Rep. Matt Shaheen, R-Plano, is asking the Texas Education Agency to investigate Frisco trustees René Archambault, Dynette Davis and Debbie Gillespie regarding a meeting with constituents held in November at a coffee shop.

Shaheen said an audio recording made public recently shows the three trustees “hosting an illicit meeting about delaying the placement of an important item on a board agenda in an effort to silence parents,” according to a news release.

The state representative said the meeting violates district’s board operating procedures “in an effort to bypass serious concerns of their community regarding the safety and well-being of young girls on district property” and violates Texas Association of School Boards ethics policy.

“I have grave concerns about the trustee’s conduct and the serious nature of this meeting,” Shaheen said in the news release. “I look forward to the TEA providing clarification on this important matter to ensure these Frisco ISD school board members are in compliance with applicable laws, rules, policies, and governance procedures, and that parents have a voice in their children’s education.”

The story and audio posted online by a conservative website says the trustees met with the group to ensure their “leftist agenda has an eternal hold on Frisco ISD’s children.”

Related:Frisco ISD trustees defend actions: Nothing illegal about meeting at coffee shop

Jake Kobersky, TEA spokesperson, said the agency has received Shaheen’s letter and, like any other concerns related to a school system, the first order of business is to determine if they can investigate the matter.

”Any time the agency receives a complaint, that complaint is reviewed to determine whether it falls within the jurisdiction of the agency,” Kobersky said.

The spokesperson did not have a time frame on how long the jurisdiction determination would take.

According to the TEA web site, it does not investigate open meetings issues. Open Government Ethics, which include the Texas Open Meetings Act and the Texas Public Information Act, fall under the Texas Government Code, the TEA site says.

The three trustees told The Dallas Morning News last week the meeting was in compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act and that nothing was done in secret or illegally but rather it was a meeting with a concerned group of parents who had questions after the district approved a bathroom policy for transgender students.

Archambault, the Frisco ISD board president, said her comments were in response to parents being concerned about the safety of their students in the boardroom, which she said has “become a place of unrest over the past year.”

“Parents have been scared to send kids to our board meetings; some are highly contentious. It doesn’t have to be a circus every month,” she said. “This isn’t about limiting a parent’s voice, it’s about protecting our students and our staff when the board meets to discuss contentious items.”

Related:Frisco ISD discusses discipline of trustee Marvin Lowe

The Frisco, Texas City Council and the Frisco Planning and Zoning Commission voted to approve a Universal theme park planned for the Dallas suburb last night in a meeting that featured many vocal critics. The theme park, which will be located off of the Dallas North Tollway, is set to cater specifically to families with children between the ages of 3-11. The Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to approve the park for a Special Use Permit to be forwarded to the City Council for approval. The City Council then voted 4-2 to approve the project.

The new Universal park is set to be placed on a 97 acre parcel, and will likely include a 300 room hotel. About 30 acres of the land will be dedicated to the theme park, with the rest of the space being used for parking and hotel space. While there are light and noise ordinances in place, the park could operate from as early as 8:00 AM to as late as 10:00 PM. Structures on the site could reach higher than 100 feet. The total area of the park is approximately half the size of Six Flags Over Texas, located approximately 30 miles away.

The park is expected to welcome about 7,000 visitors during weekdays, and twice as many on weekends. For comparison, the city expects a nearby H-E-B grocery store and the local Stonebriar Mall to welcome more guests than the Universal park on a daily basis.

Not much is known about the plans for the park, which is set to begin construction later this year, and has a goal of opening in 2026. However, the concept art and renderings give us a few clues.

Looking northeast from King George Lane, guests will be able to see two towering structures above the tree line and hotel. In this particular rendering, it looks like two possible locations for castle turrets or towers. The renderings may fuel rumors of a potential Hogwarts Castle, but it is unclear whether the Frisco-based Universal Studios park will feature the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Concept art for the theme park is subject to change, but a previous rendering appears to show a Dreamworks-themed park which would seemingly leave the Wizarding World out altogether. The concept art below shows a hotel with clouds on the ground and what looks like the DreamWorks logo at the park entrance.

There are four colorful lands featured in this concept art, also all seemingly inspired by DreamWorks properties. Camp Cretaceous (an animated “Jurassic World” spinoff) is in the top left and “Shrek” is in the top right. The other two lands appear to be “Trolls” and “Madagascar.”

The Frisco City Council and its planning and zoning committee were originally scheduled to vote on the permits required on February 7. The vote was postponed to February 21 and then postponed a second time to March 7. A traffic analysis regarding the new park was also released and updated this month. The proposed park is anticipated to attract 7,500 guests on an average day & 20,000 on peak days and will hire at least 643 Team Members.

Several residents living in the Cobb Hill neighborhood, near the park’s proposed location, have been speaking out against the new park. Steve Cone, a member of the planning and zoning committee and Cobb Hill resident, said it’s important to educate Frisco’s citizens about the theme park as well as listen to their concerns. More information about the park will be made available during a public presentation tomorrow night.

For more Universal Studios news from around the world, follow Universal Parks News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. For Disney Parks news, visit WDWNT.

A new Parisian-inspired bistro is hoping to take North Texas residents on a European tour.

“One of my favorite places to travel is France. I love traveling to slow down from the everyday hustle and do as the French do – joie de vivre,” said Mondi Tag, creator of La Parisienne French Bistro.

La Parisienne is set to open on March 13 at the Star in Frisco. The 4,325-square-foot bistro is designed by Mayavian Creative Studios. It features Tiffany blue accents, water features, chandeliers and lush greenery and florals throughout.

“We designed the space in hopes that our guests will feel as if they are sitting in a chic bistro in Paris enjoying French food and desserts along with sipping on a cocktail, tea, or coffee,” said Tag.

Tag was born and raised in Texas and was the first female franchisee owner and operator for Dickey’s BBQ in Dallas and subsequently Genghis Grill in Dallas.

Executive chef Ozzy Samano will conduct the kitchen at La Parisienne. Samano was born and raised in Texas and is an El Centro College Culinary Studies graduate. He has vast experience working in some of the most well-known kitchens in the metroplex.

La Parisienne menu will include the following offerings:

French desserts include classics with the Mille Feuille – layers of caramelized puff pastry, light vanilla cream and banana pecan with banana mousse, caramelized pecan, banana bread croutons.

“All of our desserts are made fresh with our standout being the Mille Feuille pastry along with our hazelnut praline and eclairs in a variety of flavors but the food menu is also carefully prepared just as one might find in Paris,” said Tag.

To pair, an Illy coffee and Tea Forté high tea program is also offered along with a cocktail program.

The bistro offers seating for 120 inside and 44 on the patio. Live music will be featured Tuesday, Friday and Saturday evenings and during Sunday brunch.

“We are looking forward to La Parisienne being the perfect place to host baby showers, romantic dinners, tea parties or just a spot to grab late-night dessert and coffee,” said Tag.

Beginning March 13, high tea service is available daily from opening through 6 p.m. for $55 per adult and $30 per child. Reservations are required 48 hours in advance. La Parisienne is located at the Star in Frisco at 6740 Winning Way, Suite 1000.

For additional information, click here.

The development roughly two miles east of the future Dallas North Tollway will tie into Celina's downtown square.

CELINA, Texas — Read this story and more North Texas business news from our partners at the Dallas Business Journal

With the expansion of the Dallas North Tollway, a flourishing historic downtown, and relative affordability compared to nearby northern Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs, Celina has a lot going for it, says Ryan Griffin, principal at Rockhill Capital & Investments.

Against that backdrop, Rockhill has teamed up with Taylor Morrison and Toll Brothers to launch The Ranch at Uptown Celina, a 450-home residential community located on 150 acres between FM 455 and future Celina Parkway.

The development roughly two miles east of the future Dallas North Tollway will tie into Celina's downtown square by a golf-cart-friendly hike-and-bike trail. It’s also slated to have a pool, water feature, parks and green space.

Construction is underway on the project, with grading expected to commence in early 2023.

The Ranch at Uptown Celina is part of the broader four-community Uptown Celina district, a 675-acre project planned for about 2,500 single-family homes.

In the interview that follows, Griffin tells us more about the project, the housing market and why he’s bullish on Celina.

Why is it a good time right now to launch the Ranch at Uptown Celina?

Three reasons. One is that the Dallas North Tollway with the service lanes and the overpass over Highway 380 has really opened up housing in Celina to employment in Frisco and North Dallas.

The second reason is it's more affordable than obviously Frisco and Prosper. If you've been tracking this market, you know what Frisco is doing, and Prosper is right there with it (in rising home prices). In order to afford a home, Celina is a really good area.

And thirdly, Celina has made a huge investment in their downtown area. Their EDC focuses on their downtown area in a very similar way to how McKinney did their downtown area over the last 20 years through both private-public partnerships and to some extent organic growth. You can tell they really made a huge investment there.

This property (The Ranch at Uptown Celina) is all accessible to the downtown area via hike and bike trails. Celina is a golf-cart community and that's something that the younger generations today find attractive. They really don't want to get into a vehicle. They want to be able just to hop on a cart and drive into downtown, eat dinner, have a beer and go home.

How do you see Celina developing over the next few years?

I think Celina is poised to be another Frisco. They certainly have done a great job of of masterplanning their city and deciding what goes where, just like Frisco did. We're bullish on Celina. We like that area. It's great community.

What is your timetable with The Ranch at Uptown Celina?

Taylor Morrison and Toll Brothers' plans are really close to getting approved. They'll be coming out of the ground pretty quick. I would say they're starting in the next 60 to 90 days, and they're hoping to have lots on the ground in late 2024 or early 2025. It will certainly be ready to have houses ready for the spring season 2025.

This is the first phase. What will be he total home count at full buildout?

It’s a 2,500-lot community, and that’s not including multifamily and some townhome, and we might have some single-family rental go in.

I know this is difficult to predict, but are you anticipating changes in the mortgage-rate environment or the demand environment by the time these homes are available?

We have to take that day to day. Nobody has a crystal ball. I personally am in the camp that interest rates might tick up a little bit more then maybe stabilize over the next quarter or so.

I know that builders had a really good January and I am very optimistic about the spring. I think honestly that buyers are coming to grips with the fact that interest rates are 7%, not three. Keep in mind they can maybe get down to 5.5% if they buy rates down. Historically speaking, that's a cheap rate. We got a little spoiled when it was 2.75%. A lot of these buyers, if mortgage rates turn around and go back down, they always can refinance. So I think they're just getting comfortable with that. I think the last six months, the last year, it was just a such a shock to the system that everybody kind of froze.

Job growth is a huge driver, and Dallas-Fort Worth just doesn't show any sign of slowing down. Don't get me wrong, I'm always cautious, but I do think that we've got a bright future over the next 24 months, if not longer.

This interview was edited for brevity and clarity.

Mississippi State baseball coach Chris Lemonis didn’t hesitate to refer to Sunday’s game against California as a must-win game. After dropping the opening two games against Ohio State and Oklahoma at the Frisco College Baseball Classic in Frisco, Texas, Lemonis knew the importance of returning to Starkville with at least one win.

The Bulldogs got it, taking down the Bears 8-4. The game was tightly contested early with each team scoring at least one run in each of the first three innings before Mississippi State used late home runs from Amani Larry and Kellum Clark to pull away.

Cal (7-3) marks the third Power Five win for Mississippi State (7-5) this season. MSU won two of three against Arizona State at Dudy Noble Field last weekend.

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Nate Dohm shines out of the bullpen

MSU’s Sunday starter Landon Gartman battled through four innings, allowing four runs to exit with the game knotted at four. With a struggling bullpen, Mississippi State appeared in a tough spot.

Lemonis elected to go with Nate Dohm, who has developed into a late-inning arm. Dohm threw a season-high five scoreless innings with just one hit allowed. He allowed one walk, which is noteworthy for MSU pitching, and struck out six hitters.

Dohm, a Ball State transfer, has not allowed a run in 12-1/3 innings pitched.

Bryce Chance continues to impress

Sophomore Bryce Chance was a surprising starter in MSU’s opener against Virginia Military Institute two weeks ago after not playing last season. He’s shown what the coaching staff saw in him during the offseason.

Chance went 3-for-5 with a run scored against the Bears and 5-for-11 on the weekend. His batting average is up to .385 with two home runs and 13 runs batted in.

What’s next?

Mississippi State returns to Dudy Noble Field for a matchup with Valparaiso on Tuesday (6 p.m., SEC Network+). An opportunity to stack wins ahead of SEC play looms with a weekend series against Lipscomb followed by a trip to Biloxi, Mississippi, to face Nicholls and Louisiana next week.