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Ali Jawad

From a young age I discovered a passion for storytelling and a talent for painting vivid pictures with words. My love for sports was undeniable, evident in my active participation …

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LE Brown

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Melissa P. Shadowens

This is a collection of my professional documents, items, and artifacts that together should provide you with a sense of my skills, training, competencies, and achievements.

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Ashleigh Hughes, CFRE

Performance, data-driven and servant-minded leader specializing in development, marketing, operations and communications with 20+ years of experience leading in the not-for-profit and political sector serving as a strategic planner, board …

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writer of words. guided by curiosity. past The Dallas Morning News. wannabe pastry chef.

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Cheyenne O'Connell (Padgett)

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Latest Articles

Plano voters set to consider leaving DART next year after council OKs withdrawal election

Plano will let voters decide if it will withdraw from the Dallas Area Rapid Transit system, after the City Council Wednesday set an election next May to settle the question – joining Highland Park and Farmers Branch in throwing the matter to the ballot box. Irving will decide Thursday if …
By Lilly Kersh
• Dallas News

Voter turnout exceeds expectations in Dallas, Collin counties, officials say

All 17 proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution on the ballot Tuesday were on track for approval, according to unofficial statewide returns, as voters across Dallas-Fort Worth also weighed in on a slate of local measures and a few contests for local and state offices. More voters in Dallas and …
By Lilly Kersh
• Dallas News

Collin County voters bubble in paper ballots in ‘stress test’ election

Collin County voters spent more time at the polls than normal this election to bubble in their ballots by hand for the first time in decades, a switch inspired by President Donald Trump’s call for election reform amid his unfounded concerns over widespread voter fraud. It took longer for voters …
By Lilly Kersh
• Dallas News

Prosper election: Unofficial returns show library funding in trouble in $192M bond package

Prosper voters appear to be supporting most projects in a $192.3 million bond package that aims to address the town’s booming population and strained infrastructure in what Mayor David Bristol calls “the next phase in the development of our community” — apart from one measure to fund a new library. …
By Lilly Kersh
• Dallas News

Irving becomes latest city to call DART membership into question

Irving is the latest city to throw its future with Dallas Area Rapid Transit into question. Joining Plano, Farmers Branch and Highland Park, Irving’s City Council will consider next week whether or not it will ask voters if the city should withdraw from the transit agency. “The services provided by …
By Lilly Kersh
• Dallas News

What to know about Plano’s Shops at Willow Bend, Dallas Stars’ potential new arena site

As the Dallas Stars and Mavericks feud over the American Airlines Center, the Stars have eyed the suburbs for a new hockey arena. The frontrunner for the NHL franchise’s potential new stadium is the site of an aging, bygone suburban shopping mall in Plano. The 107-acre property, at 6121 W. …
By Lilly Kersh
• Dallas News

Early voting ends today. Here’s how voters turned out in Dallas, Collin County elections

As voters head into the last day of early voting on Friday, turnout so far has been sparse. Just 5% of Dallas County’s 1.4 million registered voters cast a ballot during the two-week early voting period as of Thursday, according to elections department data. In Collin County, turnout hovered just …
By Lilly Kersh
• Dallas News

Collin County suburb could land Dallas Stars with billion-dollar stadium

The Dallas Stars are considering a new $1 billion arena in Plano at the Shops at Willow Bend Mall site — a move that could see the hockey franchise leave downtown Dallas for the first time in its history, two people with knowledge of the team’s efforts told The Dallas …
By Lilly Kersh
• Dallas News

What to know about DART’s Silver Line train now running from Plano to DFW Airport

Dallas Area Rapid Transit officially opens its Silver Line this weekend, providing a 26-mile railway connecting major urban hubs in the Dallas metro area even as the transit system is cutting services and costs. Starting Saturday, the Silver Line will run from DFW International Airport to DART’s Shiloh Road Station …
By Lilly Kersh
• Dallas News

Collin County suburb could land Dallas Stars with billion-dollar stadium

The Dallas Stars are considering a new $1 billion arena in Plano at the Shops at Willow Bend Mall site — a move that could see the hockey franchise leave downtown Dallas for the first time in its history, two people with knowledge of the team’s efforts told The Dallas …
By Lilly Kersh
• Dallas News

DART’s future in question as Plano, Farmers Branch, Highland Park consider withdrawing

The future of the region’s rapid transit system could take significant hits when city leaders in Plano, Highland Park and Farmers Branch consider ballot measures to withdraw from Dallas Area Rapid Transit. DART CEO Nadine Lee called the moves “devastating and frustrating” in a news conference Wednesday. “We obviously will …
By Lilly Kersh
• Dallas News

Is Collin County moving left? Growth could be shifting politics in Republican stronghold

Rekha Shenoy recalls breaking down crying as she stood shoulder-to-shoulder with 3,000 No Kings protesters gathered in Plano on a recent Saturday, one of hundreds of demonstrations across the country protesting President Donald Trump’s governance. The strong showing bolstered Shenoy’s optimism that broader shifts could be taking place in her …
By Lilly Kersh
• Dallas News

Is Collin County moving left? Growth could be shifting politics in Republican stronghold

Rekha Shenoy recalls breaking down crying as she stood shoulder-to-shoulder with 3,000 No Kings protesters gathered in Plano on a recent Saturday, one of hundreds of demonstrations across the country protesting President Donald Trump’s governance. The strong showing bolstered Shenoy’s optimism that broader shifts could be taking place in her …
By Lilly Kersh
• Dallas News

Plano leaders head to Sweden to strengthen economic ties with northern Europe

Plano has business ties across the globe, most concentrated in Asia — but city leaders hope to develop ties with northern Europe as Mayor John Muns and other city officials swing through Sweden this week to add to the city’s economic development portfolio. The Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson has its …
By Lilly Kersh
• Dallas News

See new renderings of the $300M, 20,000-seat amphitheater under construction in McKinney

New renderings of the 20,000-seat open-air amphitheater under construction in McKinney were released by Colorado-based company VENU this week as the $300 million music venue inches closer to reality. The entertainment and hospitality company plans to open the Sunset Amphitheater next year near U.S. Highway 75 and State Highway 121 …
By Lilly Kersh
• Dallas News

McKinney leaders vote to ban sleeping downtown in crackdown on homelessness

New rules on homelessness moved forward in McKinney on Tuesday, when the City Council approved a set of bans and guiding principles aimed at steering the city’s broader approach to addressing homelessness in the growing city. The seven-member council revisited the issue after tabling the proposed ordinances last month because …
By Lilly Kersh
• Dallas News

‘It’s concerning’: Collin County preps change to hand-marked ballots as election nears

Collin County voters will have to bubble in paper ballots by hand for the first time in two decades when they hit the polls next week, a switch prompted by President Donald Trump’s call for changes to the elections process amid his unfounded concerns over widespread voter fraud. County Elections …
By Lilly Kersh
• Dallas News

Plano council member resigns to run for Collin County Commissioners Court

Plano Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Julie Holmer resigned from the City Council this week to launch a bid to become the sole Democrat on the Collin County Commissioners Court. Holmer is seeking the Precinct 4 seat on the five-member court, which oversees county government. The seat is up for election …
By Lilly Kersh
• Dallas News

What to know about Collin County’s November election on emergency services

In November, voters in Collin County will decide on creating and funding an emergency services district to provide fire and ambulance service in areas outside of city limits as population growth strains public safety resources in the county’s growing municipalities. Several cities in the county decided to end their contracts …
By Lilly Kersh
• Dallas News

What’s on the ballot in Prosper’s $192 million bond election this November?

Prosper voters will cast ballots Nov. 4 on a proposed $192.3 million bond package that includes funding for roads, a new police headquarters, library, the town’s downtown and more. Leaders will ask voters to allow the town to issue public debt to pay for large, one-time projects over a period …
By Lilly Kersh
• Dallas News

In ‘full-circle moment,’ Plano’s former mayor Harry LaRosiliere receives key to the city

Harry LaRosiliere lived in New York in the early 1990s when he got his calling in life. He told his now wife: “I’m going to be mayor some day.” That was two decades before he was elected mayor of Plano. “I chose the city in which I lived to be …
By Lilly Kersh
• Dallas News

McKinney approves agreement to host CJ Cup Byron Nelson golf tournament through 2030

The McKinney City Council voted Monday to extend an agreement to host the CJ Cup Byron Nelson through 2030, securing the tournament’s presence at TPC Craig Ranch golf club in Collin County. The PGA Tour event, held annually in May, first came to TPC Craig Ranch in 2021. Local leaders …
By Lilly Kersh
• Dallas News

How Collin County is changing, in 5 charts

Amid an influx of new residents and continued growth, Dallas’ once-sleepy suburban communities in Collin County are emerging as regional focal points. Roads and homes can’t be built fast enough, and school districts struggle to cope with changes in enrollment. Between 2020 and 2024, Collin County grew 13.6%, according to …
By Lilly Kersh
• Dallas News

By the numbers: 10 statistics that show how Collin County is changing

Collin County’s fast-paced growth is altering the region at break-neck speed, transforming the suburbs north of Dallas into a booming hub for people, business and development. Here are 10 numbers that help us understand how the county has changed and show where the growth is headed. By 2060, the county’s …
By Lilly Kersh
• Dallas News

Mold, air quality concerns abruptly close Plano middle school for cleaning

Meghan Vecchio grew concerned about potential mold near the start of this school year when her child, who attends Murphy Middle School in the Plano Independent School District, reported a bad smell in a classroom and started getting headaches. She was told there was nothing to be concerned about, then …
By Lilly Kersh
• Dallas News

‘He was just a normal kid’: What led a young man from the Dallas suburbs to attack ICE?

FAIRVIEW — Just off Country Club Road here, a narrow street without sidewalks winds past well-kept lawns and brick mailboxes that match the large suburban houses they front. It curls into a quiet cul-de-sac, where a two-story house sits partly veiled by tall trees. In recent days, after the crush …
By Lilly Kersh
• Dallas News

Collin County’s growing pains: Can one of the fastest-growing regions in the U.S. keep up?

There was just a stoplight at the intersection of Eldorado Parkway and U.S. Highway 75 when Halcyon Ramsey, pregnant with her first child, moved to McKinney about 15 years ago in search of a better school district for her now-teenage daughter. Ramsey is among the 1 million Californians who have …
By Casey He
• Dallas News