Author: harrisondfw

[Image: Sinisa Vidic/istockphoto] Texas is changing its judicial landscape with the opening of a new Specialized Business Court Division in September following the enactment of House Bill 19 last year. The bill, signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott in June 2023, would create specialized business courts across the state to streamline the resolution of business disputes. Governor Abbott said the courts would provide an “efficient mechanism” for commercial litigation in Texas. Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, Houston and San Antonio will open the first of 11 new business court divisions across the state. The five urban center business courts are…

Compass Group USA, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Fresh & Ready Foods, based in San Fernando, California, plan to lay off 65 employees at their manufacturing plant at 818 Metromedia Place in Dallas, according to layoff notices filed with the Texas Workforce Commission.Under the Labor Adjustment and Retraining Act, if a company with more than 100 employees lays off 50 or more workers, it must notify the Labor Relations Commission 60 days in advance.Related:American Airlines lounge and club operator lays off more than 300 employees at Dallas-Fort Worth airportCompass Group and Fresh & Ready employees are not unionized and…

A Texas man who admitted to kidnapping, sexually assaulting and shooting to death an 18-year-old woman in 2001 was executed Wednesday night.Ramiro Gonzalez, 41, was pronounced dead at 6:50 p.m. after being injected with a chemical agent at Huntsville State Prison for the January 2001 murder of Bridget Townsend.Gonzalez made his final statement in the execution chamber, repeatedly apologizing to his victims’ families, as his spiritual leader placed his left hand on his chest and prayed before he began his statement.Related:Judge dismisses sexual assault lawsuit against Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott”Words cannot express the pain and hurt I have caused you…

Construction has officially begun on a renovation of the convention center that officials hope will boost job opportunities downtown, increase tourism in Dallas and close the historic economic gap between the north and south sides of Dallas.City officials broke ground on a $3.7 billion expansion of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Wednesday morning, celebrating the start of the center’s redevelopment. Joined by state leaders, officials and others, they donned white hard hats, picked up shovels and began digging dirt on the site where the convention center will add about 500,000 square feet.Mayor Eric Johnson said the new convention center…

Construction has officially begun on a renovation of the convention center that officials hope will boost job opportunities downtown, increase tourism in Dallas and close the historic economic gap between north and south Dallas.City officials broke ground on a $3.7 billion expansion of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Wednesday morning, celebrating the start of the center’s redevelopment. Joined by state leaders, officials and others, they donned white hard hats, picked up shovels and began digging dirt on the site where the convention center will add about 500,000 square feet.Mayor Eric Johnson said the new convention center will be a…

The Prosper Town Council approved the zoning change and development agreement earlier this month. PROSPER, Texas — Read this article and more North Texas business news from our partners at Dallas Business Journal. A luxury mixed-use development that will combine residential, commercial and entertainment space is expected to break ground in Prosper later this year, developers told the Dallas Business Journal. Earlier this month, the Prosper City Council approved a zoning change and development agreement that will allow Frisco-based developer Capitalize Ventures LLC and design firm Gensler to move forward with their plans. The companies are now working on obtaining…

Dallas leaders want to attract a professional sports team to their downtown and recently signaled their willingness to spend public money to bring the team.The equation sounds simple: Attracting a growing sport like women’s basketball could bring economic benefits to Dallas — after all, high-profile rookies like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are filling arenas and the WNBA is posting record merchandise sales.But opinion is divided over whether public money spent on sports facilities actually delivers on economic expectations.Municipal investment in professional sports over the past three decades — through subsidies, tax incentives and bonds to build stadiums and arenas…

When Randy Cooper was looking for a ranch near Dallas, memories of his family’s land in Bandera kept coming back to him.Cooper has lived most of his life in the state’s Hill Country, growing up in San Antonio, attending school in Austin before moving to North Texas to begin his career in commercial real estate.That’s one of the reasons he chose his 288-acre ranch in the rolling countryside of Bosque County near Clifton.Related:The largest landowner in Texas isn’t Texan”Topography-wise, it’s the closest place to hill country from Dallas,” Cooper said.Another reason Cooper, who works for Dallas-based Stream Realty Partners’ office…

Dallas city officials may ban horse-drawn carriages, making the city one of the largest in the nation to ban horse-powered vehicles.The city council is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a proposed ban on such carriages on public roads in downtown New York. City officials said that if approved, carriages would still be allowed to operate on private property and operators would be able to electrify them.The move comes after city officials and animal rights activists expressed concern that the practice is dangerous to animals and drivers, and that the city doesn’t have enough resources to properly police the practice.”In addition…

Maggie Parker launched the Community Developer Roundtable in 2022 because she saw an opportunity to address deep-rooted issues by adopting an approach that seems to be gaining momentum in Detroit. “A woman I met through the National Fellowship Program had a training program for ‘developers of color,’” Parker said during a recent CDR bus tour, “and I thought we needed that in Dallas, too.” Just two years later,Carr is working to achieve two goals: building more affordable housing and allowing minority developers to expand their business and influence. A bigger pie means everyone gets a bigger piece, which she believes…