1. DCTA served 2.9M riders in FY 2022-23, the most since FY 2018-19
The Denton County Transportation Authority completed more than 2.9 million rides during fiscal year 2022-23, according to a news release.
It marks the highest number of rides completed since FY 2018-19 before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the news release. Overall, the transportation authority saw 33% more riders in FY 2022-23 compared to FY 2021-22.
Read the whole story by Reporter Colby Farr.
2. East Dallas short-term rental operators sue city over new regulations
After retiring, married couple Jeff and Shannon Veazey planned on continuing to rent out the converted garage attached to their home in Old Lake Highlands as a major source of their retirement income.
For the last six years, the two have listed it on the rental platform Airbnb, earning about $16,000 annually.
“When you’re a retired teacher and a guy on Social Security, an extra $16,000 per year for just renting out a room in your house ... is a huge supplemental income,” Jeff Veazey said.
However, due to a new zoning ordinance and short-term rental regulations passed by Dallas City Council, the couple will be “out of business” once the ordinance is enforced in December, Jeff Veazey said.
Read the full story by Reporter Cecilia Lenzen.
3. Plano ISD officials expect TEA ‘to be held accountable’ after court ruling on ratings
Following a district court ruling that blocked the Texas Education Agency from issuing new accountability ratings to public schools, Plano ISD officials expect the agency “to be held accountable to the law,” according to an emailed statement from a district spokesperson.
PISD is one of more than 100 school districts in Texas that is suing the TEA over its new A-F accountability rating system.
Read more from Editor Michael Crouchley.
4. Dallas County officials investigating cybersecurity attack
A day after announcing Dallas County systems experienced a cybersecurity attack earlier this month, county officials said they prevented data files from being exfiltrated or encrypted.
After detecting the Oct. 19 breach, officials immediately retained cybersecurity professionals to enhance security efforts to reduce the likelihood of a similar attack happening again, according to an Oct. 31 news release.
Read the full story by Reporter Cecilia Lenzen.
5. ‘No rezones’: Frisco ISD sees declining enrollment numbers in 2023-24 school year
Frisco ISD saw a decline in enrollment in the 2023-24 school year.
Students will not be rezoned for the 2024-25 school year, Chief Operations Officer Scott Warstler said Oct. 10. As of early October, FISD had 66,670 students—154 fewer than October of last year, he said.
“I think that’s the first time that’s happened in Frisco that any of us can remember, that we actually lost enrollment over a given year,” Warstler said.
Read the full story by Reporter Hannah Johnson.
