Taylor Rehmet was sworn in Feb. 19 as Texas’ newest state senator, becoming the first Democrat to represent State Senate District 9 in decades.

The details: Rehmet, an Air Force veteran and union leader, will serve an 11-month term in the state Senate. He fills a seat vacated by former Republican Sen. Kelly Hancock, who resigned from the Legislature last summer to lead the state comptroller’s office.

Rehmet won the north Tarrant County seat by 14 percentage points during a Jan. 31 special runoff election, flipping a district that he said had been held by Republicans since 1983.

The Legislature is not currently in session, meaning Rehmet is unlikely to cast a vote on legislation over the next 11 months.

Quote of note: “My role as senator is the same as when I was campaigning,” Rehmet told Community Impact after he was sworn in. “I have to go and talk to the voters—now constituents—and help them with their issues, listen and build a plan and agenda for whenever I win in November.”

Peabody Way officially received a name change after Roanoke City Council approved two new names for the streets going east to west and north to south at the Jan. 27 meeting.

What you need to know: The new names will be Monroe Avenue on the east to west section and Convention Way on the north to south section, according to city documents.

The previous name for the streets, Peabody Way, reflected the city’s partnership with a developer who planned to build a boutique hotel and convention center east of city hall, Community Impact previously reported.

The city’s partnership with the Peabody Hotel and Convention Center dissolved in December 2024 due to the COVID-19 pandemic delaying construction, financial impacts for the developer and the missed 2023 construction start date.

Looking ahead: The street signs have been ordered and will take two weeks to arrive, said Shawn Wilkinson, Roanoke's director of public works. Once they arrive, public works will install it.

Medical City Alliance is expanding its emergency care in the north Fort Worth area.

The details: The expansion will include eight more emergency room beds and redesigned ambulance bays that will provide more efficiency for first responders, according to a news release.

The new facility is expected to break ground in the spring to support growing demand for the hospital and reduce wait times, the release states.

“This expansion reflects our ongoing investment in the communities we proudly serve,” Medical City Alliance CEO Glenn Wallace said. “By expanding our ER, we help ensure that Tarrant County and the surrounding areas continue to have access to exceptional, high-quality emergency care when and where they need it, close to home.”

The background: Medical City Alliance serves residents in Fort Worth, Keller, Roanoke, Haslet, Saginaw and other surrounding communities in north Tarrant County and south Denton County.

JetBlue Airways will launch year-round flights from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

The gist: According to a news release, the largest carrier at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport will launch daily, year-round flights to DFW Airport starting March 12, following its initial announcement as a spring break-only service.

Additional daily frequency flights have been added from DFW Airport, running from March 12-23.

What they're saying: “These additions reflect the momentum we’ve built in Florida and our continued investment in Fort Lauderdale as a key gateway in our network,”
said Dave Jehn, JetBlue’s vice president of network planning and airline partnerships.

More details: The year-round flights from Florida to Texas will depart at 8:35 p.m. and arrive at 10:53 p.m, while departures from DFW Airport will leave at 6:15 a.m. and land in Florida at 9:55 a.m.

Afternoon departures will be available during the March 12-23 period, according to the website.