🧭Northern's plan goes south... for now; Former AA CEO's No. 1 travel tip; Bringing Saturday Night Live to life.

Hold on there, Will Northern! Fort Worth pumped the brakes on an overhaul of the abandoned golf course and Woodhaven community, instructing developer Will Northern to seek more input from residents.

Fort Worth City Manager David Cooke, who retires in February, will leave with a $20,603 one-time bonus, 5% of his annual salary of $412,061.69. It still is a hair short of incoming City Manager Jay Chapa's reported salary of $435,000.

Lorne Michaels, the creator and executive producer of “Saturday Night Live,” has donated his archive to The University of Texas.  The collection documents his earliest writing for “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” and “The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show” up through and including the nearly 50-year history of “Saturday Night Live,” the most Emmy Award-nominated show in television history.

BNSF Railway CEO Katie Farmer opened the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers’ Winter Meeting with a recurring theme of how data is used in many ways to improve efficiencies. 

General Motors has signed a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar agreement for Norway's Vianode to provide synthetic graphite anode materials for its electric vehicle batteries. China controls 95% of the global supply of graphite.

The Colleyville Planning & Zoning Commission tabled a luxury garage development request until mid-March. Enki Development has proposed four buildings to house 49 garages where owners can store high-value items such as automobiles in a temperature-controlled, customizable environment.

The 40th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Parade (Monday) and the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo starting today offer opportunities to honor heritages and create unforgettable memories. Find details here.

The U.S. State Department approved the sale of Bell Textron’s 412 enhanced performance, medium-lift military transport helicopters to the Zambian Defence Force. No numbers were announced, but the deal is approximately $100 million.

Fort Worth has hired The Segal Company, an HR consulting firm, to evaluate and recommend changes to its current compensation structure. The recommendations should come in 2026 at a cost of up to $450k. 

Restaurant roundup: The end of the year brought a smorgasbord of openings. Here are a few not previously covered in 817 Biz:

• Rex’s Bar & Grill opened Tuesday at 1505 South University Dr., in a former Macaroni Grill location. Rex Benson is behind the new concept and owns popular Ol’ South Pancake House next door.

• Valerie’s Taco Shop opened its sixth D-FW location at 205 Airport Fwy. in Euless. The San Diego-based chain is known for its California-style tacos, salads, and burritos.

• Don Melquias opened a third location at 5051 Benbrook Hwy. in late December. Occupying a former Pulido’s, it serves Mexican and American platters and is known for its fajitas and chicken enchiladas.

• Terra Mediterranean Grill opened in late December at 3932 Crockett St. in Fort Worth. The family-owned Mediterranean restaurant is known for its lunch buffet 7 days a week.

• The Chumley House opened in late November at 3230 Camp Bowie Blvd. The European-inspired steakhouse is from Duro Hospitality, behind the Michelin-recommended Dallas restaurants Mister Charles and El Carlos Elegante. 817 Biz tip: book early.

TCU women's basketball team forfeited games and had open tryouts a year ago. Today, it is a top-10 team that leads the Big 12. 

Fort Worth-based Elbit Systems America received, through Collins Elbit Vision Systems (CEVS), a $16.28-million delivery order for the repair of helmet mounted display units, power supplies and more for the F-18 aircraft through the Naval Supply Systems Command.

University of Texas-Arlington Physicist J. Ping Liu received a $1.3 million grant to develop stronger, cost-effective magnets, reducing U.S. reliance on foreign supplies.

All sewn up: Fabrics and crafts retailer Joann Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, its second in two years. It is asking to sell all its assets. Gordon Brothers Retail Partners, the firm involved in the Big Lots liquidation, is a stalking horse bidder.

Trinity Metro TEXRail had 103,312 rides in December, the highest number in the service's history. It travels between downtown Fort Worth and D-FW International Airport. Trinity Metro also launched its revised bike-share program. Take a ride.

Macy Hill, District 7 city councilwoman, announced she would run for re-election. A businesswoman and philanthropist, Hill was elected in 2023.

Well, duh. Walgreens found locking stuff up is bad for business. Turns out when you lock up products, people buy fewer things. Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth acknowledged the reality in its recent first-quarter earnings call. The company is working to develop creative solutions to combat shoplifting while facing an operating loss of $245 million for the quarter.

Despite causing more than $250 billion in damages and decimating 12,000+ structures, the Los Angeles wildfires are expected to have minimal consequences for the national economy. Goldman Sachs projects a 0.2% drag on first-quarter GDP and 15,000-25,000 job losses; Morgan Stanley expects 20,000-40,000 fewer jobs and a small inflation uptick — mainly in used and new car prices.

Law firm announces investigation of GameStop for state violations. It is seeking interested shareholders. 

The Department of Transportation has filed a suit against Southwest Airlines, charging chronic flight delays were an illegal unrealistic scheduling practice. 

Snippets:

• How Fort Worth supplanted Austin as Texas’ top boomtown.

• Ballywho! Texas Rangers baseball telecasts will be on Victory+, joining the streaming service for the Dallas Stars. All Texas games can be purchased for $100.

• Catch these breathtaking views from the World Sports Photography Awards.

• Spirit sales sinking: Brown-Forman, the company behind Jack Daniel’s and Woodford Reserve, will cut 700 jobs, approximately 12% of its workforce.

Daily digit: The D-FW metro area had a 14% increase in the number of $1 million+ properties sold from Nov 2023 to Oct 2024 compared to the prior year.

Significant stat: 205 – The number of times the average American checks their phone daily, according to a study from Reviews.org. The study also found that Americans spend 5 hours and 1 minute on their phone daily, or a staggering 2.5 months per year.

Announcements:

• Kids Matter International: Elects Lisa Harrington as Board chair.

• University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences: Selects Kim Linnear as Associate Dean of Administration. Previously, she had positions at Tarrant County College and the University of North Texas Health Science Center.

• Colleyville: Names Cassie Smith Director of Finance.

• Cantey Hanger: Adds Partners Cailin Ringelman and Stephen Howell (Of Counsel) to its transportation practice area. 

• BKV Corporation: Names Becky Escott Senior Director of Corporate Communications. 

• Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County: Hires Nicole Allen as Child Care Director. 

• Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring: Awarded by President Biden to The National Research Mentoring Network-Resource Center at The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth.

• Dunaway: Promotes Anita Beard to Principal — Senior Discipline Lead Planning + Landscape department.

• Pond, Robinson & Associates: Appoints Michael Raybon and Justin Lia co-President.

• SkillCat: Ranks Tarrant County College’s HVAC program No. 13 among the Top 20 programs in Texas.

• Rowan University: Appoints John Veilleux Chief Marketing Officer, a post similar to one he once had at Texas Wesleyan University.