The newest member of the Bryan city council was determined in a runoff election Tuesday.
Rafael Pena defeated Perry Stephney 211-128 to fill the vacancy in single member district two (SMD 2), covering north Bryan.
Pena succeeds Paul Madison, who was term-limited.
The 339 votes represents a five percent turnout of the 6,286 registered voters in SMD 2.
The third of three Houston area residents who admitted to participating in a College Station armed robbery in July 2017 failed to appear at his punishment hearing in Brazos County district court last Friday (January 3). A spokeswoman in the Brazos County district attorney’s office confirmed to WTAW News that an arrest warrant has been issued for 28 year old Gautham Chidambaram of Katy. He entered a guilty plea in March of 2024 to armed robbery with a deadly weapon. The DA’s spokeswoman says the failure to appear means they can seek punishment ranging from probation to life in prison. Prosecutors are no longer bound by a plea agreement setting punishment at ten years. Chidambaram has been out of jail on a $50,000 dollar bond since July 14, 2017, which is nine days after the robbery. The victim was hospitalized after he was shot in the face with pepper spray and beaten in the head and back. Last month, a second participant was sentenced to ten years in prison and a third person was given ten years probation after completing a prison based substance abuse program. A fourth person has been awaiting trial.
College Station Mayor John Nichols visits with WTAW’s Chelsea Reber about a real estate deal near Costco, selling the surface parking lot in the Northgate district, neighborhood integrity, the number of people moving to College Station, and more during his appearance on The Infomaniacs on Wednesday, January 8, 2024.
New sidewalks are coming to the street behind College Station city hall. That’s after the city council at its December meeting awarded a $292,000 dollar construction contract for sidewalks along Foster Avenue between George Bush and Gilchrist and between Francis and Walton. The only discussion before the unanimous vote, was learning the width of the sidewalk will be the same as the sidewalk directly behind city hall. Construction is supposed to take three to four months. Funding comes from the federal community development block grant program. Click HERE to read and download background information from the December 12, 2024 College Station city council meeting. Click below to hear comments from the December 12, 2024 College Station city council meeting.
Bryan Broadcasting Corporation