Think and Act Locally

Empowering Deer Park · Liberty · Prosperity · Service · Growth

Issue 27 · Sunday, September 13, 2026 · Deer Park Edition · Life by Design, Not Default

Two questions run under this issue. Who decides what you pay? And who watches the watchers?

The first one comes to a head Tuesday night at City Hall. The second one is bigger than Deer Park, but it has a Deer Park chapter, and it is still being written. Neither question gets answered in a comment thread. Both get answered by the people who show up, read the notice, and ask one good question out loud.

Every fact in this issue links to where we found it. If we got something wrong, tell us and we will print the correction.

When Deer Park sounds its outdoor warning sirens, how many are mounted on poles around the city itself? (Answer at the bottom.)

"Town meetings are to liberty what primary schools are to science." — Alexis de Tocqueville

Stop finding out about the meeting after it happened. On deerparktx.gov, click Notify Me and subscribe to the calendar and agenda alerts. The city will email you when a council agenda posts and when events go on the calendar — the same feed we watch, delivered straight to your inbox. Two minutes now, and you're never the last to know again.

David sold his metals. Not trimmed — sold. The metals crowd told him he'd lost his mind, and plenty of people he respects still think so.

He kept the receipts. Every decision, sourced and laid out, so you don't have to take his word for any of it. Read the filing and decide for yourself — was it conviction, or was it crazy?

Is Dave crazy? Read the filing →

Full disclosure: this is David's own account, and the link is an affiliate link. You know the rule — support keeps the mission running, it never touches what we cover. David doesn't point you at anything he hasn't done himself.

Government accountability and civic engagement. Understanding how local government works is the first step to influencing it.

This Tuesday, Sept 15, 7:30 PM: the tax-rate hearing. City Hall, 710 E San Augustine St. The city has proposed a 2026 property-tax rate of $0.720000 per $100 of valuation. That is above the no-new-revenue rate ($0.712411), so the city's own notice calls it a proposed tax increase. It is not above the voter-approval rate ($0.723403), so no election is required. The notice says you can express support or opposition by contacting council members or by attending the hearing.

Want to speak? Register by 7:25 PM the day of the meeting. Questions go to the City Secretary's office, 281-479-2394.

Monday, Sept 14: zoning. At 6:10 PM the Planning and Zoning Commission holds a preliminary public hearing on a request to rezone 4811 Red Bluff Road (an 8.778-acre tract) from Highway Service to M1 Industrial Parks. At 6:30 PM the Board of Adjustment hears requested variances. Both meetings are at City Hall.

A seat is open on the Library Board of Trustees. The city is taking applications for one volunteer position: a 2-year, unpaid term. The board meets the 4th Tuesday of each month at 5:30 PM at the Library. Applications are due October 1, 2026 (by 5:00 PM if mailed). Download the application at deerparktx.gov, or pick one up at the City Secretary's Office (710 E San Augustine), where notary service is on site.

Emergency alerts moved to Everbridge. The city switched its emergency notification system from CodeRED to Everbridge. If you were registered with CodeRED, you don't need to do anything: the city says it transferred those contacts. Not signed up? Text 77536 to 888777.

From the record. The chart above comes from the Council on Local Relations' running record of Deer Park. It shows every adopted FY2025 tax rate on a Deer Park parcel, with the city's share, each traced to its source, at councilonlocalrelations.org/tx/deer-park.

Your move: Read the notice. If one item touches your block, show up and register to speak. The Herald informs and convenes. Which way you land is yours.

Sources: City of Deer Park — Public Notices · Mayor & City Council · Boards & Commissions · Emergency Notifications

Deer Park's police department uses Flock automated license-plate-reader cameras. In August the story moved from one department to the whole state.

Here at home. Houston Public Media reports that the department found an officer's misuse of its Flock system during an internal audit. According to a disciplinary memo provided to the outlet, the officer searched one license plate 165 times over several months. The vehicle was not part of any ongoing investigation. The officer received a 10-day suspension and was moved from Criminal Investigations to Patrol. The department said the matter was promptly investigated and that it takes the responsible use of surveillance tools seriously. In response, the department created a transparency portal with Flock.

At the county. Harris County renewed its Flock contract on May 28 for $868,975, covering June 2026 through June 2027, KPRC reports. County Judge Lina Hidalgo abstained, and the renewal passed 4–0. In early September she called for a special Commissioners Court meeting on privacy safeguards, oversight, and who can access plate-reader data.

At the state. The Texas Tribune reports that Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state agencies to stop spending state money on Flock cameras, confirmed by his spokesman on Aug. 28. A state authority had helped agencies install at least 3,200 Flock cameras since 2023. The order does not force local departments to shut off cameras bought with local, federal, or private money.

The open question isn't about one officer. It's structural: who can see the data, how long plate reads are kept, and how often anyone checks. Those are fair questions for any public body that runs these cameras, including ours.

Your move: Look at the department's transparency portal, then take your access, retention, and audit questions to a council meeting. The Herald doesn't tell you whether the cameras are worth it. That call is yours.

Sources: Houston Public Media, Aug 20 · KPRC Click2Houston, Sep 5 · The Texas Tribune, Aug 28

This week in Deer Park, straight off the city calendar. Times can shift, so check the listing before you head out.

• Teen Volley Vibes — Monday, Sep 14 and Friday, Sep 18, 6:00–8:00 PM, 709 E. P Street.
• Rec For All: Lava Lamp Sensory Bags — Monday, Sep 14, 6:00–7:30 PM, 1201 Center St.
• Kids Craft: Paper Plate Owl — Tuesday, Sep 15, 4:00–5:00 PM, Deer Park Public Library (3009 Center St.).
• Art in the Park — Wednesday, Sep 16, 5:00–7:00 PM, Dow Park.
• Bingo Night Fever — Wednesday, Sep 16, 6:00–8:00 PM, Maxwell Center (1201 Center St.).
• Toddler & Preschool Storytime — Thursday, Sep 17, 10:15 and 11:00 AM, Deer Park Public Library.
• Featured Friday: Texas Twilight — Friday, Sep 18, 11:00 AM–12:00 PM, Deer Park Public Library.
• Bath Bomb Making Class — Saturday, Sep 19, 2:00–4:00 PM, 610 E. San Augustine.

Coming up: the Friends of the Library Fall Flash Book Sale is Saturday, Sep 26, 10:00 AM–3:00 PM at the Library, and proceeds help library programs. Save the date for the Tree Lighting Spectacular at Patrick's Cabin Christmas Town on Thursday, Nov 19, 5:30–9:00 PM, at 1302 Center Street. The tree lighting is at 6:00 PM, and admission is free.

Your move: Pick one. Put it on the calendar. Show up.

Sources: City of Deer Park calendar · Tree Lighting Spectacular

Supporting business and entrepreneurship. Presented by UMS.

Center Street Nutrition

Scroll one of Deer Park's Facebook groups long enough and you'll hit a thread like the one from a few weeks back: a customer asking the room what to order at Center Street Nutrition. The regulars couldn't help themselves. Reply after reply, favorite after favorite, and the same note running underneath all of it: the staff here are the best. Sixty-plus comments deep, it read less like a question answered and more like a town vouching for one of its own.

If you haven't been in, it's the little nutrition bar at 3802 Center Street. It serves better-for-you meal-replacement shakes in more than fifty flavors, plus herbal energy teas and specialty protein drinks, all made to order. Regulars will tell you their favorites without being asked, which is the surest sign of a business a town has taken to heart. The staff know their customers by name, and it shows.

It's the kind of place that makes a Center Street corner feel like ours: locally owned, open early, and run by people who show up for their neighbors. Next time you're headed down Center, stop in and see what all the fuss is about.

Center Street Nutrition · 3802 Center St, Deer Park, TX 77536 · (346) 932-5209
Open early Mon–Fri (closes 7 PM Mon–Thu, 5 PM Fri) · Sat 8 AM–2 PM · Sun 9 AM–1 PM

Presented by Unrivaled Marketing Solutions — lifting up the businesses that make Deer Park, Deer Park.

Cuban Cafe is a sandwich shop at 1625 Center Street. In its own words, it serves fresh coffee, empanadas, and sandwiches pressed on authentic Floridian Cuban bread. The Deer Park shop opened in 2018 as the second location, after the original in Baytown. Its own suggestion: try the cafe con leche.

Cuban Cafe · 1625 Center St, Deer Park · (832) 429-3273 · Mon–Fri 5:00 AM–2:00 PM, Sat 6:00 AM–2:00 PM, closed Sunday.

Your move: Breakfast on Center Street this week.

Sources: Cuban Cafe Deer Park · TAAL Deer Park directory

Deer Park stays one of the Ship Channel's steadier housing markets — established neighborhoods, mature trees, and school-district demand that keeps homes moving. If you've watched your appraisal climb faster than your street got repaved, you're not imagining it, and it's worth understanding before you buy, sell, or protest.

Your move: Look up your own property on the Harris Central Appraisal District site (hcad.org). Know your number before anyone else uses it against you.

Ways to make a difference.

Deer Park United Methodist Food Pantry serves Deer Park ISD families who need a hand with groceries. It runs Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 AM–2 PM, and it runs on volunteers and donations. An hour of your week, or a bag from your pantry, keeps a neighbor fed. Details at dpumc.org/outreach.

Want something outdoors? The city's Parks & Recreation department takes volunteers and adopt-a-greenspace stewards year-round — see deerparktx.gov (Volunteer Deer Park).

Your move: Email or call one of the above this week and ask the simplest question there is: "How can I help?"

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Or just leave it on. Remnant Radio streams the whole catalog, 24/7: radio.thinkandactlocally.com. Full catalog on Spotify: Local Theory. Fourteen releases. Sovereignty through sound. Published by TAAL Music & Publishing.

Hot, with a daily chance of afternoon showers and storms through midweek (the best odds are about 40% on Monday). Drier and sunny by Friday and Saturday. Highs run 90–94°, and lows are near 80°.

National Weather Service forecast for Deer Park, issued Sep 13. Check the latest before you plan outdoors.

Sources: National Weather Service (HGX)

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Here's the standing offer: buy me a beer and I'll tell you the whole thing. Who I am, what I've built, what's on the menu. No pitch — just a seat at the table.

The Remnant is the crew that gathers on the other side of that beer. It's for the people who've felt that something is off with how things are run — in the city, in the family, in their own head — and who'd rather build than scroll. We trust the government to hold itself accountable; it never quite does; so ordinary people take their place back, one skill and one neighbor at a time. That's the idea. It's better explained over a drink than in a paragraph.

It isn't a system to buy or a course to finish. It's a small, early crew — which is the good part, because you'd be helping build it, not joining a stadium. Come sit down.

The first thing waiting on the other side is a video of me — beer in hand — telling you what I built and why. That's the price of the beer: you have to come sit down to hear it.

Join the crew →

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Great travel deals — find out more

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This space is open for one Deer Park business a week. Sponsors keep the lights on; they never touch a word of what we cover — that's in writing. This could be your business. Email david@thinkandactlocally.com.

You built the business — now let's make sure your neighbors can actually find it. Unrivaled Marketing Solutions (UMS) is our commercial arm, helping Deer Park businesses get seen, get found, and get booked. Not sure where you're leaving money on the table? Grab a free digital audit and we'll show you — no pitch, no obligation.

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Share your story: community events, business features, volunteer opportunities, letters and Q&A. You live here — you see things we don't. Email david@thinkandactlocally.com.

Deadline: Thursday 5 PM for Sunday publication.

Three things you can do this week.

• Attend: the tax-rate hearing, Tuesday, Sept 15, 7:30 PM, City Hall, 710 E San Augustine St. Register by 7:25 PM to speak.
• Serve: apply for the open Library Board seat by October 1.
• Connect: text 77536 to 888777 for emergency alerts, then forward this issue to one Deer Park neighbor who ought to be reading it.

Nine. Nine siren-type alarms are mounted on utility poles throughout Deer Park, and a tenth is at Battleground State Park. They can sound citywide or only where the emergency is (source: City of Deer Park, Emergency Notifications).

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Think and Act Locally · Deer Park, Texas · Life by Design, Not Default

The Herald is a project of the Council on Local Relations.

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