Thursday News Rundown (9-04-14)

By Veronika Kondratieva
News Reporter

The Texas State Student Advisory Board, who advise the Board of Regents overseeing the Texas State University System, brought to attention the university fee schedule. Primary concerns include confusion over the number and type of various fee exemptions, along with vague fee titles that fail to inform the student what exactly they are for. Sam Houston State University’s website provides a clear breakdown and description of student fees, motions are being made to incorporate this informative feature throughout the System.

Commuters were disrupted today around 7:45 a.m., when an 18-wheeler overturned on Northbound Interstate 35, near the convention center. Even though, the accident blocked traffic for several hours, no injuries were reported.

The Texas Department of Agriculture has released data confirming that nearly 87 percent of the state is experiencing some form of drought. The drought levels increased by nearly 3 points compared to last week. The city of San Marcos is still currently experiencing a Stage 4 drought. However, with August being over, the drought numbers are expected to decrease, which will lead to less water restrictions throughout various counties.

On Tuesday, the San Marcos City Council passed a $173 million budget, which would go towards day to day city operations. City Manager Jared Miller said that the budget balance has expanded with the fast growing San Marcos community, both commercially and residentially. However, property taxes are going to remain the same, as they have been for the past few years, but will generate more revenue for the city due to higher appraisals on existing property here.