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  • đŸ‘‹đŸ»Dickies departs FW; Blackstone takes a big bite of Jersey Mike's; American expands cutting crackdown.

đŸ‘‹đŸ»Dickies departs FW; Blackstone takes a big bite of Jersey Mike's; American expands cutting crackdown.

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Long-time Fort Worth workwear brand Dickies will relocate its headquarters to Costa Mesa, California. VF Corp., the company that acquired Dickies in 2017, confirmed the move in an email to the Fort Worth Report. Dickies only recently had moved its headquarters from the Near Southside to downtown.

Tarleton State University announced a lead gift of $12.5 million from alumnus and Austin attorney Dr. Joe Long to help launch a College of Osteopathic Medicine.

The University of Texas system announced free tuition beginning next fall for students of families making less than $100k. In addition, all fees will be waived.

According to Bisnow, approximately 400 workers at the Pioneer Natural Resources headquarters in Irving will be cut by the company’s new owner, Exxon Mobil, leaving more than a million square feet of office space in limbo.

Blackstone is buying a majority stake in Jersey Mike's Subs with a valuation of $8 billion. There are more than 25 Jersey Mike's in Tarrant County. Blackstone paid $2B for Tropical Smoothie and invested in coffee chain 7 Brew earlier this year.

Life science company Sanara MedTech is the only Fort Worth company to make the 2024 Technology Fast 500 list. Led by Zachary Fleming, it grew 317%. 

Dallas-based Duro Hospitality will open The Chumley House at 3230 Camp Bowie Blvd. Monday. The same company owns two Michelin-recommended restaurants in Dallas. The restaurant’s menu includes steaks, seafood, and beef Wellington “with a British flair.”

Fort Worth approved the re-zoning of property where the Spring Hill Apartments (3001 Hamilton Ave.) and Spring Glen Apartments (3200 Juliet St.) are located along the west side of North University Drive. Fort Worth Affordability Inc. will continue to own both parcels and provide affordable housing. Currently, the site consists of 430 units built in 1962. The buildings will be demolished for 675 units.

Avondale Dealerships' Porsche Grapevine is expanding. Grapevine issued a building permit on Sept. 26 for the addition of a 13,118-square-foot building with a value of $6.3 million. The project is the first major addition since the dealership opened in 2018. 

The U.S. Department of Justice asked a judge to order Google to sell its widely used Chrome browser in a major antitrust crackdown. In its court filing, the DOJ urged a shake-up that includes banning deals for Google to be the default search engine on smartphones. It also asked that Google should be made to sell Android if proposed remedies don't prevent it from using its control of the mobile operating system to its advantage.

Households with six-figure incomes are increasingly shopping at Walmart, a trend that helped sales grow more than 5% and profit jump more than 8% last quarter compared with the same period a year ago. Walmart’s trend is counter to Target, whose shares dropped 22% on Wednesday after reporting disappointing Q3 results.

First Inversion, a Fort Worth-based holding company specializing in classical music services, has acquired Divine Art Ltd., a prominent United Kingdom recording and publishing group. The deal, effective January 1, 2025, marks a new chapter for Divine Art, a globally recognized brand with a storied 32-year history in classical and contemporary music recordings.

American Airlines went on offense about a month ago. Now it has expanded its crackdown on line cutters to more than 100 airports. 

The NCHA Metallic Cat World Championship Futurity for 3-year-old cutting horses that never have been shown in judged competition continues at Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum until Dec. 7. With a purse exceeding $5 million, it is the world’s richest indoor equine event.  

Notable and quotable: “The difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is that successful people do all the things unsuccessful people don’t want to do.”

—John Paul DeJoria, entrepreneur, self-made billionaire, and philanthropist

Kay Granger’s historic career on the House Appropriations Committee was honored during a tribute in Washington that included the unveiling of her portrait in the committee chambers.

The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers members have voted to ratify a five-year collective bargaining agreement with BNSF, the union and Class I railroad reported. 

The Texas Rangers, no longer reigning World Series champs, will give it another go starting Thursday, March 27 at 3:05 p.m. The Rangers will host the Boston Red Sox for four games. Single game tickets go on sale Dec. 6.

Tarrant County College students to see $105k upgrade in food service renovations at all four campuses. 

Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said the Texas General Land Office is “fully prepared” to enter an agreement with federal agencies concerning President-elect Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan. The state is offering a 1,400-acre Starr County ranch as a site to build detention centers for deportations of undocumented immigrants. 

Instagram users soon will be able to manually reset the recommendation algorithm that determines what they see in their feeds. The change is aimed at teenagers' viewing habits.

Teton Ridge has acquired The Cowboy Channel, the leading network for Western sports, along with the Cowgirl Channel and The Cowboy Channel+, a live streaming and on-demand service. The purchase from Rural Media Group establishes Teton Ridge as the largest rights holder in the Western sports sector.

“No giblets, but there’s an organ-donor card.”

Today’s trivia: What was the most popular song the year you were born? Find the answer here.

Believe it or not: A United Airlines pilot has been dubbed “Pizza Pilot” after he ordered 30 pizzas to feed passengers after an unexpected delay as the result of an emergency landing for medical care.

Significant stat: Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth saw 572 patients in the ER Tuesday. Its seven Urgent Care Centers saw 842 patients that day. The high volumes are being driven by a rise in respiratory illnesses, including RSV and walking pneumonia.

Announcements:

  • Camp Fire First Texas: Dorothy Wing to retire full-time position of Grants Manager as of December 31, 2024.

  • American Institute of Architects - Fort Worth: Honors Jeff Garnett with the 2024 Excellence in Architecture Design Award for his Frazier Conservatory project. 

  • Cars for Kids: Hires Cheryl Sutterfield-Jones as CEO. 

  • Formation Real Estate: Names Grant Huff Vice President. 

  • Kearley & Company: Promotes Elisa Rode to Principal CEO. 

  • Payscale: Hires Jessica McBride as Public Relations and Analyst Relations Manager.

  • mForce: Names Mark Muller Director of Operations.

  • HLB International: Recognizes Whitley Penn's Lunch Buddies Program with its Innovation Award.

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