Richardson City Council selected Daniel Burdette as the lone finalist to fill the vacant Place 3 council seat. Council conducted final interviews with three candidates at the Sept. 21 meeting before selecting Burdette, who will be officially sworn in on Sept. 28.

The overview: Burdette replaces council member Dan Barrios, who announced his resignation on July 13 to focus on his campaign for U.S. Congress. Burdette will serve out the remainder of Barrios’ council term, which will end May 1, 2027. The Place 3 seat will be up for election in May.

Quote of note: “If you’re looking for someone who knows and has a rapport with many of the city leaders and is ready to govern on day one, I feel I am prepared for and excited about that opportunity,” Burdette said to council.

The skies over Plano filled with hot air balloons and music over the weekend at the 46th annual Plano Balloon Festival.

The details: From Sept. 17-20, thousands of visitors gathered at Oak Point Park to watch pilots inflate more than 30 hot air balloons and enjoy live music performed by Ice House, vendor shopping and family-friendly activities. The event also featured exhibitions by the RE/MAX of Texas Parachute Team.

The Plano Balloon Festival is expected to return for its 47th consecutive year in September 2027.

A senior housing development will be constructed along US 380 and Plano East High School is under renovation. Check out some of the latest construction filings with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

1. Lake Forest Senior Living in McKinney

A 222-unit senior living development will be constructed in McKinney, per a TDLR filing. The project will include three apartment buildings, with one building to have a clubhouse. The site is also planned to have four garage buildings. McKinney City Council approved a zoning request for the project at a meeting May 19, per previous reporting.

• Location: 4656 W. University Drive, McKinney

• Estimated timeline: March 1, 2027-Nov. 1, 2028

• Estimated cost: $63 million

2. Plano East Senior High School renovations

Two new 15,000 square-foot corridors will be under construction for Plano East Senior High School to connect renovated areas with the rest of the school, per a TDLR filing. The school received renovations funded by Plano ISD’s 2022 bond, according to previous reporting, which included two new gyms and heating, ventilation, air conditioning and restroom repairs.

• Location: 3000 Los Rios Blvd., Plano

• Estimated timeline: March 1, 2027-Jan. 1, 2028

• Estimated cost: $14.5 million

Texas Woman’s University saw an overall increase in enrollment for the fall 2026 semester compared to the fall 2025 semester, and the University of North Texas experienced an increase in new freshmen and transfer students in that same time period.

The impact: TWU experienced an overall 5.9% increase in student enrollment to 16,412 students, which is its second-highest enrollment ever, according to a release from the university. The highest enrollment in university history was 16,441 in 2020.

UNT reported that 42,016 students were enrolled this semester, including 6,388 freshmen and 3,434 new transfer students, according to a news release from the university. This is an overall 9.57% increase from fall 2025.

Zooming in: UNT also saw an increase in campus enrollment at its Frisco location with 3,377 students enrolled in courses, a record number for that campus, according to a news release.

The total number of UNT students is a decrease from 43,567 in fall 2025, mostly due to a loss of more than 1,300 international students, according to previous reporting.

The total enrollment at TWU for the fall 2025 semester was 15,424, according to the university’s website.