The universe works in mysterious ways. Last Thursday morning, I asked for an update on the City of Coppell’s appeal of its lawsuit against the Texas comptroller, which I hadn’t written about for several months. Last Thursday morning just happened to be when the Fifteenth Court of Appeals heard arguments regarding said appeal for the first time.
This edition includes a report on those arguments, but let’s begin with a matter that has Coppell residents much more excited.
City Gets Giddy About New Trash Carts
People all over Coppell are tickled pink about their new gray trash carts.
I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised by all this excitement. Substack tells me that Coppell Chronicle Vol. 6, No. 4 — which began with an article called “City Will Issue (and Require) Trash Carts” — has been the most popular edition of this newsletter in 2026.
Delivery of the new carts began last Monday, and there were more than a dozen posts about them last week in the “Coppell, Texas” group on Facebook. In the comments under one of those posts, Melissa Williams coined the term “Trashcanapalooza” and sarcastically (I think) called this “such a momentous time in Coppell history.”
Here are some of my other favorite comments from that group:
Nikki Hodgson: “I told the delivery guys that they are the heroes and talk of the town. They got a kick out of that!”
Paula Feldman: “It reminds me of when we were so excited when the claw was going around town picking up storm debris.”
Angie Biggs: “I feel like we’re all stuck in a Progressive Insurance commercial — becoming your parents!”
There were also a lot of questions posed on Facebook last week, such as “Do I have to use the new cart?” and “What do I do with my old cart?” and “Do we still put recycling in the blue cart?” The answers to all of those questions can be found on the city’s webpage devoted to trash carts.
As I reported back in March, every household in Coppell was given the opportunity to choose either a 65-gallon cart or a 95-gallon cart. Any household that didn’t express a preference by the June 30 deadline got a larger cart by default. The Kollers opted for the smaller cart, as it appeared to be large enough to hold the amount of trash we produce every few days. It’s also nearly large enough to hold a middle-aged man of average height.
Sunshine Room Will Close (Temporarily)
Although the Coppell City Council declined to permanently shutter the Sunshine Room, the daycare facility will be closed temporarily.
As reported in last week’s edition, the council revised the city’s budget so The CORE could still offer childcare to parents on weekday mornings. Coincidentally, a boiler at the recreation center is about to be replaced. Because The CORE will be without hot water during that process, the Sunshine Room and the indoor pool will be closed for at least two weeks starting Sept. 21.