ISSUE 6 · SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2026 · LIFE BY DESIGN, NOT DEFAULT
THE HERALD ✦ LA PORTE This Week |
Photo: City of La Porte
Tuesday is Election Day. Polls in Harris County are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and early voting ended Friday. Besides the state and county races, voters who live in La Porte ISD will see a school tax question, Proposition A. We read the ballot language and the district’s own explanation, and lay out both below.
Also this week: the city switches to a new water payment website Monday, the Zoning Board of Adjustment meets that night, and the minutes from the Oct. 26 council meeting are not posted yet.
THE HERALD ✦ LA PORTE Liberty Watch |
Photo: Surely Shirly / Wikimedia Commons, CC0
Tue 11/3 Election Day 7 a.m.–7 p.m. | Mon 11/2 Zoning board 6 p.m. | Wed 11/4 Airport board 5:30 p.m. | Not yet Oct. 26 council minutes posted |
What’s posted from last week: nothing yet. The city’s meeting portal shows no minutes for the Oct. 26 City Council meeting, the Oct. 26 Development Corporation board or the Oct. 29 Redistricting Advisory Committee. That includes whether council approved the draft Oct. 12 minutes we reported last week. Where there are no minutes, we are not reporting votes.
This week:
- Monday, Nov. 2, 6 p.m. — Zoning Board of Adjustment, City Hall. A public hearing on Variance VAR-2026-0004 at 212 Sylvan St., where the owners want to build a driveway two feet from the side lot line instead of three, with two inches of clearance from obstructions instead of three feet. The board also takes up adopting rules of procedure, and a special meeting in place of its Nov. 26 and Dec. 24 meetings. The board makes the final decision on variances.
- Wednesday, Nov. 4, 5:30 p.m. — Airport Advisory Board, City Hall. The board meets Tailworks LLC, hears an update on the Airport Layout Plan, reviews city ordinance changes that the agenda says include new fees and a new airport emergency plan, and picks logo options to send to council.
- Monday, Nov. 9, noon — the portal lists a notice of a possible council quorum and a Planning and Zoning Commission meeting at the same hour. Both are posted only as PDFs, which the portal’s bot check kept us from opening. We’ll report them once we can read them.
Coming Nov. 23: council hearings on a zone change and land-use plan change for about one acre at 10913 Houston Dr., from low-density residential to large-lot residential. The city’s hearing notice says the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended both; we will report the vote when the commission’s minutes are posted.
| Your move: anyone can speak at Monday’s variance hearing. The city asks speakers to sign the list in the foyer before the meeting starts and give their name and address. |
Sources: Nov 2 Zoning Board of Adjustment · Nov 4 Airport Advisory Board · Oct 26 council agenda · Oct 29 Redistricting committee · City meeting portal · City public hearing notices
✦ Rooms This Week |
| Citizen's Advisory Council to La Porte Industry (LPCAC / La Porte CAC) Tuesday, 6:00 PM (time from its usual schedule; check before you go. Its site lists Nov. 3 as the next meeting, and Nov. 3 is also Election Day) · Guests by invitation How to get in: Email info@laportecac.org for an invitation | ||
| Rotary Club of La Porte · Club Meeting - Lions Club Eyeglasses Program Wednesday, 12:00 PM · Guests by invitation How to get in: the room’s site |
Who sits in these rooms and the public money that goes in: the record.
THE HERALD ✦ LA PORTE Mapping Our Community: What La Porte ISD’s Proposition A Asks |
The county’s sample ballot lists it as La Porte ISD Proposition A, which the district calls a Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election. Its wording opens with “THIS IS A TAX INCREASE.” It asks voters to ratify a school tax rate of $1.0673 per $100 of value, which it says will raise the district’s maintenance and operations revenue by 0.12 percent over last year, an additional $136,630.28.
$1.0673 proposed total rate per $100 | $1.0641 current rate, per the district | 12¢ M&O pennies the vote covers | $8.4M net new revenue, district estimate |
The district describes the same question with much bigger numbers. Its VATRE pages say the election would add 12 cents per $100 to the maintenance and operations rate, and its FAQs say a yes vote would give La Porte ISD access to about $8.4 million in additional net revenue, about 6% of the general fund budget. Why the gap? The district says that for much of the past decade its rate has included “disaster pennies,” extra cents the state allows only after a qualifying disaster declaration. The 12 cents on the ballot would make that money a voter-approved part of the rate instead of something that depends each year on the state. The district puts the change in the total rate at 1.0641 to 1.0673, about $4 a year for the average homeowner, and says the impact on any one bill depends on the home’s taxable value after exemptions.
Source: La Porte ISD VATRE FAQs, Oct 2026
Where the money goes. La Porte ISD is a “property-wealthy” district under state school finance, so part of what it collects goes back to the state, a system called recapture. The district says about 37% of its maintenance and operations revenue is recaptured now, and it estimates about 53% of the new revenue would be. It says the money would go to employee pay, property insurance, fuel and utilities, and training and materials, and that its adopted 2026-27 budget shows a $12.3 million deficit. Homeowners 65 and older or disabled with a frozen school tax ceiling will not see an increase, the district says.
Why it matters: the ballot and the district describe different things. The ballot states the change in this year’s maintenance and operations revenue compared with last year’s; the district describes the full 12 cents and the net money it says they would bring. Read both before you vote. Polling places in the district include the Evelyn Kennedy Civic Center, 618 San Jacinto St., and Sylvan Shores Health & Wellness Center, 3950 Underwood Rd.; the district says Harris County voters can vote at any county polling location.
| 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: This week: Teach Me: Notes From the Seat That Sits Down to Learn (The Client); Wisdom That Does Not Transfer Dies (The Patron); Health Is a Project, Not a Prayer (The Physician); The Mortar Is the Part Nobody Sees (The Counselor); Before We Build Anything New, Someone Should Ask What Was Here (The Elder). Get them by email → |
| KNOW YOUR TOWN THIS WEEK One question about La Porte every day, and every answer links to the public record it comes from. Play today’s question → |
Sources: Harris County sample ballot, Nov 3 · La Porte ISD — VATRE · La Porte ISD — VATRE FAQs · Harris County vote centers · CLR record — La Porte
THE HERALD ✦ LA PORTE From the Council This Week |
 | MONDAY, NOV 2 · THE CHIEF OF STAFF I Hold the Map While You Run the Terrain |
Every piece, every figure linked to its source: councilonlocalrelations.org
THE HERALD ✦ LA PORTE Around the Block |
Image: City of La Porte
Have your say on downtown. The city and the Houston-Galveston Area Council are studying how to better connect Main Street, Broadway, the bayfront and the neighborhoods around them: safer streets for walking, biking and golf carts, and ways to link downtown with the beach. A come-and-go open house shows the first concepts on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 4–6 p.m., at the Jennie Riley Community Center, 322 N. 4th St. Can’t make it? The city has an online survey (city notice).
| Family Place Play Time Workshop — 6 p.m., La Porte Branch Library. A free five-week parent-and-child playtime for ages 1–3, Mondays through Nov. 30; register online. | ||
| Teen Time: Journal Decoration — 3:30–5 p.m., La Porte Branch Library. Grades 6–12 decorate a journal for National Writing Month. | ||
| Twisted Stitches — 10 a.m., La Porte Branch Library. Crochet a rustic pumpkin with the wheat stitch; ages 18 and up, basic crochet required, registration required (281-471-4022). | ||
| First Fridays at Five Points: Wine Walk — 6–9 p.m. Check in at Five Points Plaza, 100 S. Broadway, for a tasting cup and map; live music by Janet Z. | ||
| Main Street Trade Days — 10 a.m.–2 p.m., Five Points Town Plaza, 100 S. Broadway. | ||
| Mission Entrepreneurship — 9–10:30 a.m., La Porte City Hall. The Tri-City Business Growth Partners present veteran business resources and a fireside chat with veteran business owners, moderated by Mark Winchester, SBA Houston District Director; free, with registration. |
Your move: Mayor Helton’s monthly Cycle the City ride is Tuesday, Nov. 17, 6:30 p.m. Run a La Porte event? Send it by Thursday.
Sources: Livable Centers open house (city) · Family Place Play Time · Journal Decoration · Twisted Stitches · Wine Walk (city calendar) · Trade Days (city calendar) · Mission Entrepreneurship (city calendar) · November events (city calendar)
THE HERALD ✦ LA PORTE Prosperity Spotlight |
 | Babes by the Bay Babes by the Bay is a women’s boutique at 606 W. Main St. Its site says two sisters, Brittney and Lindsey, who grew up in the Deer Park and Pasadena area, opened it after years of wanting a shop of their own, a place where “every woman can feel beautiful and empowered.” The shop sells tops, dresses, denim, sets and accessories, in the store and online, and its site says new arrivals post every Thursday at 8 p.m. It’s on Main Street, where Friday’s Wine Walk and Saturday’s Trade Days bring the crowds downtown. |
| Babes by the Bay · 606 W. Main St., La Porte · 281-606-2223 Wed–Fri 11 a.m.–6 p.m. · Sat 10 a.m.–3 p.m. · Closed Sun–Tue · babesbythebay.com |
Sources: Babes by the Bay (own site) · Visit La Porte — Main Street directory
THE HERALD ✦ LA PORTE Food Scene |
Photo: Monument Inn
Monument Inn
Monument Inn is a seafood restaurant on Independence Parkway, near the San Jacinto Battleground, that says it has been in business since 1974. Bob and Ann Laws bought it in 1990; six months later it burned to the ground, and they reopened 10 weeks later. Its site says hurricanes Ike and Harvey both flooded its downstairs private rooms, and the 2019 ITC chemical storage fire closed it for 42 days.
The menu runs to seafood, steaks, chicken, pastas, burgers and po’ boys, with an all-you-can-eat option and homemade dinner rolls and cinnamon rolls. The restaurant says its bakers make more than 1,000 cinnamon rolls on a busy Saturday, and the dining room overlooks the Houston Ship Channel.
| Monument Inn · 4406 Independence Pkwy. S., La Porte · 281-479-1521 Sun–Thu 11 a.m.–8 p.m. · Fri–Sat 11 a.m.–9 p.m. · monumentinn.com |
Sources: Monument Inn (own site)
✦ Trivia Question |
In the 1920s and 1930s, La Porte drew national attention for a bayfront attraction where big bands played. What was it? (Answer at the bottom.)
✦ Quote of the Day |
“Who are to be the electors of the federal representatives? Not the rich, more than the poor; not the learned, more than the ignorant; not the haughty heirs of distinguished names, more than the humble sons of obscurity and unpropitious fortune.” — Publius, The Federalist No. 57, 1788 (Avalon Project)
✦ Secret Little Hack |
Paying your water bill on autopay? November’s payment won’t go through on its own. The city moves to a new online payment system Monday, Nov. 2; the billing site is down from 5 to 8 a.m. that morning. Every customer has to register a new account and pay November by credit card by hand. The city says the texts and emails its vendor sent about the switch are real, not a scam (city notice).
THE HERALD ✦ LA PORTE Real Estate Pulse |
26.6% sold above list, up 10.2 points | 36.2% had a price drop | 98.3% sale-to-list price | 69 Redfin Compete Score (of 100) |
Source: Redfin, Sept 2026 (2025 share from Redfin's +10.2 pt change)
Redfin still hasn’t posted October, so here is a different look at September: who is winning the deal. More than one in four La Porte homes sold above list price, 26.6%, up 10.2 points from a year earlier. But 36.2% of listings took a price cut, and the typical home sold for 98.3% of its asking price. Redfin rates the market “somewhat competitive”: the average home goes pending in about 28 days, a hot one in about 12. Your move: if you’re pricing a house, the well-priced ones are getting bid up while the rest are getting cut.
Sources: Redfin — La Porte housing market
Photo: HAR.com listing
For rent, listed by Nina Bright. 4713 E Meadow Dr, Deer Park 77536: $2,550 a month. Four bedrooms, two baths, 1,928 square feet on one story, built in 2010. Two-car attached garage, covered patio, wood floors, granite counters, a fireplace and fresh paint. Available now; pets case by case ($500 deposit per pet). See the listing on HAR.
Full disclosure: Nina is David’s wife.
| Looking to buy or sell? Nina Bright, Realtor — call or text 832-689-3170. |
THE HERALD ✦ LA PORTE Service Opportunities |
Photo: City of La Porte
Take a shelter dog out for the day. The La Porte Animal Adoption Center’s Doggie Day Out lets you check a dog out for the day — for a walk around town, a pup cup or a trip to a pet-friendly store. The shelter also takes short- and long-term fosters, and runs Foster-to-Adopt, where you take an animal home for 72 hours before you decide. The foster application is on the shelter’s page.
Volunteers clean, cuddle cats, run dog playgroups and help at adoption events, and the shelter will sign off on student volunteer hours for college applications. It does not take court-ordered community service hours (shelter page).
THE HERALD ✦ LA PORTE Adopt a Friend |
 | Meet Gandalf 5 months · Male · Domestic Mediumhair (kitten) A gray kitten with medium-length fur, newly listed by the city shelter. The adoption fee is $85, which covers a vet check, initial vaccines, a microchip and vouchers toward spay or neuter and rabies shots. See Gandalf’s listing → |
| La Porte Animal Adoption Center and Shelter · 10901 Spencer Hwy, La Porte Tue–Fri noon–6 p.m., Sat–Sun 11 a.m.–4 p.m. (closed Monday) · adoption page |
THE HERALD ✦ LA PORTE Growth & Learning |
Illustration
Read a ballot question with your kids. Open the district’s page and find the two tax rates: 1.0641 now and 1.0673 if Proposition A passes. How much is the difference per $100 of value? Now multiply it out for a pretend house worth $100,000 before exemptions. Then ask the harder question: the ballot says the change is $136,630, and the district says $8.4 million. Can both be true? (Hint: look up “disaster pennies.”) More at unrivaledacademy.com.
THE HERALD ✦ LA PORTE Local Theory & Remnant Radio |
 | Now playing: Come Home — Local Theory (April 1, 2026 · 13 tracks). Listen. Remnant Radio streams the whole catalog 24/7 at radio.thinkandactlocally.com · Spotify. Thirteen releases. Sovereignty through sound. In the Studio now: Beloved. Vote on the mixes. |
THE HERALD ✦ LA PORTE Weather Forecast |
Sun  Partly sunny 81° 71° | Mon  Partly sunny 81° 73° | Tue  Storms likely 82° 64° | Wed  Sunny 74° 61° | Thu Sunny 75° 61° | Fri Sunny 74° 60° |
Warm and partly sunny Sunday and Monday, with highs near 81. On Election Day the National Weather Service shows showers and thunderstorms, with a 90% chance of rain and a high near 82, so plan your trip to the polls; storms may linger before midnight. After that it turns cooler and sunny, with highs of 74 to 75 and lows near 60. The forecast doesn’t reach Saturday yet.
Sources: National Weather Service (HGX), retrieved Oct 31, 5:50 p.m. CT
✦ 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. See how it works. We earn a referral if you join. CrowdHealth is not insurance. 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. 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. Book a free 15-minute call with David: we’ll look at how your business shows up online and where customers may be slipping past. If you want us to fix it, that’s paid work, and David will go over the price on the call. Book a free 15-minute call. 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 site.
✦ Tuttle Twins: Money skills, starting in 4th grade |
Tuttle Twins’ new Business Basics, Grade 4 is a 36-lesson money and business course for kids ages 10–11, or students working at a 4th-grade level. Kids start with a lemonade stand and build toward a fundraiser, learning to budget, save and serve customers along the way. It fits right into TAAL’s family-budgeting work: the habits start young. Pre-order from $39 for the digital copy ($49 print, $59 for both). Grade 3 is available now.
As a Tuttle Twins affiliate, TAAL may earn a commission if you buy through our link.
THE HERALD ✦ LA PORTE Community Voices |
Did you vote early, or will you vote Tuesday? Tell us one thing about how it went — the line, the place, a poll worker who helped — in a sentence or two. Hit reply, and we’ll run the best next Sunday.
✦ Take Action |
- Monday, Nov. 2 — the city’s new water payment site goes live. Register a new account and make your November payment by hand; recurring payments won’t carry over this month.
- Tuesday, Nov. 3, 7 a.m.–7 p.m. — Election Day. La Porte ISD Proposition A is on the ballot for district voters. Look up your ballot and your nearest vote center at HarrisVotes.com.
- Tuesday, Nov. 10, 4–6 p.m. — Livable Centers open house, Jennie Riley Community Center, 322 N. 4th St. Come and go; or take the online survey.
✦ Submit Your Content |
Events, business features, volunteer calls, letters from La Porte: david@thinkandactlocally.com. Deadline: Thursday 5 PM for Sunday.
✦ Answer to Trivia |
Sylvan Beach Amusement Park. The Handbook of Texas says the park drew national attention in the 1920s and 1930s, when big bands including those of Rudy Vallee, Phil Harris and Benny Goodman played its dances and beauty contests (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 wants to read the ballot before they walk in Tuesday.
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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.
