A NEW MULTIPLEX: When yours truly was in high school, my friends and I would make the drive from Plano down to the AMC Grand to see the big special-effect popcorn movies that came out during the summer. At the time, the Grand was the only local theater with stadium seating, giant screens, etc. – essentially the stuff that every theater has today. So it came as a surprise when the Grand closed last year. But it didn’t take long for another chain to take advantage of the space, and now the new AmStar Cinemas 14 is set to open on Friday. Read more about the new space over at dallasnews.com.

THE BUSINESS OF CULTURE: Kansas City is banking that its new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts will lead to further commercial development in the city. Where would they get such an idea, you ask? “Like the Kauffman Center, the AT&T Performing Arts Center, which opened in Dallas in 2009, was mostly privately funded,” notes a story on theatlantic.com. “A 2006 study of the AT&T Center’s impact [from the Center for Economic Development and Research at the University of North Texas] predicted tens of millions of dollars annually in additional economic activity and millions more in tax revenues.”

SPLITSVILLE: One of Fort Worth’s philanthropic power couples is calling it quits. Sid and Mercedes Bass are divorcing after 23 years of marriage. Ms. Bass is chairwoman of the board of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and is also on the boards of Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Opera in New York.