AUSTIN, Texas

Just in time for the spring semester, the new College of Liberal Arts Building will make its debut. The 200,000-square-foot, glass and limestone structure will give more than 10,000 liberal arts students a place to call home for the first time in decades. Not only is the building the newest landmark for the campus, it is also a model for innovative funding and cost-effective planning and design. The building was paid for by the college — a first at The University of Texas at Austin — which means it was built without tapping legislative or UT System funding. Although final calculations are still pending, the total cost is projected to be $87 million, less than the project’s initial expected cost of $100 million. The model is one of the reasons the resulting facility was completed under budget and with more usable space – about 16,000 square feet more – than originally planned. More about financing. “Many new buildings today are described as innovative, but this building truly stands out as a model for cost-effective planning and design in the 21st century,” says Randy Diehl, dean of the College of Liberal Arts. “This space will be vital in our ongoing efforts to attract and recruit the highest-quality faculty and students.” Among its many features, the building includes: • Smart classrooms with special attention to acoustics, sightlines, writing surfaces, seating and lighting. • A skybridge connecting to the Student Activity Center, inviting traffic from all corners of campus. • A spacious study lounge that offers views of the Waller Creek greenbelt. Open only to liberal arts students, the space includes a student workroom and two study alcoves. • Designated suites (located side-by-side) for two of the university’s most distinguished honors programs: Liberal Arts Honors and Plan II. • An entire floor for the college’s Naval, Army and Air Force ROTC units. • An ROTC suite with a shared heritage lounge featuring a Missing in Action Prisoner of War brick wall memorial — salvaged from Russell A. Steindam Hall. • Collaborative faculty spaces and research labs for the Population Research Center, a world-renowned research unit in the fields of sociology and demography. • It is expected to receive LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. More about sustainable design. Composed of 24 academic departments, two dozen centers and 600-plus faculty members, the college has been spread across 30 buildings. This is the first time the college will have a home of its own since Old Main was torn down in the 1930s.

Senator Carlos Uresti has written a letter to the Texas Railroad Commission on behalf of the citizens of Maverick County, urging the Commission to deny the permit application being made by Dos Republicas Coal Partnership to operate an open pit coal mine here. In doing this, the Senator is trying to protect us against the air contamination and the pollution of our drinking water supply which would result if the mire becomes a reality.

If allowed to operate, this mine would be located on Thompson Road, only three miles from Eagle Pass city limits and only one mile from Deer Run Subdivision and Pete Gallego elementary school. It would be 10 square miles in size and would operate 24/7, creating a constant source of dust pollution from the mine itself and off of the 150 car coal train that would pass through the center of town every day, en route to Mexico. The mine would discharge all its wastewater into Elm Creek and then into the Rio Grande, upriver of the city water intake. All the coal mine will be shipped to Mexico to be burned for electric power generation there. Texas will receive no energy benefit from this mine, only all the adverse consequences.

The Railroad Commission is scheduled to make its final decision on this permit application on January 29. In addition to Senator Uresti, Representative Poncho Nevarez and Congressman Pete Gallego have also expressed their strong opposition to this mine. 

AUSTIN

As members of the Texas House deliberate about the budget this session, there are several things on their minds. First, is the fact that the Texas Legislature has 101.4 billion in general revenue for the 2014-2015 budget, which also includes an 8.8 billion surplus. In addition, the Rainy Day Fund has been projected to grow to 11.8 billion. Representative Poncho Nevárez would like to see the budget address major cuts that were made last biennium. "Public education and Medicaid are in dire need for funds due to the 5.4 billion cuts in public education and almost 5 billion left unpaid to Medicaid last session," stated Nevárez. "While funding public education to cover enrollment growth is essential, we also have to think about restoring those major cuts," expressed Nevárez.