Friday News Rundown (11-14-2014)

By Nestor Vazquez
News Web Editor

Right now San Marcos is experiencing a cold front. Temperatures are expected to reach freezing lows tonight and the San Marcos Nature Center is anticipating it.  The Nature Center Coordinator Jenna Winters said she has been preparing for the freeze all day with her staff.

“Our biggest concerns when it freezes like this is first of all all of the animals that are outside,” said Winters. “So, already today, we have taken care of our turtles and tortoises, they either have heating pads or we brought them inside, and then next up is taking care of all our plants. One of the ways we support ourselves here at the Nature Center is through our sale of plants, so we have spent the better part of our day putting plastic up over our greenhouses.”

Winters says that the plastic will stay up for the remainder of the winter. For plant owners at home, Winters recommends placing drop clothes over plants held down with stones or bricks. These will easily protect plants from overnight freezes.

Congressional Republicans and the GOP are currently debating over how to respond to President Obama’s potential use of executive action, which will potentially protect as many as six million illegal immigrants from the threat of deportation. According to the Washington Post, currently the GOP is split into two stances: the first arguing to use the party’s new grip on Congress to contest changes to the law incrementally, and the second includes Conservatives seeking to block the president’s decision by shutting down the government for an extended period. Obama plans to use his executive order to push for immigration reform before the end of the year.

The west half of the LBJ and University Drive intersection will be closed for the next four weeks due to road construction. Detour signs will be available to direct traffic around the construction. There will also be a closure on the eastbound lane on University Drive in order to replace the sidewalks, curbs and gutters. This closure will stretch all the way from LBJ Drive to CM Allen Parkway and will last until November 28.

With Texas State being bowl eligible and having no violence prevention in place, Student Government will be hosting two guest speakers to address these topics. This Monday, Student Government will have their second to last Senate meeting of the semester. They will be having guest speakers, Don Coryell from athletics speaking about how students need to “pack the stadium” for their last home game, and Brandon Pendleton who is the primary prevention coordinator at the Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center. Student Government thinks that Pendleton can give students helpful insight on how to address the lack of violence prevention at Texas State.