🤡Judge Whitley not a fan of 'circus';Courts kept busy with 3 fraud cases; Colleyville hotel aced out.

Westlake-based Charles Schwab has been censured and fined $175,000 by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. It said that between January 2018 and May 2025, Schwab failed to report or report in a timely manner approximately 2.8 million fractional share transactions, in breach of its rules. The firm is also said to have inaccurately reported approximately 690,000 fractional share transactions between July 2022 and July 2023.

Scheduling note: 817 Biz will be off Monday and will resume publishing Wednesday, September 9.

In case you missed it: Former Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley calls the commissioners court meetings a "circus," hopes for a resolution. CBS 11 has the story. 

The 11-member group that will be a data center advisory board for Fort Worth council members is made up of academics, data center and real estate experts, residents who have been vocal about data centers, and members of prominent Fort Worth organizations. See if you made it. 

The Texas Comptroller's office is seeking $2.3 billion in the upcoming two-year state budget to administer and expand the state’s newly launched school voucher program. Coincidentally, Axios reports that at least 70% of Texas kids awarded vouchers were previously enrolled in private schools or were home-schooled.

BNSF Railway won its appeals court bid to overturn a decision awarding monetary damages to a former employee asserting retaliation claims after raising a workplace safety complaint. BNSF is entitled to a jury trial under the Seventh Amendment, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. It vacated a decision by the Administrative Review Board that awarded railway carman inspector Dale Gourneau damages for his claims.

A Fort Worth couple was sentenced for a fraud scheme involving dozens of victims and millions of dollars in losses for unfinished custom homes, according to Ryan Raybould, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas. Senior U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means sentenced Christopher Judge, 35, to 78 months in federal prison followed by two years of supervised release. His wife, Raquelle Judge, 36, was sentenced to one month in prison. Both defendants were ordered to pay $2,794,680.73 in restitution. 

David Thomas Gilchrist, a 70-year-old Grand Prairie attorney, was arrested on federal charges alleging he defrauded investors for years, used forged notary documents to mislead the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, falsely placed an innocent woman at the center of that fictional operation and pressured the woman and her husband to “take a vacation” to Mexico to prevent authorities from learning the truth.

Two players have been cleared to return to college football for LSU after brief stints in the NFL, according to a judge's order Thursday night. That sets up a dramatic showdown between the SEC Conference and one of its members. Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, both former Ole Miss players, intend to join their former coach Lane Kiffin during his debut season at LSU, which opens play Saturday against Clemson. The SEC had said the players were pros and were not eligible to play. 

A Native American development group is suing Pro Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith and his company, alleging it was defrauded out of $2.5 million as part of a deal to purchase a solar farm, according to court documents.

A proposed hotel development in Colleyville could become a golf facility, according to Community Impact. Council members approved transferring a $9.85-million, 22-acre purchase-sale agreement with NuCiti Capital Partners to Lone Star Blackjack Oak, which is sponsored by pro golfer Bryson DeChambeau. Its plans include a par-3 golf course, a driving range and other commercial uses, such as retail and restaurant spaces.

If you’ve been in the Rosedale and 8th Avenue area (waiting for what seems like forever), you know Cook Children’s Medical Center has a lot going on. The lane closures, orange traffic cones and metal cranes (insert swear) ... well, Cook Children’s wants to share the “what and why” about the construction's future for the health care system.  

Mahjong madness is growing in Fort Worth. The Bamboo Room is a mahjong lounge that has opened in The Village at Camp Bowie shopping center at 6115 Camp Bowie Blvd. The game parlor hosts sessions and classes, and has a retail shop selling mahjong staples.

According to The Real Deal, The Bowie House has re-financed its original $40-million loan for the December 2023 opening. JLL arranged the floating-rate loan for Bowie Place Properties through MetLife. The 106-room luxury hotel at 3700 Camp Bowie has earned two Michelin keys and high praise from Condé Nast Traveler.

The countdown to say farewell to the “flying saucer” arena that has defined aerial views of downtown since 1968 is on. Join the city Sunday, Sept. 20 at noon for the retirement party. With free admission, the family-friendly event will commemorate 58 years of memories of the Fort Worth Convention Center Arena with a historical exhibit and activations, commemorative merchandise, concessions, live music by a tribute band and a DJ. It will be the last public event in the arena before closing for remediation and demolition in early 2027.

Shareholders of Dominion Energy and NextEra Energy overwhelmingly approved the companies' proposed $67B merger ​deal, according to 8-K filings Thursday. 

A Crunch Fitness franchisee is close to opening Crunch Benbrook and Crunch Burleson. The facilities are about $12 million and will be 27,000-40,000 square feet. The franchisee is Southwest Fitness Holdings. Crunch Benbrook is at 8518 Benbrook Boulevard, and Crunch Burleson is at 1551 Greenridge Drive. 

Rio Mambo Tex-Mex y Más closed its restaurants in Burleson, Colleyville and Weatherford, leaving just the original spot at 6125 SW Loop 820 in Fort Worth's Cityview Centre. 

Burger madness: Kincaid’s Hamburgers celebrates 80 years Saturday at 4901 Camp Bowie in Fort Worth. Prizes, giveaways, branded merchandise, and a 55-quart Bison Cooler are up for grabs. 

Gloria Steinem, an activist and journalist who personified the women’s movement, has died at 92. 

Snippets:

•  A TCU Ranch Management expert explains the difficulties of protecting cattle ranches during wildfires. 

• D-FW International Airport is testing two autonomous, self-driving wheelchairs in Terminal D. WFAA Ch. 8 has the story. 

• American Airlines launched its retro-fitted Boeing 777-300ER, featuring the most premium seats on an aircraft operated by any U.S. carrier. 

• Did you know? Texans now can use precious metals such as gold and silver as legal tender. See how here. 

Today in history: 1998 = Larry Page and Sergey Brin incorporated Google after Sun Microsystems co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim wrote them a $100,000 check—made payable to a company that did not yet legally exist. The Stanford research project, originally called BackRub, would grow into one of the world’s dominant technology and advertising businesses.

Daily digit: 63% = Texas voters who oppose Flock cameras, with 51% strongly opposing the technology. Only 28% of Texans expressed support for the surveillance system.

Significant stat: 375 = Number of bills introduced on data centers by lawmakers from all states during 2026, more than the past three years combined. About three-quarters of the bills restrict data centers in some way.

Announcements:

• UMB Bank: Fort Worth President Eddie Broussard gets additional responsibility as West Texas Market President.

• Dallas Mavericks: Announce multi-year radio broadcasting agreement with FM105.3 the Fan. Hire long-time radio announcer Chuck Cooperstein as an employee. 

• The Junior League of Fort Worth: Incoming President is Alli D’Acosta and there is a 12-member Board of Directors here.

• The Greatest Gift Catalog Ever: Hires Chris Smith as Executive Director. 

• UTA's Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology Development: MavLaunch is the new name for EpicMavs, with a mission to launch businesses.

• UTA: Selects Lolin Martens-Crane as Director of Student Success in the College of Engineering. 

• UTA: Adds Brad Phelan as Executive in Residence to bolster its innovation and commercialization efforts. 

• SERVPRO of North Fort Worth: Hires Noel Zbinden as Vice President of Growth & Strategic Operations. 

• Fifth Third Bank: Transfers Clay McMichaels to D-FW to assist with the merger operations with Comerica Bank. 

• Frost Bank: Noah Weatherly, AVP-Corporate Banking, is selected to open a Burleson branch in 2027. 

• Enterprise Bank & Trust: Names Tom Sonntag as AVP-Relationship Manager. 

• Dallas Regional Chamber: Hires Shaina Thomas as Director of Member Engagement. 

• Ariat International: Names Johnathan Rodriguez Operations Supervisor. 

• Dallas Stars: 2026-27 games will stream on Amazon Prime Video. 

• Lockheed Martin: Hires Desiree Grillo Martinez as Finance Manager. 

• The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center: President Peter WT Pisters announces his plan to retire and The UT System Board of Regents and Chancellor John M. Zerwas name Jeffrey E. Lee Interim President, effective immediately. 

• Alcon: Amanda Scott, Global Product Director, is leaving the firm. 

• Cowtown Clubhouse: Names Bernie Scheffler Executive Director. 

• NTO Commercial: Selects Scott Detamore as Assistant Project Manager. 

• North Highland: Names Bora Laci Senior Manager. 

• Avocados From Mexico: Selects Nick Hauser as Omni Shopper Marketing Manager. 

• Pavlov Media: Hires Jamie Dominguez as Community Relations Specialist.

• Apotheco Medicinals: Hires Michael Le as Manager, Financial Planning and Analysis.

• Spur Industrial: Hires Joe Marler as Director of Operations.

• Medical City Arlington: Turns 50 on Sunday…happy birthday! The HCA property in south Arlington is a 493-bed, full-service hospital.

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