📣DC Cheerleaders form union, file suit; More electric air taxis flying here; What? Cal Ripken streak still in play.

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The Dallas Cowboys officially recognized the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Association as a collective bargaining representative, clearing the way for formal contract negotiations after decades of complaints about low pay. The recognition follows a 400% pay raise the cheerleaders received ahead of the 2025 season.

Pro Silver Star, which owns the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders brand, filed a temporary restraining order against alternative band My Chemical Romance after it performed with dancers in costumes resembling the cheerleading team’s uniforms.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics will receive a $114,629,966 award to provide non-recurring engineering, re-design, integration, qualification, and testing for two F-35 Lightning II navigation systems: the Global Positioning System Electronic Unit and the NAV100 Inertial Navigation System. The effort will replace obsolete electronic components, prevent production disruptions, address diminishing manufacturing sources, and support the continued production and sustainment of F-35 aircraft. 27.5% of the work will be in Fort Worth.

Six Flags' CEO said the company will install seat belts on the Georgia roller coaster from which a rider fell to his death Oct. 12. The company’s rides with similar restraints also will have the safety upgrade; six remained closed and two have re-opened.

Believe it or not: Țalk about determination, Rick Taylor, 69, is eight tickets short of owning a stub from every game of Cal Ripken Jr.’s 2,632-game Iron Man streak, a quest the Baltimore Orioles fan began 28 years ago.

Electric air taxis are coming... fast. We have Joby Aviation testing intra-city flights and now Archer Aviation announced it would build a network connecting D-FW, Houston and San Antonio, something rail has not been able to complete. Why Texas?

Fort Worth is set to vote tomorrow on incentives for King Yuan Electronics, a Taiwanese chip-testing company and Nvidia supplier that is weighing a $1.3-billion plant along I-35W south. King Yuan had said in July it would build the facility, but not where.

Grants and awards:

• A UT-Arlington statistician and a UT Southwestern pediatrics professor won a four-year, $1.96-million National Eye Institute grant to build AI tools that find the genetic "control switches" behind eye diseases.

• UT-Arlington researchers received a five-year, $3.25-million award from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to help first-year college students avoid or reduce risky alcohol and cannabis use. The study will follow 800 students who abstain from or infrequently use the substances.

• The Texas Talent Accelerator, founded by the University of North Texas, received a $500,000, 18-month grant from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation to help north Texas adults who left college without earning a degree find their way back — and earn credentials tied to the region’s most in-demand careers.

• Tarrant County was approved for a $10-million state disaster recovery grant for backup generators to keep the county jail and a resource hub running during blackouts.

A $24-million federal investment in the Texoma Semiconductor Tech Hub has been announced to create opportunities for businesses and workers across North Central Texas and southern Oklahoma. Led by Southern Methodist University, the hub spans 29 counties across north Texas and southern Oklahoma, including the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. The three areas of concentration are making advanced technology more accessible, commercialization and workforce development. 

The Tom Fazio-designed championship course at Discovery Land's Maverick Golf and Ranch Club, on 1,100 acres of the historic Veale Ranch in Fort Worth, opens to its roughly 140 members in early November. About 500 homes are planned.

San Antonio-based Mountain Point was awarded a $12.4-million contract from the National Guard Bureau to modify a fuel cell hangar in Fort Worth to accommodate the C-130J aircraft. The money covers construction and facility modifications necessary to support operations. All the work will be done in Fort Worth, and the Joint Reserve Base is host. 

The Archdiocese of New York has agreed to pay more than $800 million to settle sexual abuse claims made by 1,300 people who said they were victimized by clergy members and lay people in positions of leadership in the Roman Catholic Church.

Baylor Scott & White Health and Thrive Global are collaborating on a plan to be a daily health planner that supports customers between doctor visits with a digital platform, personalized guidance and trusted health resources. 

Shares of Fort Worth-based HighPeak Energy hit a 52-week high of $11.70 on Friday for a market value of about $1.5 billion. That's well above the stock's 50-day average of $8.56. 

What do writers, communicators and public relations professionals say about the impact and usage of AI in their work? Texas Tech and Story & Strategy hosted a forum in Fort Worth last week.

The University of Texas at Arlington's College Park Center, which has hosted the WNBA's Dallas Wings since 2016, has been voted the nation's best WNBA arena in the USA TODAY Sports Readers' Choice Awards.

Fort Worth votes tomorrow on waiving up to $200,000 in fees for the Evans & Rosedale Urban Village re-development in the Historic Southside. CIty council also will vote on selling a parcel in the Stockyards for $40,040.

Snippets:

• Jet fuel is now at $4.70 a gallon: finally, something at D-FW International that costs more than the airport coffee.

• Fort Worth-based writer/producer Taylor Sheridan is bringing his Texas 6666 ranch brand to Las Vegas with a new steakhouse.

• American Airlines exercised options for five Airbus jets during October and committed to buy two used Boeing 777-200ERs this quarter. The airline updated when it expects delivery of planes it already has on order. 

Filings and permits:

• New York-born bakery and cafe Maman plans to open at 1701 S. University Dr. in Fort Worth. Permitting records list a construction completion date of March 2027. The brand is known for its French-inspired menu of pastries, quiches, soups, salads, sandwiches, tartines and a coffee program.

• Touchmark wants to build, own and run a 357-unit senior living community on 17.6 acres at N. Carroll Avenue and E. Highland Street, land owned by Southlake Carroll ISD and Gateway Church. The plan includes independent living, assisted living and memory care, eight acres of open space and an underground garage. Planning and Zoning approved it Oct. 8, and the City Council votes in November.

• A state filing covers a $49-million tenant improvement of 285,065 square feet for a distribution and logistics warehouse at 9548 Chapin Road in west Fort Worth. The owner is West Worth Owner LLC of Dallas, and Portland, Ore.-based Mackenzie is the designer. Work is scheduled Jan. 4 to Sept. 30, 2027. Holt Lunsford is the listing agent.

• St. Martin in the Fields Episcopal Church filed for a $3.8-million, 9,565-square-foot sanctuary addition and renovation at 223 S. Pearson Lane in Southlake. VLK of Fort Worth is the designer, and work is scheduled from Dec. 7 to Aug. 31, 2027. 

• IREN, formerly Iris Energy,  filed for a $900,000 remodel of 10,380 square feet in Suite 3000 in the D.R. Horton tower at 301 Commerce St. Halbach Dietz Architects of Fort Worth is the designer, and work is scheduled from Nov. 23 to Jan. 29.

• M&M Manufacturing is moving into 143,959 square feet at 2901 Mark VI Parkway in north Fort Worth. The $3-million initial finish out is inside Blazing Trails Phase 2, Building 1, owned by Fort Worth-based Blazing Trail. Alliance Architects is the designer, and work is scheduled Dec. 1 to May 31.

• A $13-million office build-out was filed for 3101 High River Road in north Fort Worth inside a 260,288-square-foot building. The project is named "388-Polk Mechanical," and the owner is listed as River Capital Finance, a TruWest company. Work is scheduled for Dec. 1 to Aug. 2.

Today in history: 1958 = Pan Am launched the first jet service by a U.S. airline, sending a Boeing 707 from New York to Paris. 

Significant stat: 40%+ = What several large technology companies with significant AI-related activities account for of the S&P 500’s total market capitalization, according to a Congressional Research Service note.

Daily digit: 194,000 = Weekly unemployment claims reported by the Labor Department, falling from 200,000 the previous week, and the lowest since July.

Announcements:

• Happy birthday: Junior Achievement of the Chisholm Trail turned 70 yesterday. 

• Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra: President and CEO Keith Cerny is leaving in January after eight years and will take a CEO position for an undisclosed arts organization.

• TCU Football: Fires offensive line coach A.J. Ricker.

• Caliber: Hires Kat Kornegay as Vice President of Marketing.

• Fort Worth: Selects Steven Rathers as Senior Contract Compliance Specialist.

• TCU Neeley School of Business: Adds Bill Benishek as Adjunct Professor in the Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

• University of Texas at Arlington: Recognizes Beth Wright as Dean and Professor Emerita.

• National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities: Appoints Texas Wesleyan University President Emily Messer to the Student Aid Policy Committee.

• American College of Emergency Physicians: Elects Heidi C. Knowles President-elect. She will serve a one-year term as President beginning October 2027. Knowles is Vice Chair and medical director of emergency medicine at John Peter Smith Hospital and an assistant professor of emergency medicine at the TCU School of Medicine.

• UNT Health Fort Worth: Promotes Amber Heck to Professor. 

• Trinity REIS: Promotes Trevor Short to Director.

• Macias Gini & O’Connell (MGO): Hires Jill Eastman as Chief Growth Officer. 

• REV Entertainment: Names Myra Palacios Vice President of Events; Promotes Becca Beacham to Assistant Vice President, Events; Matt Mallian to Assistant Vice President, Marketing & Communications; Tad Howard to Senior Director, Operations; Christopher Rodek to Senior Director, Sales; Maria Doench to Director, Event Services; Mitchel Garlitz to Director, Major Event Services; Zoe Bates to Manager, Event Services; and Austin Bronstad to Senior Coordinator, Event Services. 

• Arlington: Tops out E-Space's North American headquarters, an airport development project. 

• The African Think Tank: Hires Emmanuel Oumo as Head of Programs.

• Fort Worth Sister Cities International: Adds Pat Alva-Kraker to its Board. 

• WBZ (Boston): Hires former Fox KDFW morning reporter Payton May. 

• Bimbo Bakeries: Hires Lissa Pena as Marketing Director for Thomas’ Original English Muffins. 

• Remington Hospitality: Dorothy Coffey says she is leaving after 3.5 years. 

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