State Representative Kyle Kacal of College Station visits with WTAW’s Scott DeLucia about property taxes, the proposed budget, and more during his appearance on The Infomaniacs on Friday, March 31, 2023.
Listen to “State Representative Kyle Kacal on The Infomaniacs” on Spreaker.
A Brazos County deputy constable is one of four Brazos Valley recipients of awards from the Texas accreditation body for law enforcement. Among 63 recipients at the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (T-COLE) achievement awards ceremony was precinct two deputy constable Tony Piccolo Jr. He received a public service award. And recipients of T-COLE valor awards included three members of the Rockdale police department…sergeant Johnathan Richardson and officers Lindsey Jacobs and Shelby Rodriguez. A news release from Brazos County says Piccolo was nominated for his work on the Back to School Bash and giving back to students and families in our community. The Brazos County news release also promoted the third annual Back to School Bash, which is July 10 from 3:30 until 6:30 p.m. at the Bryan High School silver campus cafeteria. There is no charge and no registration is required to pick up free backpacks, gift cards, clothes, and school supplies.
The Brazos County district attorney’s office announces a Bryan man will be in prison for at least 20 years before he becomes eligible for parole. That’s after 38 year old Jason Wayne Davis admitted to aggravated sexual abuse of a child and possessing child pornography. The DA’s news release says a plea agreement that includes a 40 year sentence was reached after speaking with the victim’s family to protect the victim from the trauma of a trial. News release from the Brazos County district attorney’s office: A Bryan man was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, after pleading guilty to Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child. As part of a plea agreement, 38-year-old Jason Davis also pled guilty to five counts of Possession of Child Pornography. He received 35 years in prison for each of those counts. The investigation began in July 2025. The Brazos County Sheriff’s Office received a tip from the Texas Attorney General’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children Division. The tip showed that child pornography was being shared from Davis’s address. Investigators obtained a search warrant for the home. Inside, they found numerous illegal images and videos, including photos that were taken of a child inside the house. Deputies identified the victim in the photos. Forensic interviewers spoke with her and the other children living in the home at Scotty’s House Child Advocacy Center. During an interview with law enforcement, Davis confessed to the abuse. He admitted to sexually assaulting the child on multiple occasions and taking photos of the acts. Davis told officers the abuse happened over several months, sometimes while the victim was asleep. Because Davis was convicted of aggravated offenses, Texas law requires him to serve at least half of his 40 year sentence before he can apply for parole. Prosecutors reached this plea deal after speaking closely with the victim’s family to protect the child from the trauma of a trial. Statement from assistant Brazos County district attorney Kara Comte: “Any case of child abuse is a tragedy. What makes inter-net crimes even worse is that these images remain online forever, extending the harm long after the physical abuse stops. This 40-year sentence brings justice to the defendant and allows this brave survivor to focus entirely on their healing.”
The Bryan city council approves a tax abatement agreement with the new owner of a data center building on the RELLIS campus. The unanimous vote among four members at a special meeting Friday (June 26) followed no public discussion and after hearing from two opponents. Those attending Friday’s meeting were mayor Bobby Gutierrez and councilmen Paul Torres, Ray Arrington, and James Edge. Click HERE to read and download the tax abatement agreement that was approved at the June 26, 2026 Bryan city council meeting. The 27 page agreement says the approximate value of the project is $298 million dollars, which will be reached “over a multi-year period”. The new agreement also calls for eventually hiring a minimum of five full time employees with an annual payroll reaching $518,000 dollars. In April of 2025, information provided to the city indicated the value of the project would eventually reach $700 million with a minimum of 100 employees generating an annual payroll of $7.35 million dollars. The first year of the new tax abatement begins January 1, 2029. The ten year agreement calls for the owner to make an annual payment in lieu of taxes to the city based on the center’s annual appraised value. The minimum payment to the city for the first year of the agreement is $371,904 dollars; increasing to a minimum $1,859,520 for the fifth through 10th years. The total over the ten years of the agreement is a minimum of $14,876,155 dollars. The new owner is required, as was the original owner, to make an annual payment to the city to go towards what is described as “quality of life” service. The amount, equal to five percent of the city’s maintenance and operations tax rate, can be spent by the city “for economic development programs and infrastructure or programs for parks, recreation and exercise; libraries; aesthetic enhancements to public spaces; career and technology training; senior citizen services; youth services; and healthy lifestyles.” City councilman James Edge said during an April 8th visit on WTAW’s The Infomaniacs that this is a replacement agreement following financial issues with the original owner. Edge said at the time that construction of the building was nearing completion after two years. Edge described the center “is not what I would call one of the massive (centers). It’s really not large enough for them to generate their own power”, adding “they (the center) can certainly purchase power from BTU, which we’re really excited about there as well.” As for the amount of electricity the data center will use, WTAW News asked BTU to compare the projected consumption of the data center with other BTU industrial and commercial customers. The response from a BTU spokesman was “Unfortunately, we cannot disclose any usage projections as it would violate our requirement to maintain customer privacy and confidentiality. The RELLIS campus as a whole is a vital asset to our community, and we are prepared to meet the demand for additional power as they grow the size and scope of their mission.” Click HERE to read and download background information about the replacement tax abatement agreement from the agenda of the June 26, 2026 Bryan city council meeting. Click HERE to read and download the public notice of the replacement tax abatement agreement from the agenda of the June 26, 2026 Bryan city council meeting.
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