Plano officials have formally asked the Dallas Area Rapid Transit agency to consider a six-year, rail-focused transit agreement with an election on withdrawal from the system looming.

Some context: Plano residents will vote on whether the city should stay with DART on May 2, 2026, unless an agreement between the city and agency is met prior to March 18. Plano City Council voted to call a special election at a Nov. 5 special meeting, joining Highland Park, Irving and Farmers Branch.

What it means: Approximately $251 million in annual sales tax contributions to DART could be impacted by the four cities considering a special election, according to the agency’s budget. 

What you need to know: The proposal details a six-year agreement under which DART would continue providing rail service and express buses in Plano but discontinue “all standard bus, demand-response and other non-rail transit services within the city” by Jan. 1, 2029. However, the city is “open to discussing” how to provide paratransit services to stay in compliance with federal law, according to the proposal.

Studio Pilates International Franchisees David de Prez and Alyson Baynes recently opened a studio soon in Plano’s Coit Marketplace and are slated to open a west Plano location in February, De Prez said.

The details: The company, which was founded in 2002 in Australia, offers 40-minute classes that combine reformer Pilates with audio-visual technology.
 

A new pizza joint is coming to Frisco.

What the offer: Slice House by Tony Gemignani features pizzas sold by the slice or whole. Beyond pizzas, Slice House offers meatballs, wings, pasta dishes, salads and desserts. 

• 5995 Preston Road, Ste. 102, Frisco

Texas cannot use its newly redrawn congressional map in the 2026 election, an El Paso federal court ruled Nov. 18.

The details: The state must instead use the congressional map that Texas lawmakers drew in 2021, after the 2020 census. 

“The public perception of this case is that it’s about politics,” U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown wrote in the Nov. 18 preliminary injunction. “To be sure, politics played a role in drawing the 2025 map. But it was much more than just politics. Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 map.”

What they're saying: Texas Republican leaders said they would “swiftly appeal” the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. If the court takes up the case, its justices will be pressed for time ahead of the Dec. 8 deadline for candidates to apply to run in the March primary elections.

Texas Democrats celebrated the Nov. 18 ruling as "very good news for Texans."