Lockheed gets $2.9B contract; AA re-buffed by Supreme Court; Lululemon calls Costco a copycat🐈‍⬛.

🧨Scheduling note: 817 Biz will not publish Friday, July 4 in celebration of Independence Day. 

The Missile Defense Agency issued Lockheed Martin a sole source, 10-year contract worth up to $2.97 billion to upgrade the Aegis ballistic missile defense combat system, which is on the Navy’s guided-missile destroyers and guided-missile cruisers.

Will Texas be a blockbuster or a bust? The passage of a film incentive program could spur a wave of studio and production space development in Texas. But some are skeptical. “If someone builds a studio, they’ll go bankrupt,” one film studio exec said.

The Supreme Court refused to hear and thus rejected a request by American Airlines to overturn a judicial decision that found the company's now-scrapped U.S. Northeast partnership with JetBlue violated federal antitrust law. The Northeast Alliance set up the carriers to coordinate flights and pool revenue. 

Tarrant County commissioners approved a $250,000 contract with a law firm to defend itself against a lawsuit over re-districting. The vote was 3-2, Republicans versus Democrats. The Republican commissioners' votes earlier allowed a re-draw of precinct maps to add another Republican-majority precinct, which resulted in a lawsuit.

Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a fast, precise 3D printing method that merges soft and hard properties into a single object. This advance could pave the way for next-generation prosthetics, flexible medical devices and stretchable electronics that move naturally with the body, much like a human joint or ligament.

Former UNT Health Science Center president Sylvia Trent-Adams, who resigned in January, announced that July 14 she will become President and CEO of Boston-based non-profit Institute for Healthcare Improvement. It provides tools, resources and workshops for healthcare people and organizations to enhance the quality and access to care.

Fort Worth-native Betty Bob Buckley passed away June 27 at 99. Buckley was a journalist and co-founder of the annual scholarship fundraiser The Celebrity Breakfast. She also served as director of public relations for Casa Mañana Theatre and was the mother of two show business professionals: actress Betty Lynn Buckley and director Norman Buckley.

Jimmy Swaggart, a fire-and-brimstone preacher who reached millions of people in a global enterprise before tumbling from grace after his encounters with a prostitute, passed away at 90.

Lululemon has filed a lawsuit against Costco that accuses the wholesale club operator of selling lower-priced duplicates of some of its popular athleisure clothing.

CenterOak Partners completed a majority recapitalization of NOW CFO, a provider of outsourced finance and accounting services, with a primary focus on small and medium-sized businesses. Terms were not disclosed.

Secur-Serv, a managed services provider backed by Transom Capital Group, announced it acquired Fort Worth-based Arrowhead Technologies, a provider of managed IT and security services.

Dan Weinberger has been serving deli sandwiches on Main Street in Grapevine since 2022. He has proposed an expansion to the Grapevine City Council and Planning & Zoning Commission to enlarge his eatery into the space next door, which is occupied by Little Orange Fish, a children's clothing boutique.

Kyle Noonan and Josh Sepkowitz, the owners of FreeRange Concepts, have been named Ernst & Young Entrepreneurs Of The Year 2025 Southwest Award winners. The company owns and operates 11 dining venues—including Bowl & Barrel, The Rustic, The General Public, MUTTS Canine Cantina and Joe Leo Fine Tex‑Mex.

U.S. consumer sentiment rebounded in June, increasing for the first time this year even as consumers remain worried about the economy. The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index rose 16.3% to 60.7 in June, but was still about 18% below December 2024. Consumer sentiment has declined by 11.0% compared to the same time last year.

TwinkleStar Asset purchased the 312-unit Belmond multi-family property at 4699 Fossil Vista Dr. in Haltom City from Knightvest Capital, according to Institutional Property Advisors. Belmond is a three-story, garden-style asset on 17 acres.

Fort Worth-based AZZ, which provides hot-dip galvanizing and coil coating solutions, has entered into an agreement to acquire all the assets of Canton Galvanizing, a privately held hot-dip galvanizing company based in Canton, OH. Terms were not disclosed and AZZ said it expects the acquisition will be accretive to earnings within the first year.

It would take someone making $85,000 more than 1,900 years to make as much as the highest paid CEO in this year’s Associated Press CEO compensation survey. Want to know how long it would take you to match the pay of CEOs at Apple, Netflix, Citicorp and other top global companies? Input your salary and find out.

Believe it or not: Amazon is on the cusp of using more robots than humans in its warehouses. The e-commerce giant now counts more than one million of the machines at its facilities.

Gripes and gratitude: Fireworks are illegal in Fort Worth, and violations can carry fines up to $2,000. Enjoy one of the many permitted firework shows across the city instead.

Snippets:

• If a Formula 1 team, a luxury automaker and a mad scientist walked into a wind tunnel, this is what you might get. 

• With funding help from the state, Fort Worth ISD approves phonics program to boost kindergarten-through-third grade literacy.

• BNSF fails to convince regulators it should be able to serve two Union Pacific locations, but case isn't closed.

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Announcements:

• Specialty Food Association: Honors Renfro Foods’ Becky Renfro Borbolla and Doug Renfro with Lifetime Achievement Awards. 

• Bank of Texas: Names Caleb Johnson Relationship Manager.

• Whitley Penn: Names Rebekah Arredondo Marketing Manager.

• TCU: Adds Nichole Mancone Fisher as Assistant Vice Provost and University Registrar. 

• Camp Fire First Texas: Hires Karen Barlow Parrish as Major Gifts Officer. 

• Schulz Wealth: Hires Krystal LaFollette as Financial Planning Associate. 

• Boeing: Names Lockheed Martin veteran Jay Malave as CFO.

• Maverick Power: Hires Carolyn Pridemore as Compensation & Benefits Manager.

• American Academy of Osteopathy: Adds David Mason and Sajid Surve from the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine at the University of North Texas Health Science Center to its Board of Governors. 

• TestEquity: Appoints Barry Litwin CEO, effective July 14. Russ Frazee, who has led the company since 2022, will remain in an advisory role.

• McKesson: Adds Matthew Tobkin as Director Technical Support.

• Revenant Energy: Hires Michael Perkes as CFO. 

• The Dallas Morning News: Hires Colleen McCain Nelson as Executor Editor, effective Aug. 11. 

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