🥊Tarrant rassling over ballot boxes; AZZ, Skyline, American Tire dealing; It could be curtains for AT&T Stadium.

Fort Worth-based Skyline Automation and Confinity Robotics announced a strategic investment and partnership focused on expanding the application of robotics in vehicle care. The partnership brings together Skyline’s vehicle-handling, storage automation capabilities and vision for facilities with Confinity’s robotic car-care platform. The companies will collaborate on technology integration, facility planning, operational performance, and commercial opportunities within tech-enabled vehicle infrastructure. 

Discussions with attendees got so heated Tuesday that Tarrant County commissioners chose to delay a vote until September on a proposal to reduce the number of election polling sites ahead of the November elections. The proposal would reduce polling locations from about 316 in 2022 to 176 -- roughly a 45% decrease. 

Fort Worth-based AZZ acquired 100% of the equity in Seattle Galvanizing Company Inc., a multi-site, privately held provider of hot-dip and spin galvanizing solutions. Terms were not disclosed. AZZ said it expects the acquisition to be accretive to earnings within the first year of operation. AZZ's network of hot-dip galvanizing and spin plants has 43 sites in North America.

GameStop shares declined about 12% to $19.21 since announcing a debt-for-equity swap agreement Monday. It plans to exchange $1.4 billion in zero-coupon convertible bonds due in 2030 and 2032 for Class A common stock. That effectively eliminates significant long-term debt without cash expenditure and improves the balance sheet, but introduces shareholder dilution and bondholder risks up to the expected Sept. 23 close.

Hitting pay dirt: Irving-based Caterpillar announced its first $20-billion revenue quarter and the stock jumped 5.45% ($45.27) to $876.54.

Lockheed Martin has been awarded a not-to-exceed $20,164,487 modification contract and all the work is to be performed in Fort Worth. The contract adds scope to procure afloat spares packages and deployment spares packages for air vehicle initial spares in support of F-35 production aircraft for the Netherlands. Work is expected to be completed in July 2033.

All American Tire, based in Fort Worth, is one of three acquisitions announced by Liberty Tire Recycling. All American Tire was founded by Tom and Jodi Parker and grew into a market leader in collections and crumb rubber production in north Texas. It brings decades of hands-on experience and community involvement to Liberty, which is a portfolio company of I Squared Capital, an independent global infrastructure investor.

During a training camp interview, Dallas Cowboys owner/GM Jerry Jones said the organization is evaluating whether to tint AT&T's glass after seeing the approach used during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. One of the stadium's more controversial design features is the late-afternoon sun that streams through the massive west-facing windows, causing glare for players. 

A D-FW International Airport passenger thought he'd left an irreplaceable daily calendar on the plane of his flight home. He returned several different times to lost and found. No luck. But there is a flight attendant, Malia, who went above and beyond.

And another airline feel good story: A pilot refused to depart without a 7-month pregnant woman — and walked off the plane to help her board. 

Today in history: 1961 = Six Flags Over Texas opened in Arlington. The 212-acre attraction introduced a regional theme-park concept organized around the six nations whose flags had flown over Texas. Six Flags became a public company in 1996 and was acquired from Time Warner by Premier Parks in 1998. In 2024, Six Flags merged with Cedar Fair in an $8-billion deal. The headquarters moved from Arlington to Charlotte, N.C. 

Former NFL quarterback Drew Brees is opening a Smalls Sliders restaurant at 6051 Precinct Line Road in North Richland Hills. The permit filing calls for a 796-square-foot, drive-thru-only modular restaurant at an estimated cost of $1.25 million and a completion date of Feb. 28. 

Registration is open for the 2026 Sustainable Agriculture Summit, Nov. 18-19 at the Fort Worth Convention Center. Register before the end of August to claim an early rate of $800. There are day passes, and discounted rates for farmers, government employees, academia and students.

JPMorgan Chase said it would deploy more than $750 billion through 2035 to increase housing supply and support homeownership across the U.S. It is nearly a 40% increase of the firm’s housing capital deployment the past decade.

City Brew Tours, which offers guided craft brewery tours, is offering guests a Fort Worth and/or Dallas tour. The exploration of each city's brewing scene lasts about 3.5 hours and includes visits to several breweries, where each stage of the brewing process will be explored and tasting flights provided.

Shark Club Sports Bar & Grill, from the family of the Dallas Stars' owner, will open its second location Friday at 13850 Chadwick Parkway in Northlake. It is located within the Children’s Health StarCenter Multi-sport complex, a Stars-affiliated destination for youth athletics and neighborhood programming.  

Fort Worth Council member Macy Hill and Fort Worth staff will be discussing the fiscal year 2027 budget at 6 p.m. August 12 at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden. It is free, but you have to register here. The discussion also will be available on the city's YouTube channel. 

Governor Greg Abbott directed Texas' Public Utility Commission and Electric Reliability Council to conduct a comprehensive verification and audit of all data centers advancing through the interconnection process. Audits must be completed before any data center project moves forward. Any project that fails to comply with the requirements will be denied connection to the Texas grid.

Tarleton State University has partnered with Fort Worth-based TimelyCare, a virtual health and well-being platform for college students, to offer Texans 24/7, on-demand free and equitable access to medical care. The partnership gives students another option for urgent, non-emergency medical care concerns after regular business hours, during university breaks or while away from campus.

Bedford agreed on a permanent tribute to local veterans, putting a $218,500 construction contract behind the new memorial plaza at Harris Ryals Park at 2700 Cummings Dr. The project is expected to have the site ready for a November Veterans Day ceremony.

Concord Capital Summit arranged a $50-million construction loan for Vic Centre Apartments, a 268-unit, Class-A multi-family community under construction at 7124 Anderson Blvd. in Fort Worth. 

U.S. News & World Report evaluated nearly 4,500 hospitals for its 2026-27 Best Hospitals rankings, measuring performance in 14 adult specialties and 23 common procedures and conditions. The analysis emphasizes objective measures such as risk-adjusted survival, preventable complications and patient experience, drawing on more than 800 million patient-care records. Only 16% of hospitals evaluated earned a Best Hospitals designation.

Four area hospitals made the overall D-FW and Texas rankings:

• Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center - Fort Worth - No. 3 in D-FW; No. 12 in Texas

• Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth - Tied No. 5 in D-FW; tied No. 19 in Texas

• Texas Health Huguley Hospital Fort Worth South (Burleson) - Tied No. 7 in D-FW; tied No. 21 in Texas

• Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth - No. 13 in D-FW; No. 38 in Texas

See the complete rankings and search tool here.

Snippets:

• AT&T Performing Arts Center and the Dallas Theater Center will combine business operations under the AT&T umbrella in 2027. Each organization will keep its artistic identity and leadership. 

• American Airlines raises its Admirals Club membership rates and adds a lower-price solo option.

Did you know? Latest research says up to five, 8-ounce cups of caffeinated coffee per day (or 400 mg of caffeine) is safe for adults and appears linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. A 2022 study put the limit at 3 1/2 cups. Dr. Sreenivas Gudimetla, a cardiologist with Texas Health Fort Worth, explains to KERA's Sam Baker what might account for the change.

Significant stat: Texas has funded Education Freedom Accounts for 85,344 students ahead of the 2026-27 school year after receiving approximately 274,000 applications, according to the state’s first annual demographic report. Grants run between $2k and $30k. 

Daily digit: 336 = Number of dimples in the average golf ball. The dimples reduce aerodynamic drag while creating lift, allowing a dimpled golf ball to travel nearly twice as far as a smooth one. While there's no rule requiring exactly 336 dimples, it became the industry standard after the popularity of the original Titleist Pro V1.

Announcements:

• HTeaO: Names Brian Wise CEO. He had been COO of Freddy’s Custard & Steakburgers. 

• Sunflower Bank: Hires Courtney Lewis as Fort Worth Market President. 

• Wells Fargo Advisors: Hires AJ Hinojosa as a Financial Advisor. 

• JPMorgan Chase: Hires Jeff Nickerson as Branch Manager, Retail Banking, Management.

• Medical City Alliance: Selects Rana Rashid as CFO to lead financial strategy at its Fort Worth acute care hospital.

• Dallas–Fort Worth Urban League: Selects Dr. Brandy Alfred as CEO. 

• Telly Awards: Mansfield-based Mouser’s marketing communications team won 11 times for excellence in video content. 

• Dallas Wings: The WNBA team will play 2027 regular-season home games at American Airlines Center.

• Dave & Buster’s: CFO Darin Harper promoted to CEO; Tarun Lal retires after one year as CEO. 

• KAI: Promotes Derwin Broughton and Blaik Ritchie to Senior Principal, and Catherine Dalton and Brien Graham to Principal.

• BioNTX: Adds Caroline Griffin to help lead community engagement.

• The Ricardo Marriott DFW Westlake: Promotes Natalie Lowery to Senior Event Manager. 

• Nextlink Internet: Promotes Ryan Moore to Director of Install Operations. 

• TNP: Adds Josh Wright as Senior Project Manager. 

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