WTAW - Interviews

This podcast contains comments from Brazos County county judge Duane Peters from the March 10, 2026 county commission meeting.

Brazos County commissioners approve continuing negotiations to address issues with two companies involved in expanding the juvenile detention center that began in 2018.

An extension was approved at the commission's March 10th meeting of a legal document that is called a "tolling agreement".County judge Duane Peters says this has nothing to do with toll roads.

The tolling agreement pauses the clock for all involved parties on the possibility of filing a lawsuit.

Peters said "negotiations seem to be going well" and "we don't want to have somebody have to file a suit to protect their own ability".

The negotiations involve addressing various design and construction issues of the juvenile detention center’s mechanical, plumbing, and electrical systems.

The original agreement was signed in December 2023 and extended the first time in May 2025. The latest extension continues through December 3, 2026.

Click HERE to read and download the document that was approved at the March 10, 2026 Brazos County commission meeting.

This podcast contains comments from Habitat for Humanity Bryan/College Station spokesman Charles Coats at the March 24, 2026 Brazos County commission meeting.

Habitat for Humanity Bryan/College Station is accepting their first homebuyer applications in a year and a half.

That was part of an update given by spokesman Charles Coats at Tuesday's (March 24) Brazos County commission meeting.

As a part of accepting applications, Coats asked to spread the word about free information sessions that are taking place this Friday (March 27) at the Habitat office.There will be an English language session at 6 p.m., followed by a Spanish language session at 7 p.m.

The sessions will be held at Habitat's education building, located at the rear of their property at 119 Lake Street in Bryan.

Click HERE to be directed to the Habitat B/CS Facebook page for more information.

This podcast contains comments from city of College Station deputy city manager Jeff Capps and city councilmen William Wright and David White.

This Thursday (March 26) is the College Station city council's first meeting in a month. 

The nearly 1,300 page agenda does not include discussion in public or private about some firefighters interest to ask voters to recognize them as a civil service organization with the ability to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement.

College Station city councilmen William Wright and David White and deputy city manager Jeff Capps shared on WTAW's The Infomaniacs their thoughts about firefighter union activity. 

As of March 24, there has been no announcements on the Facebook page of the College Station Professional Firefighters Association.

And on March 13, WTAW News invited a comment from the regional vice president of the International Association of Firefighters that includes Texas.

United Way of the Brazos Valley president Lizett Hawkins and Jason Kinderman of KinderHill brew lab visit with WTAW's Bill Oliver about the Spring Fling dunk tank fundraiser on Saturday, March 28th from noon until 10 p.m. at the brewery's new location at 505 West 31st Street in downtown Bryan.

Click HERE to be directed to the KinderHill brew lab Facebook page for more information.

This podcast is a visit with Charles Carey, the CEO of the parent company of U.S. Modules and WTAW's Bill Oliver.

West of Easterwood Airport, production is about to begin on solar panels used in solar energy farms around the state.

Charles Carey is the CEO of the parent corporation that owns U.S. Modules, where during the last year and a half has been spent building the 150,000 square foot complex north of FM 60 off Jones Road.

Carey says they project to build 2.2 million panels in 2027. He says that is equivalent to powering 160,000 homes.

The panels will be used by a sister company that Carey says is building solar energy farms in north, west, and the panhandle areas of Texas.

Employment at U.S. Modules is projected to reach 250 by the end of this year, with continued expansion planned as new production lines are added.

Carey says a reason for locating here was the ability to recruit engineering graduates at Texas A&M.

News release from U.S. Modules:

A new solar manufacturing facility in College Station will bring its first production line online March 25, launching a Texas-based operation designed to expand domestic solar module production.

Texas has rapidly become one of the largest solar power producers in the United States, creating growing demand for domestic solar manufacturing. 

This facility, operated by U.S. Modules, marks the start of a veteran-led manufacturing effort focused on strengthening U.S. energy infrastructure.

The site is designed to scale to approximately 1.4 gigawatts of annual production capacity, creating roughly 250 jobs in the region as operations expand and positioning the facility as a growing contributor to domestic solar manufacturing.

Production Line 1 is designed for approximately 400 megawatts of annual capacity, with the site built to scale to roughly 1.4 gigawatts of annual production as additional lines come online. 

The 150,000-square-foot facility includes two solar module production lines along with warehouse and loading infrastructure to support utility-scale deployment.

This podcast contains comments from the March 17, 2026 College Station ISD school board meeting.

College Station ISD school board members at their March regular meeting (March 17) approve adding six positions as part of this August's opening of the district's expanded career and technical education (CTE) center.

The new positions are one teacher for automotive, one teacher for welding, and one for cosmetology. All three are new subjects for CSISD's CTE program.

The board also approved adding one nurse, one custodian, and one security officer through the third party company that CSISD has a contract.

Board members were told funding the new positions will come from a combination of additional state money generated by students who are enrolled in the new programs and savings from not having to pay Bryan ISD to use their CTE center, which this year is $105,000 dollars.

The additional positions were initially requested at the CSISD board's January regular meeting.

Click HERE to read and download more information about CSISD's expanded CTE center from the January 2026 board meeting.

College Station City Councilman David White visits with Will Welch on The Infomaniacs Friday, March 20, 2026, to discuss the proposed extension of Pebble Creek Parkway, fire department union activities, economic development, a preview of the next city council meeting, and more.

City of Bryan Mayor Pro Tem James Edge joined Will Welch on The Infomaniacs on Thursday, March 19, 2026, to discuss new and future improvements at Midtown Park, the upcoming Troubadour Festival, Flock cameras, and more.

Brazos County Sheriff Wayne Dicky joined Will Welch on The Infomaniacs on Thursday, March 19, 2026,  to discuss employment opportunities, the disappearance of Nikki Winder, the return of a Brazos County Crime Stoppers fundraising event, Flock cameras, and more.

This podcast contains comments from College Station ISD superintendent Tim Harkrider at the March 17, 2026 CSISD school board meeting.

The March regular meeting of the College Station ISD school board was supposed to include recommendations from the district's budget committee for the next school year. But board members were told that will come in April. Superintendent Tim Harkrider says the delay will in part give more time to develop staffing needs, which may include fewer teachers due to declining enrollment.

Board members were also told that a recommendation on changing the provider of employee benefits will be delayed from May to June. While CSISD is leaving the state's teacher retirement system (TRS), board members were told the district could return to TRS within five years without penalty.

The superintendent also reported CSISD has received 15 applications from out of district students who could attend CSISD kindergarten through sixth grade classes next year. Harkrider said there will be another social media campaign. And out of district recruitment will be part of a breakfast meeting that administrators will have with local realtors next month.