🏗️ Jim Carman Is Stepping Down at Howard Hughes Communities After Nearly 15 Years

👗 Alice + Olivia Is Coming to Market Street in The Woodlands

🎹 A Brain Surgeon Signed Up for Piano Lessons. Here’s Why.

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A pleasant fall Friday, with light cloud cover and no rain in the forecast.

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Jim Carman, who has served as president of Howard Hughes Communities' Texas Region since 2012, will wrap up his full-time role at the end of this year. The announcement came on October 14 as part of an organizational realignment at the company. During his tenure, Carman oversaw growth and development across The Woodlands, Bridgeland and The Woodlands Hills.

Starting January 1, Carman moves into an advisory role, where he will share nearly 15 years of institutional knowledge with the team. COO Drew Davis will take over day-to-day oversight of all three communities. "Jim's contributions can be seen across The Woodlands, Bridgeland and The Woodlands Hills, in the places he helped develop and the team he helped build," Davis said.

Beyond the development side, Carman has been deeply involved in the broader community. He currently chairs the board of the Montgomery County Food Bank and previously chaired The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce's board. Township board chair Brad Bailey called Carman someone who "showed up" time and again and "created long-term relationships" throughout the community.

Why it matters: For 15 years, Jim Carman helped shape The Woodlands both physically and civically. The faces change, but the work continues.

Source/Credits: Community Impact

Alice + Olivia, a women's boutique known for bold prints and statement-making designs, is planning a new location at Market Street in The Woodlands. The news comes from a Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing posted on October 14.

The boutique offers a range of women's clothing and accessories through a collection-driven, color-forward aesthetic. The $620,000 project is expected to wrap in December, according to the filing.

Market Street continues to add boutique retail alongside its dining and entertainment lineup. Community Impact, which first reported the filing, noted it will update the story when additional details become available.

Why it matters: Market Street's tenant mix tells you something about where The Woodlands is heading. A brand like Alice + Olivia fits that direction clearly.

Source/Credits: Community Impact

Lessons On The Go connects families and adults across The Woodlands area with in-home music teachers. The school covers piano, guitar, drums, violin and more, matching each student not just to an instrument but to a teaching style that fits how they learn. Coordinator Beth Colvin taught piano privately for nearly 20 years before settling into the lesson coordinator role.

Students range from ages four and five up through their 70s and 80s. One adult, a brain surgeon, signed up specifically to test whether music lessons would sharpen memory and cognition. He found what Colvin described as "some very pleasant results." For adults who are not ready to walk into a traditional studio, the in-home format removes that barrier entirely.

Lessons are sold in packs of four, with no contracts and no fixed schedule. Families can use them four times a week or four times a year, whatever actually fits. Kids who want to switch instruments can do so without losing their progress or their teacher, and pricing stays the same when they make the move. Instructors travel from Huntsville through Conroe, Willis, Tomball and Creekside. Lessons On The Go is based at 9595 Six Pines Drive, Suite 8210, in The Woodlands.

Why it matters: The in-home model solves the part most families actually struggle with: the time to get there and the commitment that comes with a contract.

🗓️ Plantation Ghost Stories: Heritage and History | Heritage Museum of Montgomery County, Conroe | 7:00 PM | Free | More info

🗓️ Young Texas Artists Classic Cabaret | Dosey Doe, The Woodlands | 6:00 PM | Ticketed | More info

🗓️ Hocus Pocus Pops, Houston Symphony | The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion | 7:00 PM | Ticketed | More info

🗓️ H-E-B Wine Walk | The Woodlands Resort | 6:00 PM | From $79 | More info

🗓️ Trick or Treat Trail | Rob Fleming Park | 1:00 – 5:00 PM | Free | More info

🗓️ Montgomery County Heart Walk | The Woodlands Waterway | 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM | Free to join | More info

Note: Dates and times are as announced online. Organizers may make changes. Always confirm before heading out.

The Woodlands opened in October 1974 with fewer than 40 residents in Grogan’s Mill. By 2011, the population had crossed 100,000. That’s a 2,500-fold increase in under four decades, built on what had been timberland.

“He’s got more nerve than a bum tooth.” Translation: irritatingly persistent and hard to ignore, a bum tooth being the thing you can’t help coming back to.

The older you get, the more you realize that “having it all figured out” is something everyone else is just much better at pretending to have done.

What do you call a sad cup of coffee? A depresso.

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