Airline fine print, Shark Tank and tech gift guide: Friday's Business Briefing

November 24,  2017 Follow us on Twitter: [@DMNBiz]( Ellen Hoffman and Taylor Curtnar use a Southwest Airlines kiosk at Dallas Love Field Wednesday, November 22, 2017. (Ron Baselice/The Dallas Morning News) The Big Story The government analyzed airline ticket fine print. Here's what they found Every time a passenger purchases a ticket, they're agreeing to a lengthy contract of carriage that outlines the services the airline will provide and, just as important, the rights passengers have should something go wrong. Southwest Airlines’ runs 41 pages and some 16,000 words. American Airlines’ contains 27 sections, covering everything from baggage to delays to refunds. [But how easy is it, really, for the average traveler to navigate this complex bit of airline bureaucracy?]( Not very, according to a recent government study, which described the legally-binding contracts, which vary by airline, as “generally lengthy and difficult to understand.” -[Conor Shine]( Plus: [Find more on airlines, especially locally-based Southwest and American]( SPECIAL OFFER [special offer unlimited digital access]( The Latest - Restaurants: [Paula Deen's Family Kitchen]( is coming to Texas, with D-FW location opening first - Jobs: [Lockheed Martin](wants to hire 500 more for F-35 fighter jet assembly line in Fort Worth - TV Business: CBS, Dish Network [end blackout]( hours after Cowboys fans missed Thanksgiving game - Autos: Carl Sewell opens 17th Texas car dealership with [new Audi location](in McKinney - Restaurants: New restaurant calling itself a '[barbecue 'n booze hangout](' to open in The Colony Advertisement [Julia Cheek]( EverlyWell is an Austin-based company founded by Dallas native Julia Cheek. entrepreneurs Sunday's Shark Tank episode to highlight Dallas native's medical testing company A Dallas native who turned her personal frustration of trying to understand her fatigue symptoms into a startup that has raised $5.3 million in investor funding has now stepped into the Shark Tank to have her business plan assessed by investors on the hit television show. [Julia Cheek is founder of EverlyWell](, an Austin-based company that sells over 16 types of health tests. Consumers in 46 states can purchase the kits directly online and collect their blood, urine and other samples from home. The products range from $69 for a test to measure testosterone levels to a $399 kit to check hormone levels in women trying to conceive. The company's Shark Tank appearance airs Sunday on ABC. -[Sabriya Rice]( Plus: [Meet the innovator who keeps Mark Cuban's Shark Tank investments on track]( Fountain Residential's new student apartments at UTA will open in 2019. (Fountain Residential) real estate Living options for Texas college students go upscale in 'amenities arms race' If your college dorm was more like a tenement than lux living, the latest student housing projects will be a surprise. [A growing apartment building niche is providing thousands of new rental units for college students that offer everything from fitness centers to resort-style swimming pools.]( "We call it the amenities arms race," said Brent Little, CEO of Dallas-based Fountain Residential Partners. "The projects are offering more and more. There are lazy river water features at the pools. And you can't build a fitness center that's big enough." -[Steve Brown]( Plus: [Find more on D-FW real estate]( Source: Mercer (Laurie Joseph / Staff Artist) In One Chart How health care costs have climbed for D-FW employers Nearly 2,500 U.S. companies recently took part in a survey conducted annually by the compensation and benefits consulting firm Mercer. [The survey, which included 47 public and private businesses in D-FW that offer coverage to more than 505,000 North Texans, revealed some notable trends in the region.]( Costs, not surprisingly, have been increasing both nationally and locally. Rates have been lower on average in Texas than in the rest of the nation, but that gap is narrowing. -[Sabriya Rice]( Plus: [Find more on health care and its impact in North Texas]( [2017 tech gift guide]( (Michael Hogue / Staff Artist) tech gift guide Your guide to holiday tech gift-giving: The hottest in home automation, virtual assistants and smartphones This has been a great year for gadgets. 2017 saw the explosion of talking gadgets -- virtual assistants -- from Amazon, Google, Apple and Microsoft, and the arrival of sleek new smartphones. Cord-cutting became a serious thing and skinny bundles abound. Besides getting our gadgets to talk back to us, Amazon built Alexa into devices such as speaker systems and home automation products. Controlling your home with your voice is now pretty easy to do. Smartphone makers Apple and Samsung stole the show and pushed the price point up considerably for top of the line iPhone Xs and Note 8. Google's Pixel 2 release was almost lost in the shuffle. For cord-cutters, streaming services like DirecTV Now, Sling TV, Playstation Vue, Hulu and YouTube are hot, as are boxes like the Apple TV 4K to get them playing on your TV. [This gift guide]( gives you a good starting point for the techie on your holiday list, even those who are hard to buy for (like me). -[Jim Rossman]( Plus: [Find more on technology in D-FW]( As the sun rises over Providence Christian School, dad•s and faculty gather on the athletic field to pray for the school year. (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News) Top 100 Places to Work Company Snapshot Prayer is a lifeline at Providence Christian School of Texas Headmaster Jeff Hendricks' favorite ceremony comes at the end of the academic year when each of his school's eighth-grade graduates is called to the stage for a moment of recognition. "We write a blessing for each of them that speaks to the unique gifts and character qualities that we've seen them express," Hendricks says. "There's also a charge to continue to cultivate those strengths and use them in service going forward." [That kind of communal intimacy is just one reason why Providence Christian School is a three-time winner and our No. 1 small company.]( "We have a tight-knit community, and the spiritual faith component is much of what draws people together," says Hendricks, who became headmaster this year after Tony Jeffrey retired. -[Cheryl Hall]( Plus: [Find more on the Top 100 Places to Work]( Elsewhere in Texas - Texas: U.S. oil and gas drilling activity [increases for the third straight week](, demonstrating new momentum for the energy sector. (Houston Chronicle) - Boca Chica: So far, the only takeoffs and landings at SpaceX's [planned commercial spaceport]( in remote South Texas are being made by seagulls and pelicans. (512tech.com) - Austin: Mayor Steve Adler says landing Amazon's coveted HQ2 project [could push the city]( to tackle solutions to key issues. (Austin American-Statesman) - San Antonio: A Bexar County jury [awards $43.5 million]( to a woman injured when an oilfield services worker rear-ended her vehicle as he was using a hands-free cellphone. (San Antonio Express-News) [downtown money]( (Michael Hogue / Staff Artist) Follow DFW stocks: [See how top North Texas stocks performed](, as well as the oil and gas markets and major stock exchanges. Advertisement 👋  That's all for today! For up-to-the-minute business news and analysis, check out [DallasNews.com/Business](. 💖 Share the love: If you like this newsletter, please forward this email to a friend and [check out our other newsletters here](. 📧 Do you have feedback on this newsletter? Send your thoughts, questions, praise and corrections to our Business Editor Paul O'Donnell at [podonnell@dallasnews.com](mailto:podonnell@dallasnews.com?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback). STAY CONNECTED WITH US  [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Twitter]( [LinkedIn]( [Tumblr]( [Google]( [Reddit](  [OTHER NEWSLETTERS]( [SUBSCRIPTION OPTIONS]( [Unsubscribe](  |  [Manage Preferences](  |  [Privacy Policy](  |  [Contact](  |  [Advertise]( You received this message because you signed up for this Dallas Morning News newsletter or it was forwarded to you. Copyright 2017 - [The Dallas Morning News]( | [508 Young St., Dallas, TX 75202](#)