friday and Saturday.
Sources: National Weather Service (HGX), retrieved Oct 4
✦ CrowdHealth |
 | David and his family left traditional health insurance for CrowdHealth — a community that funds each other’s medical bills. Bills get negotiated down first; no claims department, no denial letters. See how it works. Referral link. David is a paying member. |
✦ Unrivaled Travels |
 | Planning a trip worth taking? Our own travel service books the expedition, cruise, or getaway you’ll remember — at no markup. info@unrivaledtravels.com · 281-241-1994 · unrivaledtravels.com One of our own businesses. |
✦ Unrivaled Candles |
 | Hand-poured jewelry candles — every one hides a piece of jewelry inside, valued from $10 to $10,000. Burn it down and find out what’s yours. Shop Unrivaled Candles. Full disclosure: one of our own businesses. |
✦ Unrivaled Marketing Solutions |
 | You built the business — now make sure your La Porte neighbors can find it. Grab a free digital audit and we’ll show you where you’re leaving money on the table. No pitch. Book your free audit. One of our own businesses. |
✦ Sponsor Spot |
This spot is open. Sponsor this spot — reach La Porte neighbors every Sunday, in the one inbox they actually read. Reply to book it.
✦ They Told Him He Was Crazy |
David sold his metals. Not trimmed — sold. He kept the receipts, every decision sourced, so you can decide for yourself: conviction, or crazy? Read the filing →
David’s own account; affiliate link. Support never touches coverage.
✦ Have a Question? Ask It Live |
Want to understand the framework David uses to put money to work without living in front of a screen? The team behind it runs free live calls — bring your questions, get them answered in real time. No cost to sit in and listen.
Register for a free live call →
Full disclosure: this is an affiliate link. But you know the rule — sponsors support the mission, never influence the message. David doesn't recommend anything he doesn't personally use.
THE HERALD ✦ LA PORTE Community Voices |
Who in La Porte deserves a thank-you this week? The officer who knows your street by name, the volunteer at the shelter, the neighbor who hosts the block party. Hit reply — one or two sentences — and we’ll run the best next Sunday.
✦ Take Action |
- Show up Thursday, Oct 8, 5:30 p.m., City Hall, 604 W. Fairmont Pkwy — citizen comment comes first.
- Mark Tuesday, Oct 13, 6 p.m. — the Redistricting Advisory Committee takes up a proposed map.
- Going out of town? Ask La Porte PD for a vacation check.
✦ Submit Your Content |
Events, business features, volunteer calls, letters from La Porte: david@thinkandactlocally.com. Deadline: Thursday 5 PM for Sunday.
✦ Answer to Trivia |
“The door” — la porte is French for door. The town was laid out in 1892 as a real-estate venture (Handbook of Texas).
THE HERALD ✦ LA PORTE Keep the Herald Free |
No advertiser sets our coverage — readers keep it alive. The best thing you can do costs nothing: forward this to one neighbor who’d want a say in where the new council lines fall.
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La Porte on the record (CLR) · CLR Primers · Think and Act Locally · Unrivaled Marketing Solutions
The Herald is published by Think and Act Locally. Its facts come from the public record kept by the Council on Local Relations, which shares a founder with Think and Act Locally. Portions drafted with AI assistance and reviewed before publication. Reply anytime: david@thinkandactlocally.com
