✈️Arlington's CAE gets $42M contract; AG going after Amazon; Nettles, Romo have woes.

President George W. Bush painted 16 new works of art commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and the collection goes on display throughout September in Freedom Hall at his Dallas presidential museum. Titled Remembering 9/11, the works reflect on what the Bush Center describes as the courage, sacrifice and resilience that emerged from one of the most defining moments in American history.

Arlington-based CAE has been awarded a maximum $42,103,873 with fixed-price plus incentive contract for the Royal Moroccan Air Force F-16 Block 72 training system and contractor logistics support. The contract provides for two F-16 full mission trainer systems to include instructor-operator stations, F-16 Block 72 cockpit, visual display system, computational system, power distribution system and more. Work will be performed in Arlington and Sidi Slimane Airbase, Morocco, and is expected to be completed by April 30, 2029. Matthew Bromberg is President and CEO. 

Two University of Texas System institutions face leadership changes. Monday, UT-Arlington President Jennifer Cowley announced plans to return to the faculty. Last week, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center President Peter Pisters announced his retirement after more than three decades. In a letter, Cowley said it was “the right time to return to the work that first drew me to higher education” after 41/2 years as the university’s first female President. Cowley, a professor of public affairs and planning, did not say when she will step down.

Tarrant County officials voted, 3-2, to reduce the number of polling sites by 92 from the 2022 number for this fall’s mid-term elections. The roughly 30% reduction leaves the county with 224 polling sites to serve 1.3 million voters. 

Texas' Attorney General office has sued Amazon.com for allegedly deceiving Texas businesses about how it prices the advertising they buy. Amazon promised advertisers a competitive auction, then secretly manipulated the process to change the results to charge them more, the AG office claims. 

Texas is seeking nearly $788,000 from a non-profit ministry led by Fort Worth Council member Chris Nettles after the Texas Department of Agriculture disallowed expenses claimed under a federal child nutrition program. The Office of the Attorney General filed the lawsuit on TDA's behalf, naming Purpose Driven Ministries and identifying Nettles as a defendant in the petition, according to court records reviewed by The Dallas Express.

More flak for Flock: Governor Greg Abbott directed state agencies to halt spending on Flock cameras after an investigative report by The Texas Tribune revealed that at least $30 million from a state motor vehicle crime fund—originally raised via a $1 auto insurance fee meant to fight catalytic converter theft—was diverted to build the surveillance company's network. 

Stan Kroenke, owner of the Waggoner Ranch in Texas, reached agreement to acquire controlling interest in the Los Angeles Angels from Arte Moreno. Kroenke will own a team in the four major North American sports: The NFL's Los Angeles Rams, NBA's Denver Nuggets, NHL's Colorado Avalanche and the Angels. Kroenke also owns soccer club Arsenal of the English Premier League. 

Ex-Cowboys QB and CBS Sports analyst Tony Romo pleaded no contest to Operating While Intoxicated. He has had his driving privileges revoked for six months, will be monitored and has been fined. Read his post here.

American Airlines has joined the companies with $1,000 matches to the Trump Accounts test program. The one-time, $1,000 federal contribution for Trump Accounts is limited to children born between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028, and whose parents apply for it. AA said it would impact thousands of its employees. Once the child is 18, the account converts to an IRA. 

Grapevine-based GameStop released preliminary quarterly results ending Aug. 1. Net sales are down, operating and net income are up, and cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities are down about $3 billion. 

Fort Worth-based Trademark Property Company, in a joint venture with the Cohen & Steers Real Estate Opportunities Fund, has acquired Oak Hill Plaza, a shopping center in Austin. Trademark is a real estate investor, developer and operator in retail assets in Texas. The center is 92.5% occupied and tenants include Wells Fargo, The Picklr, Pluckers, Dollar Tree and AutoZone.

Meta’s Superintelligence Labs launched a real-time speech recognition model that can distinguish between more than 20 speakers, is trained in 70+ languages, and can transcribe a conversation lasting more than an hour (at 18 cents per hour). Meta’s entry into the transcription space follows similar offerings from OpenAI, Google, xAI and Alibaba.

Nine mid-size pharmaceutical companies have agreed to reduce drug prices for American patients. Drugmakers include Fort Worth-based Alcon, Astellas Pharma, BeOne Medicines, BridgeBio, CSL, Kyowa Kirin, Sun Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals and UCB. 

Fort Worth heard a presentation yesterday from a company in Germany looking at a potential U.S. headquarters facility here. Fort Worth and Harting Inc., an electronic parts manufacturer and supplier, are discussing a 10-year tax abatement of up to 65% in exchange for a minimum capital investment of $192.7 million and 700 jobs. The Council is scheduled to vote on the development package Sept. 29. 

How times change: The U.S. has approved an $800-million military sale of two Bell helicopter versions to Iraq. The State Department said the proposed sale would support U.S. foreign policy and national security interests by helping improve the security of a “strategic partner.”

Hurtado Barbecue, the Arlington-based smokehouse known for blending Central Texas barbecue with Tex-Mex flavors, has changed course on its fifth restaurant location. Instead of taking over an older building along U.S. Route 377 in Argyle as planned, Hurtado will instead open inside the newly built Argyle Marketplace, with a patio facing the Argyle Nature Preserve.

⁠Yesterday was the first day for new Apple CEO John Ternus, a former senior vice president of hardware engineering. He replaces Tim Cook, who retired after 15 years at the helm of Apple. Click here to see the eye-popping value his leadership team produced. 

BGO and Alliance Industrial Company acquired Northwest Commerce Park Building 2, a 266,152-square-foot, Class-A industrial property located at 2765 Highway 114 in Fort Worth. Nutri-Bon Distribution was the seller of the 2020 building developed by Stream Realty and Morgan Stanley. The property is situated near key transportation and logistics infrastructure, including BNSF’s Alliance Intermodal facility and Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport.

Bloom Healthcare, out of Denver, has acquired Fort Worth-based Christian Care House Calls (135 Treetop Dr.). Christian Care operates as a mobile geriatric care provider serving patients in various senior communities across north Texas. 

If you can't beat them, join them: Roanoke officials conducted a speed zone study after the SH 114 expansion from US 377 to I-35W was completed. Last week, they voted to raise the limit on that stretch within the city limits to 70 mph, up from 60 mph, a speed at which "the normal, prudent driver is traveling under existing conditions."

Tropical Storm Edouard, the fifth of the hurricane season, dumped heavy rain and knocked out power in southeast Texas yesterday. It is expected to affect Dallas-Fort Worth, possibly through Friday morning, with cloud cover, temperatures under 100 and some rain but not nearly enough. 

Snippets:

• A Dallas Zoo gorilla's pregnancy was in peril when a team led by Fort Worth medical personnel came to care for her. 

• Southlake-based Sabre said its intention is to make a broader shift from using AI to provide better answers to using it to deliver better outcomes for travelers.

• Lionel Messi has retired from international soccer at age 39. The death of his father last month was a contributing factor.

• Texas laws that went into effect yesterday expand repair rights, regulate solar sellers and recognize gold as money. 

Today in history: 1969 = The first U.S. automated teller machine went into service at a Chemical Bank branch in Rockville Centre, N.Y. The machine was developed by Docutel, a Dallas-area company, and executive Don Wetzel, who conceived the idea after waiting in line at a bank.

Daily digit: $1,160 = The monthly average asking price of a one-bedroom apartment in Fort Worth, down 3.3 percent since August 2025. (Zumper)

Announcements:

• Acme Brick Company: Promotes Katie Hitt Deaton to Director of Marketing for its corporate brand and more than 50 sales and manufacturing locations. 

• REV Entertainment: Hires Alex Gillen as Controller. 

• Trinity Holistic Healing: Adds Dr. Shayla Buckler, board-certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. 

• Olin: Hires Brittany Ringel as Vice President & General Counsel.

• Mood Media: Names Michael Hughes-Isbell Project Manager.

• WTW: Hires Jesse Petrus as a Senior Broker with the Private Equity Mergers & Acquisitions team.  

• Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce: Hires Shailyn Shirley as Office Administrator.

• UT-Arlington: Hires Jenifer Reiner as Interim Director of Urban Studies. 

• TCU: Hires Afia Anjum, PhD, as a tenure-track Assistant Professor specializing in cybersecurity, wireless communication, and AI for cyber-physical systems.

• TCU: Adds Bahar Hashememian Esfahani as Research Science --Wearable Product Developer & Data Analytics.

• TCU: Hires Alex Nikulin as Professor of Geophysics. 

• CyrusOne: Names Erica Estrada Community Affairs Manager.

• UNT Health Fort Worth: Priyal Patel receives licensed pharmacist designation. 

• Frost Bank: Names Nicole Hunter Commercial Banker at Near Southside branch. 

• The Dallas Morning News: Promotes Nick Wooten to Senior Real Estate Reporter.

• Communities in Schools of North Texas: Hires Angela Hernandez as a Case Management Site Coordinator.

• Skilltrade: Names Brandi Harrison Trotter Director of Workforce Partnerships.

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