Living in Katy, you are well aware of the boom happening as a result of the growth in the energy sector. Spend ten minutes driving I-10 from Katy, you see the energy corridor thriving and new residential developments seem to have no end on the horizon. What you may not realize is the number of jobs being created as a result of this and the strategic planning efforts being done by the area economic development councils. The fast growth stats and these efforts made CNN Money Magazine take notice by ranking Fort Bend County the second fastest growing county in the nation for jobs. With an unemployment rate at nearly 2 percent less than the rest of the nation, it is cause to take notice on how this is happening. Job creation and how to handle population growth have been recurring themes through this year's election season. Early voting is going on now in preparation for election day on Nov. 6.

I would encourage you to understand the issues of not just the national election, but the state, county and local elections. Within this issue, we provide you with a comprehensive guide for who will appear on the ballot and most importantly, where your local voting locations are.

With Community Impact Newspaper's Katy edition in full swing, readers can expect to learn more about how these important issues, and many others, impact their lives. Thank you to those who took time in sending emails and made phone calls to our staff this past month letting us know your appreciation for bringing an unbiased, useful news source to Katy. Our commitment to this reporting will stay the same each month. I encourage you, if you haven't already to "like" our Facebook page at impactnews.com/facebook_kty, follow us on twitter @impactnews_kty and visit us atimpactnews.com/houston-metro/katy.

Jason Culpepper, Publisher - Houston Metro, [email protected]