Denton City Council made it easier for neighborhood residents to host community parties at a May 19 regular meeting.

Council members approved a one-year pilot program intended to streamline block party applications and reduce costs for neighborhood block parties.

The details: The changes include replacing the tiered pricing system with a $60 flat fee, no longer requiring a professional engineer to provide traffic control barricades and routing noise exemption approval away from City Council. Instead, noise exemption approval will go through the city's parks department.

Mayor Pro Tem Suzi Rumohr said she brought the proposal to city staff after meeting with a resident who said throwing block parties was cost prohibitive.

Looking ahead: The pilot program and new requirements will go into effect June 1, council documents state.

Waxxed Sports Cards, a trading card company, will have its soft launch for its first Denton location toward the end of May, a representative with the company confirmed.

The details: Waxxed Sports Cards sells a variety of trading cards, such as baseball, football, hockey and other sports cards.

The company also sells non-sports cards, such as Pokémon cards and other gaming card sets, according to its website. Other items available include hobby boxes, sealed cases, single cards, memorabilia and supplies.

Waxxed Sports Cards has varying store names, including Triple Cards, Sappy's Sports Cards, Beast Sports Cards and Boomerang Cards and Comics.

• 2315 Colorado Blvd., Ste. 120, Denton

Texas officials released a draft of their next state water plan in April, projecting that state and local governments will need to spend $174 billion in the next 50 years to prevent a water crisis.

The details: The three-member Texas Water Development Board voted April 16 to publish an initial draft of the 2027 State Water Plan, laying out what is needed to prepare for a future “drought of record,” when water demands are highest and supplies are lowest.

The $174 billion price tag is more than twice the cost projected in Texas’ 2022 state water plan, which was $80 billion.

The context: As Texas’ population continues to grow, water restrictions and shortages are becoming more common in areas throughout the state. At the same time, major companies are moving to Texas and communities are contemplating large data center projects, with some residents expressing concerns about high water use in the already drought-prone state.

The proposed plan includes 3,000 proposed water management projects and 6,700 strategies to increase Texas' water supplies through 2080.