WTAW - Interviews

This podcast contains comments from the August 24, 2023 College Station city council meeting.

The College Station city council learns of an environmentally friendly way of dealing with hazardous waste.

Councilman Mark Smith says vetiver grass will take care of one million gallons of contaminated water called leachates at the site of a closed landfill on Rock Prairie Road east of the freeway.

The Rock Prairie landfill was closed when the Twin Oaks landfill opened 12 years ago.

Both are owned by the Brazos Valley Solid Waste Management Agency (BVSWMA), which is owned by the cities of College Station and Bryan.

Before employing the grass, Smith says BVSWMA had to bring in trucks, pump out one million gallons of leachate water, then dispose of it in an injection well.

General Manager Gary Miller visits with WTAW's Chelsea Reber about usage during the record breaking heat, selling excess power, the new text notification system, Labor Day weekend at Lake Bryan, construction progress on the new administration office, and more during his appearance on The Infomaniacs.

This podcast contains comments from the August 24, 2023 College Station city council meeting.

On the eve of Texas A&M's first home football game, the College Station city council approves a $122,000 dollar contract for traffic control devices that are used off campus.

The university is contributing up to $57,000 dollars.

Councilman Bob Yancy, who was part of the unanimous vote to approve the contract, wanted A&M to pay half.

Click HERE to read and download information regarding the contract for traffic control devices.

That was one of two agreements Yancy questioned between the city of College Station has with Texas A&M.

Yancy also questioned if the city is getting its share of access to university facilities as part of the city's financial contribution to the expansion of Kyle Field ten years ago.

The city's fiscal services director, Mary Ellen Leonard, and city manager Bryan Woods, said that the council has to make that decision.

Bryan Mayor Bobby Gutierrez visits with WTAW's Scott DeLucia about the Downtown Bryan Farmer's Market, parking in downtown for Aggie football, development, needs of the Bryan Fire Department, medians, the progress at Phillips Event Center, and more during his appearance on The Infomaniacs.

This podcast is a visit with Bryan firefighter Chris Lamb and WTAW's Bill Oliver.

An apartment fire in Bryan Tuesday morning resulted in no injuries.

Bryan firefighter Chris Lamb says the fire was contained to the front building at the 31Thirty apartments on 29th Street west of Briarcrest.

Lamb says once residents were evacuated from the two story building, firefighters went into defensive mode to prevent the fire from jumping to neighboring buildings and a nearby wooded area.

College Station fire, Brazos County fire departments, and St. Joseph EMS provided mutual aid at the scene and at Bryan fire stations.

Copy and paste the following link to watch video of the fire attack:

https://youtu.be/p8IJ8GfT-KI?si=YWs8ZFDmsxFGTa-U

Susan Ballabina, Texas A&M Chief External Affairs Officer, visits with WTAW's Scott DeLucia about the Charlotte Sharp Children's Center, the growing student population, recruiting minority and underrepresented students, the March to 3,000, DEI, Interim President Mark Welsh, the upcoming football season, and more during her appearance on The Infomaniacs.

This podcast contains comments from the August 25, 2023 meeting of the Texas board of criminal justice.

The board that runs the Texas prison system approved at its August 25th meeting, the operating the budget for the 2024 fiscal year.

The Texas board of criminal justice discussed a record $85 million dollars given by state lawmakers to provide air conditioning to more, but not the remainder, of state prisons that don't have air conditioning.

The TDCJ board also received updates on the installation of air conditioning that is taking place at the Johnson and Gist units.

The last hour of the meeting, prison board members heard public comments. Most speakers called for speeding up the addition of air conditioning on a temporary and permanent basis.

Public speakers included mothers of inmates who have died and have been injured while incarcerated in non-air conditioned units.

This podcast is a visit recorded August 28, 2023 with United Way of the Brazos Valley president Peggi Goss, Maria Trevino of UWBV partner agency Boys & Girls Clubs of the Brazos Valley, and WTAW's Bill Oliver.

This podcast contains comments from the August 16, 2023 Texas A&M system board of regents building committee meeting.

A building on Texas A&M's main campus that dates back to 1916 is getting a $6.7 million dollar makeover.

The A&M system board of regents at their August quarterly meeting gave the green light for structural repairs to the central utility plant boiler room and basement.

A&M's chief financial officer, John Crawford, shared a list of issues that includes the breakdown of concrete in the basement.

The project was endorsed by the chairman of the regents building committee, Randy Brooks of San Angelo.

Construction is scheduled to start in October and be completed in November of next year.

The central utility plant provides campus heating, hot water, steam, and electrical power.

Click HERE to read and download background information about the project.

Alyssa Halle-Schramm, Long Range Planning Administrator, visits with WTAW's Scott DeLucia about the Wellborn small area plan, looking for citizen feedback, an upcoming public meeting, and more during her appearance on The Infomaniacs.