💊Tarrant not 'healthy'; President resigns (UNT); Dr. Phil is back

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Vinny Taneja, director of the Tarrant County Public Health Department since 2014, resigned days after a scathing Human Resources report about his leadership through COVID. Deputy County Administrator Tom Stallings will serve as acting director, according to a news release.

Last month, the University North Texas President in Dallas announced his retirement. Yesterday, Neal J. Smatresk, the President of UNT in Denton, announced he intends to resign Aug. 1 to focus on teaching. Since 2014, he helped earn UNT-Denton a Tier One research designation and drove enrollment from 36,000 to 47,000. Previously, Smatresk spent four years as President at the University of Nevada and 22 years at UT-Arlington, where he was a faculty member, Chair of biology and Dean of science.

Bally Sports (Diamond Sports Group) has a tentative, one-year deal to televise 2024 Texas Rangers games. Sportico reports it's 15% less than the contracted $110 million as Bally tries to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Rangers’ previous deal ran through 2034. Legal proceedings are expected to end March 22.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe is operating freight trains through San Clemente at 10 miles per hour during overnight hours because of a landslide that has halted passenger rail operations since Jan. 24. The Orange County Transportation Authority will receive $10 million from California to build a wall to protect the Surf Line tracks.

Head ‘em up, move ‘em out: The stock show and rodeo are over, but the work is just beginning on a multi-million upgrade to Will Rogers Memorial Center and the sheep and swine barns.

More stock show: Approximately 300 animals were sold during the Junior Sale of Champions to cap off the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. Total haul was $8.2 million, an average of $27,333.

Dr. Phil McGraw has set up his new cable TV studio, Merit Street Media, in Alliance and has two daily shows ready to go at the end of the month, including two episodes featuring TCU students who recently made a class visit. 

RECARO Aircraft Seating, a global manufacturer of premium and economy aviation seats, has partnered with Southwest Airlines for a cabin re-design featuring its BL3710 seats. In addition, it will supply the seats for Eve Air Mobility's electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

Sugar high: Candy retailer IT’SUGAR has opened a 2,500-square-foot store at Grapevine Mills, its second Tarrant County location. The stores feature more than 150 “pick n’ mix candy bins, hundreds of varieties of over-the-top sweets, humorous products, and immersive candy experiences from America’s beloved brands," according to a release.

Fort Worth-based Energy Freelance, which has a platform that supports energy industry contractor engagements, has introduced Energy Hire, a platform dedicated to full-time hiring and career development. 

The re-scheduled Martin Luther King Day parade in Fort Worth is Feb. 19, beginning at 11 a.m. The host committee says the parade and rally will highlight community unity, the living hope of Dr. King's Dream, and a commitment to justice for all humankind.

In 2023, Texas oil and gas industry companies paid a record-breaking $26 billion in state and local taxes and state royalties. That’s equal to about $72 million a day for funds that support state education, infrastructure and first responders.

Snack-size Super Bowl news:

• Las Vegas is expected to break the $1.43B record-setting gaming revenue spent in the city last year in December.

• Marketers are wrapping entire buildings in ads: Doritos turned one side of Luxor’s pyramid into a giant corn chip.

• Advertisers are paying $7 million for 30 seconds of air time during this year’s game. Is it worth it? (NYT gift article)

Two North Texans won Grammy Awards Sunday. Kasey Musgraves won best country duo/group performance for her duet with singer Zach Bryan on “I Remember Everything.” And Fort Worth’s Kirk Franklin won his 20^th award in the gospel performance/song competition for “All Things.”

More than 82,300 layoffs conducted by employers last month made January the second-worst month for layoffs since January 2009, according to a report from job placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The leading contributors were layoffs in the financial (23,238) and technology (15,806) sectors.

Shares of Tesla have fallen about 24% this year while the S&P 500 has gained nearly 4%. But investors don’t seem to care. They’re still loading up on the stock. Tesla was among the most popular stocks purchased in January, according to the Schwab Trading Activity Index, which measures the broker’s 35 million users. And while Tesla is having a rough year - the stock is still worth more than GM, Ford, Toyota and Honda combined.

People on the move:

• Westwood Contractors: Appoints Allen Crowley as Director of Construction.

• Vartabedian Hester & Haynes: Alix Allison joins firm as Partner in Commercial Litigation.

• Weitzman: Promotes Lynn Van Amburgh and Ben Terry to Sr. Vice Presidents. Terry also is Director of Portfolio Leasing.

• FW Police: See promotions here. 

Snippets:

• GM is cutting $1 billion from development of its Cruise driverless taxis, but says it remains committed. 

• Attorneys for American Airlines have asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit about a hidden camera in a restroom.  

• Happy birthday: Celebrate wildly, age mildly. The Tarrant Regional Water District is 100!

Daily digit: $100,000. Price of staying for a week in the most expensive cabin on the Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas cruise ship. The suite is 2,523 square feet. 

Today’s trivia: The average smartphone user scrolls through 519 inches – or 43 feet – worth of content each day, according to research reported by The Times UK. Put another way, that’s approximately 3 miles per year.

Last poll results: Imagine you’re starting a stock portfolio. What’s your #1 pick? Answers: Apple (40%), Amazon (27%), Tesla (13%), None of these (13%), Meta (7%).