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- 🎯A win for gun buyers; Michael Jackson and firing squads are back; 2 marathoners go under 2 hours.
🎯A win for gun buyers; Michael Jackson and firing squads are back; 2 marathoners go under 2 hours.
Plus, more bite-size news about business in Tarrant County.

Fort Worth indie-rockers The Toadies are releasing their first album in a decade on May 1 via Spaceflight Records. Recorded by the late Steve Albini at Electrical Audio in Chicago, the album is described as high-energy and all-analogue. The band is supporting the release with a nationwide U.S. tour starting April 30.
A multi-state case that included the Texas Attorney General's office has secured a legal victory for gun owners, preserving an injunction that prevented enforcement of a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives rule that sought to violate Americans’ constitutional right to privately buy and sell firearms. The victory stops a congressional attempt to broaden the definition of a "dealer" for more oversight.
The Texas Supreme Court ruled that revisions to a helicopter flight manual do not constitute a "new part" that re-sets the 18-year statute of repose under the General Aviation Revitalization Act. The ruling dismissed a suit against Bell Helicopter regarding a 2017 crash, affirming that manual updates do not re-start the clock
A state court rejected Arlington-based D.R. Horton’s attempt to throw out part of a lawsuit, and the homebuilder's battle with Rockwall County over development fees will move toward a trial. The 382nd District Court sided with the county's ability to impose reasonable infrastructure fees, provided it comply with state law.
Believe it or not: What once was thought unthinkable happened twice during yesterday's London marathon, as the top three finishers all beat the previous world record. Kenya's Sebastian Sade (1:59.30) and first-time marathoner Yomif Kejelcha (1:59.41) are the first to break the long-unapproachable two-hour barrier for the 26.2-mile run. Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda was third (2:00.28). The previous record was 2:00.35.
Lionsgate’s Michael had a dominant No. 1 debut with an estimated $97 million domestically, according to Comscore. The Michael Jackson biopic also pulled in a reported $120.4 million internationally. The highest U.S. opening weekend this year is The Super Mario Galaxy movie, which had $131.7 million and has $386 after four weeks.
Arlington's city council unanimously approved Form Based Zoning, a shared commitment to strengthening downtown and bringing all downtown regulations into a single, streamlined section. The goal: walkable streets, active ground-floor spaces, thoughtful transitions near neighborhoods, and opportunities to re-use and re-invest in existing buildings.
For almost a decade, Grapevine barbecue fans have been waiting on Hill Country's Salt Lick BBQ. Announced in 2017, it was supposed to bring big pits and bigger crowds to a wooded 10‑acre parcel at 850 Kubota Drive. Today, the land is bare and the property is back on the market. The lingering question: what went wrong?
Little Caesars is offering drone delivery to customers in the Dallas suburb Wylie in a partnership with Flytrex's Sky2 drone. Customers can receive up to two large pizzas and sodas in a delivery, a breakthrough because it is the first to fulfill larger, family-sized orders. Flytrex aims to expand service across the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Take a look at the work of Minh Dinh, an award-winning live illustrator from Dallas. His portfolio includes collaborations with prestigious brands such as PRADA, Bottega Veneta, Brunello Cucinelli, and Stanley Korshak. Minh will be at 817 Biz's Cocktails & Carats mixer this Thursday, April 30 at MK & Co. Fine Jewelry. He'll be doing live sketches of guests at the event. Have you submitted your RSVP? Event details are here.
Best Buy rose 5.3% last week amid speculation that the electronics retailer may be a potential takeover target for Grapevine-based GameStop.
The Justice Department announced it would re-implement lethal injection and firing squads in an effort to "strengthen" the federal death penalty.
Devon Energy filed a Form 8-K supplement providing additional disclosures to the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus for its proposed merger with Coterra Energy. The supplement updates Evercore’s valuation analyses, including discount rates, implied enterprise/equity value ranges, analyst price targets and an implied exchange ratio range of 0.567x–0.943x.
Cook Children's sent a warning about a social media challenge after seeing an increase in overdoses involving diphenhydramine, commonly known as Benadryl. The past six months, more than 100 patients have visited the emergency department because of Benadryl overdoses, resulting in one fatality.
Fort Worth-based executive coaching firm A Bold Leader has partnered with Virginia-based knowledge management firm VanGo KM Solutions to launch Janus ETP™ - an approach to CEO transition that helps organizations mitigate risk and maintain momentum through a structured, facilitated process.
Three Tarrant County companies were honored in the Dallas Business Journal’s Best Real Estate Deals of the year:
Industrial deal: Wistron’s two supercomputer manufacturing facilities in Alliance Texas. The facilities are expected to create more than 800 jobs, mostly in the area of AI.
Industrial development: The E-Space North America headquarters, a 480,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, could bring up to 2,000 jobs at Arlington's municipal airport. E-Space aims to create a "constellation" of low Earth orbit satellites with the goal of connecting billions of Internet of Things devices.
Headquarters/campus: Hillwood and Taylor Sheridan brought a bit of Hollywood to north Fort Worth when they converted two industrial buildings to a 450,000-square-foot film production space and soundstage. Hillwood and SGS Studios have plans for a campus to anchor long-term growth. The estimate is 3,800 jobs will be created.
Notable and quotable: “Freedom is hammered out on the anvil of discussion, dissent and debate.”
At 30, Texas Rangers pitcher Peyton Gray finally reached the major leagues. He waited eight more innings before making his debut... a perfect ninth and a strikeout to end the game.
Nothing to do with business: Earlier this month, Fort Worth Animal Care & Control Officers Caroline Parker and Reid Koenig, patrolling south side neighborhoods, came upon a small, cream-colored terrier named Sunnie who was 31 miles and 4 years removed from his owner. A microchip brought Sunnie home.
Snippets:
Blackout days and cash bonuses: Carroll ISD has incentives regarding teacher leave days.
Hawaiian Airlines has joined oneworld®, joining Alaska Airlines and American Airlines as U.S.-based carriers, and adding Honolulu as a global hub.
Billionaires Elon Musk and Sam Altman going to court to battle about Open AI.

“What the… they raised our property tax assessment 21% because we added a birdbath!”
Daily digit: 11.9% = Increase in business and non-business bankruptcy filings in the U.S. during the 12-month period ending March 31, 2026, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
Significant stat: 92% = Number of Texans who feel favorably about H-E-B, the top-ranked brand in the state according to a survey of 1,500 adults. The least favored brand in the state was Oncor (31%).
Announcements:
Downtown Fort Worth, Inc.: Begins strategic leadership transition, including the retirement of long-time Festival and Event Producer, Jay Downie; the promotion of Becky Fetty from Director of Marketing and Membership to Director of Festivals and Events; and the hiring of Courtney Towson as Director of Marketing and Membership.
Balcom Agency: Hires Susannah Major as Art Director (social). She had been at Agency Habitat.
Texas Managing Editors: Names Fort Worth Report Newsroom of the Year in its category and selects it for 11 other awards.
North Texas Community Foundation: Appoints three new members to its Board of Directors. Newcomers are Amy Knight Brown, Trustee, James & Dorothy Doss Foundation; Director, TexasBank; Jamie Packer, Executive Director – Wealth Management and Financial Advisor, UBS Financial Services; Candace Sandifer, Estate Planning, Business Representation & Probate Attorney, Harris Cook.
ÙNT Health-Fort Worth: Selects Tania Ghani, Assistant VP for Research Compliance, as its Lighting the Way honoree.
TCU Board of Trustees: Grants tenure and promotions to seven AddRan College of Liberal Arts faculty members and emeritus status to seven faculty members.
Electronic Components Industry Association: Hires Kristen Ballard as Director of Marketing Communications, supporting TrustedParts.com.
DOVIA: Hires Bryan Partika as its 2026 Board President. He represents TCU as a DOVIA member.
Pritchard Industries: The portfolio company of Littlejohn & Co., appoints Kevan Barton President, Aviation, and Amy Sebastion Vice President, Aviation.
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