Plans for Plano’s alternative transit system will remain under review for several more weeks.

What happened: At their Feb. 9 meeting, Plano City Council unanimously tabled a decision to approve a contract with microtransit provider Via, citing progress in negotiations with the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Agency.

Zooming in: Plano City Manager Mark Israelson said the city has received a proposal from DART Board Chairman Randall Bryant that is “meaningful.” Israelson said discussions over the next two weeks will be “critically important” and that there is still work to be done. He also cited progress made in a working group of DART member city managers that began meeting last September.

What's next?: Due to the proposal, Israelson said staff recommend tabling approving the alternative transit service to Feb. 23 to see if those actions "actually come to fruition."

The Crayola Experience at the Shops at Willow Bend is temporarily closed, according to a sign on the door.

The details: The sign on the door states that mall redeveloper Centennial has changed the locks on the site Feb. 7 due to "delinquent rent.” Crayola’s phone number is disconnected, and the website states the facility is temporarily closed.

One more thing: The mall’s ongoing redevelopment plan is aiming to transform the mall into a mixed-use development, featuring retail, office, residential and parks. Willow Bend’s initial redevelopment plan with Centennial was reworked due to the closure of Macy’s within the mall. A representative with The Shops at Willow Bend said in a statement there are no updates on the mall’s redevelopment.

•  6121 W. Park Blvd., Ste. A100, Plano

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated announced it closed its merger with Cadence Bank on Feb. 2.

The details: Huntington Bancshares shared an Oct. 27 news release stating that it would acquire Cadence Bank, which has 390 locations throughout the southern U.S. The release states that with the acquisition, Huntington will not close any existing Cadence Bank branches. According to the Cadence Bank website, there are 14 locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including in Celina, Plano, McKinney and Southlake.

The merger was completed and Huntington Bank has added locations in Texas and Mississippi. According to its website, Huntington Bank is now the eighth-largest bank in Texas.

What to know: Cadence Bank had regional headquarters in Houston and Tupelo, Mississippi. Huntington Bancshares was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.

• 6001 Windhaven Parkway, Ste. 100, Plano; 2300 Eldorado Parkway, McKinney; 320 S. Preston Road, Celina; 1000 E. SH 114, Southlake

Stay updated on five road projects around Dallas-Fort Worth.

Collin County
1. Craig Road construction
Project: The project will construct a three-lane road from Preston Road to First Street.
Update: The project is in the design phase and expected to start construction later this summer.

• Timeline: summer 2026-winter 2027
• Cost: $5.09 million
• Funding source: town of Prosper

• Timeline: Work started the week of Feb. 2 and will take six weeks to complete.
• Cost: $182,995.5
• Funding source: city of Grapevine

In the upcoming March 3 primary elections, Texas voters will have the opportunity to nominate their chosen candidates for the November midterm election. From top state officials to county commissioners, primary elections shape who is ultimately elected to dozens of seats, driving the future direction of the Lone Star State.

Yet less than one-fifth of registered Texas voters participated in recent primary elections, data from the secretary of state’s office shows.

The big picture: March Matters, a group that works to get more Texans to the primary polls, found that 146 of Texas’ 150 state House races were effectively decided during the 2022 primaries, with just four competitive seats during that year’s midterm election.

Data also shows that primary voters tend to be older and represent the more extreme wings of their political parties.

What they're saying: "When primary voter turnout is so small, when only a fraction of voters are voting, your vote counts more,” said Mark Strama, who leads the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life at the University of Texas.