🏈Tarrant commissioners, NFL re-doing lines; Fort Worth gains Momentum & Cary Street; UNT follows leaders and bans drag shows.

OmniTRAX hired BNSF Railway sales and marketing executive Colby Tanner as its Chief Executive Officer starting April 15. Tanner, whose career includes decades of rail and real estate leadership with BNSF and Walmart, will pair with current CEO Dean Piacente to accelerate OmniTRAX' 2025 growth initiatives before Piacente joins the Board. 

Following the lead of Texas A&M and The University of Texas, the University of North Texas System has banned drag shows on its campuses. The system includes the UNT campuses in Denton, Dallas, Frisco and the Health Science Center in Fort Worth.

After heated debate, Tarrant County commissioners voted, 3-2, to move forward with plans to hire a law firm to re-draw precinct boundaries before the 2026 election.

The world has a record 3,028 billionaires, collectively worth $16.1 trillion, according to Forbes' World Billionaires List published this week. The top five are Elon Musk ($342 billion), Mark Zuckerberg ($216 billion), Jeff Bezos ($215 billion), Larry Ellison ($192 billion) and Bernard Arnault ($178 billion). Compared to last year, the global billionaire population grew by 247 individuals (+9%) and added a collective ~$2 trillion in wealth (+14%). The U.S. leads all countries with 902 billionaires, followed by China (and Hong Kong) with 516 and India with 205.

The method for measuring first downs in the NFL will switch from chain gangs to camera-based technology this season. Sony's Hawk-Eye virtual measurement system, consisting of six 8K cameras for optical tracking of the ball's position, will be employed. The chain crew will remain on the sidelines in a secondary capacity.

UTA West broke ground yesterday on their 51-acre campus in west Fort Worth within the Walsh Ranch development. Opening is planned for Fall 2028.

The brewmaster of Fort Worth's Martin House Brewing Company is in the hospital after a traumatic fall, according to the brewery. John "Beef" Laughman suffered skull fractures and a serious brain bleed after a fall last Friday,  according to a GoFundMe page set up on his behalf.

The U.S. Naval Air Systems Command is ordering five CMV-22B tiltrotor aircraft and avionics from the Bell-Boeing Joint Project Office under terms of a $590-million order. The Bell-Boeing JPO is a joint venture of Bell Helicopter in Fort Worth and Boeing Co. Defense, Space & Security in St. Louis.

The Keller ISD has moved its dual credit program to Tarleton State University. It had been with Tarrant County Community College. 

Founded in Fort Worth and distilled in Mexico, La Pulga Tequila has launched in bars, restaurants, and retail stores throughout New Jersey.

Cary Street Partners has acquired Fort Worth-based wealth management firm Keene & Dorchak, founded by John Keene and Matthew Dorchak. CSP has offices in Austin and San Antonio. 

Texas Radiotherapy has launched Breast Associates of Texas, a medical group specializing in breast surgical oncology. The group will be led by Dr. Amelia Tower and is located at 1300 W. Terrell Ave., Suite Plaza.

After a $4B sale of Midland Basin assets, Fort Worth’s Double Eagle has reloaded with $2.5B for its next bet in the Permian. The launch of Double Eagle V and Tumbleweed Royalty V is the latest chapter for co-CEOs Cody Campbell and John Sellers. Dallas Innovates has the story. 

Austin-based The Momentum Group, a public affairs and strategic communications firm, has opened an office at 5049 Edwards Ranch Road. Founder and Managing Partner Scott Dunaway is a Fort Worth native. JD Estes, Director, and Patrick Brophey, Manager, will lead the D-FW region. 

Unlikely duo: Two Fort Worth organizations -- Christian Pentecost Church of the Worldwide Missionary Movement and LGBTQ Saves -- have been given 90 days by the FCC to come up with an involuntary timeshare for construction permits for a Low Power FM station at 99.9 on the dial. 

Southlake-based Ancor Capital Partners has invested in CEAR, a provider of electronics recycling and IT asset disposition services headquartered in Mather, Ca. CEAR is an early adopter in sustainable electronics recycling, offering end-to-end services for asset recovery, data destruction, and certified e-waste recycling. 

The proposed $35-billion merger between Capital One Financial Corp. and Discover Financial Services cleared a major regulatory hurdle. According to Bloomberg, the U.S. Justice Department told financial regulators in a confidential memo that it didn’t have sufficient evidence to block the transaction.

Dr. Elizabeth Palmarozzi, DO, FACOFP, has been named Founding Dean of Tarleton State University’s proposed College of Osteopathic Medicine. She will lead Tarleton State’s accreditation process, develop program curriculum, recruit faculty and staff, and collaborate with healthcare partners to secure commitments for clinical placements and residencies. Dr. Palmarozzi most recently served as the Founding Campus Dean for Touro University and the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in Great Falls, Mont.

The Camp Bowie District launched its Hometown Heroes program, honoring local veterans with banners displayed along Camp Bowie Blvd. Starting July 1, the banners will recognize the service and sacrifice of 30 Fort Worth veterans. Learn more here.

Snippets:

• The University of Texas has won a royalty suit against IDEXX Laboratories over the interpretation of a patent licensing agreement signed in 2000. The agreement pertained to a peptide used to test for Lyme disease in dogs and stipulated different royalty rates. A court ruled IDEXX must pay the higher rate.

• Red-hot filmmaker and director (and Fort Worth native) Taylor Sheridan will deliver the keynote address at The University of Texas at Austin’s Commencement Ceremony Saturday, May 10. 

Today’s trivia: The effective overall tariffs mandated by President Trump are 22.5%. It's not the highest. The Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 resulted in an average tariff rate of 59.1%.

Daily digit: According to a release from the Texas Women’s Foundation, Texas women comprise 46% of the state’s workforce and earn 83% of their male counterparts’ median weekly wages. This difference equates to a $60.1 billion impact on the state’s economy and a loss of more than $750,000 in lifetime earnings for the average Texas woman.

Significant stat: According to the Advertising Specialty Institute, which closed its 3-day promotional products show in Fort Worth this week, Texas contributed $3.8 billion in sales to the industry's $26.6 billion market.

Announcements:

• Center for Transforming Lives: Hires Steven Gonzalez as Chief Operating Officer.

• Supreme Lending: Names Sarah Middleton Chief Growth Officer and Chief Marketing Officer.

• Fort Worth: Appoints Dianna Giordano Assistant City Manager. She had been Director of Human Resources and Civil Service.

• Euless: Appoints Lawrence Bryant Assistant City Manager. He had been with Azle.

• Frost Bank: Hires Rylough Washington as Vice President-Commercial Banking.

• Quorum Architects: Adds Noah Smith as Project Coordinator with the municipal design team.

• Patterson Law Group: The personal injury firm hires attorney Claire Fore.

• Browne Valuation and Consulting Group: Launched by Matt Browne.

• Team & Vasseur Commercial Real Estate: Nathan Vasseur joins as Principal.

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