Jerry spends $100 mil, but not on Cowboys; ⬆️Ranch dressing is winning; ⬇️Pennies, nickels are losers

A proposed development policy amendment would prohibit “new” used car dealerships from opening in Arlington's entertainment district. If approved, existing businesses would be considered “grandfathered” in – but would have limited options if they want to renovate their business or rebuild it if the building is extensively damaged.

Steve Harvey has joined Dr. Phil's Roanoke-based Merit Street Media broadcast company. He will appear on air and become an equity partner, and Merit has acquired more than 300 episodes of Harvey's talk show "Steve."

Homesense, a sibling concept to discount home and apparel stores HomeGoods, TJ Maxx, and Marshalls, has opened at Fort Worth Alliance Town Center, its debut in Texas. Homesense offers inexpensive home décor for inside and outside.

The Department of Labor has updated its guidance for determining an independent contractor vs. an employee. These are the six key factors. 

A record set by Fort Worth O.D. Wyatt at the high school state championships in 1998 has been broken. Atascocita's 4 x 100-meter relay team ran 38.92 seconds at Rice University, eclipsing Wyatt's national record of 39.76.  

A group of Texas farmers is suing biosolids producer Hartland Landfill. The farmers claim fertilizer made by Synagro Technologies’ operation in Fort Worth is making them sick and killing their animals. Synagro Technologies is majority owner of the residual treatment facility at Hartland and has a 20-year contract to run the plant that produces thermally dried biosolid granules.

Cleburne-based indoor vertical farming company Eden Green Technology has launched its flagship herb program — making it the first company to grow, package, and ship a full herb suite out of a single facility.

Leaders from three Tarrant County companies have been recognized with Dallas Business Journal Women in Technology Awards.

• Karen Campbell, vice president, infrastructure services, Alcon

• Elyse Dickerson, CEO and co-founder, Eosera

• Seema Dwarakish, vice president, software engineering, Sabre

Whole Foods isn't the only retailer rethinking its footprint. Texas grocer H-E-B is going in two directions. It's expanding some stores and building others bigger to reach footprints of upwards of 100,000 square feet, while adding more of its smaller Fresh Bites stores designed for customers to quickly grab essentials. Plus, Aldi plans to open 800 stores in the U.S. during the next five years.

By the way, Fort Worth’s first H-E-B grocery store and more will open at 6 a.m. April 10 at 3451 Heritage Trace Parkway in north Fort Worth. 

Neutral Ground Brewing Co., a 2929 Race Street fixture the past three years, is closing March 29. It was founded in 2021 by Texas native Stan Hudson and Sean Doublet of New Orleans.

Already not running for re-election, U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, will step down early as chair of the influential House Appropriations Committee as soon as a replacement is found. Appropriations sets funding levels every year for a host of government entities. She has served in Congress since 1997.

Fort Worth-based Elbit Systems of America has been awarded a $12-million contract to supply the U.S. Army with an undisclosed number of AN/PVS-14 monocular night vision devices. The helmet-mounted, passive devices operate in conjunction with rifle-mounted aiming lights. According to Elbit, a Gen 3 F9815 image intensifier tube helps increase the intensity of available light for better visual imaging. 

Jeff Keyser, co-founder and former co-CEO of Southlake-based Renibus, has been named president and CEO of the bio-pharmaceutical firm. Keyser was part of the founding group of ZS Pharma that sold for $2.6 billion to AstraZeneca in 2015.

Marketing madness: The parent company of Hidden Valley, the No. 1 ranch dressing brand in the U.S., is launching a marketing campaign to convince consumers that ranch is a breakfast food. Ranch has surpassed ketchup and BBQ sauce in U.S. sales, bringing in $1.3 billion last year. (WSJ gift article)

Believe it or not: It costs the U.S. Mint more than 2.5 cents to make every penny and more than 10 cents to make each nickel because of prices associated with their materials.

Significant stat: What’s the fastest-growing high school sport in the nation? Girls' wrestling grew by nearly 60% last year, according to figures from the National Federation of State High School Associations.

Announcements:

• Valor: Hires Jonathan Ashley as an accounting manager.

• Fortress Insurance Advisors / United Real Estate: Caro Shikilia announces affiliations with both companies.

• Texas A&M: Selects Brackett & Ellis attorney Jim Creel for its Distinguished Alumnus Award.

• Texas Association of Music Schools: Elects Ilka Araujo, chair of the music department and associate professor of piano and music history at Texas Wesleyan, as President until 2026.

• JLL: Promotes Madison Hornisher and Alex Hrapkiewicz to Vice President and John Davidson to senior associate.

• First Rate Inc.: Adds April Rudin to its Board of Advisors.

Last poll results: In a recent global happiness survey by Gallup, the U.S. fell to #23, its worst ranking. Do you agree that happiness levels have dropped in recent years? Answers: Yes (85%), No (13%), Undecided (2%).