Convenience Big Store: Join our live session with Katy mayor and mayor pro tem

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Join me for a live virtual event with Katy Mayor Dusty Thiele and Mayor Pro Tem Chris Harris.

We all know that living in and around Katy is the best — that's why we moved here.

But a lot goes on behind the scenes that we don't see. Our city leaders stay busy managing growth while maintaining that "small-town charm" we all love so much.

I'm very excited to announce that I'll be sitting down with Katy Mayor Dusty Thiele and Katy Mayor Pro Tem for a live session hosted by the Houston Chronicle to discuss what it's like running a city like Katy. You'll also get to know them on a more personal level as I chat about life in Katy and developments on the horizon.

Insiders are invited to the private Zoom at 12 p.m. CST on Thursday, April 3. You have to register, so please do so here.

Dusty Thiele, sworn in as Mayor of Katy on May 13, 2022, is a long-time resident, downtown business owner, and community leader. A Baylor University graduate, he moved to Katy in 1991 and has operated the Thiele Insurance Agency for 35 years, with 20 years based in Katy. Thiele was appointed to unexpired City Council terms by former Mayors Don Elder and Bill Hastings and has served on city boards for nearly a decade.

Chris Harris, a fifth-generation Texan, has served on the Katy City Council since 2018, earning re-election in 2020 and 2023, and has been Mayor Pro Tem since September 2019. He is a board member of Katy Christian Ministries and the Coastal Prairie Conservancy and serves as a Trustee at Katy First United Methodist Church. Harris and his wife, Danielle, a Katy native and public school educator, are licensed foster parents with the Methodist Children's Home and have five children. Harris is also a Texas Notary Public, FAA-licensed pilot and volunteer firefighter.

I look forward to sharing this fun and informative session with you all!

Claire Goodman, Katy reporter

claire.goodman@houstonchronicle.com

Education

(From left to Right) Trustee Rick Garcia, Superintendent Dr. Marc Smith, President Kristin Tassin and Trustee David Hamilton attend a Fort Bend Independent School District board meeting on Monday, August 26, 2024 in Sugar Land, TX. Trustees voted 5-2 to approve a library book policy, which allows the superintendent to have sole authority to remove content from library shelves. Critics have called it the

Photo by: Meridith Kohut/Contributor

Speaker kicked out of Fort Bend ISD meeting after cursing trustee over Bluebonnet learning discussion

School officials informed the board of the differences between the Christianity-centric state-created materials and the district's current materials. Fort Bend ISD has not implemented Bluebonnet Learning.

Daijah Ayala, left, and Jillian Ridley, right, talk about their team's STEM competition project at Young Women's College Preparatory Academy, 1906 Cleburne St.,Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Houston.

Photo by: Melissa Phillip, Staff Photographer

See if your school made the Texas Honor Roll.

Ten Houston-area school districts and 24 Houston ISD schools were named to the 2024 Texas honor roll. See if your school made the list.

Need to Know

Photo by: Houston Chronicle

22 Houston-area spring festivals, including Sugar Land

From crawfish to the Art Car Parade, Houston's spring festivals bring together food, live music and art celebrations across the city.

Openings and Closings

Grange, a 1,130-acre master-planned community in north Katy that will bring 2,400 homes to the area, will be celebrating its grand opening April 26.

Shout out

The Easter Bunny will be returning to Katy Mills Mall, the mall announced Wednesday.

The Easter Bunny arrives on March 28 and will be available for visits until April 20. Reservations are strongly encouraged.

One last thing ...

The Texas Power Grid is one of the more confusing elements of living in Texas, in my humblest of opinions.

NRG Energy. CenterPoint Energy. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, better known as ERCOT.

Various corporations affiliated with the Texas power grid are household names in Houston. But what do they all do, and how exactly does the state's electric grid work?

If you're as confused as I am, check out this story by eponymous collegue Claire Hao.

Events at the Chronicle

Katy Mayor Pro Tem Chris Harris and Mayor Dusty Thiele.

Photo by: Houston Chronicle Staff

Join the Chronicle's private Zoom with Katy Mayor William "Dusty" Thiele and Mayor Pro-Tem Chris Harris to discuss the city's growth and exciting new developments.