❄️Cowboys frozen out; Paint retailer shuts down

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Cowboys pummeled: The streak now is 28 years (1996) since the Dallas Cowboys have been to a Super Bowl. The second-seeded Cowboys were blown out at home by the seventh-seeded Green Bay Packers, 48-32, in a playoff game that never was close. Let the long offseason begin. (ESPN)

Sounds like a do-over: Last Monday, Dallas-based Kelly-Moore Paints announced it was temporarily suspending operations at its Hurst manufacturing plant. Temporarily. Friday, it announced the plant and all stores nationwide were closing permanently, affecting more than 700 workers, because of massive liabilities related to asbestos litigation. The company said it would "commence an orderly, out-of-court, wind-down."

EV 1: North Texas is expected to get 100 EV charging stations as part of $85 million in federal energy funding. The North Central Texas Council of Governments will receive $15 million to install the public EV charging stations and $70 million to build as many as five hydrogen fueling stations in Texas. Hydrogen stations would fuel freight trucks along a hydrogen-fueling corridor from Texas to southern California.

EV 2: Electronic component manufacturer LG Corporation has opened a 100,000-square-foot factory for EV charging stations in north Fort Worth at 2153 Eagle Parkway. The plant is an existing LG building that has been re-purposed. A variety of 2 AC, 3 DC and ultra fast 350kW chargers will be produced by year’s end. Some models feature a touch-screen display that allows advertising sales. Independent owner-operated stations will allow host sites to set their rates and profit margins, rather than relying on third-party operators.

The partnership between the NFL and ESPN could soon grow more intertwined with the league in advanced talks with ESPN to acquire an equity stake in the sports network, sources confirmed to The Athletic. The cable giant would gain control of NFL Media, including NFL Network in return, sources said.

Fort Worth-based Bridgelink Development and California's Bitech Technologies Corporation, two companies in the solar energy and storage industry, have a binding letter of agreement. It includes pre-negotiated financing of a significant investment amount toward a pipeline of utility power, procurement of key resources, and the establishment of a joint venture with an undisclosed larger infrastructure group. Focus areas include Texas, Arizona, and Louisiana.

MLK Day event: The George W. Bush Presidential Museum's Freedom Matters special exhibit highlights how the work of freedom advocates, including Dr. Martin Luther King, has changed the lives of millions. On display are two original copies of books Dr. King wrote on his efforts to end segregation, support economic justice, and create equal education opportunities for African Americans. Check before you go, but the Bush Museum is scheduled to be open today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The first civilian tiltrotor aircraft that looks like the Bell-Boeing V-22 is Leonardo AW609, where speed and elegance meet at 316 mph.

Sprocket Networks, a Texas-based provider of high-speed, fiber-optic internet services, has a contract with the city of Fort Worth to bring high-speed internet access to areas where broadband infrastructure investments have not kept pace with growing needs.

The year 2023 was a record year of safety for BNSF Railway. BNSF’s 37,000 employees operated its 32,500-mile network without loss of life, and with the fewest number of employee injuries in history, the railway reported. Employee injury rates decreased more than 20%, and injury severity was down nearly 35%, year-over-year. Find out why.

Retired Fort Worth elementary school teacher and lifelong community activist Opal Lee was driven off her land by a racist mob in 1939. More than eight decades later, she owns it again. (CBS video)

Although these stunning images look like an artist created them, they were taken by scientists in the field of neuroscience trying to learn more about the human nervous system. They were curated by The New York Times.

GameStop has decided to shut down its NFT marketplace on Feb. 2 after operating for approximately 18 months. The platform facilitated the trading of gaming NFTs and collectibles. GameStop cited “ongoing regulatory uncertainties in the crypto sector." NFTs created on the blockchain will remain accessible and tradable on other platforms.

Consumers in D-FW, Miami and Honolulu are taking the biggest hit from inflation, according to a WalletHub analysis of the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Prices in D-FW rose 5.2% in December from a year ago and also were 0.9% higher than in October.

Significant stat: The D-FW metro led the nation last year with a net gain of 139,700 jobs in a new U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report. And only three other U.S. metros had a higher percentage rate of job growth in that year-over-year period.

Transactions:

• Dallas-based residential homebuilder Landsea Homes Corp. has agreed to acquire Arlington-based Antares Homes in a $232.2 million cash deal. The acquisition includes repayment of an anticipated $47.2 million of Antares Homes debt.

• Reap Capital purchased Brookside, a 288-unit multi-family community in Arlington.  The property on Thomason Circle includes 22 buildings constructed in the 1980s. Marcus & Millichap’s Wesley Racht, Nick Fluellen, Bard Hoover and Chris Pearson brokered the sale.

• Realty Longpoint purchased a 587,287-square-foot industrial building at 5901 E. Rosedale St. in Fort Worth from Rosedale Industrial Park LLC. Colton Rhodes of Lee & Associates Dallas-Fort Worth brokered the sale.

People on the move:

• Holy Survivor Hospice: Hires Alyssa Buck as VP - Business Development

• Hotspot: Hires Michael Reeder as VP - Sales & Business Development

• JLL: Hires Jim Eagle as Senior Vice President 

• SPRCHGR: Adds accountant Kathryn Turner

• Lone Star Communications: Hires Bryan Barbeau for sales

Wild cards:

• We knight thee: Burger King is encouraging workers to ask if diners want a crown with every meal and requires them to tell customers “You rule” when handing over said crown. It’s part of a customer satisfaction push.

• Believe it or not: Hidden Valley ranch dressing has collaborated with Burt’s Bees to create four new lip balm flavors: Ranch, Buffalo Sauce, Crunchy Celery, and Fresh Carrot.

• The world’s fastest road car, a 2022 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+, is up for auction January 25. One of only 30 models manufactured, the 1,500-horsepower beast is capable of 300+mph. Is it worth $5 million?