🔨Wabtec nails 2nd rails deal; New AI gives Schwab -7.42% hit; RIP: Councilwoman Gyna Bivens.

The Texas Rangers’ 2026 promotional schedule features a club-record 16 bobblehead giveaways, including a Nolan Ryan figurine commemorating his iconic 1993 brawl at Arlington Stadium. Will the bloody mouth and jersey be part of the design? See the full list here.

Fort Worth-based Wabtec has earned its second large railway deal in a week. CSX signed a $670-million deal with Wabtec to upgrade its locomotive fleet with 100 new locomotives and 50 modernized units, as well as related digital systems. Last week, Union Pacific signed a $1.2-billion deal for locomotives. 

Former Fort Worth council member and businesswoman/entrepreneur Gyna Bivens passed away Monday at 71, three months after she announced she had pancreatic cancer. From former Mayor Betsy Price: “Gyna was an amazing woman and I'm proud to say a good friend. She served on council with me for 8 of my 10 years. Gyna was there thru so much and was always open and compassionate. She served her community and all of Ft Worth so well. From her beautiful garden to her cowboy boots she loved, she was one of a kind. Ft Worth and I were indeed blessed by her service. Rest in peace, sweet Gyna.”

Following up on President Donald Trump's executive order in January, the Pentagon has warned defense contractors to brace for sweeping performance reviews that will identify companies it says aren’t fulfilling their contracts, The Wall Street Journal reported. Executives at Lockheed Martin, among others, have said they are ramping up manufacturing of missiles, rocket components and other systems amid pressure from the Department of War/Defense.

Lockheed Martin unveiled its Lamprey Multi‑Mission Autonomous Undersea Vehicle, a breakthrough “plug-and‑play” submersible that gives U.S. and allied maritime war fighters technological and strategic advantages. LampreyMMAUV can hitch a ride on a host surface vessel or submarine, utilize hydrogenators to charge batteries and arrive fully charged and ready for operational missions.

All those folks calling for the Monday after the Super Bowl to be a national holiday will get a test run next year. Super Bowl LXI will be played in Los Angeles on Feb. 14 Valentine's Day and the following day is Presidents Day, a national holiday. 

Shares of Westlake-based Charles Schwab fell 7.42% Tuesday amid a sell-off in financial services stocks. The fall came after technology platform Altruist launched an AI-powered tax planning tool within its Hazel platform. 

The Board of the union that represents American Airlines flight attendants unanimously passed a no-confidence vote in airline CEO Robert Isom, the first in the airline's 100-year history. The union said the vote came in an effort to address the "relentless downward spiral" of the Fort Worth-based airline under Isom's leadership.

Arlington-based Alex Orthopedic completed its asset purchase of Essential Medical Supply, bringing together manufacturers and distributors of mobility, comfort and wellness products. Ebrahim Lavi is President of Alex Orthopedic, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Its suite of solutions includes Jobri, Sport Seat, Cane Stay and Hermell Products.

Fort Worth-based Novaria Group, a portfolio company of Arcline Investment Management, acquired Plasma Ruggedized Solutions, a provider of high-reliability conformal coatings for sensitive electronics serving defense, medical and advanced industrial applications. The acquisition expands Novaria’s capabilities for mission-critical electronics. Bryan Perkins is CEO of Novaria.

Believe it or not: A Philadelphia bar temporarily raised its entry age to 25 after a surge of fake IDs, the tipping point being when the bar received a fake ID featuring Ben Franklin’s photo listing him as 24 years old with the Liberty Bell as his address.

 A MESSAGE FROM BURT LADNER REAL ESTATE:

Just steps from River Crest Country Club at 4062 Bunting Avenue, this 4-bedroom, 4.5-bath home features a dine-in kitchen with a large island, wine refrigerator and butler’s pantry. The downstairs primary suite with bathroom has a separate shower, dual sinks and a large walk-in closet. In addition are a formal dining, study, living room with breakfast room, game room, built-ins and a separate utility with sink. Also included is a locked gun room, perfect for gun storage or to protect your valuables. Offered for $1,159,800 by Carmon Weeden. 

Congressman Roger Williams introduced the Put America on Commission Act of 2026, which establishes an Office of Whistleblower Awards within the U.S. Small Business Administration to incentivize the public to come forward with credible tips related to pandemic-era loan fraud.

Eddie Bauer initiated a voluntary Chapter 11 process with support of its lenders. The stores will remain open as the company pursues a sale. The retailer has a store in Southlake Town Square.

Southlake-based Sabre launched an AI-powered flight shopping solution aimed at reducing costs and speeding up searches for travel agencies. According to Sabre, the solution can return results in under half a second, while maintaining up to 95 percent alignment with live airline offers – a balance that has historically been difficult to achieve at scale.

Austin-based Epiphany Dermatology expanded to D-FW by agreeing to partner with Arlington Dermatology Clinic. Mary Adams has been in Arlington since 1994 and became owner in 2003. Her location is 1001 N. Waldrop Drive, Suite 402. 

Tarrant County commissioners are seeking state funds to expand a planned ICE partnership despite protests.

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Fort Worth District is developing a transportation master plan to guide future investment decisions and public input is welcomed. Click here to have a voice. 

$100k for a 99 Cents Only store? Colleyville -- through its Business Enhancements to Support Transformation Program -- approved a reimbursement grant of $100,000 to help Thrift Giant update the exterior of the 99 Cents Only Store on Colleyville Blvd. Thrift Giant is spending $1.5 million for improvements. 

Blue & Co., an accounting and advisory firm that offers healthcare reimbursement consulting services, has acquired D & Co., formerly known as Durbin & Co. It has offices in Fort Worth, Lubbock, Dallas and Waco.

Roofix secured 9,570 square feet of office space at 4025 Woodland Park Boulevard in Arlington. Transwestern’s Gibson Duwe and Kyle Poulson represented the tenant.

Dr. Rachael Capua, Dean of Tarleton State University in Fort Worth, posted the school is honored to be part of the new Texas A&M-Fort Worth campus in downtown Fort Worth. She listed the programs that will be available in Fall 2026. 

Goodwill North Central Texas' Weatherford Job Resource Center is open to the public. The center, located at its retail store on South Main Street, expands access to free education, training and job placement services for job seekers in Parker County.

Snippets:

• 31 Valentine's Day dinner ideas and recipes.

• The wealthy ramp up spending while other Americans tread water, study finds.

Significant stat: $670 billion = The combined spending plans of Meta, Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet on AI infrastructure this year. That investment is 10 times higher than what the Apollo space program cost, even after adjusting for inflation over that span.

Daily digit: 22% = Increase in solo dinner reservations in the third quarter of last year compared to the same period in 2024. The number of solo diners at fast food restaurants has also jumped significantly.

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Announcements:

• HUB International: Promotes Mark Grace to Senior Consultant.

• American National Bank of Texas: Promotes Chris Cronin, a 37-year employee, to President. He had been Senior EVP and COO.

• Busey: Hires Rick Jenkins as Market President.

• Texas Wesleyan University: Hires Liz Hammond as Grants Project Manager.

• HTeaO: Selects Chris Phillips as Chief Financial Officer.

• Younger Partners: Adds Steven Grant as Managing Director of Retail Sales and Leasing. 

• Haynes Boone: Promotes attorney Brian Singleterry to Counsel. 

• Mental Health Connection of Tarrant County: Adds TCU’s Emily Mills, PhD, LPC-S; Camp Fire’s Brian Miller , MS, LPC; and Laura Kender, M. Ed. at MHMR Tarrant County to its Board of Directors. 

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