The first Taste & Tunes on Oak Street was held on May 2 in Roanoke.

Known as the Roanoke Roundup since 2017, the event was rebranded this year, according to the city’s website. Taste & Tunes featured live music, food competition, vendors, food trucks and events.

The details: The events started at noon, with the final festivities starting at 9 p.m. Infinite Journey, a Journey cover band, headlined the festival on the main stage at Roanoke City Hall.

Stand Performing Arts of Keller and Kétós Entertainment in Keller partnered for a live voice competition, according to the city website.

Other events include a steak cook-off and barbecue pitmaster tasting competition, a ninja obstacle course for children, an instrument petting zoo, photo opportunities and free carnival rides.

Why it matters: Taste & Tunes on Oak Street, like the Roanoke Roundup, will benefit local nonprofits. The city website listed Guns & Hoses Foundation of North Texas and Speedway Children’s Charities-Texas as benefactors for the first event.

Northwest ISD’s board of trustees was presented with updates to construction projects occurring, including the status of the new Dr. Leigh Anne Romer Elementary School, new Floyd Barksdale Middle School and the Dr. David Hicks Early Childhood Education Center.

The overview: Sarah Stewart, NISD’s interim chief of facilities, broke down the completion status of each project during the April 27 regular meeting.

The new Barksdale Middle School is 95% complete and is on schedule to open for the 2026-27 school year. Romer Elementary School is roughly 85% complete and still is on schedule to open in August, Stewart said.

The Dr. Hicks Early Childhood Center is only 65% complete, but Stewart said just 35% of the building is bricked and the rest is a material called Trespa, which is a high-pressure laminate that will go around the building.

What else? Stewart said the Eaton High School stadium is behind schedule due to permitting issues, but contractor Pogue Construction is working to get the project caught up so it can be completed by early 2027.

Wendy Michaelis and her daughter, Anna Bell, are the owners and operators of FixAIRx, a forensic indoor environmental health company based in Denton County, which is dedicated to assessing the air quality to address complex indoor health concerns. 

Zooming in: Elevated mold exposure can affect health, especially for people who are sensitive, allergic, asthmatic, immunocompromised or already dealing with other health concerns, Michaelis said. Damp or moldy buildings are associated with respiratory symptoms, asthma concerns, allergic rhinitis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, respiratory infections and eczema. 

“It’s crazy that 13 years ago, I started this company to find solutions for Anna’s asthma. I never expected that this would become our journey together.” Michaelis said.

Diving in deeper: Community Impact spoke with Michaelis, a licensed mold assessment consultant, on how to monitor a home’s air quality, especially when it comes to mold assessment and mold remediation.

Stay informed on five road projects happening around Dallas-Fort Worth.

Collin County
Spring Creek Corridor intersection improvements
Project: The Spring Creek Corridor will receive additional turning lanes, new concrete pavement, barrier-free ramp reconstruction, sidewalk replacements and signal modifications in Plano.

Update: The southbound right lane from SH 121 to 800 feet south of Headquarters Drive will be closed. The project is in final design and is awaiting property acquisition before construction can move forward. Public Works Community Investment Program Manager Drew Zaeske said construction is estimated to be completed in the second quarter of 2029.

• Timeline: May 2026-May 2029

• Cost: $8 million

• Funding source: city of Plano

Tarrant County
Lipscomb Street and Forest Street
Project: The outline for the work is replacing the waterline, sanitary sewer lines, storm drainage and adding sidewalks, according to city documents.

Update: The project has a contract completion date by the end of May.

• Timeline: June 2025-May 2026

• Cost: $1.5 million

• Funding sources: city of Grapevine, Tarrant County

More than 53,000 students will be invited to join Texas’ education savings account program this week, the state comptroller’s office said May 4.

The details: Families will be notified by email between May 4-6 if they were awarded funds in the second round of the Texas Education Freedom Accounts program, per a news release from the comptroller’s office.

To date, nearly 96,000 students have been selected to participate, with these students set to receive about $820 million of the $1 billion state lawmakers allocated for the program, an agency spokesperson said. Of the 53,000 second-round awardees, over 51,000 are from low-income families. The other 2,000 students accepted this week were found to qualify for disability-related funding, the agency said.

The background: Families accepted to the TEFA program will receive state funds to send their children to private schools or homeschool them for the 2026-27 school year.

Proponents of the new program have said it will expand educational opportunities, while critics have expressed concerns that the program will unfairly benefit students already enrolled in private schools.