TCU graduates 21-year-old with doctorate; Updates on Six Flags & Autobahn

American Airlines flight attendants picketed several airports and The White House, asking for the right to strike, which they don't have. Attendants say they haven't had a raise in five years. Southwest attendants received raises last month.

The Real Brokerage Inc., a publicly traded real estate brokerage, announced that The Property Shop in Fort Worth, led by Season Ware, has joined the company under Real’s Private Label program. The Property Shop has more than 125 agents with annual home sales valued at more than $250 million.

Grapevine-based GameStop will buy and sell rare Pokémon cards, and possibly others, as early as this week. Reports say it is looking only for cards with PSA (Professional Sports Authority) scores of 8, 9 or 10.

Carson Huey-You, 21, became the youngest recipient of a TCU doctoral degree Saturday. He started at TCU when he was 11. Fox 4 has Carson's story.

Fort Worth-based Affixify launched its technology selection platform for hotels. It allows hoteliers to use Affixify's algorithm that takes the buyer’s required features and matches those to the available vendors who meet their buying criteria. The Founder and CEO is Jasmine Seliga.

Six Flags-Cedar Fair update from Cedar Fair President and CEO Richard Zimmerman: "We were pleased that Six Flags shareholders overwhelmingly approved the merger-of-equals transaction, which we continue to believe will be completed before the end of the second quarter. We were also encouraged that our recent refinancing transactions were very well received by the credit markets, validating the strong financial profile and compelling growth opportunities of the combined company post-closing. Both Cedar Fair and Six Flags continue to work constructively with the Department of Justice (DOJ) in its review of the merger, having complied fully with the DOJ’s Second Request received in January." 

The holding company formed by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Texas Pacific Group and other investors to acquire TXU Corp. has given regulators firm commitments about price cuts, the length of time it will hold its interest in the company, and the impact of the consummation of the transaction on rates and debt levels. 

Ripe Publishing, which has for-profit and non-profit entities, won the Fort Worth Business Plan Competition, which was sponsored by Frost Bank. First prize was $10k.

According to Scout, a platform that ranks urban areas on their economic attractiveness, Fort Worth is the top city in Texas for business. Fort Worth ranked first for speed of permitting and speed of zoning.

Cook Children’s Medical Center has given the Fort Worth planning staff its concept for a $37-million, 3.6-acre complex near its campus on Cooper Street and Eighth Avenue to re-locate its current on-site day care programs.

The Autobahn family of car dealerships continues to consider alternative relocations to the previously announced move to Clearfork. The Fort Worth Report has details on the options.

Monday mansion: An English estate in Colleyville has hit the market at $8,750,000. Built in 2002 and updated in 2017, the home at 6401 Westcoat Drive is 9,599 square feet and features five bedrooms, seven full bathrooms and one-half bath. In addition, there’s an elevator, a dry sauna, two kitchens and a theatre. On nearly 7 acres, the property has a large glass greenhouse, a stocked fishing pond, two saltwater pools, and a newly designed pool house with accordion glass doors.

Fort Worth will vote Tuesday on another property tax exemption for seniors and people with disabilities, raising the exemption from $60k to $80k and lowering homeowners’ bills by up to $134.50 annually. 

Also tomorrow, Fort Worth will vote on whether to allow childcare facilities to benefit from a property tax exemption. The exemption, permitted by state law Jan. 1, 2024, theoretically would ease the financial burden of the facilities and make childcare more affordable.

The Trinity Railway Express will not operate tomorrow between Fort Worth Central Station and Fort Worth T&P Station because of underground construction. The work includes installation of lighting and signage. During the next few months, intermittent construction will occur as additional signage is installed.

Significant stat: According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, kids ages 8-18 spend 7.5 hours in front of a screen daily, 4.5 of which are spent watching TV. That’s 114 days per year TV watching and doesn’t include time spent on a computer and phone at school or at home.

Believe it or not: An AI company in China called Super Brain will make a digital replica of a deceased relative and install it on an Android tablet in the shape of a photo frame. At a cost of up to $1,400, it offers a moving image that speaks words drawn from a database. The company also offers a service in which an employee or a therapist will video call a customer pretending to be a relative who has died.

Snippets:

• CNET reports on Apple's big plans for Generative AI with IOS 18 after the worldwide developer conference.

• A north Texas judge sides with financial groups and issues an injunction against President Biden’s plan to cap credit card late fees at $8. 

817 Biz produces a bi-monthly publication with long-form content not found in our e-newsletter. In the latest issue, learn about attorney Dee Kelly Jr.’s new novel, when The Capital Grille steakhouse will open in Southlake, and what The Rock has cooking at Globe Life Field. The digital version is here.

Announcements:

• Balcom: Promotes Richie Escovedo to Director of project management and PR specialist.

• UNT Health Science Center: Promotes Paula Cobler to Associate Vice President of Marketing & Communications.

• Higginbotham (Financial Services): Promotes Michael Parks to President, Financial Services; promotes Koby Hackradt to Chief Operations Officer, Employee Benefits; names Carter English Chief Business Officer.

• Main Event: Names Tori Eubanks Sales Manager.

• Main Street Media: Names Anne Joline Gimbel Digital News Managing Editor.

• Sinclair Autograph Collection: Names Rosa Moyana Human Resources Manager. 

• Party Beer Co.: Katie Douglass joins as Partner and Chief Marketing Officer.

• Dallas Business Journal: Selects Karen Campbell, Alcon, and Elyse Dickerson, Eosera, among its Top 20 Women in Technology.

• Dallas Business Journal: Names Jonny Cantwell, Baylor Scott & White, as a 40-under-40.

Last poll results: What brand is your “dream” classic car? The top three answers (out of 9 choices) were: Dodge (27%), Chevrolet (24%), and Ford (22%).