The Fort Worth City Council asked city staff to see if they could raise a proposed bond capacity set to be on the May election ballot.

What happened: During a work session meeting Jan. 13, a majority of council members asked City Manager Jesus “Jay” Chapa to investigate whether the proposed 2026 bond could be raised to $845 million from $840 million without changing the impact on taxpayers.

The $840 million no-increase tax bond is heavily geared toward streets and mobility infrastructure improvements, with that portion of the bond accounting for $511.5 million.

Long story short: The biggest point of contention on the bond for council members was $5 million going toward affordable housing.

The end decision was to look to see if the bond capacity could be raised by an additional $5 million to bring that affordable housing number to $10 million and the overall bond to $845 million.

What’s next: Chapa said he and his staff will look into changing bond capacity. An additional work session is slated for Jan. 27.

Northwest ISD’s board of trustees unanimously approved its instructional calendars for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years at a regular meeting Jan. 12.

What you need to know: Notable dates include the first and last days of school, Thanksgiving break, winter break and spring break.

Additional holidays for both years include Labor Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day and Good Friday. Students will also have holidays immediately after winter and spring break for teachers to have preparation time, according to a district release.

The background: NISD uses feedback from stakeholders, committees, and collaborations with surrounding districts and colleges to align its instructional calendars within Texas Education Agency guidelines, according to district documents.

In December 2025, there were 116 homes sold in Keller, Roanoke and northeast Fort Worth, a decrease from December 2024, which saw 145 homes sold in the same ZIP codes. 

Key information: Check out recent real estate data for the area from MetroTex Association of Realtors comparing data from December 2024 to December 2025.

Catch up on some of the biggest news out of Community Impact's Dallas-Fort Worth coverage areas from Jan. 12-16.

Central McKinney Kroger store slated for closure, officials confirm

GCISD sees departure of 3 district employees

Mike’s Chicken set to serve fried chicken in Plano, near Richardson border

India Bazaar sells fresh produce, groceries at new McKinney store

Fried chicken, Tex-Mex and a candy shop: 6 Dallas-Fort Worth restaurant, business updates

AT&T to build new 54-acre global headquarters campus in Plano

Five Republican candidates are running for a six-year term on the Texas Railroad Commission in the upcoming March 3 primary election.

The big picture: Katherine Culbert, Hawk Dunlap, Bo French, James "Jim" Matlock and Jim Wright are vying for the Republican nomination for a seat on the railroad commission. The winning Republican candidate will face Jon Rosenthal in November, and the winner of that election will begin serving on the commission in January 2027.

Rosenthal, a state representative and oilfield mechanical engineer, is running uncontested in the Democratic primary. Community Impact runs candidate Q&As for contested races only.

The context: The railroad commission regulates Texas’ oil and gas industry, according to its website, while the state's railroads are under the control of the Texas Department of Transportation and the federal government.