Convenience Big Store: Katy hot dog joint, Malaysian restaurant make Yelp's top 100

School is back in, and so are violations for speeding through school zones and passing buses.

I generally have a "judge not lest ye be judged" attitude towards my fellow man, but all that goes out the window when I see someone speed through a school zone or blow around a school bus.

I was driving my kids to school last week when I saw several cars pass a school bus that was actively loading kids.

If the fact you could harm a child isn't enough to make you hit the brakes, consider this next time you're thinking about passing a school bus: Katy ISD school buses have exterior cameras that will record you pulling a "Fast and the Furious," and the fine for doing so could be up to $1,250.

And look, I get it.

Every time I watch a parent give their child a 15 minute pre-bus-boarding pep talk as I'm sitting there trying to drive to work, I want to bang my head into the steering wheel. But I sit with my rage and wait for the bus to move because we're dealing with kid safety, and that supersedes my desire to reach my destination quickly.

Continuing my journey that morning, I slowed to 20 miles-per-hour in a school zone, only to have cars pass me like it was the Indy 500. Maybe they didn't see the obnoxious flashing school zone lights?

As someone who typically considers speed limits to be a polite suggestion, again, I get it, but when it comes to kids, I'll idle down the road for a quarter-mile or so.

My dad is a safety engineer, and he always says that behind every seemingly irrelevant safety law there's a horrific tragedy. Let's do our part to keep Katy kids free of tragedy on the roadways.

Have you noticed drivers disregarding traffic-related child safety laws? I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Claire Goodman, Katy reporter

claire.goodman@houstonchronicle.com

Growing Katy

Old Fort Bend County Courthouse, Richmond, TX on Tuesday, October 1, 2019.

Photo by: Craig Moseley, Staff Photographer

Fort Bend County is proposing a landmark $712 million mobility bond.

Fort Bend voters in November will decide on the largest bond proposal in county history, at a total of $712.6 million.

Need to Know

The Harris County Civil Courthouse is seen, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, in Houston.

Photo by: Jason Fochtman/Staff Photographer

Katy 'revenge porn' victim awarded $1.2B in lawsuit against ex-boyfriend.

A jury awarded $1.2 billion in damages to a Katy woman after her ex-boyfriend allegedly breached her personal and work accounts, impersonated her in fraudulent financial activity and shared intimate images of her online.

Photo by: Anjaz Doz Santoz / 500px/Getty Images/500px

Are ants coming into your home? Here's how to keep them out

As drought conditions continue throughout Houston, bugs infiltrate homes. Here's how to stop them.

Education

James Gray, assistant principal at Russell and Cindie Faldyn Elementary, greets students with high-fives and well wishes on the first day of school for Katy ISD, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023, in Katy.

Photo by: Jason Fochtman, Staff Photographer

Two new elementary schools open in Katy ISD as superintendent welcomes students back to class.

Campuses across Katy ISD welcomed more than 94,000 students through their doors for the first day of the 2023-24 school year.

Openings and Closings

A warm welcome goes out to Enclave at Mason Creek — a community with three and four-bedroom townhomes for lease.

And special thanks to the Katy Area Chamber of Commerce for tipping me off to their opening.

Shout out

This week's reader poll is a personal request. I want to know: where can I find the best happy hour specials in Katy?

I'm looking for the best spots for food and drink specials and where I can find them during those early afternoon hours known affectionately as "happy hour."

Tell me here.

One last thing ...

Houston-based Shipley Do-Nuts does not care if the weather is in the triple digits-- they're unveiling a pumpkin spice doughnut, my colleague Erica Grieder, writes.

The optimistic and weather-indifferent chain will offer a pumpkin spice yeast doughnut, a pumpkin spice cake doughnut, a cake doughnut with pumpkin spice and cinnamon sugar flavors, and a buttermilk cake doughnut with pumpkin spice icing and "festive fall sprinkles."