Southwest suit, Pickens' retreat, West Dallas plans: Friday's Business Briefing

Your lunchtime look at D-FW business [Your lunchtime look at D-FW business] January 12,  2018 🔎 Prefer the online view? It's [here](. Follow us on Twitter [@DMNBiz](. Editor's note: We will not publish a newsletter on Monday in observance of the Martin Luther King holiday. Businessman T. Boone Pickens poses for a photo before a series of man-made lakes leading from The Lake House to The Lodge on his Mesa Vista Ranch in the panhandle of Texas, Tuesday, May 30, 2017. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News) energy T. Boone Pickens walking away from legendary energy trading hedge fund Legendary oilman T. Boone Pickens is hanging up the hedge-fund spurs he's worn for the past two decades as his health declines. [The 89-year-old founder of Dallas-based BP Capital Management says he's not heading into the sunset -- not quite yet -- but that it's high time to get his affairs in order](. "It's no secret the past year has not been good to me, from a health perspective or a financial one," Pickens says. "Health-wise, I'm still recovering from a series of strokes I suffered late last year, and a major fall over the summer. If you are lucky enough to make it to 89 years of age like I have, those things tend to put life in perspective. It's time to start making new plans and setting new priorities." That means transitioning his energy-focused hedge funds to a family office structure. -[Cheryl Hall]( And: [T. Boone Pickens: I'm walking off the job again and here's why]( Plus: [T. Boone Pickens puts 'for sale' sign on 65,000-acre Texas ranch](  SPECIAL OFFER [special offer unlimited digital access]( The Latest - M&A: Dallas tax consultant [Ryan]( buys two more Texas firms - Retail: Nintendo Switch and new Xbox gave [GameStop](a strong holiday, but its AT&T stores weakened. - Real estate: Why [D-FW homebuilders]( think their profit margins could be squeezed in 2018. - Money: Dallas-based [MoneyGram](tests digital currency money-transfer with startup Ripple. - Health care: [Dallas County](sues big drug companies over opioid epidemic Advertisement (Jae S. Lee / Staff Photographer) airlines Southwest Airlines sues deal website over use of 'proprietary' fare data The legal battle between Southwest Airlines and Roundpipe LLC shows the lengths to which Southwest will go to protect its popular brand and control how its fare information is displayed. It also strikes at a deeper debate over whether fare and schedule data should be considered public information, an issue that has pitted travel booking websites in favor of more accessibility against airlines seeking to protect and control how and where fare information is displayed and monetized. [Southwest is particularly concerned about use of the scraping tool to automatically collect what it describes in its lawsuit as “proprietary fare data](,” alleging that the method creates “substantial” traffic to its website with no intention of booking tickets. -[Conor Shine]( And: [Push to privatize air traffic control may be permanently grounded]( Plus: [Find more on Southwest and American and D-FW air travelÂ]( Elsewhere in Texas - Retail: Videos show bats flying inside [Texas Walmart](. (Austin American-Statesman) - Energy: How [Houston's Apache Corp.]( joined with environmentalists to kill wastewater wells. (Houston Chronicle) - Health care: [InGenesis](acquires Kelly Services’ health care business (San Antonio Express-News) - Real estate: [LBJ’s former ranch]( hits market for $2.8 million (Austin American-Statesman) - Energy: San Antonio’s [CPS Energy]( to ask for another $15 million in solar rebates (San Antonio Express-News) (Oaxaca Interests) real estate New home project coming to booming West Dallas neighborhood The developer of West Dallas' popular Sylvan|Thirty mixed-use project is bringing more housing to the neighborhood. [Oaxaca Interests has started construction on a townhouse community west of downtown Dallas.Â](The 16-unit project is two blocks from Sylvan|Thirty at 707 W. Commerce St. The 3-story modern homes were designed by architect Far + Dang with metal and wood exteriors. "Historically, West Dallas has been an underserved area in both retail and residential," Brent Jackson, president of Oaxaca Interests, said in a statement. "With several land holdings, Oaxaca Interests is in a solid position to keep filling these community needs and drive momentum forward." -[Steve Brown]( Plus: [Find more on D-FW real estate]( (Irwin Thompson / Staff Photographer) Featured Columnist: mitchell schnurman Who’s afraid of politics? Dallas firms want to set Texas on a better path The North Texas Advocacy Coalition believes that a larger, more informed electorate — led by local employees — will lead to less-extreme, more business-friendly candidates. Big companies have long pushed their agenda in Washington. What’s different about this effort is the focus on local and state races, and on the primary. Boosting turnout will be a heavy lift because the election is less than eight weeks away. More important, most companies are reluctant to draw employees into a mix of business and politics. They worry about alienating workers and customers. [But there are good reasons to step into the fray](, from boosting civic engagement to magnifying their influence on public policy. Plus: [Find more columns from Mitchell]( Onboarding Who is getting hired and promoted - SETTLEPOU promoted Lauren Beverly and Braden Wayne to partners in the Dallas office. - STRASBURGER & PRICE named Kim Moore partner in charge in the Collin County office. - TIB-THE INDEPENDENT BANKERS BANK promoted Chuck Hudspeth to senior vice president and senior relationship officer and Travis Stephens to senior vice president and senior correspondent officer. - T-MOBILE USA INC. promoted Chris Luna to vice president, legal affairs for the MetroPCS brand. - TOPGOLF named Erik Anderson executive chairman and Dolf Berle CEO of Topgolf Entertainment Group and Topgolf USA. Berle also joined the board. Plus: [Find more executive changes]( Follow DFW stocks: [See how top North Texas stocks performed](, as well as the oil and gas markets and major stock exchanges. DFW Top 100 Places to Work 2017: The Dallas Morning News and Workplace Dynamics partner each year to feature the [Top 100 workplaces](, based on ratings by the people who work at them. 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). 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