📣AA 'promising', but unions disagree; PMG opens in 2 more countries; Girl Scout, Logan Paul set records.

Alcon announced the U.S. launch of TOTAL30® Multifocal for Astigmatism, the world’s only multifocal toric contact lens with Water Gradient Technology. Alcon says it helps patients stay in lenses comfortably as their vision changes from standard correction to age-related presbyopia. Alcon's U.S headquarters is in Fort Worth.

Independent marketing services and technology group PMG opened two offices -- in Mexico City and Toronto -- and described the moves as ''a significant milestone in its global growth strategy.'' The firm was launched in Fort Worth and has its headquarters in Dallas.

The unions representing American Airlines flight attendants and pilots have voiced their lack of confidence in CEO Robert Isom. Fortune magazine begs to differ. Things are not nearly so bad as they seem. 

The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, who led the Civil Rights Movement for decades, died Tuesday at 84, at home surrounded by family. He was a protégé of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate.

Robert Duvall, a film and stage actor known for his ability to disappear into roles, died at 95. He played a wide range of characters in films such as “Apocalypse Now” and “The Godfather,” and in the television series “Lonesome Dove.

Believe it or not: Pim Neill, a 6-year-old Pennsylvania Girl Scout, apparently has set a record with 105,000 Girl Scout cookies boxes sold in a single season. She shattered previous records by utilizing social media. If she remains a Girl Scout until 18 and keeps this sales pace, she could end up selling 1,260,000 boxes. 

You Tuber and pro wrestler Logan Paul's PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator is the most expensive trading card sold at auction after a 42-day online sale. A PSA 10 represents a virtually flawless card. Paul purchased the card for $5.3 million in 2021, setting a record at the time. He sold it for $16.492 million, according to auction house Goldin.

Cade Cunningham, the All-Star guard and former No. 1 overall pick of the Detroit Pistons, purchased his minority share of the Texas Rangers through an athlete investment group called Sportsology Capital Partners. The purchase is the first U.S. sports franchise by the $500-million private equity firm. Ray Davis and Bob R. Simpson, who made their money in the oil industry, own most of the team. 

Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern will submit their revised merger application on April 30, A month ago, the Surface Transportation Board rejected the original 6,692-page application as incomplete. BNSF Railway remains opposed to the merger.

Heather Reynolds returned Monday as the President and CEO of Catholic Charities Fort Worth. She led the organization from 2005-2018 before accepting an opportunity with the University of Notre Dame's Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities.

Cowtown Seed, a group of investors, is taking the lead on a $500k raise for Portal Aircraft Inc., a Fort Worth-based aerospace company developing gas turbine-powered VTOL drone systems with differentiated lift and endurance capabilities. Portal Aircraft was founded by James Thurman, a former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, Aerospace Engineering Professor at the United States Naval Academy, and Systems Engineering/Architecture Lead at Lockheed Martin.

The National Science Foundation awarded a six-year, nearly $2-million grant to The University of Texas at Arlington to provide scholarships for qualified undergraduate mathematics students. The program, started by UTA in 2008, has had 155 scholarship recipients earn bachelor's degrees. The NSF award provides scholarships of up to $15,000 annually.

National champion quarterback Fernando Mendoza of Indiana added the Davey O’Brien Award for top quarterback to sit alongside his Heisman Trophy. The award ceremony Monday was at the Fort Worth Club. 

The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans upheld Texas’ 2021 law banning paid ballot harvesting, allowing it for the 2026 elections. Ballot harvesting is the gathering and submitting of absentee or mail-in votes by a third party. 

Fort Worth-based U.S. Energy Development Corp. said its plan for 2026 is to deploy up to $1 billion, mostly in the Permian Basin. 

Real estate transactions:

• Todd Hawpe and Jeff Givens of Transwestern announced a lease of 25,060 square feet on 6.4 acres to North Texas Tollway Authority. The property is at 2351 SE Loop 820 & 5150 Campus Drive, a former auto dealership, which offers functional service bays, expansive yard space, and prime access along Loop 820.

• Chris Gaines and Philip Levy with Marcus & Millichap triggered the sale of the Overton Park Professional Center, a fully-leased, multi-tenant medical office center at 4335 S. Hulen St. The owner was a D-FW-based partnership. It was sold to a New York-based 1031-exchange buyer.

• Metroport Commercial Group represented a growing international industrial tenant in the successful lease of 12,000 square feet of space at Riverbend Business Park, located in east Fort Worth.

The American Heart Association is helping equip Fort Worth Police Department patrol cars with Automated External Defibrillators, expanding community access to life-saving technology. This effort supports the Association’s national goal to double survival from out‑of‑hospital cardiac arrest by 2030. The Amon G. Carter Foundation, Sid W. Richardson Foundation and BNSF Railway are also contributing funds. 

A partnership called the Fort Worth Host Program has been produced by Leadership Fort Worth in association with Visit Fort Worth. The project, which was two years in the making, is a 1.5-hour hospitality training program for front-line workers in a hotel, restaurant or Fort Worth business. The course offers a comprehensive understanding of Fort Worth’s history, its unique offerings, and the art of storytelling.

Ford Motor is overhauling its electric vehicle strategy after large losses, shifting to smaller, more affordable models and a broader push into hybrids and energy storage. The goal is EVs with a starting price of $30K. There are suspicions it will release a 2028 mid-size electric truck in 2027 that could be named Ranchero.

The James L. West Center for Dementia Care will host Dementia Care Reimagined; Guiding the Way Forward February 24. The free event is from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at The Great Hall at First Presbyterian Church in Fort Worth. Breakfast and lunch will be provided, and attendees may earn up to four continuing education credits for social work, nursing or licensed professional counselors, or receive an attendance certificate. Register online at jameslwest.org/symposium or by calling 817-541-5975.

Stunning stat: FIFA received more than 500 million requests in a 33-day span for its lottery for match tickets.

DId you know? The China state-run Dajia Insurance Group is trying to sell the Waldorf Astoria New York after an eight-year condo conversion. The hotel, known world-wide, has been converted to 375 luxury condominiums alongside a 375-room hotel. 

Announcements:

• Las Vegas Sands: Names Patrick Dumont, the Dallas Mavericks’ owner/governor, Chairman and CEO effective March 1. His role with the Mavericks is unchanged.

• Higginbotham: Hires Samuel Ritter as Medical Director.

• Insight into Academia: Honors Tarleton State University President Dr. James Hurley with a 2026 Trailblazer in Higher Education Award. 

• Tarrant County Bar Foundation: Selects Brittani Wilmore Rollen as Chair for 2026-2027. Selects Cantey Hanger as Firm of the Year for its Tarrant County Volunteer Attorney Services, and Cantey Hanger attorney Devon Davis as TVAS Attorney of the Year. 

• Vartabedian Katz Hester & Haynes: Adds Labor & Employment attorneys Marc Katz and Todd Mobley. Adds Katz to the firm name. 

• Fletcher, Farley, Shipman & Salinas: Dwanna Gassaway returns to the firm as Marketing Director. 

• mot-r: Hires Nolan O’Connor as Vice President of Sales. 

• Texas Motor Speedway: Agrees to partnership with Core Personnel Staffing Services.

• Marsh McLennan: Adds Barb Campbell, Risk Advisor-Private Client in Southlake office.

• Union Home Mortgage: Hires Renee Hildebrand as National Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions.   

• NAI Robert Lynn: Promotes Justin Glover to Vice President.

• BrevAll Technologies: Hires Andrea Miller as Controller.

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