🐺The police who cried (meow) wolf; Realtor fees⬇️; Six Flags⬆️

The National Association of Realtors agreed to eliminate a bedrock of the industry: the 6% sales commission. What will that do to the cost of buying a house?

An entity called Blue Flag Distillery in Fort Worth, led by executive officer William Rucker, is looking to raise $2.5 million, according to a filing and reported by the Dallas Business Journal. The filing lists the address as 3812 Cockrell Ave, south of TCU. It indicates an estimated payment of $15k to real estate broker and city councilman Michael Crain as a finder's fee. 

Eighty percent of Six Flags Entertainment Corporation's voting shareholders approved the merger with Cedar Fair, a competing amusement park company. If all goes according to plan, the Justice Department should approve the merger sometime in June.

TCU is one of eight Big 12 basketball teams to reach the men's NCAA championship tournament. The Frogs play a first-round match against Utah State in Indianapolis. Houston is the No. 1 seed in the South bracket and Iowa State, BYU, Baylor, Texas, Kansas and Texas Tech are in the tournament. See the men’s bracket here. In the women's bracket, the Big 12 is represented by Iowa State, Baylor, Texas, Kansas, Kansas State and Oklahoma. See the women’s bracket here.

According to recent U.S. Census Bureau data, D-FW had the largest metro population growth in the nation last year, adding approximately 418 residents daily. With an increase of 152,598 people, D-FW surpassed 8 million residents. Texas has six of the country's top 10 fastest-growing counties by percentage and eight of the top 10 counties with the largest numeric growth. Collin, Denton and Tarrant counties were among the top 10 counties nationwide to add the most people between July 2022 and July 2023.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued Meow Wolf in Grapevine, alleging it didn’t allow an off-duty officer to bring firearms into the venue, violating a 2017 law allowing officers to bring their weapons into public venues, whether or not the officers are on duty.

Kate Russell and Madisen Siedel have been classmates since kindergarten. They learned the alphabet together and how to count. Last week, the UNTHSC grads received the big reveal of where each will begin their careers as doctors. 

Bell has been awarded a $455-million contract to deliver 12 AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters to Nigeria. The deal also covers associated engineering, program management and logistics support. Work for the contract will be performed in Texas, with an expected completion date of July 2028.

Southlake-based Gauge Capital raised $1.4 billion in an oversubscribed fourth fund. The firm's team was the largest investor, representing over 25% of the committed capital. Guage Capital opened in 2013 and manages approximately $2.2 billion in client assets, as reported on Dec. 31, 2022.

American Homestar Corp. announced a venture to produce “tiny homes” from its Oak Creek Homes subsidiary in Fort Worth. AHC says the Fort Worth facility “underwent significant investment to enhance production capacity and broaden its offerings, now including tiny homes.” 

People filling out fake Citi credit card deals for American Airlines mileage rewards are having their frequent-flier accounts closed.

Berkshire Hathaway's CEO-designate Greg Abel just got a raise to $20 million annually. More than 10 U.S. CEOs make more than $100 million.

Transactions:

• According to property deeds, Fort Worth-headquartered Woodside Capital Partners LLC purchased Shadowood at Powers Ferry Road, a three-building office park in Atlanta, for $14 million. The 200,000-square-foot property is near The Battery Atlanta, a mix of retail and entertainment shops, and Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves.

• Arizona-based Rise48 Equity has acquired 323-unit Copperfield Apartments in Fort Worth. It's the 9th purchase in the D-FW market. Rise48 Equity said it would invest over $9 million in revitalizing Copperfield Apartments, which will be rebranded Rise Spring Pointe. 

• Grapevine-based Nespon Solutions has acquired Latin American Cloudblue Services. The deal increases Nespon’s capabilities in Salesforce Industries for financial services and expands its presence in growth markets such as Colombia.

Restaurant report: 

• Si Tapas, the popular Dallas restaurant near American Airlines Center, has opened its second location, on Crockett Street in Fort Worth in what previously had been Fireside Pies.

• Kura Revolving Sushi Bar plans a spring opening for its Alliance location. Customers can order sushi rolls, soup and Japanese food or grab the dish they want as it passes their table on a moving belt.

• Café Americana, a Spanish-inspired bar and restaurant, is open in Arlington at 403 E. Main St. The tapas-style menu fuses flavors from Spain, Argentina, Peru and the Caribbean.

• Fort Worth-based Melt Ice Creams plans to expand outside Tarrant this summer with its fifth location, in The District at Willow Park.  

Awards:

• LeadingAge Texas has honored the James L. West Center for Dementia Care with three awards.

• The TCU Music Center and Arlington’s John Webb Elementary School have won Best in Class awards from the 2023 BIA Brick in Architecture Awards.

• Fort Worth’s D&M Leasing won the 2024 Cars.com Leasing Company of the Year, its 10^th  year in a row. It also was awarded the 2024 Overall Southwest Region Dealer of Year, which encompasses all dealers regardless of vehicle make.

Announcements:

• Range Resources Corporation: Promotes Ashley S. Kavanaugh to Vice President–Controller and Principal Accounting Officer.

• Eosera: Hires Briana Wucinski as Marketing Manager.

• Cook Children's Foundation: Hires Amy Goodnight to head the communications team.

• YMCA of Metropolitan Fort Worth: Promotes Christy Jones to Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer.

• Sabre Corp.: Names Gail Mandel Executive Chair of Board.

• North Texas Community Foundation: Honors Joe Taylor, co-founder of JTaylor, as its 2024 Professional Advisor of the Year.

• SeatonHill Partners: Names John Ball Executive Chairman.

• Simpli.fi: Hires Cathryn Lamb as PR and Communications Specialist.

Last poll results: Do you believe that college athletes should be paid? Answers: No (62%), Yes (32%), Unsure/other (5%).