🏥 Hospital representatives, health care officials, JE Dunn construction crew members and community members celebrated construction progress for an expansion project at Medical City McKinney during a Nov. 13 event.

Marking a milestone: Medical City McKinney hosted the ceremony to mark a major construction milestone of its vertical expansion project. The $142 million project includes adding two stories to the hospital’s east tower and expanding and renovating other service areas.

Quote of note: “Thank you to everyone who has put so much heart into building this hospital,” Medical City McKinney CEO Mark Deno said. “God forbid you ever have to be on the patient side receiving care—you or your loved ones—but you are building an amazing place for us to take care of you.”

88 BaoBao is open in McKinney, a company representative said.

On the menu: The restaurant serves handmade fried and steamed dumplings, orange chicken, pork buns and more.

📍4610 W. University Drive, Ste. 130, McKinney

🛒A new Walmart Supercenter store is now open near the intersection of SH 121 and SH 5 in Melissa, just north of McKinney.

The gist: The location spans over 201,000 square feet, according to a Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation listing. The retailer sells groceries including bakery and deli items, electronics, clothing and more.

📍1950 McKinney St., Melissa

🎁 Attend a parade, listen to live music or see a show at the theater with the eight events in McKinney during November and December.

1. 'A Christmas Carol': This McKinney Repertory Theatre production is a one-hour adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”

• Nov. 21-22, 28-29, Dec. 12-13; showtimes vary
• $9.50-$14.50
• 111 N. Tennessee St., McKinney

• Nov. 28-29, 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m.; Nov. 30, noon-5 p.m.
• Free (admission)
• 111 N. Tennessee St., McKinney

🔌 Texas’ power grid will likely remain stable in December and January, recent reports from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas show. However, grid conditions could become tight if a winter storm hits large swaths of Texas, driving up demand for electricity.

The overview: ERCOT, which operates the electric grid for 90% of Texas, found in a Nov. 7 report that there should be “sufficient generating capacity available” to serve customers throughout January.

ERCOT forecasts that the tightest period this winter will be from 7-8 a.m. daily, when little to no solar power is being produced. During that time, ERCOT found the chances of a grid emergency are 1.81% in December and 1.4% in January.

More details: If a severe winter storm causes demand on the Texas grid to near record levels, there is a roughly 35% chance of a grid emergency in December and a less than 10% chance in January, ERCOT reported. Texans last experienced a grid emergency in September 2023, and the grid withstood three cold snaps in early 2025.