A new paving and water improvement project in downtown Plano has passed its next step after a city council meeting Sept. 28.

Plano City Council approved an ordinance of necessity and easements needed for the project along G Avenue at the meeting.

The gist: The city is seeking to acquire land to construct a new sidewalk along G Avenue between 14th street and 15th street. City real estate manager Matt Yager said the new land will be used to create a 10-foot-wide hike and bike trail.

San Martin Bakery opened in new location in Plano.

The specifics: The Guatemala-based bakery offers a variety of sweet and savory pastries, cakes, specialty breads and more baked goods. San Martin also has a full breakfast, lunch and dinner menu.

A $430 million data center is planned for north Fort Worth and an Amazon facility will be constructed at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Check out some of the latest North Texas construction projects filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

1. DSV warehouse in Denton: A transportation and logistics company founded in Denmark is remodeling and expanding an existing warehouse space for its new facility in Denton, per a TDLR filing.

• Location: 1110 N. Western Blvd., Denton

• Estimated timeline: Sept. 28, 2026-March 12, 2027

• Estimated cost: $1.24 billion

2. Colovore Alliance data center in Fort Worth: Construction on a new data center is expected to begin before the end of the year at AllianceTexas, per a TDLR filing.

• Location: 14700 Heritage Parkway, Fort Worth

• Estimated timeline: Dec. 1, 2026-2028

• Estimated cost: $430 million

The Texas Education Agency is asking state lawmakers to spend $97.3 billion on K-12 education initiatives and staffing in the next two years, up from about $91 billion in the current state budget.

The details: During a Sept. 29 hearing on the agency's legislative appropriations request, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath noted that the TEA is "largely a pass-through vehicle to fund schools around the state of Texas." This means that while funding would be allocated to the agency under Article III of the state budget, the majority of that money would be sent to school districts, outside of funds used to pay TEA staff and cover operations for associated entities, such as the State Board of Education.

The TEA is asking for about $49.6 billion for fiscal year 2027-28 and $47.7 billion for fiscal year 2028-29, totaling $97.3 billion for the 2028-29 biennium. Morath said those amounts would "preserve 100% of all funding for public schools" through the Foundation School Program, which is the state's main funding source for K-12 schools, and other initiatives.