☕Yellowstone coffee war over; Lockheed gets Pentagon help; Four Sisters moves to Mansfield

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The coffee war brewing between the competing brands of Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan and cast member Cole Hauser apparently has ended. Reports are Sheridan has dropped the copyright infringement suit after 25 days and it’s been resolved “with prejudice.” Dismissal with prejudice means that the plaintiff cannot re-file the same claim again in that court.

After a North Texas woman sued to get an abortion, the Texas Supreme Court asked the Texas Medical Board to provide more clarity. The Board said it doesn't interpret the law, and maybe the Supreme Court should ask the legislators for clarification. “We can't interpret the law. That's the job of the judiciary… if there is lack of clarity in the law, or if there needs to be more specifics in the law, that needs to come from the legislature," said Board President Dr. Sherif Zaafran.

For months, new F-35 Joint Strike Fighters have languished at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, awaiting completion of Technology Refresh 3, or TR-3, which has stalled deliveries. TR-3 improvements include better displays, computer memory and processing power. New F-35s with TR-3 hardware started rolling off Lockheed’s production line in July, but the government refused deliveries. In November, the Pentagon said it is looking for a way to resume acceptance flights for the new fighters and deliveries before TR-3 is finished.

The NBA has approved the sale of controlling interest in the Dallas Mavericks from Mark Cuban to the Adelson/Dumont families that run the Las Vegas Sands casino company. The purchase is in the valuation range of $3.5 billion, which does not include certain real estate and arena guarantees. Patrick Dumont will represent the Mavericks in the NBA Governors Circle. For sale details, click here. Who is Patrick Dumont (click here)? 

Alphabet soup football: The UFL, a merger of the XFL and USFL, announced its teams and the Arlington Renegades are in. Other cities are Washington, D.C., Houston, San Antonio, St. Louis, Birmingham, Memphis, and Detroit. Arlington and Birmingham, the reigning champs, open the season on March 30. Former Cowboys fullback Daryl Johnston is Director of Operations, and the league has TV contracts with FOX and ESPN.

Big Brother is watching (your trash). If you live in Fort Worth, the base charge for trash and wastewater increased as of Jan 1. In addition, a fee will be charged if your garbage can lid is not properly closed or you leave bags outside the container. The waste trucks have installed cameras and smart technology to catch offenses that will be charged to your water bill. We wonder if the city has forgotten how the red-light cameras worked out.

Four Sisters - Taste of Vietnam, a family-run restaurant that closed at 1001 S. Main in Fort Worth after four years, is open on Broad St. in Mansfield. The restaurant won Best New Restaurant in CultureMap's 2019 Tastemaker Awards and was on the 2019 list of Best New Restaurants by Texas Monthly magazine.

The following local inventors (or assignees) recently received patents on their products:

• Furniture article having panels with embedded magnets, Patent No. 11825948. Inventor(s): Bryce Stuckenschneider (Fort Worth), Jonathon Kemnitzer (Kansas City)

• System for mounting objects to a structure, Patent No. 11825965. Inventor: Mark Olmstead (Fort Worth) 

• Surgical guides including removable struts, Patent No. 11826055. Inventor(s): Devid R. Zille (Addison), Johanna Scheeh (Euless)

• Compositions and methods for thermal skin treatment with metal nanoparticles, Patent No. 11826087. Assignee: Coronado Aesthetics, LLC (Southlake)

• Medication adherence apparatus and methods of use, Patent No. 11826314. Inventor(s): James Vincent Kokal (Plano), Javier Oliver (Dallas), Robert Benkowski (Fort Worth)

Significant stat: 30,000 - The number of tech jobs D-FW gained during 2021-2022, while Silicon Valley lost nearly 1,400 tech workers, according to data from Lightcast. As more non-tech companies hire tech workers, traditional coastal hubs have begun to lose talent to middle America.

Daily digit: $41,540 - The average list cost of tuition and fees this year at a four-year private, not-for-profit college, according to the College Board. However, few students pay the list price after grants and discounts.

On this date (Jan 3, 1977): Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs incorporated Apple Computers, Inc. It was initially founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne on April 1, 1976, but Wayne had sold his shares to Jobs and Wozniak for $800.

People on the move:

• Sutton Frost Cary: Promotes CPA Jennifer Guse to Partner

• Sunflower Bank: Adds John Gerdes as Senior Vice President

• Balcom: Promotes Ashley Freer to President and Carol Glover to Chief Creative Officer

• Tarrant County: Selects Patricia Burns as Associate Judge to Probate Court No. 2

• Cantey Hanger: Partner Sarah Walls retires

• Investment Company Institute- Southwest: Announces Scott Orr, Fidelity Investments, as Board Chair

Snippets from around the web:

• Expect EVs to get cheaper in 2024: Experts say, “more incentives, more discounting.”

• NerdWallet compared airline efficiencies through the first eight months of 2023. See where your favorite flier finished.

• U.S. retail sales increased 3.1% between Nov 1 and Dec 24, down from last year’s 7.6% rise, according to Mastercard. Analysts attributed the tepid results to higher interest rates, inflation and fewer retailer discounts.

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