FANTASTIC FOURSOME
COMING UP SHORT
Kudzu Karnival is gaining popularity in local music scene
Despite major points, Bobcat track and field finishes indoor season dissapointed
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TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY SAN MARCOS
www.UniversityStar.com
WEDNESDAY
FEBRUARY 22, 2006
County approves tax abatement for CFAN expansion By Kathy Martinez The University Star
The
when he initially made his proposal to the city. Judge Jim Powers said the court’s decisions usually mirror city decisions. However, he and the other commissioners were unaware of the additional proposed tax abatement for three years at 50 percent. Commissioner Debbie Gonzales Ingalsbe, 1st Precinct, supported the seven-year tax abatement, which she said can only benefit San Marcos. “I feel very excited about the expansion,” Ingalsbe told the court. “This will bring job opportunities to the community and provide a salary outside the minimum wage bracket.” CFAN employees will start out at $10 an hour, including benefits and on-the-job training. Baeumel added that 90 percent of CFAN’s employees have never worked in manufacturing, and the company can provide employment opportunity to everyone. Baeumel said expansion plans for CFAN are already in process and will proceed without the extra three-year tax abatement. “It’s going to cost me some money for those last several years, but we are in too far now and turning back is not an option for us at this point,” Baeumel said. Baeumel said he anticipates breaking ground sometime in early March. During the meeting, the court also approved hiring Byrn & Associates to perform survey work on McCarty Lane.
Bobcat genome project A.D. Brown/Star Photo
The Hays County Commissioners Court approved a tax abatement between Hays County and CFAN Company on Tuesday for a manufacturing facility expansion in San Marcos, which owners promise will bring in hundreds of new jobs. CFAN Company will receive a sevenyear abatement at 100 percent for the expansion. CFAN, a manufacturer of composite fan blades for commercial airlines, was created in 1991 by two aerospace companies, GE Aircraft Engines and SNECMA. CFAN, which is located off of Interstate 35 in San Marcos, manufactures the wide chord composite fan blade for the GE90 engine, which powers the Boeing 777 airliner. CFAN President Bob Baeumel spoke before the court to request the approval of a tax abatement for the facility expansion, which currently stands at 160,000 square feet. Baeumel said the larger facility will bring in 500 jobs to the San Marcos area. Discussion regarding the amount of tax abatement for the expansion concerned some of the commissioners, who were unaware that city officials approved a seven-year, 100 percent tax abatement, plus three years at 50 percent tax abatement for the expansion. Commissioner Will Conley, 3rd Precinct, and Commissioner Russ Molenaar, 4th Precinct, expressed reservation in regard to the city approval numbers; supporting, instead, only the sevenyear abatement at 100 percent. “It was assumed by CFAN that the county would approve this abatement because the city did, but I’ve never seen these numbers before,” Molenaar said. Baeumel responded that he understood the county knew of the amount of the abatement
VOLUME 95, ISSUE 55
IN SEQUENCE: Aquatic resources doctoral graduate student Lauren Lucas prepares a DNA sample from San Marcos salamanders before utilizing the biology department’s new Beckman Coulter CEQ 8800 DNA sequencer.
Texas State departments gain advantage in DNA research By Ashley Richards The University Star Professors and students at Texas State now have an edge over the competition thanks to the addition of two of the most advanced deoxyribonucleic acid automated capillary sequencers available, doubling the productivity level of genomics work. Since the end of the Spring 2005 semester, the biology department has been using its Beckman Coulter CEQ 8800 sequencer and recently phased the machine in as the only DNA sequencer being used. The biology department acquired its sequencer as part of a grant from
For more information on the San Marcos Commissioners Court or to watch the video recorded meeting, visit www. co.hays.tx.us/commissioners/commissioners.php.
Beckman Coulter to Mike Forstner and Dittmar Hahn, associate biology professors, and Chris Nice, assistant biology professor. The department had to complete partially started projects on older sequencers before discontinuing the use of the obsolete machines. The university also contributed to the purchase of the new sequencers. Forstner said the joint decision to purchase the sequencer was made by the biology department, the College of Science and the Office of Sponsored Projects, all of which he said agreed to commit to investing in the high-tech genomics hardware. “Effectively, the university stepped
Local primary candidates slated to debate By David Rauf The University Star Candidates for local races in the upcoming primary election will debate at the San Marcos Area League of Women Voters Candidate Forum today at the San Marcos Activity Center. Approximately 20 candidates from different races and political parties will participate in the event. Residents will have the opportunity to learn firsthand about the candidates and their stances on key issues. Once the voting public listens to the different candidates, they can go to the polls and make a more informed decision on who to vote for, said San Marcos League of Women Voters President Dorothy Evans. “You get a feel for the candidates. You get to see them, you get to hear them talk, and you get to see how they respond to the question,” Evans said. “What we want to do is educate the citizens of San Marcos about issues that will affect the way we live.” Only candidates who appear on the ballot and have opposition in the upcoming primary election will participate in the question-and-answer sessions of the debate. Unopposed candidates will be recognized and will pass out literature but will not be allowed to speak in the debate. The debate itself follows tra-
ditional guidelines. Candidates running for the same office will be presented in tandem and have one minute for opening remarks. The moderator will direct a question, prepared by the league’s voter service committee, to the candidates in rotating order. Each candidate will have one minute to answer the question. “Our job is to present the reasons for a certain issue and the
25,298
Number of registered voters in San Marcos
75˚/53˚
18.45%
Percent of registered voters who participated in Nov. 8 election
1,835
Number of early votes cast
962
Number of early votes cast at LBJSC
Temporary Voting Branch LBJ STUDENT CENTER TUESDAY, FEB. 28: 8 A.M. TO 5 P.M. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1: 8 A.M. TO 5 P.M.
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reasons against a certain issue so that it’s a balanced presentation,” Evans said. To help inform the voting public, candidates will set up booths and distribute campaign literature. The league, a nonpartisan political organization, will also make a voters guide available at the debate. Kim Porterfield, editor of the league’s local newsletter and vice president of organizational af-
Precipitation: 20% Humidity: 71% UV: 4 Moderate Wind: SSE 9 mph
Thursday Showers Temp: 65°/ 49° Precipitation: 40%
Friday T-Showers Temp: 64°/ 50° Precipitation: 50%
By Jason Buch The University Star Peter Koechley, managing editor of The Onion, was supposed to write the headline for this article. Unfortunately, Koechley, whose Onion is a humor newspaper printed in eight metropolitan areas in the United States and a popular Internet destination, fell through, and the headline the story did get is probably not as funny as it could have been. Koechley said he would try to write a headline before joining online humor columnist Andy Borowitz, co-creator of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and professor of political science at Brown University Darrel West for a panel discussion about infotainment at the Politics and Media in the New Millennium Conference in Dallas on Saturday. He said he was too busy thinking of funny things to say in his panel discussion to write the headline. The New Politics Forum presented the conference, held in the Belo Mansion in down-
Inside
TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY SAN MARCOS
See GENOME, page 3
New Politics Forum hosts politics and media conference in Dallas
fairs and publicity, said the voters guide contains three questions for each candidate. The league has a voter service committee, Porterfield said, that studies the issues and comes up with these questions. Those questions are sent to all the candidates, who return the responses to the league. The answers are then compiled and published, she said. “The first question always asks the candidates to list their experience, education and training that qualify them for the position,” Porterfield said. “The next two questions vary by the race.” The voters guide will be made available at the debate, the San Marcos Public Library and as a San Marcos Daily Record insert. The candidate forum begins at 7 p.m. at the San Marcos Activity Center, located at 501 E. Hopkins St. Admission is free. “The main purpose is to make sure the voting public is educated,” Porterfield said “The league is expecting many San Marcos residents who want to learn more about the candidates.” County and state primary elections are on March 7. Early voting has begun and will continue through March 3. Locations, dates and hours of early voting polling places, including the LBJ Student Center, can be found at www.elections.co.hays. tx.us.
Two-day Forecast
up,” Forstner said. “At the highest levels of the administration they are looking ahead, they are committing to a future that is better.” The biology department uses the new technology in both graduate and undergraduate courses as well as in faculty research. The second DNA sequencer was purchased at a later date for the College of Health Profession’s clinical laboratory science program as part of a grant to Rodney Rohde, CLS assistant professor. It is the first sequencer available to the CLS program. Rohde also praised the university
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think what “I was really exciting was we had over 100 students from 32 universities across Texas in one room.”
— Emily Balanoff NPF project manager
town Dallas. NPF invited students from all colleges and universities in Texas to attend the event. “I think it was a real success,” said Emily Balanoff, NPF project manager. “I think what was really exciting was we had over 100 students from 32 universities across Texas in one room, not only getting a chance to talk with experts from around the country, but getting a chance to meet each other.” Ashley Harris, political science senior, said this is the first See FORUM, page 3
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