🎨Picture this: Modern has a new leader; Expansions for Costco, Taste Community; Eat up, diet drug shortages resolved.

Halona Norton-Westbrook has been appointed Director of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. Norton-Westbrook has served as the Director and CEO of the Honolulu Museum of Art since 2020 and will start at The Modern July 1. She succeeds Marla Price, who ends her tenure after 30 years.

Wanna bet something is going on: Clark Smith, one of five appointed Texas Lottery commissioners, has resigned as the commission is embroiled in controversy after reports detailing ethical concerns, conflicts of interest, and questionable practices. The Texas Standard broke the news. Gov. Greg Abbott has asked the Texas Rangers to investigate. 

Pay-what-you-can Taste Community Restaurant, which has served more than 250,000 meals in Fort Worth, will open its Arlington location March 5 at 200 N. Cooper St. Taste addresses food insecurity while nurturing community spirit. 

Ronald C. Parker, a former TCU football player, fierce global leader, and advocate who worked with PepsiCo and TCU, has passed away. Black Enterprise details his career. 

Dallas-Fort Worth has been selected as an "Oscar-qualifying" area — one of six in the U.S., and the Fort Worth Film Commission has a package designed to help local filmmakers get one step closer to the Academy Awards. It gives filmmakers a shortcut to get their short films in the running for a nomination, a process that ordinarily would require getting attention by submitting their work to film festivals.

The University of Texas System will ban all “prohibited technologies,” including apps owned or created by ByteDance Limited, like TikTok, on personal devices, on all government-issued and owned networks and devices used for university business beginning tomorrow. Other apps include DeepSeek, RedNote and Lemon8.

Shortages of Ozempic and Wegovy are resolved, and supplies of diabetes and obesity treatments continue to improve, the FDA said. The drugmaker, Novo Nordisk, can meet current and future demand in the U.S., but there may be disruptions as the medications move from manufacturers to distributors and pharmacies.

Fort Worth-based ECI Software Solutions has launched AvidWarranty, which is designed to modernize warranty management processes for homebuilders.

Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio is in the middle of a “Texas-sized expansion.” Among the additions is the park's opening of a DC Universe area this weekend, which is expected to attract superhero enthusiasts from across the U.S.

Fort Worth’s Higginbotham is partnering with Texas-based Program Insurance Group, which features EZ CERT, a nationally deployed insurance certificate tracking service for franchisors and franchisees. The deal affords Higginbotham specialized franchise service, while Program Insurance Group gains support for clients, team and potential growth.

Fort Worth City Council voted unanimously to acquire 11.5 acres of vacant public parkland of trees and bramble along Ten Mile Bridge Road north of Northwest Loop 820. The price is $3 million, plus $45,000 in closing costs. 

The move of MedStar to Fort Worth's fire department could include interlocal service agreements with 14 Tarrant County cities beginning July 1 after the council approved the idea Tuesday.

The top 10% of earners—households making $250,000 a year or more—now account for 49.7% of all spending, a record going back to 1989, according to an analysis through Q3 2024 by Moody’s. Three decades ago, they accounted for 36%. The bottom 80% of earners spent 25% more than they did four years earlier, barely outpacing inflation of 21% over that period. The top 10% spent 58% more. (WSJ)

Snippets:

• Two weeks ago, Joann's announced it was closing 500 stores. Now, the fabric and crafts company will close all 800+ stores.

• The Pentagon seeks to shift $50B in planned funding to new priorities, but these 17 areas are protected.

• With competition from Google and Apple, PayPal brings all its brands except Venmo under one umbrella. 

• Clint Hill, the former Secret Service agent who in 1963 leaped to President John F. Kennedy’s side as he came under fire in Dallas, died at 93. 

Daily digit: 53% of Americans polled in 2024 gave a high/very high rating to medical doctors, down from 67% in 2021; it’s the biggest drop among 23 professions ranked by Gallup over that period.

In case you missed it: Lay’s “Little Farmer” commercial took the top spot among this year's Super Bowl ads, according to data from marketing research company System1. The company employs a “Test Your Ads” platform that measures viewers’ emotional responses. Here’s the winning ad.

Announcements:

• Kelly Hart: Judge Chris Ponder, who had served on the Tarrant County Probate Bench, has joined the firm as a Partner focused on contested probate matters.

• FirstBank Southwest: Adds Henry Borbolla as Market Executive.

• Shoppas Material Handling: Hires Clint Simmons as Senior VP, Sales.

• United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship: Awards 2025 National Model Program Award for Large Institutions to TCU, the highest recognition an entrepreneurship program can achieve.

• St. Joseph's Health: Hires former JPS VP of Patient Care Julie Moore as Chief Nursing Officer.

• Michaels: Appoints David Boone CEO and board member.

• Kingdom Leadership Coach: John Burt launches business based on biblical principles. 

• Landsea Homes: Names Stewart Parker President of its D-FW division.

• Greenhouse Treatment Center: Adds Satisha Kidd-Grijialiva as Clinical Director.

• Paris-based PMP Strategy: Hires Rob Curtis as a senior advisor to its D-FW telecom, media and technology practice.

• Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine: Honors Maria Crompton, DO, with its Rural Medical Education Founder’s Award.

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