Colleyville will see a new sidewalk on Westcoat Drive after council approved a $204,319 contract with West Texas Rebar Placers Inc. at the May 5 council meeting.

The overview: A 5-foot sidewalk will be installed on the east side of Westcoat Drive from White Drive to approximately 100 feet south of L.D Lockett Road, according to city documents. The work will also include drainage structures, grading and restoration of landscaping.

In addition to the $204,319 base contract, council approved a contingency amount not to exceed $20,000 and a material testing amount not to exceed $17,000.

The project is funded through the Capital Improvement Projects fund.

What’s next: Construction of the sidewalk is anticipated to start early June and finish by September, Assistant City Manager Adrienne Lothery said.

Grapevine book store Talking Animals Books has added a coffee bar to its location on South Main Street, co-owner Katy Lemieux said.

What they offer: The new coffee bar opened in late April and serves roasted coffee drinks, Italian sodas, energy refreshers, frappuccinos and teas, Lemieux said. Opening a coffee bar within Talking Animals Books has always been part of the plan for the location, she added.

In their words: “We always wanted to give people a reason to stay here longer,” Lemieux said.

Grapevine-Colleyville ISD hired a new chief financial officer, director of technology and executive director of athletics after all three roles became vacant in January.

The board of trustees unanimously voted to hire the new chief financial officer and executive director of athletics at the April 27 board meeting.

What’s happening? Carla Settle will take up the role as chief financial officer starting in May, according to a news release from GCISD.

Settle is the current CFO in Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD and previously worked at Cedar Hill ISD as both CFO and executive director of finance. She was also finance director in Grand Prairie ISD, per the release.

Billy Skinner will join GCISD as the new executive director of athletics this summer, according to the release.

Michael Jagoditsh was named the executive director of technology in February, according to a news release from GCISD. Jagoditsh worked as the director of data systems in GCISD since 2021 before stepping into an interim position as executive director of technology in January.

As health care costs continue rising in Texas and across the nation, state lawmakers are working to understand the factors that make health care unaffordable and what can be done to rein in prices.

The big picture: About 5.2 million Texans, or 16.7% of the state’s population, did not have health insurance in 2024, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

For years, advocates have called on Texas lawmakers to pass laws to drive down health care costs and improve access to health insurance. During a two-day hearing April 30 and May 1, a Texas House committee examined why health care costs are rising. Lawmakers will discuss potential policy solutions later this year, committee chair Rep. James Frank, R-Wichita Falls, said.

What's happening: Yale University professor Zack Cooper said that since 2000, U.S. health care spending has grown three times faster than inflation. The average health insurance premium for a family of four is $27,000 per year, he said.

“Every family is basically buying a new Toyota Corolla worth of health insurance," Cooper told lawmakers.