Daily News Recap (3-27-15)

Compiled by Holly Henrichsen
Assistant Web Content Manager

NCAA President Mark Emmert has expressed concern over a recent Indiana bill that has been signed into law. Yesterday, Indiana Governor Mike Pence signed a bill into law that would allow businesses across the state of Indiana to refuse services to customers who are homosexual in the name of religious freedom. The NCAA is hosting the final four of the 2015 march Madness tournament in Indianapolis. CNN reports, Emmert has said that the NCAA will work diligently to ensure no participants or visitors are negatively impacted by this bill. This law won’t alter the location of this years final four, however many organizations including Gen Con and the Christian Church Disciples of Christ are reconsidering hosting their events in Indiana.
-Matthew Hamill

Roughly 10 Hindu pilgrims have been killed in a stampede today during a bathing ritual that took place in Bangladesh. According to BBC News, around 1 million pilgrims travel from Bangladesh and surrounding countries to the Brahmaputra River just outside of the capital each year to take part in the festival. The stampede was believed to occur due to an unusually high number of pilgrims who attended. Police officials reported the victims were 7 women and 3 men, all over the age of 50.
-Chelsea Seifert

The Mayor of Austin Steve Adler and his office have come up with both short and long term solutions to Austin’s growing traffic problem. Drivers may notice police officers station at key intersections during rush hours to facilitate traffic. The city will also crackdown on delivery trucks blocking lanes, and begin an aggressive “Don’t Block the Box” campaign to prevent drivers from pulling into an intersection only to block the intersection when the lights change. Those initiatives are part of the short term solution. Austin also plans on using Smart signals in order to facilitate traffic flow and give buses more green lights. They have also identified over 180 intersections that could be improved by reconstruction and realignment. These solutions are long term and the city needs to find funds to begin.
-Matthew Hamill

The City of San Marcos and San Marcos Mural Arts seek an artist or artist team to create a design for a mural consisting of 5 vinyl panels. These panels will be installed onto a windowless exterior wall of a building located off MLK Drive in San Marcos. The Mural Art Committee hope the project will help to deter future graffiti and create an artistic and aesthetic entrance to the city. Artists may submit designs for between 1 and 5 panels that can act as stand-alone images or a series of related images. The deadline to apply is in late April. For more guidelines regarding the project go to the City of San Marcos website.
-Chelse Seifert