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]   The Community Actors of South Texas (CAST) have had to make changes due to COVID-19 and the safety of the community.
   “We were unable to finish our Season like we had planned, which is why as a board, we decided to come up with video skits that we could offer to our community for free,” said CAST Vice President of Productions Zeinab Ghais in a press release.
   “This would allow us to continue to use our creativity and stay relevant. After months of negotiations and discussions, CAST signed a three-year agreement with ARC, to lease the former Edith Armstrong Center at 912 Nichols Avenue, as their new theater space.”
   “This was a tough decision for our Board, especially during the Pandemic, but we are excited to finally have a home,” said CAST Board President Kara Cowart.
   “Our site selection committee of Kevin Knox and Zeinab Ghais did a great job of talking with real estate agents and arranging tours of different facilities. 

   Bay City November sales tax rebates were 8% higher than the same month last year.
   Bay City November sales tax rebates totaled $569,017, which is 8% than $522,356 reported in November 2019.
   Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar recently announced he sent cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose taxing districts $890.5 million in local sales tax allocations for November, 4.8 percent more than in November 2019. 
   These allocations are based on sales made in September by businesses that report tax monthly, and on sales made in July, August and September by quarterly filers.
   For the year, Bay City has received $6,158,616, which is 12% higher than the $5,450,424 the city received in the same period last year.

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   So maybe you have heard the term estuary before and it brought you back to grade-school science. 
   Don’t worry if you don’t remember it, I am about to break it down for ya!
   This seven-letter word is actually pretty important and in the case of young organisms, its existence and meaning bears a lot of weight.
   An estuary is a place where salt and freshwater mix and mingle - where rivers and seas shake hands.
   It can also be described as a nursery; and what do you find in nurseries? Babies!
   That’s right, estuaries serve as nurseries for baby and juvenile marine and aquatic critters.
   These brackish waters are teeming with plant and animal life.
   Estuaries are some of the most productive ecosystems in the world, providing homes for many fish, invertebrates, and birds. 
   Bays are estuaries, so basically Matagorda Bay is a big nursery.

   Three Bay City residents participated in a HOME grant program to replace their substandard homes with a newly-constructed house.   
   Veda Rutherford, Floretta Williams and Ynes Villareal all received the keys to their new homes, Thursday, Nov. 12.
   “The residents applied for the grant through the City of Bay City, the city’s consultant GrantWorks, and the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA),” said City Finance Director Scotty Jones in a press release.
   “The HOME Program provides funds to assist low-income homeowners with repairs to bring their homes into compliance with local codes and construction specifications or to replace homes with a new house when repair costs are greater than the allowable limits for repairs.” 
   Assistance requires no repayment as long as the homeowner continues to own and occupy their home for 15 years.
   The homes feature three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and are 1,140 square feet.

   Matagorda County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) recently announced it would postpone its annual banquet and meeting due to COVID-19 health and safety measure. 
   However, the legacy of the late George Holst of Palacios will be celebrated and MCEDC will do that in a special online award presentation in December when the 22nd recipient of the George Holst Award for excellence in community vision and economic leadership is announced.
   MCEDC also will recognize it’s second-ever Tiger Lane Community Spirit Award recipient during this virtual ceremony to honor champions of community and economic development in Matagorda County over this past year. 
   Each year the MCEDC board of directors seek nominations from the community for outstanding economic leaders to be considered as award recipients.

   Matagorda Regional Medical Center announced Monday, Nov. 16, there have been 48 new COVID-19 cases reported over the previous 14 days.
   “As the number of new cases trend up in Matagorda County and we prepare for a possible third wave, we would like to share with our community a trend we’re seeing in possible COVID-19 reinfections,” said Leslie Vaughn, MRMC’s Certified Infection Control Specialist. 
   There have been multiple cases of lab-confirmed COVID-19 in Matagorda County among patients who went on to heal from the virus, received a lab-confirmed negative test result, and then appeared to be reinfected 60 to 90 days later after the onset of new symptoms prompted a second lab-confirmed positive COVID-19 test, Vaughn added.
   “Working closely with the MRMC COVID-19 Taskforce, our infection prevention team has notified state health officials of these instances,” she said.