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This Week's Hot Headlines

Houston pickleball hot spot surprisingly shutters and more top stories

CultureMap Staff
Apr 4, 2026 | 11:00 am
Solarium food spread

Solarium, a Midtown pickleball bar, has closed.

Photo by Becca Wright

Editor's note: It's time to look back at the top Houston news of the week, including a pickleball closure, an Italian opening, and Houston's James Beard finalists for 2026. Plus, we introduce you to the Houston Tastemaker nominees for Dessert Program of the Year. Catch up on our most popular stories below, then find the best Easter weekend events right here.

1. 6 things to know in Houston food: Openings, a closing, and more. From an intimate new Italian restaurant in West U. to the surprise shutter of a Midtown pickleball venue, the Houston food scene moves pretty fast.

2. These are Houston's 11 best dessert programs of 2026. For this year’s CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, we’ve shifted our dessert-focused award from Pastry Chef of the Year to Dessert Program of the Year. It’s a subtle but important change that recognizes that cooking is a team sport, and it allows us to recognize some of our favorite pop-ups along with our favorite restaurants.

3. Houston earns 6 finalist nominations in the 2026 James Beard Awards. Houston had an impressive showing in the next round of the 2026 James Beard Awards. Of the city’s 12 semifinalist nominations, four have been named finalists in the nationwide categories, as well as two for Best Chef: Texas.

June Rodil Goodnight Hospitality March June Rodil is a James Beard finalist. Courtesy of Goodnight Hospitality

4. Guy Fieri-loved Filipino restaurant closes in the Heights after 6 years. A pioneering Houston Filipino restaurant has served its last meal. Be More Pacific has closed as of March 31.

5. Houston leads America in population growth for 2025, Census states. Imagine that the Houston metro area swallowed a city the size of Pearland in just one year. That’s essentially what happened from 2024 to 2025, with the Houston metro ranking first in the U.S. for population growth based on the number of people.

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let's all take the bus

Texas sees 5th highest surge in gas prices in the U.S. since 2025

Amber Heckler
Apr 3, 2026 | 1:00 pm
Gas pump
Photo courtesy of Pixabay
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Houston residents who are feeling the sting at the gas pump aren't alone: Residents all around Texas are seeing soaring prices for regular and diesel fuel in 2026.

In fact, the Lone Star State has seen the fifth-highest percentage increase in gas prices in the country from April 2025 to April 2026, a just-released SmartAsset study has found. The current cost of a regular gallon of gas is 36.1 percent higher now than it was a year ago, and diesel is 60.9 percent more expensive.

The report, "Gas Prices Hit Records in 2026: State by State Breakdown," compared average gas prices from AAA from April 1, 2025 and April 1, 2026 and calculated the one-year change across all 50 states. The study looked at the price of a gallon of regular, premium, and diesel.

According to AAA, the cost of a regular gallon of gas in Texas at the start of April was $3.77, while premium is $4.62 per gallon. Diesel ticked over $5 a gallon — ouch — at $5.11.

Houston gas prices aren't much cheaper than the statewide average. A gallon of regular costs up to $3.76 at some Houston-area pumps, and diesel is $5.05 per gallon. AAA says the highest recorded average price for gas in the city was in June 2022, when a gallon of regular cost $4.68 and diesel cost $5.24.

Though Texas' gas prices are continuing to climb, it ranks 35th in the national ranking of states with the highest cost for regular gas as of April 2026. Texas' diesel prices are the 14th highest nationwide.

With the national average price for gas at $4.06, SmartAsset said the sudden surge in prices can be attributed to the United States' war on Iran, and "subsequent pressure on the Strait of Hormuz."

"Many states have experienced a 33 percent year-over-year increase in the cost of a gallon of regular gas – and in some places it’s even higher," the report's author wrote. "Commercial and public programs may be feeling similarly pinched, with diesel prices upwards of $6.00 per gallon in many states."

California currently has the highest average price for regular and diesel — $5.89 per gallon and $7.52 per gallon, respectively.

Arizona leads the nation with the highest one-year increase in gas prices. Regular gas in the Grand Canyon State is nearly 38 percent more expensive than it was last year, at $4.70 per gallon, and diesel is about 69 percent higher at $6.04 for a gallon.

The state with the cheapest gas prices in April is Oklahoma, where regular costs $3.27 per gallon, premium is $3.97, and diesel is $4.49.

gas prices texas smartasset
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