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TUESDAY JAUNARY 28, 2020 VOLUME 109 ISSUE 18
DEFENDING THE FIRST AMENDMENT SINCE 1911
www.UniversityStar.com
CITY COUNCIL
City official tweet leads to ethics trial
PAPER BEAR
SAN MARCOS BUSINESS TO CLOSE AFTER 41 YEARS
By Daniel Weeks Assistant News Editor A tweet from San Marcos Councilwoman Jocabed "Joca" Marquez prompted a formal ethics complaint, currently being investigated by the Ethics Review Commission. Nov. 6, 2019, Marquez published a tweet on her personal account criticizing affordable housing developers. “All the developers seeking to make big profits in SM from ‘affordable housing’ all have the same look: White, male, tall, wear blue blazers, money hungry, and emotionless… AND It feels damn good to vote against their proposed developments," Marquez said. Real estate manager and San Marcos resident Phil Hutchinson noticed this post and proceeded to attend the following City Council meeting Nov. 19, 2019, giving a brief speech during the public comment period. He referenced the tweet during his speech, accusing the post of containing bias and stating Councilwoman Marquez can not make objective decisions. SEE CITY COUNCIL PAGE 3
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Texas State University student Sarah Saldana looks at a board game section, Thursday, January 23, 2020, at Paper Bear. PHOTO BY HANNAH THOMPSON
By Brianna Benitez Assistant Life & Arts Editor
(Top) Texas State senior guard Nijal Pearson attempts a game-winning three-pointer vs. UTA with 2.2 seconds left on the clock, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020, at Strahan Coliseum. (Bottom) Nijal Pearson reacts after missing a potential game-winning three-pointer vs. UTA, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020, at Strahan Coliseum. PHOTOS BY JADEN EDISON
Texas State loses at the buzzer to in-state rival UTA By Dedrick Johnson Sports Reporter In front of a packed crowd Saturday evening, the Bobcats snapped their fourgame win streak against in-state rival the University of Texas at Arlington with a 64-62 loss at the buzzer in Strahan Arena. The team moved to 12-9 on the season and 5-5 in the Sun Belt. Texas State was able to make a couple of key runs, including an impressive 11-2 run to start the game off. UTA’s aggressive style of play led them back in the game several times after being down throughout the course of the game. UTA threw a 1-1-3 zone look at Texas State for most of the game, forcing the Bobcat offense to go cold in the second half. With about five minutes left to go in the SEE MEN'S BASKETBALL PAGE 7
A distinct aroma of incense fills the air as a fantasy world of hidden gems and must-haves scatter the shelves of the shop. Located at 218 N. LBJ Dr., sits a store full of creativity, charm and community. A store like no other, Heartworks Co. Paper Bear, has become the place where the community connects with items they never knew they needed. Heartworks Co. Paper Bear was founded in 1978 by Carol Powers and was originally known as Heartworks Co. At the time, Powers was a recent graduate of The University of Texas at Austin. Powers said she had trouble finding a job and decided to open up a store to sell handcrafted items such as jewelry and pottery. Once the store gained popularity, Powers said she began stocking unique and quirky items influenced by customer requests. As the store expanded in inventory, Powers decided to set up an additional store named Paper Bear, stocked with stationery items such as cards, journals and other paper products. Eventually, the two stores formed into Heartworks Co. Paper Bear. Despite the name merger, customers referred to the store as Paper Bear. In 1988, Powers increased the retail space by opening up the current store’s location which at the time served as a large gift shop. It was during the Great Recession when Powers decided to consolidate the merchandise of both locations into one store. After serving the San Marcos community for 41 years, Powers decided to retire and close down Paper Bear. Powers said she has been trying to retire for the last 15 years, but it was not until the past five years that she felt she was ready to let the store go. When Powers began notifying the community that she would be closing down the store, she said she received a much bigger reaction than expected. She said the community’s reaction allowed her to realize that
Store front of Heartworks Co. Paper Bear located on 218 N LBJ Dr. PHOTO BY BRIANNA BENITEZ
people’s lives are intertwined with the store. “They’ve brought in their children and their grandchildren and have created this connection with the store that I never really thought about,” Powers said. With the store closing, Powers said
"THEY’VE BROUGHT IN THEIR CHILDREN AND THEIR GRANDCHILDREN AND HAVE CREATED THIS CONNECTION WITH THE STORE THAT I NEVER REALLY THOUGHT ABOUT" -CAROL POWERS,
FOUNDER OF PAPER BEAR she will miss the interaction with her customers the most. She said many customers have made the store their own personal getaway from reality. “A lot of people would come in during their lunch break and it would be a great way for them to de-stress or to come in and get away
from things,” Powers said. Despite the tears and disappointment brought with the announcement of the store’s closing, Powers said customers have been understanding and have expressed their happiness for her. In addition to serving as a store for the community to shop, Paper Bear has been a store for the community to sell. Lisa McPike Smith has been selling beads and other ceramic goods to Paper Bear on and off for 30 years. McPike Smith said she found out about the store while she was a student at Southwest Texas State. “It was one of those cool little shops that I happened to find,” McPike Smith said. While at Southwest Texas State, McPike Smith said she studied ceramics and would purchase beads and wire material from Paper Bear to make jewelry. In 1989, McPike Smith received her first professional gig from Paper Bear when she sold skull-shaped ceramic beads to the store. Although she is disappointed, she will no longer be able to sell her work to the store, she said she is relieved Powers will finally be able to retire. “It’s sad that I’ll be missing out on that part of my successful business life, but I know Carol wants to move on and I think it’s a good thing,” McPike Smith said. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and something good will take its place.” Indica Smith is a San Marcos native and grew up shopping at Paper Bear. She said her mother was a jewelry maker and would buy beads and wires from the store. Smith followed her mother's footsteps and began to make jewelry herself with supplies from Paper Bear. Smith said she worked at Paper SEE PAPER BEAR PAGE 4