$50M pasta plant, 200 high-tech jobs and Mavs whistleblower: Wednesday's Business Briefing

March 21,  2018 🔎 Prefer the online view? It's [here](. Follow us on Twitter [@DMNBiz](. Father Sergio Rizo, pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church, (center of facing) blesses the new factory during the grand opening at La Moderna in Cleburne, Texas on March 20, 2018. (Nathan Hunsinger/The Dallas Morning News) the big story At opening of Texas plant by Mexico's La Moderna, NAFTA was real guest of honor CLEBURNE — What began as a ribbon-cutting for a new investment by a Mexican company in Texas evolved into a lovefest for NAFTA on Tuesday when speaker after speaker extolled the basic principles behind the embattled program. In remarks by everyone from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to Mexico’s secretary of foreign affairs, the focus was on how the decades-old pact, which is being renegotiated, has benefited the United States and especially Texas. [The official occasion was the opening of a  150,000-square-foot state of the art production, manufacturing, and distribution facility]( built by Mexico’s largest pasta manufacturer, La Moderna. Abbott said he sees the opening of the company’s first U.S. production plant as emblematic of the “multi-century relationship that has existed between Texas and Mexico” and the robust trade that has developed “to the benefit of Mexico, Texas and the United States.” -[Karen Robinson-Jacobs]( Plus: [Find more on the food industry]( SUBSCRIBE NOW [Get unlimited digital access for $2.99 per week]( The Latest - Technology: Snow delays the opening arguments in the [AT&T-Time Warner merger trial](. - Retail: Meet the emerging [D-FW designers]( who won awards for their Southern styles. - Real estate: A [Florida-based shared office firm]( opening first Dallas location near Galleria. - Energy: In a first, [a woman]( will lead BP's operations in U.S. - Retail: Plano-based [FedEx Office]( moves ahead with plans to put more stores inside Walmart locations. - Entrepreneurs: [A Frisco man]( who wanted his business back arrested in murder-for-hire plot, officials say. Advertisement (Guy Reynolds / Staff Photographer) economy & JObs Texas 'deal-closer' fund helps Fort Worth score more high-tech manufacturing jobs A London-based biotech company nabbed a $730,000 grant from the “deal-closing” Texas Enterprise Fund to expand its Fort Worth plant, Gov. Greg Abbott’s office announced Tuesday. Smith & Nephew, which supplies advanced medical equipment to more than 100 countries and employs almost 200 people in Texas, agreed to add 100 jobs to the Fort Worth facility on Vickery Boulevard. In June, the city agreed to knock off 55 percent of the company’s city property taxes for five years as long as it meets hiring and investment requirements. [The news comes amid heightened debates about the use of tax incentives to attract investment and jobs](, spurred by the economic development pageantry of Amazon’s search for a second headquarters location. While some advocates have criticized the practice as corporate welfare, executives and site selection experts say they help offset costs that might otherwise send companies elsewhere. -[Jill Cowan]( Plus: [Find more on the economy]( Elsewhere in Texas - Houston: The [Saudi crown prince]( will visit Houston on his trip to the U.S. to connect with the energy sector. (Houston Chronicle) - San Antonio: The [Port San Antonio CEO]( is stepping down under pressure from the board. (San Antonio Express-News) - Austin: With Japan's SoftBank as a lead investor, an Austin company has secured [$40 million in funding]( to launch an artificial intelligence platform. (Austin American-Statesman) - South Texas: Former Occidental Petroleum Corp. CEO [Steve Chazen]( plans to lead a new oil company. (Houston Chronicle). - Bexar County: A [Frost Bank security breach]( has affected Bexar taxpayers. (San Antonio Express-News) Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and interim CEO Cynthia Marshall make their way into the room for a press conference at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Monday, February 26, 2018. (Vernon Bryant/The Dallas Morning News) sports business Inside the Mavericks' corrosive workplace through eyes of ex-employee Melissa Weishaupt believes it's time she becomes more than an anonymous voice. A month after Weishaupt's anonymous statements to Sports Illustrated were featured prominently in a story detailing a Dallas Mavericks corporate culture prevalent with predatory sexual behavior and misogyny, she attached her name and face to her comments Tuesday. Weishaupt wrote a first-person essay published by Sports Illustrated's website Tuesday about her experiences working in marketing and game operations for the Mavericks from 2010 to 2014 and why she believes owner Mark Cuban still doesn't recognize the problem. [In an extensive interview Tuesday with The Dallas Morning News](, Weishaupt opened up about how she became a target of former Mavericks president/CEO Terdema Ussery. "There are reasons why people stay anonymous, but I want more people to come forward and I want people to feel they can say something and feel comfortable saying something. They shouldn't feel like they should have to hide. There is power in speaking out." -[Brandon George]( And: [Chicken sandwich as big as a Frisbee is just one of the new gut-busters at the Rangers ballpark this year]( Plus: [Find more on sports business]( Whitney Wolfe Herd meets with staffers at the offices of Bumble, her dating app startup, in Austin, Texas, Feb. 23, 2017. (New York Times) technology What dating app Bumble's rebuff says a about its distaste for Dallas' Match Group A full-page print advertisement in Tuesday's Dallas Morning News makes a bold statement about the on-again, off-again relationship between Austin-based dating app Bumble and its established rival, Dallas-based Match Group. "We'll never be yours," reads the ad in The News. "No matter the price tag, we'll never compromise our values." [Bumble's unusual public rebuff comes after Match Group went to court last week in Waco]( and accused the company of violating patents and stealing trade secrets from Tinder, which is Match Group's most popular dating app. "We -- a woman-founded, women-led company -- aren't scared of aggressive corporate culture," the ad read. -[Paul O'Donnell]( And: [How a dating app from an SMU grad flips the script on online searches]( Plus: [Find more technology stories]( Executive changes Who's being hired, promoted in D-FW EDGE REALTY CAPITAL MARKETS named Brandi Shotwell vice president in the Dallas office. ENCORE WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC named George Kushner executive vice president. GEX MANAGEMENT INC. named Chelsea Christopherson president and chief operating officer. HFF named Ross Sanders senior director. Plus: [See other notable promotions and hirings at North Texas companies](. 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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