Here’s what’s up in SETX,
Port Arthur is going after $10 million in federal money to build something this coast has never had: a purpose-built community storm shelter, engineered to stand up to the worst day of hurricane season. Elsewhere this week we say goodbye to former mayor Oscar Ortiz, Groves gets its first look at a water bill that climbs every year through 2031, and a Woodrow Wilson grad is headed to UT Austin with a scholarship built out of a family's grief.
Plus: sno-cones and corn cups on Concord Road, the Museum of the Gulf Coast inducts a new class Saturday, a local student taking on K–8 tutoring before the school year lands, and the coolest water in the region after 6 p.m.
Today's newsletter is brought to you by Tailored Financial Solutions.
Let's get into it. 👇
📰 THE BIG NEWS
Port Arthur Is Chasing $10 Million to Build a Storm Shelter That Doesn't Blink 🌀
Port Arthur City Council has signed off on pursuing a FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant through the Texas Division of Emergency Management to build a community safe room. The design target is an ICC 500–standard dome — the engineering benchmark for a structure meant to hold together while everything around it doesn't — and the plan is for it to earn its keep the rest of the year as a multi-use community facility.
The money works out to a 75/25 split: FEMA covers three-quarters, the city covers the rest, and Port Arthur says it will court industry partners for the match rather than pull it out of the general fund. That last part matters more than it sounds. A city on this coast can't afford to trade a shelter against a street repaving budget, and going after private money for the match is how you avoid making that choice. The timeline is honest about itself — roughly 12 months of planning and site selection, then up to 24 months of construction. No site has been picked yet.
💡 The bottom line: This is a three-year project, not a this-season fix however, Port Arthur is finally building for the storm instead of just evacuating ahead of it, and 75 cents on every dollar is coming from somebody else.
📋 THE RUNDOWN
🕊️ Former Port Arthur Mayor Oscar Ortiz Has Died at 90 — Ortiz died Thursday, July 16. He led Port Arthur from the mid-1990s through 2007 and served in the Air Force before that, and his family points to Hurricane Rita as the stretch that defined him — the long, unglamorous months after the cameras left. Funeral arrangements were pending at publication. A city that has rebuilt itself more than once owes a lot to the people who were steady during the rebuilding.
💧 Groves Just Got a Look at Water Bills Through 2031 — A proposal presented to Groves council would take a residential bill at 4,000 gallons from $73.25 to $77.44 in 2027, with commercial service at 10,000 gallons going from $191.55 to $202.47. The structure is roughly 5.75% a year through 2031, funding $33.1 million in capital work on water and wastewater systems. Council has not voted on this — it's a proposal, which means right now is when residents actually have a say.
🎒 Port Neches PD Wants You to Pack a Patrol Car — On July 30, the Port Neches Police Department is collecting school supplies at 1201 Merriman St. and putting them straight into the hands of PN-G ISD students. Backpacks and supply lists have gotten expensive enough that this is real relief for families, not a photo op — and it's the kind of drive where showing up with two notebooks still counts.
🎓 A Woodrow Wilson Grad Just Landed the Lathan Scholarship — Keinnon Green, a 2026 graduate of Woodrow Wilson Early College High School ranked #4 in the PAISD class of 2026, is headed to UT Austin this fall with the $2,500 annual Lathan Scholarship. The award was created nearly 30 years ago to honor Anthony Lathan Sr. and his sons Anthony Jr. and Andre Keith, three Port Arthur natives killed in a 1997 car accident — and it was presented by Mary Lathan, a veteran PAISD educator and mother to two of the men it remembers. Nearly thirty years on, a family's worst day is still putting local kids through college.
📌 Update: Beaumont's July 15 budget workshop confirmed the city's hiring freeze exempts police, fire, EMS and 911 dispatch, with roughly $3.7M saved if vacancies go unfilled.
📬 Which story caught your eye?
Your action items this week!
✅ Sort out your green recycling cart before Sept. 1 — Beaumont collects the old blue containers through Aug. 31 and stops after that. If you don't have a cart, call the city now rather than in late August.
✅ Speak up on the Groves water rate proposal — Council hasn't voted yet. If a 5.75%-a-year climb through 2031 is going to land on your bill, the window to say something is now, not after adoption.
✅ Book an escape room in Orange — "Paradox of Time" runs at the Orange Public Library (220 5th St.) July 21–31 — free, air-conditioned, and family-friendly.
✅ Cool off at Jazz at the Lake — Free outdoor jazz featuring Dean James at the Downtown Event Centre, Beaumont, Thursday, July 23, 5:30–7:30 PM. Bring a chair.
✅ Grab school supplies for Pack a Patrol Car — Thursday, July 30 at the Port Neches Police Department, 1201 Merriman St. Everything collected goes to PN-G ISD students.
✅ Get to the AMSET opening reception free — "A Legacy of Collecting" opens Friday, July 24, 6:30–8:30 PM at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas, 500 Main St., Beaumont. Free and open to the public.
✅ Take the kids to the Legacy back-to-school festival — Saturday, July 25 from 10 AM at 4500 Highland Ave., Beaumont. 1,300 backpacks loaded with supplies, plus 30+ vendor booths. Free.
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📅 COMMUNITY EVENTS
Looking for even more things to do? Browse and submit community events at events.whatsupsetx.com — updated every week. 🎉
Mark your calendars for these upcoming highlights.
THIS WEEK
Jul 20: Pizza Night at Monday Night Lounge | The Forge — Fund & Coworking, 268 Pearl St., Beaumont. Sober social pizza night hosted by SETX Sober Social, 6–9 PM.
Jul 21: Nature Quest Summer Series — Big Foot habitat session | Tyrrell Park Nature & Visitor Center, 3930 Babe Zaharias Dr., Beaumont. Family nature program asking whether Big Foot could live in a Southeast Texas forest, swamp or marsh; call 409-880-3163 for the day's session and times.
Jul 21–31: "Escape Room: Paradox of Time" | Orange Public Library, 220 5th St, Orange. Free, air-conditioned family escape-room challenge alongside the "Unearth a Story" Summer Reading Program.
Jul 23: Jazz at the Lake 2026 featuring Dean James | Downtown Event Centre, Beaumont. 5:30–7:30 PM; free outdoor jazz — bring a chair.
Jul 23: Mix & Mingle — Education First FCU | Greater Beaumont Chamber, Beaumont. Evening business open-house / networking mixer.
Jul 24: AMSET Opening Reception — "A Legacy of Collecting" | Art Museum of Southeast Texas, 500 Main St., Beaumont. Free and open to the public, 6:30–8:30 PM.
MOVIE NIGHTS @ JEFFERSON
July 24 - Forrest Gump @ 7 PM
July 31 - The Sandlot @ 7 PM
THIS WEEKEND
Jul 25: Sargent St Market | 105 Sargent St., Vidor. Free open-air vendor market held the fourth Saturday, 9 AM–1 PM. ⚠️ Weather-dependent.
Jul 25: Game Time | Silsbee Public Library, Silsbee. Free tabletop gaming session, 10 AM–1 PM.
Jul 25: Legacy Community Health Back to School Festival | 4500 Highland Ave., Beaumont. Free, from 10 AM — 1,300 backpacks with supplies plus 30+ vendor booths.
Jul 25: Museum of the Gulf Coast Hall of Fame Induction | 700 Procter St., Port Arthur. Annual induction at 2 PM; this year's class includes Dickie Richards, The Chelette Sisters, Charles Stutzenbaker and James "Cowboy" Fernandez.
COMING UP
Jul 28: Thunder From Down Under — Most Wanted 2026 Tour | Jefferson Theatre, Beaumont. 8 PM; 18+ only.
Jul 30: Ribbon Cutting — The Shaw Group | Greater Beaumont Chamber, Beaumont. Public chamber ribbon-cutting.
Jul 30: Art After 5 Lecture — "Glass as Studio Practice" (Alexander Rosenberg) | Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Beaumont. After-hours art lecture in AMSET's Art After 5 series.
Jul 30: Mayor's 365-Day Community Progress Meeting | Lamar State College Port Arthur, Health & Science Building, Port Arthur. Free public update from the mayor's office, 5:30–7:30 PM.
Aug 1: The Australian Bee Gees — A Tribute to the Bee Gees | Jefferson Theatre, Beaumont. 8 PM.
Aug 2: The Closet Social — Tiny Trendsetters | Beaumont Civic Center, Beaumont. 2–6 PM; kids' fashion / resale shopping social.
Ongoing: Shangri La Botanical Gardens & Nature Center | 2111 W. Park Ave., Orange. Tue–Sat, 9 AM–5 PM, free admission — 252 acres of cypress gardens and shady nature trails.
Which event are you hitting up? Reply and let us know! And if there's an event we missed, submit it or browse the full calendar at events.whatsupsetx.com — updated every week. 🎉
🍽️ FOOD CORNER
🍧 Mabel's Snow Cones & Mexican Treats — Beaumont
It is late July in Southeast Texas, which means the correct food is cold, wet, and eaten standing in a parking lot. Mabel's on Concord Road does the sno-ball half of that assignment properly and then keeps going, with Mexican treats on the same menu. Order a corn cup alongside the shaved ice and you've got the whole summer in two hands.
The sno-cone stand may be the most essential food category this region has, and somehow it's one we've never featured. Fixing that today. Hours drift the way seasonal stands always do, so call ahead before you drive over.
📍 On Concord Road in Beaumont · (409) 600-4684 — call for the exact stand and hours
🤤 Had a great meal somewhere in SETX lately? Reply and tell us — we feature reader picks.
🏢 BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
Daphne (Tutoring & Homework Help, SETX)
School starts back before any of us are ready, and Daphne is opening up her calendar early.
A student at Texas Connections Academy, she's tutoring younger kids around the area — and her whole pitch is that no two students learn the same way, so she works out what a kid actually needs instead of running everyone through the same worksheet. The goal isn't just finishing the homework but your kid deciding they’re good at this!
Subjects: K–8 Science · K–5 Math · K–8 Social Studies · K–9 English
Qualifications: All A's and honor roll for quarter 3, plus a long list of clubs and sports.
Availability & rate: Weekends and after school · $20/hour · first meeting is free to see whether it's the right fit.
📧 Reply to this email and we'll connect you with Daphne.
This section is sponsored by Tailored Financial Solutions. Want your business featured here? Email us at [email protected].
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🌲OUTDOOR ADVENTURES
🛶 Evening Paddling on Adams Bayou in Orange
The trick to July in Southeast Texas isn't beating the heat, it's outlasting it. Put a kayak into Adams Bayou or the Sabine River backwaters after 6 p.m. and the whole equation changes — the temperature breaks, the cypress throws long shade across the water, and the bayou goes glassy in a way it never manages at noon.
The water here is slow and the banks are close, which makes it forgiving for anyone whose paddling experience amounts to "I've been in a kayak once." Good for beginners, good for a rod if you'd rather fish than sightsee. Bring bug spray you actually trust, go with a partner, and keep an eye on the western sky — SETX afternoon thunderstorms don't announce themselves early.
📍 Adams Bayou and the Sabine River backwaters, Orange
🏕️ What's your favorite outdoor spot in the Golden Triangle? Reply and tell us — we'll feature the best ones in a future issue.
💼 JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIES
No refinery or medical hiring signals cleared our bar this week but something else did. Gulf Copper, Bechtel and Streamtech Industrial are all recruiting in person across all three Golden Triangle counties inside a single week. When industrial and marine contractors start hiring face-to-face instead of waiting on applications, it usually means they want people who can start soon. Show up with an ID and a work history.
🏗️ Hiring Event — Gulf Copper, Bechtel & Chartwells | Port Arthur
Wednesday, July 22, 10 AM–1 PM at the Port Arthur Workforce Center, 4680 FM 365. On-site recruiting — bring your ID.
⚙️ Hiring Event — Bechtel & Streamtech Industrial | Orange
Thursday, July 23 at the Orange Workforce Center, 2266 MacArthur Dr. Industrial and construction roles.
🔧 Hiring Event — Gulf Copper | Beaumont
Wednesday, July 29 at 510 Park St., Beaumont. Marine and industrial fabrication hiring.
💼 Tax Professional Lead — Tailored Financial Solutions | Remote
Detail-oriented tax pro needed for a growing local firm. Fully remote. Ideal for a CPA, enrolled agent, or experienced tax preparer looking for flexible work with real local roots.
How to apply: Apply: tailoredfinsolutions.com | [email protected]
👷 Blue-Collar Skilled Trades — Port Arthur / Sabine Pass
Patriot Security EOC is hiring 60+ positions across Port Arthur and Sabine Pass. Strong market region-wide for welders, operators, and industrial support roles. Ask about openings at your nearest WorkForce Solutions SETX location or check local job boards.
🤝 Community Relations Coordinator for What’s Up SETX
We're looking for a local SETX connector — part community ambassador, part relationship builder. If you're already in the room at networking events and love sharing good news about this region, this role is for you.
Interested? Reply to this email or reach out at [email protected]
💼 General SETX Openings
Workforce Solutions Southeast Texas posts current openings across industries — manufacturing, healthcare, education, and skilled trades.
How to apply: Browse the full board at setworks.org or stop by a local office in Beaumont or Port Arthur.
🌿 Tailored Lawn Care
Looking for outdoor work this spring? Tailored Lawn Care is hiring for local routes. Good steady gig with a local company.
Call or text Frederick: (409) 365-4887
🔜 Browse all local SETX job listings — coming soon. Want early access when our jobs board launches? Email [email protected] to get on the list.
🌍 One more thing — Spain won the World Cup on Sunday, beating Argentina 1–0 on a Ferran Torres goal in the 106th minute at MetLife Stadium, with Argentina down to ten men. It's Spain's second title after 2010, and they went through the entire tournament undefeated.
📣 Your Turn
📰 What do you want more of in this newsletter? More food? More jobs? More events? More deep dives? Tell us and we'll deliver.
See you in a few days neighbor 📍,
The What’s Up SETX Team
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