More than $36 million in capital projects are planned for Southlake for the 2025-26 fiscal year.

City Manager Alison Ortowski and Chief Financial Officer Sharen Jackson presented the FY 2026-30 capital improvement program framework during the Southlake City Council meeting held Jan. 6.

The details: Ortowksi said the total cost of the project list for the next five fiscal years is $254.7 million. The FY 2025-26 project list total is estimated to be $36.7 million, according to the presentation.

Ortowski said city staff will continue to work on the CIP plan and projects will be discussed in a Feb. 3 work session before the council meeting. Afterward, council members can adopt the CIP plan at the Feb. 17 meeting.

The framework: Projects mentioned during the presentation included street maintenance; widening Brumlow Avenue; drainage improvements on Morgan Road and North Peytonville Avenue; repainting two elevated water tanks; sanitary sewer erosion protection; land acquisition, such as the Old Dragon Stadium; and North Park turf conversion.

Dr. Sue’s Chocolate in Grapevine has now reopened after closing its store on Main Street in July, according to previous reporting.

What they offer: The shop sells chocolate assortments such as hazel and coconut dark chocolate and ginger and fig chocolate. Flavored hot chocolate, including peppermint and Mexican hot chocolate is also offered.

Some background: Owner Sue Williams is a doctor at Baylor Health Medical Center Dallas and promotes a healthier lifestyle through dark chocolate with all natural ingredients and no preservatives, artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners, according to its website.

Dr. Sue’s Chocolate first opened in Grapevine in 2013 before relocating in 2016, per previous reporting. 

• 150 W. College St., Ste. 316, Grapevine

Two renovations are coming to Terminal D at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.

What's happening? The primary terminal for international travel will get additional security check-ins and screening options.

Swinerton Builders was selected to add two lanes to the central passenger screening checkpoint, 19 self-service bag drops and 42 self-service check-in kiosks. The $8.6 million contract started late last year and has a 390-day construction window.

Additional security checkpoints will help improve customer experience, meet the demand of international passengers and support the first phase of Terminal F, which is still under construction, according to documents.

Zooming in: During the Jan. 8 DFW board meeting, an amended contract with Allied Universal Security of Irving was approved for unarmed security and gate attendant services throughout DFW Airport.

The revised amount of $1.25 million was approved for future airport projects and the support may be temporary or permanent, according to meeting documents.

A new U.S. Postal Service rule could impact when time-sensitive mail, such as tax forms and mail-in ballots, is considered officially sent.

The overview: Effective Dec. 24, mailed items are postmarked when the USPS processes them, rather than the date items are dropped in a mailbox. A postmark refers to the date and location stamped or printed on most mailed items, indicating when and where the USPS “accepted custody” of a mailpiece, per the federal agency.

Zooming in: According to the Texas comptroller’s office, the updated USPS guidance means items could be postmarked “several days” after they are dropped in a mailbox. This includes date-sensitive items sent by Texas residents and businesses, such as property tax payments, federal tax returns, mail-in ballots and required business reports.

To ensure that mail is postmarked on the day it is sent, customers can take mail into their local post office and request that the item be hand-stamped for free, according to the USPS. Texans can also pay property taxes and submit ballots in-person at county offices.