💰Big dollars for community, less for panhandlers; Simple analytics turned into $57.8M jackpot; Trump pulls tariffs on electronics.

CDFI Friendly and LiftFund are offering Fort Worth startups and small businesses loans from $500 to $100K with 0% interest for payroll, equipment and inventory. Loan terms are flexible and access to LiftFund’s business advising, resources and support services at no cost are included. Apply here.

The North Texas Community Foundation has received the largest gift in its history. The donor is the Beverly Hudgins Ray Parkhurst estate and the first grant — $500,000 — went to the Botanic Gardens Fort Worth.

How did a secretive gambler called “The Joker” take down the Texas Lottery? A team of gambling whizzes hatched a scheme to buy nearly every one of the 25.8 million possible numbers in a drawing. Tickets were $1 apiece. If nobody else also picked the winning numbers, the profit would be nearly $60 million. The Texas lottery play paid off spectacularly with a $57.8 million win. The Joker and his partners have won hundreds of millions of dollars by applying Wall Street-style analytics to betting opportunities around the world.

Fort Worth is about to shout out not to give panhandlers money. The city is installing signage at intersections identified as panhandling hotspots displaying the message: “It's OK to Say No to Panhandlers”.  Instead, drivers are urged to contribute to an online site.

The Trump administration will exempt smartphones, laptops and chips used to make semiconductors from widespread tariffs, including the 145% import taxes on China. The sighs of relief you heard came from tech companies Apple and Samsung.

Interested in buying houses but 10-20% percent down is a bit much? Fort Worth Mayor Pro Tem Gyna Bivens Is hosting a workshop Saturday about buying tax-foreclosed properties. 

American Airlines will finally receive its first of 25 Boeing 787-9 aircraft ordered in 2018. The planes will feature American’s new business class and premium economy. Initially, they will not fly out of D-FW. 

Western bootmaker Tony Lama, a brand owned by Fort Worth-based Justin Industries, has unveiled Bootmaker's Reserve, a premium custom boot experience. Individuals will be able to design one-of-a-kind cowboy boots that are crafted in Tony Lama's El Paso factory, where the brand has been since 1911.

Despite a $14k tariff hit for vehicle turntables purchased from China, the Colleyville owner of the Dallas Fort Worth Car and Toy Museum said he supports the end goal.

Chewy Vet Care will open April 25 at 3251 Tracewood Way in Alliance. It will offer regular checkups to urgent care and surgery. An open house is scheduled May 3. 

Fort Worth businessman John Kleinheinz is the lead backer of the Dallas-to-Houston bullet train project, according to the Dallas Business Journal, which has this update.

Wallbox, an electric vehicle (EV) charging and energy management solutions company, has reached 100,000 EV chargers at its Arlington facility. The milestone comes two-plus years after the plant began operations in late 2022.

Prices rose 1.4% in March compared to the year-ago period, according to Consumer Price Index data for D-FW. That compares to 2.8% in January and 1.9% in November. Fuel costs dropped more than 12%, while housing rose 3.7%. The reporting period is before recent tariff announcements. More than 70% of Americans expect prices to rise on key items in the next six months, according to a Reuters/Ispos poll.

U.S. airline fares are getting cheaper because of a combination of weakened consumer demand, industry-wide fare promotions, and broader economic uncertainty, according to a new report from the Department of Transportation. From March 2024 to March 2025, average fares dropped by two percent.

The City of Colleyville's winter gift card promotion, an initiative by the economic development department to aid local restaurants, had 3,385 redemptions of the 4,600 gift cards distributed. The reimbursement totaled $122,675. Click here to see which restaurant had the most.

A 13-year-old suffering from brain cancer was sworn in as a Tarrant County Sheriff and has been honored by more than 900 law enforcement agencies. His goal is 1,000 agencies and a Guinness World Record.

Fort Worth’s Transportation and Public Works is using its SMART Grant, funded by NASA SBIR, to work with TruWeather Solutions, TXDot and North Texas Council of Governments on an Intelligent Micro-Weather Network of sensors. The project is designed to close critical weather data gaps for autonomous vehicles and advanced air mobility.

Wilson Winchester, a 2024 graduate of Trinity Christian Academy, has been chosen to be the handler for Texas A&M's beloved mascot, Reveille.

Snippets:

• The helicopter in the Hudson River crash was on its eighth flight of the day and lacked a flight recorder, according to NTSB officials. 

• Fort Worth and Irving police departments are participating in the raffle of a $60k Chevy Trail Boss truck to support fallen officers' families.  

• Want to snack like a boss? Eight CEOs share their go-to foods. It turns out, a lot of them are going nuts.

Significant stat: The largest shareholder of TXSE Group, parent company of the Texas Stock Exchange, is Dallas' Kelcy Warren, the billionaire executive chairman of Energy Transfer LP with a 28.1% stake. 

Believe it or not: A tortoise, gone AWOL during a Mississippi tornado, is found four weeks later. 

Announcements:

• Colliers: Adds Jack Crews as Executive Vice President for D-FW.

• University of North Texas: Honors Fort Worth Report CEO and Publisher Chris Cobler with Career Service Recognition Award-News.

• Fuoco: Adds Mallorie Anderson as Senior Account Executive.

• Tarrant County College: Adds Renika Atkins as Adjunct Instructor-Business.

• Sunnova Energy: Adds Tony Horton to Board. He had leadership roles with Energy Future Holdings and TXU Energy.

• GoVision: Hires Troy Korthour as Senior Solutions Manager.

• North Texas Community Foundation: Appoints Meggie Lowy, VP at Hillwood, Chair of the Board of Directors, and adds five board members -- Becky Nussbaum Gerro, Director of Development, River Legacy Foundation; Lindsay Daniel Livesay, Private Wealth Trust Market Manager & SVP, Bank of Texas Private Wealth; Malathi Ravi, Attorney, Wick Phillips; David Saenz, Senior Education Advisor, Fort Worth Mayor’s Council on Workforce and Education; Stephen Shannon, CEO, Colo Development Partners. 

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