Non-Profits

Fort Worth Business Press
August 17, 2009

Boxing at the Ballroom goes the distance for charities

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Fort Worth and Arlington have climbed into the ring once again, this time to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Boxing at the Ballroom Gala and Auction. The event will be Aug. 28 in the Grand Ballroom of the Renaissance Worthington Hotel in downtown Fort Worth.

All proceeds benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tarrant County.

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CISD to get $1.3M in federal stimulus funding

By Christina Rowland / Star Community Newspaper
June 25, 2009

Carroll ISD will benefit from a bill signed earlier this year by President Barack Obama.

Funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will provide the CISD with $1,332,457 in Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA-B) funding, in addition to the funds they normally receive. The district will also receive $34,432 to be used for preschool students with disabilities.

Dr. Cathy Friar, executive director for special programs and state assessments with the CISD, notes her excitement with the additional funds, because the normal IDEA funds only cover about 17 percent of the cost needed to educate a child with a disability.

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Commissioners OK repairs to Tarrant County Courthouse

By Anthony Spangler / Star-Telegram.com
June 23, 2009

FORT WORTH — A cast-iron plate recently fell off the face of the historic Tarrant County Courthouse as officials were inspecting the tower sections of the 1895 pink granite structure.

The hefty plate did not cause any other damage or injuries, but it did signal that the aging courthouse is in dire need of extensive repairs.

“We were already up there looking it over to see what work needed to be done,” said David Phillips, Tarrant County facilities director. “We were in the process of bidding a project to replace some bolts. We stopped that bid because it looks like a whole lot more work is necessary.”

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New business still coming to Southlake

By Christina Rowland / Star Community Newspaper
June 21, 2009

Despite the current economic recession around the country, new businesses are still coming to Southlake.

The city council approved two variances for signs during Tuesday night’s meeting and a specific use permit for a new business.

The first sign variance that was approved on the consent agenda was a conditional sign permit for Bank of America, located on 112 State Street inside Town Square. The second-story tenant requested 15-inch letters on their business signage. While the current regulation is 10 inches there have been previous signs approved in Town Square with 20 inches letters. The Bank of America variance request was approved.

The second sign variance that was requested is for a new GameStop, to be located at 1251 East Southlake Blvd. inside the Shops of Southlake at suite 351. GameStop will be closing their other Southlake location in order to open this larger store.

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Westlake Academy students win indie book award

By Christina Rowland/ Star Community Newspaper
June 4, 2009

Westlake Academy students recently learned they have won a 2009 Next Generation Indie Book award in the category of “education/academic”. The award is an equivalent to winning an award at the Sundance film festival.

The 29 student-authors beat out adult authors competing in the same category. Their book, The Best of the Black Cow: Great Writing by Great Kids, is a compilation of stories that have been published in their student newspaper over the past three years.

Their student newspaper is printed monthly and is open to all students at the school. The newspaper is not a school class, as it is in most schools, but rather a volunteer opportunity that the students have a choice to make. Westlake Academy parent and published writer David Lieber is the club sponsor for the event.

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April existing home sales rise by 2.9 percent

By ALAN ZIBEL AP Real Estate WriterWASHINGTON — Sales of previously occupied homes rose modestly from March to April as buyers who were brave enough to dive into the market took advantage of prices that were 15.4 percent below year-ago levels.

The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that home sales rose 2.9 percent to an annual rate of 4.68 million last month, from a downwardly revised pace of 4.55 million in March.

The results slightly beat economists’ forecasts. Sales had been expected to rise to an annual pace of 4.66 million units, according to Thomson Reuters.

The median sales price plunged to $170,200, down from $201,300 in the same month last year. That was the second-largest price drop on record after January, when prices fell 17.5 percent.

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Expensive homes in Keller staying on market longer, analysts say

By SARAH JUNEK

With tighter mortgage lending, pricier homes in Keller have lingered on the market, contributing to tumbles in first quarter 2009, analysts say.

Thirty-five percent fewer pre-owned homes sold through March than in the same period in 2008, according to North Texas Real Estate Information Systems. That’s compared to a roughly 25 percent drop across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, said James Gaines, a Texas A&M Real Estate Center economist.

Average price also fell 4 percent, but median price rose 5 percent – a sign Keller’s more expensive homes are taking longer to sell, Gaines said. That difference wasn’t as wide across the area, where average and median prices fell 7 percent and 5 percent, respectively, according to Gaines and the National Association of Realtors.

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Real estate: Sinclair Building won’t lose parking

By Sandra Baker

May. 24, 2009

The owners of the Sinclair Building in downtown Fort Worth were not left without parking for their tenants when they recently sold the building’s parking lot at Third and Commerce streets to billionaire Ed Bass’ Fine Line Diversified Realty.

As part of the deal, Fine Line conveyed to Sinclair Building Partners the 20,000-square-foot surface parking lot it owned on Jones Street, between Fifth and Sixth streets, two blocks east of the Bass Performance Hall, according to deed records. The Sinclair Building is at Fifth and Main streets.

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Deadline for property appraisal protests nears

By SCOTT PRICE Wednesday, May. 20, 2009

The deadline for most property owners in Tarrant County to protest their appraisals with the Tarrant Appraisal District is June 1, 2009.

Fort Worth-based attorney Ryan E. Ray said many people do not take advantage of their opportunity to have the tax value of their home or other property reduced. He said this can save people a lot of money.

Ray said last year he assisted a Colleyville homeowner whose tax value was reduced from about $1 million to $750,000. He said that reduced the annual property tax bill by about $6,000.

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Cowtown City Hall Considers Going Postal

The Fort Worth City Council has approved money for a study on moving City Hall into the city’s historic downtown Post Office building.

The city is considering renovating the state landmark into a new City Hall.

“And we should do that, because its a centrally located facility, it’s at the heart of the Lancaster corridor development (and) it has great access to current and future mass transit,” said Randall Harwood, director of the city programs office.

The City Council approved $200,000 for a study to determine if the project would be economically feasible.

The question is: Do the numbers work?

The city would be on a 20 to 30-year lease purchase agreement at up to $6.4 million a year.

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