⚖️ Arlington sued over stadium extension; Ex-Supt Molinar revved up for new job; Did Abbott give teachers more clout?

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives indicated it would further roll back laws and rules on guns, proposing to reduce fingerprinting requirements for certain types of firearms. Since April, ATF has moved to end the previous administration’s pistol brace rule, rules around background checks at gun shows and online marketplaces, and others.

Arlington is facing a lawsuit because of the council’s vote to extend the Dallas Cowboys’ lease of AT&T Stadium and the use of $273 million of voter-approved venue taxes to reimburse the team for stadium improvements. According to the Fort Worth Report, Arlington attorney Warren V. Norred filed the suit June 2 on behalf of Voters’ Voice of Arlington. The suit alleges that the deal is not in line with the tax items that voters previously approved for the stadium’s construction.

Rev Partnership posted online it had hired former FWISD Superintendent Dr. Karen Molinar as its Chief Executive Officer. Rev Partnership is a data-driven organization “committed to the best public education system for Tarrant County’s students, schools, and community by fostering relationships between our public education system, business ecosystem and social support infrastructure.” Rev lists partnerships with 17 area ISDs and 750,000 students. 

Gov. Greg Abbott announced the Texas Classroom Commission, an initiative led by teachers to shape the future of public education and strengthen student achievement. "Texas teachers know what their students need to succeed," Abbott said. The Commission will develop recommendations to the Governor, the Texas Education Agency, and the Texas Legislature ahead of the 90th Legislative Session.  

GameStop stockholders approved all proposals during the 2026 annual meeting, including an amendment by 68.7% of votes cast to increase the number of authorized shares of Class A common stock. That affords the company the capacity to issue common stock in connection with strategic transactions, including its proposed acquisition of eBay.

Texas' Attorney General office secured a settlement with Walmart to ensure the company provides transparent and accurate compensation information to delivery drivers participating in its Spark Driver program. The settlement, which pays out more than $13 million, repays affected Texans and requires Walmart to implement honest compensation practices going forward.

Believe it or not:. We’re not sure who was keeping track way back when or how FIFA determined who got in at what time Monday to the Spain-Portugal match at Dallas Stadium, but…50 million fans have attended matches since the first in 1930 and Fort Worth’s Immy Khan is No. 50,000,000. He has the signage to prove it, too. 

The International Olympic Committee provisionally lifted its suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee, in place since 2023 in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, clearing the way to participate at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. The provision is that the ROC will be allowed to compete as long as its membership no longer includes regional sports organizations in territories under the jurisdiction of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine.

Alcon, the eyecare global giant with its U.S. headquarters in Fort Worth, and RxSight, an ophthalmic medical device company assisting patients after cataract surgery, agreed to a non-exclusive collaboration to jointly develop adjustable presbyopia-correcting intraocular lenses (PCIOLs). 

Big Digital Energy, formerly known as Mawson Infrastructure Group, acquired land for a planned data center campus in Hood County, south of Tarrant. The Nasdaq-listed company announced it had entered into a 50:50 joint venture with energy-infrastructure company 10NetZero. The 50-acre Hood County site, not released to the media, contains more than 30,000 square feet of existing structures the partnership intends to repurpose for data center use (AI). 

Dallas-based S2 Industrial has acquired an industrial park with 31 buildings along Loop 820 in Fort Worth. The campus, a 589,022-square-foot, multi-tenant park at 5721 E. Rosedale Street, will be rebranded as Panther City Industrial Park. 

Lockheed Martin listicle:

• Signed a definitive $3.45-billion agreement to acquire Ultra Maritime, a global company specializing in advanced undersea warfare and anti-submarine warfare capabilities for allied naval forces. The company develops and delivers mission-critical systems, including sonar technologies, sonobuoys, torpedo defense systems, radar solutions and autonomous maritime sensing platforms. 

• Lockheed Martin and Rheinmetall have a ​memorandum of understanding to ‌produce ATACMS missiles in Germany, the first time the U.S.-developed weapon will be manufactured in Europe.

• Secured an award of $502.4M from the U.S. Army for post-production support of the Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sight systems used on AH-64 Apache helicopters.

• President Donald Trump said Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin unit that makes Marine One helicopters, will pay $5-$6 million for the construction of a new helipad on the White ​House South Lawn. Powerful helicopters have damaged the grass on the lawn while landing.

 Snippets: 

• Netflix content in the near future will offer everything from travel to cooking to fashion from publications such as Condé Nast, People and Penske Media through a partnership with leading digital publishers.

• Texas' App Store Accountability Act requires minors to have their parents' permission to download most apps. The Supreme Court ruled the law can remain in effect while lawsuits continue in the lower courts.

• Trump Accounts are live. Children born between 2025 and 2028 can receive $1,000 to invest in one of five funds. Michael Dell will add $250 to the first 25 million who sign up. Read more details here. 

Today in history (1889): The first issue of The Wall Street Journal was published. It cost two cents. It has grown into one of the most influential brands in business news.

Did you know? “Panther City” is the nickname for Fort Worth that originated in the 1970s when a Dallas attorney joked that he saw a panther sleeping on a Fort Worth street. The implication was nothing was happening in downtown Fort Worth.

Significant stat:  29.5% = Nearly three out of 10 U.S. households are people living alone, the most common type of household. In recent decades, the most common type had been those headed by a married couple without children under 18 in the home. 

Daily digit: 18.9% = People in the U.S. who are 65 and older, the country’s largest age group.

Announcements:

• JTaylor: Promotes Maya Bloom and Andrew Darr to Manager, Tax Services, and Michael Solomon to Manager Consulting Services; and Melissa Bahena, Jenna Cordell, Dao Le, Ly Poovey, and Truc Tran to Tax Senior Associates.

• Whitley Penn: Promotes Kierren Tenney to Marketing Events Manager.

• Fidelity Investments: Names Parimala Krishnaraj as a Director, IT Project Manager. 

• American National Bank of Texas: Angie McIrvin retires after 39 years in banking, 17 with American National.

• D-FW International Airport: Hires Essy Imoisili as a Community Engagement & Events Specialist.

• Celestica: Names Steve Dorwart President- Connectivity and Cloud Solutions. 

• ACLU: Hires Jessica Fuentes, former Glasstire Editor-in-Chief, as Artist Engagement Manager. 

• McAdams: Hires Michael Chisholm and Brook Retta to the public infrastructure team. 

• Restore + Revive Wellness Center: Hires Jeka Sisco-Phillips as Lead Nurse. 

• StraCon: Hires Jason Dorval as General and Operations Manager; Donna Klein and Stephanie Alvey, Program Analysts; Jenna Berry and Desiree Fernandez, Acquisition Specialists; and Martin Lanasky, CAD Engineer. 

• Salesforce: Promotes Kaden Freeman to Enterprise Account Executive.

• The Founders Arena: Hires Nathaniel Anderson as Head of Sports Development & Strategic Partnerships.

• OrderMyGear (OMG): Promotes William Lawing to Account Executive.

• Six Flags Entertainment: Names Mark Pauls Chief Operating Officer. He had been SVP at Herschend Family Entertainment and succeeds Tim Fisher, who will remain as a special advisor through Dec. 15.

• Copart: Jay Adair, CEO from 2010-2024, is returning July 31 to the online vehicle auction and automotive reseller as CEO. Jeff Liaw will become a special advisor. 

• Alvest: Hires Anahi Fuentes Mauk in Equipment Services division. 

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