VOLUME 102, ISSUE 4
www.UniversityStar.com
Defending the First Amendment since 1911
THURSDAY GO NE ONLI NOW
AUGUST 30, 2012
McGraw-Hill Student Ambassador Justin Garelick is the new McGraw-Hill Student Ambassador at Texas State. Check out more about Garelick and the Student Ambassador Program at UniversityStar.com.
Former mayor campaigns in San Marcos
A NEW LIGHT
Photo courtesy of Susan Narvaiz
By Taylor Tompkins Assistant News Editor A former San Marcos mayor will bring her campaign for U.S. Congress to the place she calls home at the end of the week. Susan Narvaiz, mayor from 2004 to 2010, is running for Congress in District 35. Narvaiz defeated Rob Roark and John Yoggerst in the May 29 Republican primary. Narvaiz will be at the Hays County Veterans Memorial on Hopkins St. at 7 p.m. on Friday and First Impressions Bakery off Wonder World Dr. at 8 a.m. on Saturday. These stops are part of a campaign trail through the up-for-grabs District 35 that runs down the IH-35 corridor. Narvaiz was mayor of San Marcos for three terms before current mayor Daniel Guerrero took over the position in 2010. She owns Core Strategies, Inc. and is CEO of San Marcos-based Sedona Staffing. Narvaiz is former chair of Capital Area Council of Governments and former committee member of the National League of Cities. Narvaiz is running against U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, District 25 incumbent. Due to redistricting, Doggett and Narvaiz are now running in a newly drawn District 35 that includes parts of Travis, Hays, Caldwell, Comal and Bexar counties. Although District 35’s lines were voted as one of the 10 most contorted congressional districts by nationaljournal.com, Narvaiz said she agrees with the results. Even though the geographic location of the district requires numerous hours of driving while campaigning, Narvaiz said many similarities unify the region. Although she has no prior federal government experience, Narvaiz said she feels her background in local businesses and government will help her on the national stage. “I think government is supposed to be close to the people,” Narvaiz said. “When you’re right here in the midst of the electorate, you can’t run from the decisions you make. It gives you an opportunity to provide explanation for your decisions and put it in terms that we can all understand.” James Barnes, her campaign manager, said the trail has great energy, and excitement is growing for Narvaiz’s message. Narvaiz said the defense budget is a priority, and states’ needs differ from those of the country. For example, the local school board, not government agencies, should be in charge of local education and its funding, she said. “I think there should be less of the federal government in our lives everyday,” Narvaiz said. “When you start to allow others to make decisions for you, you limit your freedom.” Texas State is not immune to Narvaiz’s campaign efforts. Jordan Taylor, political science student and intern for Narvaiz’s campaign, said she visited the College Republicans’ first meeting, and will be tailgating at Texas State’s opening football game against Texas Tech. “I think (candidates) should matter to students,” Taylor said. “They are being represented by people in Congress. When it comes to issues about them, they should care.”
John Casares, Staff Photographer
Sylvia Sanders lights up a cigar at the Hill Country Humidor located on The Square. Sanders is the current shop keeper and is one of many people who helped the store remain in business after the death of Rob Robinson, the original proprietor, last spring.
Hill Country Humidor re-opens after death of founder, owner READ THE FULL STORY, PAGE 3
Bridge construction may affect river recreation
Sara Beth Worcester, Staff Photographer
The bridge on Cape Road at John J. Stokes City Park will be under construction from Sept. 10 through the end of December. By Kolten Parker News Reporter Local business owners and officials are ironing out a plan to ensure thousands of tubers and kayakers will be able to continue using the river during a four-month construction project. The Texas Department of Transportation is overseeing an $800,000 replacement of the bridge on Cape Road in John J. Stokes City Park near Thompson’s Island. Construction will begin Sep. 10 and continue through the end of December, officials said. John Johnson, associate director for campus recreation, said TxDOT and the contractor, Dan Williams Company in Austin, originally planned to shut down the river from IH-35 to the construction
site, which would force recreational river users to get out of the water and walk about a half-mile around the site. Johnson said he will meet with the City of San Marcos, the project’s contractor, TxDOT officials and a local business owner Sep. 5. They will map out a route around the soon-to-be construction site so tubers will not have to exit the water. “This part of the San Marcos River has become one of the most heavily paddled streams in the state,” said Dwayne TeGrotenhuis, owner of T & G Canoes. “If they did close down the river at IH-35, it would completely shut us down.” TeGrotenhuis said he is confident the parties will work together to figure out a plan that is mutually beneficial for river users and the construction company. He said if the contractor decides to cut
off river traffic at Cape’s Dam instead of IH-35, kayakers and tubers will be able to take the left-hand channel around the main channel where the bridge is located. Charles Chance, engineering specialist from TxDOT, said Cape Road will be closed from River Road to Flores Street for motorists, and the city will use IH-35 frontage road as a detour. He said San Marcos officials will ultimately be in charge of controlling traffic on the river. Trey Hatt, San Marcos spokesman, said once the river closure plans are finalized, the San Marcos Police Department will be responsible for enforcement. Chance said TxDOT intends to begin the project in September once the majority of tubing season has passed. Johnson said kayaking season picks up in the fall, near the end of tubing season. “We sort of get the river back after the summer,” Johnson said. Johnson said campus recreation offers rafting trips to students that utilize the part of the river that could potentially be shut down. He said the majority of universities in the state will have student groups traveling to San Marcos to use the river this fall. Johnson said he is worried a person or group traveling from around the state will not know of the closure until they see the signage on the river. “River-runners who come down from West or North Texas that aren’t aware of the closures until they are in the river are not going to be too happy,” Johnson said.
Residents model future growth plan for San Marcos By Megan Carthel News Reporter The city is encouraging residents to “build” their dream San Marcos. San Marcos residents showed city planners how they would like to see the community grow in the coming decades, during two sessions at the Dunbar Community Center Wednesday. “The intent is to develop the City of San Marcos as the community sees fit,” said Matthew Lewis, director of Development Services. “We wanted to go back and allow the community to redefine their vision, update the Comprehensive Master Plan and integrate Texas State into it.” The idea was launched as a part of the
redevelopment of San Marcos. By 2035, an estimated 33,000 more people will be residents of San Marcos. The city has seen a population increase of 1,000 people per year since 2000. Lewis said San Marcos’ steady growth is attributed to its location between San Antonio and Austin, which creates a heavy job flow in the area. He said Texas State’s rapid growth is also a factor. During the sessions, groups of residents were given a table-sized map and Legos to plan out their ideal version of San Marcos. Each Lego represented 300 people in either multi-family housing units, single-family housing units and potential retail opportunities. Each group devised areas for green spaces and a citywide transit system.
Lewis said each plan the residents made was very diverse, from more dense plans to scenarios that had specific corridors and pods of development areas around town. Lewis said the city is looking to add alternative modes of transportation in the future. San Marcos is currently automobile-oriented, but the city has the opportunity to become more diverse in its transportation methods, he said. Austin Roark, San Marcos High School sophomore, said he wishes San Marcos would become more like Austin when it comes to transportation, with more areas for biking and walking. Melissa Derrick, City Council Place 5 candidate, said one of the major problems
she sees in San Marcos is the traffic on Sessom Drive, which could worsen with the development. Jenny McGinty, San Marcos High School junior, said she and others affiliated with the city’s Youth Master Plan focused on green spaces first because they are a main concern for the adolescents and residents of San Marcos. City officials will look through the maps made by residents and apply fiscal impact models to demonstrate how much each scenario would cost and affect taxes, transportation and other various components. Officials will then look at trends and the fiscal impacts to eventually narrow it down to one master plan and present it to the public.