🐎Look what SMU found in transfer portal; McCoy to QB real estate venture; Did Biden raise your credit score?

The SMU Board of Trustees unanimously voted to name Jay Hartzell the next president of SMU, effective June 1, 2025. Dr. Hartzell, a national leader in business education and real estate finance, is the President of The University of Texas at Austin. He previously served as the dean of the McCombs School of Business at UT and has been a faculty member since 2001. (Texas to SMU... would this ever happen in football?)

Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare announces his run for re-election on WFAA political show and discusses successes during his first term.

Texas actors and filmmakers have come together to film a spot and encourage the Legislature to add to its funding for further growth of the industry in the state. True to Texas features proud Texans Dennis Quaid, Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Billy Bob Thornton and Renée Zellweger.

Former Texas and NFL quarterback Colt McCoy is launching the Fort Worth office of HPI, a Texas-based, full-service real estate firm. The office will focus on third-party leasing and management, development and acquisition, with a focus on industrials.

U.S. consumers no longer will have medical debt appear on their credit reports. President Biden administration officials had proposed this last summer and announced Tuesday it would take effect in March. About $49 billion in medical bills will be struck from the credit reports of about 15 million Americans. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said lenders also would be prohibited from using medical information in their lending decisions.

Fort Worth-based real estate investment firm MainStreet Partners bought the historic W.T. Grant department store building in downtown Fort Worth. The building, completed in 1939, is home to The Library Bar and Pete's Dueling Piano Bar.

Roanoke-based Babe’s Chicken Dinner House made the list of 14 best Southern restaurants in the country as chosen by readers of Southern Living Magazine. Now with 10 locations in D-FW, the regional chain is still owned by the founders, the Vinyard Family.

Development plans for a new version of Woodhaven Country Club is on the agenda for today's Fort Worth zoning commission meeting. Click to see the last of the community meetings on the projected changes. 

Phillips 66 said it would acquire various pipelines and distribution systems in the Permian Basin from Ares-backed EPIC NGL in an all-cash deal for $2.2 billion. 

Fort Worth Colonial Charities Inc., the philanthropic entity of Colonial Country Club and its PGA TOUR event, the Charles Schwab Challenge, announced today that Brian Estridge has been named President and CEO of the charitable organization.

As seen in several posts on the GameStop subreddit, it seems a large number of U.S. stores of the Grapevine-based retailer are shuttering.

The merger of Disney's Hulu + Live TV streaming service with the online sports-focused FuboTV creates the second-biggest streamer (6 million subscribers behind YouTube’s 8 million). The deal is expected to close in 12-18 months. Fubo’s stock surged 250% on Monday.

A warrant has been issued, raising the specter of pornographic images of children in a curated exhibition called Diaries of Home at The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. 

Is this Biden going after Musk? U.S. regulators opened an investigation into 2.6 million Tesla vehicles after crashes involving the use of company technology that allows drivers to remotely command their vehicle to return to them, or move to another location, using a phone app.

Governor Abbott named Jimmy Blacklock chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court, replacing Nathan Hecht, who retired and was the longest-serving justice on the high court. Abbott also appointed his general counsel, James Sullivan, to the bench.

Traffic tip: Even if you're not snowed in, 820 East between Fort Worth and Arlington is going to be construction-heavy, so expect delays after January 11. 

Today’s trivia: The University of Texas having a live longhorn as a mascot dates to 1916 when alumnus Stephen Pinckney gathered $124 from other alumni to purchase a steer and brought it to a Thanksgiving day game. But the original mascot of UT was actually an American Pit Bull Terrier named Pig Bellmont, named after the university's first athletics director, L. Theo Bellmont, and Gus “Pig” Dittmar, a football player.

D-FW Airport was the third busiest in the country last year with 750,167 flight operations, falling behind Atlanta and Chicago O'Hare. Last year, there were 16.8 million flights in U.S. airspace, half a million more than in 2023.

Investment companies are liking American Airlines' prospects. Two more have raised the stock’s target prices by 45-67%. 

India Air added a 7x-a-week flight to D-FW Airport yesterday and the plane lands today. The 28-hour, 35-minute trip includes layovers in Mumbai, India, and Newark, NJ.

Are you pulling my leg? A video of Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey went viral after he hit one of the team's cheerleaders in the head with a kickoff.

Believe it or not: 44% of all corporate spending on the 2024 election came from the crypto industry, compared to the ~7% of Americans who currently own crypto (Harper’s Magazine).

Snippets:

• The on-again, off-again Corporate Transparency Act has a March 25 court date, but the Supreme Court may get the first crack.

• Texas Senate gets proposal to eliminate Daylight Savings Time.

• GOAT = greatest of all time? Not these goats. They are real and contracted to eat their way through heavy brush areas in Arlington.

• Tax tip: Starting this year, the optional standard mileage rate for vehicles driven for business increases 3 cents to 70 cents per mile.

Announcements:

• JTaylor: Promotes Connor Wanhanen, CPA, to Partner in the Consulting Services division.  

• Botanic Garden: Tracy Friday retires as Vice President of Education and Volunteers.

• One Safe Place:  Names Whitney Sanchez Director of Development Operations. 

• Wieser Taylor PLLC: Launched by litigation attorneys Jay Wieser and Stephen Taylor.

• TechFW: Melissa Acosta (JPS) is new board Chair.

• Johnson & Johnson: Names Chris LaDue Sales Manager MedTech/Surgery.

• Point of Rental Software: Hires Emad George as Chief Technology Officer.

• Modern Luxury Dallas: Promotes Julie Blacklidge Kinzie to Associate Publisher. 

• CPI Aerostructures: Names former Sikorsky and Bell Helicopter executive Carey Bond Chairman.

• Colliers: Names Ted Brooks Managing Director. 

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