East Texas Mobile Home Fire Kills 7 Year Old & Injures 5 Others

Texas A&M System Board Of Regents Decide To Continue ACT/SAT Test Scores As An Option For Applying To The Flagship Campus

High school seniors applying to universities are finding that more institutions have resumed requiring SAT and/or ACT test scores as part of their application. That is not a requirement at Texas A&M. And the board of regents earlier this month decided to continue the option of submitting results. That was based on the recommendation of A&M’s assistant admissions director. Chris Reed says 70 percent of Texas A&M applicants submit test results, which is more than 20 percent above the national average. Reed says for some applicants, they learn their test scores are high enough to avoid having to complete the Texas Success Initiative, which the legislature created to ensure all incoming college students are prepared for college-level reading, writing and math. Click HERE to read and download presentation materials from the May 6, 2024 meeting of the Texas A&M system board of regents academic affairs committee. Click below to hear comments from the May 6, 2024 board of regents academic affairs committee meeting.  

Brazos Valley Pickleball Association Submits A Petition To The City Of College Station

The College Station city council was informed during its May regular meeting that a petition was submitted to add more pickleball courts. The president of the Brazos Valley Pickleball Association, Joe Hegwood, said 233 city residents signed the petition supporting a proposal from College Station’s parks and recreation department to convert tennis courts at Bachman Park to pickleball. Because Hegwood spoke during the public comment portion of the council meeting on an item that was not on the agenda, by state law the council could not respond. The city of College Station’s capital improvements website says the status of adding pickleball, futsol, and mixed use courts at Anderson Park, approved by voters in a November 2022 bond issue, is 90 percent complete. Completion of the $1.7 million dollar project is projected for early 2025. Click below for Joe Hegwood’s comments during the May 13, 2024 College Station city council meeting.  

Bryan City Council Takes Action On Four Economic Development Items

May’s regular meeting of the Bryan city council including four items involving economic development. One was creating a reinvestment zone on the west side RELLIS campus that would allow property tax breaks. A statement from A&M system chancellor John Sharp that was read by mayor Bobby Gutierrez says the 288 acre reinvestment zone could be the biggest economic development project since the creation of Texas A&M university. Click HERE to read and download background information about the RELLIS reinvestment zone. Click HERE to read and download the map showing the location of the RELLIS reinvestment zone. Click HERE to read and download the ordinance that was approved at the May 14, 2024 Bryan city council meeting. The council also approved designating the new CertainTeed roofing plant and distribution center as a Texas Enterprise Zone project. That makes CertainTeed eligible to receive tax refunds on qualified expenditures. Click HERE to read and download background information about the CertainTeed enterprise zone. Click HERE to read and download the ordinance that was approved at the May 14, 2024 Bryan city council meeting. A third item also benefitting the CertainTeed facility is finalizing a contract to extend a waterline along Mumford Road. Public works director Jayson Barfknecht said the extension will eventually create a loop serving customers in the Texas Triangle Park that includes Axis Pipe and Tube and Kristen Distributing. The council approved managing the $1.7 million dollar project that will be paid by the city-county economic development foundation (EDF). Click HERE to read and download background information about the waterline extension. Click HERE to read and download the interlocal agreement that was approved at the May 14, 2024 Bryan city council meeting. And the council also agreed to manage the construction of a $140,000 dollar sewer line extension in Texas Triangle Park, which is owned by the EDF, to property that has been sold to a yet to be identified company. Click HERE to read and download background information about the sewer line extension. Click HERE to read and download the interlocal agreement that was approved at the May 14, 2024 Bryan city council meeting. Listen to “May's regular meeting of the Bryan city council including four items involving economic development” on Spreaker.