🌙2nd Moon/Sun eclipse; A&M Law moving' on up; When 99 Cents is zero

Fort Worth's City Council, with only Chris Nettles voting no, approved an additional $1.1 million for legal fees to fight a lawsuit from former police chief Joel Fitzgerald, who alleges he was fired for his attempts to uncover corruption. This could bring the total bill to $2 million. The Dallas County judge assigned to the case postponed Fitzgerald’s court date to Oct. 7, forcing the additional expenses. 

The Texas A&M University School of Law is 26th in the U.S. News & World Report’s national rankings, bested in the state only by 16th-ranked The University of Texas School of Law. Texas A&M Law ranked highest nationally in Texas in several specialty programs: Aggie Dispute Resolution (5th); Center for Law & Intellectual Property (6th); Legal Analysis, Research, and Writing (11th); the Energy, Environmental, and Natural Resource Systems Law (25th). 

A federal appeals court sided with the Justice Department, allowing the agency to re-open an antitrust investigation of the National Association of Realtors. The trade group says the suit is not allowed to go forward because of the terms reached in an earlier settlement. The DOJ has focused on how real estate agents are compensated, which critics say inflates the cost of housing and is illegal price-fixing.

In a surprisingly good move for energy and manufacturing, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a stay on its new climate disclosure rule as litigation proceeds. 

CBS 11 reports that Victor Turner, who runs Fort Worth's neighborhood services department, has been put on leave while the city investigates. The investigation is in the HR department and has not been referred to police. The department oversees housing assistance programs, utility assistance, and emergency rental assistance. 

Walt Bettinger, CEO of Westlake-based Charles Schwab, saw his total compensation fall to $23.9 million for 2023 from $24.4 million in 2022. His compensation includes a base salary of $1.5 million, stock awards and incentive pay.

Southlake-based EVEXIAS Health Solutions, EVEXIAS Medical Centers and FarmaKeio Pharmacy filed suit against the FDA in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas challenging the FDA’s ban of 17 peptides illegal under the Administrative Procedure Act. The suit claims the FDA did so without any meaningful explanation, notice, or input from pharmacies, other medical practitioners, or patients.

Restaurant report: Hash Kitchen and The Sicilian Butcher from Chef Joey Maggiore are opening in north Fort Worth. Hash Kitchen, at 3200 Tracewood Way, will open in early May featuring its chef-driven menu, a build-your-own Bloody Mary bar, and a DJ on weekends. The Sicilian Butcher, opening next door in June, is a casual restaurant dishing up craft meatballs, charcuterie platters, from-scratch pasta, and traditional Italian cuisine. Inside is The Sicilian Baker, which features a build-your-own cannoli bar, pastries, gelato and other sweets.

Fort Worth mom Alicia Alvarez welcomed a baby girl during the solar eclipse. She named her Sol, which means sun in Spanish. Her first child is Luna, which means moon.

Attention shoppers, a reminder that H-E-B in Alliance opened at 6 am this morning.

99 Cents Only Stores has started shutting all 371 locations, including nine in Tarrant County. Liquidation sales notices are forthcoming.

Funny bone:

Startups on Carta — a cap-table management platform that tracks employment statistics — made 267,818 new hires in 2023, about half the 523,487 hires in 2022. 2023 was the first time in five years that headcounts at VC-backed startups on Carta experienced a net decline.

Ghost jobs on job boards are still plentiful. A survey of hiring managers found that 40 percent list jobs that are not actively being filled. One LinkedIn analysis estimated that 1.7 million potential jobs are likely “ghost openings” that have been posted for long periods and are not being filled.

At $6.27 and $6.23 million per undergrad in endowment assets, Princeton and Yale lead as the wealthiest universities in the U.S., according to Department of Education data. Endowments at Historically Black Colleges and Universities grew from $3.9 billion to $5.2 billion between 2020 and 2021, largely thanks to $560 million in gifts from MacKenzie Scott.

Daily digit: According to a new peer-reviewed study, younger generations in the U.S. have larger brains than their predecessors. Scientists at the University of California-Davis found that Americans born in the 1970s had 6.6% more brain volume than those born in the 1930s, with a consistent increase in brain size over time.

Believe it or not: A Kentucky man hacked into Hawaii’s death registry to mark himself deceased to avoid paying over $100,000 in child support.

Snippet: Warren Buffett says this is the single greatest skill for boosting your career and improving your worth—it's an “asset that will last you 50 or 60 years.” 

Announcements:

• Ronald McDonald House-Fort Worth: Hires chef Ian Salavon.

• COOKSEY Communications: Promotes Tenika Luke to VP-Finance and Administration.

• White Unicorn Agency: Hires Madison McQuary as Business Development Specialist.

• Sabre: For its LGS unit, names Nathan Brooks Vice President, Bradford Jones Head of Agency Global Demand, and Craig Barnby Vice President of Product. Adds Steve Peterman as the Head of Supply for the Americas.

• Greater-Irving Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce: Names Steve Love, CEO of Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council, chair-elect of the board of trustees. 

• JLL: Names Michael Wheat Managing Director of the north Texas retail group.

• UMB: Chief Marketing Officer Liz Lewis adds role of President - Consumer Banking.

Last poll results: If you feel that sports betting should be regulated, who should have the power to regulate it? Federal government (20%), State government (52%), Other (28%).