Richardson Police Chief Gary Tittle gave an overview of the police department’s use of Flock Safety license plate reader cameras at the Aug. 10 City Council meeting, including policies on data collection, sharing and searching. After hearing feedback from council members and concerns from community members, city staff plan to implement further transparency methods to assure residents that the policies are being followed, City Manager Don Magner said.

The overview: Richardson approved a contract with Flock Safety in early 2024, a cloud-based technology platform that is best known for automated license plate recognition cameras. Richardson currently has 20 stationary cameras deployed across 14 major intersections in the city, Tittle said.

The details: Flock cameras are motion-activated to take pictures of the rear of a vehicle, recording information like license plate, date, time, location and vehicle characteristics, Tittle said. The data collected by Flock cameras is automatically deleted after 30 days unless it is tied to an active investigation, Tittle said.

Aug. 11 was the first day of school for Plano ISD students.

The gist: Parents, students and staff gathered at campuses across the district, including Daffron Elementary School.

PISD consists of 42 elementary schools, 12 middle schools, seven high schools and three senior high schools, and serves students across 10 Collin County cities. The district will be adding another facility during this school year, as the Career and Technical Education Center is slate to open in October.
 

A tech company is expanding its Richardson facility and the Einstein Bros. Bagels Terminal A location at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport is set to undergo renovations. Check out some of the latest North Texas construction projects filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

1. Celestica expansion in Richardson: The tech company Celestica is expanding its Richardson facility with a new 225,000-square-foot building, according to TDLR documents. An estimated 2,300 jobs will be created in the process, according to previous Community Impact reporting.

• Location: 2801 Telecom Parkway, Richardson
• Estimated timeline: Sept. 3, 2026-March 15, 2027
• Estimated cost: $70 million

• Location: Southeast corner of US 380 and Hollyhock Road, Frisco
• Estimated timeline: Oct. 1, 2026-Sept. 30, 2029
• Estimated cost: $7.7 million

Almost 50% of Texas Woman’s University’s spring 2026 class earned an undergraduate degree without student loan debt, TWU officials said.

Two-minute impact: Out of the 888 undergraduates who earned a four-year degree at TWU, 442, or 49.77% had zero student loan debt, said Matt Flores, TWU’s assistant vice president of communications.

A further 115 students graduated with less than $10,000 of student loan debt. There were 111 students who graduated with more than $31,000 in student loans.

Monica Mendez-Grant, TWU’s vice president for student life, said that financial security while seeking higher education directly supports students by driving degree completion, improving mental health and providing long-term economic mobility.

“TWU recognizes that financial health is tied directly to physical well-being,” she said. “Rather than treating financial aid and student welfare as separate departments, TWU integrates them through the many campus offices.”