Richardson officials proposed a $20.4 million facilities and fleet budget for fiscal year 2026-27, which includes maintenance of city facilities, renovations and upgrades and new city vehicles. Wayne Corum, director of facilities and fleet, presented the city’s budget and project plans to City Council on July 20.

Breaking it down: Three additional facilities are set to open in Richardson in the next year, including the new City Hall and Richardson Public Library, which Corum said will add about 53,000 square feet to city facilities, increasing maintenance and custodial expenses.

A closer look: Corum proposed a $6.2 million capital replacement plan for 52 new vehicles, including police, fire, ambulance and animal control vehicles.

Houston-based chicken wing chain Wingbay is opening a location on Renner Road in Plano, across the street from Methodist Richardson Hospital.

The specifics: The restaurant serves classic or boneless wings with a variety of sauces. Also featured on the menu are chicken tenders, fries and cajun fried corn.

The restaurant currently has seven locations in the Houston area and Wingbay Head of Franchising Development Sage Delsol said expanding into Dallas-Fort Worth is the “natural next step.” 

Restaurant and entertainment venue The Hub closed its doors in Allen in July, while US 75 is experiencing nightly lane closures in Richardson during Silver Line bridge construction. Check out six trending stories from Community Impact’s Dallas-Fort Worth coverage areas.

1. Food hall The Hub closes at The Farm in Allen

2. Nighttime US 75 closures planned in Richardson during DART bridge arch installation

3. Patty Lou’s Smashburgers now open in downtown Plano

4. Check out 5 businesses now closed in Frisco

5. Locally owned Juarez Mexican Restaurant nears 4 decades in downtown McKinney

6. The Clara Hotel now open in Plano’s Legacy area

As more data centers are being built in Texas, the state’s water planning agency warns that limited information is available about the booming industry and its impact on water supplies.

The overview: The Texas Water Development Board adopted its initial 2027 State Water Plan on July 23, with a “more robust” version of the plan expected later this year. The plan consists of 3,000 water management projects and 6,700 strategies that experts say are needed to prepare for future severe droughts.

It will cost about $174 billion to complete the projects, according to the TWDB. However, if they are not implemented, a severe drought could cost the state $91 billion in economic damages as soon as 2030 and lead to $177 billion in annual losses by 2080.

The context: These projections do not account for the amount of water that data centers—which largely purchase their water from public systems—may use or how the large facilities could contribute to overall water availability. Right now, the board said it did not have enough information to do so.