Month: October 2012

A fourth Texas high-tech startup that received taxpayer dollars through Gov. Rick Perry’s signature economic development fund has filed for bankruptcy in the $194 million portfolio’s biggest bust yet.

The collapse of bioenergy producer Terrabon Inc., which was awarded $2.75 million in 2010 and was backed by large Perry political donors, raises questions about whether the state’s Emerging Technology Fund launched in 2006 could now be worth less than what taxpayers have put into it.

Journalist and nationally recognized author Carlton Stowers spoke Tuesday to several Baylor classes, offering writing advice from his own experiences.

The event was in conjunction with One Book, One Waco, a program of the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce in which a new book is selected each year that community members will read simultaneously.

“One Book, One Waco is a community literacy program that started at Baylor that [the Waco] Chamber took over in 2008,” said Alexis Weaver, director of community development for the chamber.

A paid informant for the New York Police Department’s intelligence unit was under orders to “bait” Muslims into saying inflammatory things as he lived a double life, snapping pictures inside mosques and collecting the names of innocent people attending study groups on Islam, he told The Associated Press.

Despite the cooling temperature, the mosquitoes could still bite.

Richard Duhrkopf, associate professor and chair of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at Baylor, said the number of positive West Nile virus cases will decrease over time because some mosquitoes will die off due to cooler temperatures. However, the West Nile virus will continue to spread because not all mosquitoes will die from the cooler temperatures.

Religious values and established voting patterns have traditionally been very influential in the way ballots are cast.

The nation saw its first “born-again” Christian president with the election of Jimmy Carter in 1976.

By Krista Pirtle Sports Editor What looked like a successful start for the Baylor defense against SMU on Sept. 2…

There is no doubt that Baylor’s defense is the Achilles heel of the team. But why is the defense so awful? It sounds strange, but Baylor’s offense might be one reason the Bears have never had a vaunted defense. Is head coach Art Briles’ offensive philosophy hurtful to his defense? Baylor possesses a high-octane prolific scoring offense that any team in college football would be jealous of. But the quick-strike ability of the offense might be crippling the defense.

The old adage “defense wins championships” has held true throughout time. In the BCS top 15, 11 teams have a top 15-ranked defense. Last year, Alabama won the national title on the back of its defense, and it might win another this year. The Bears’ defense currently ranks dead last in points against, total defense, first down defense and third down defense.

PETA, known for its outlandish protests in an effort to protect animals from abuse, have returned to attack video games over the past year and a half, and it’s growing to an uncontrollable level.

Around this time last semester, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals launched a smear campaign against Nintendo and its trademark franchise, Mario Bros. With the release of “Super Mario 3D Land,” the animal rights group erected a website in response to the release, with a game of its own: “Mario Kills Tanooki” is a flash game that PETA created where you play as a skinned Tanooki (racoon-dog) chasing after a carnivorous Mario flying with the help of the Tanooki tail.

That, of course, is the infelicitous phrase Mitt Romney used in last week’s second presidential debate when he was asked how he would address paycheck inequity between the sexes. Romney responded with a homily about how, as the newly elected governor of Massachusetts in 2002, he became concerned that the only job applications that crossed his desk seemed to be from men.

Affirmative action has always been a controversial issue since it’s inception in 1961 by John Kennedy. The goal was to counter the effects of a history of discrimination by eliminating the discrimination of minorities in college admissions on the grounds of gender, religion, ethnicity, handicap and yes — race. This not only applies to college campuses, but to the workplace as well.

As an avid horror movie fan, I was eager for the release of the newest “Paranormal Activity.”

“Paranormal Activity 4” is the latest film in the “Activity” series, and many had hyped it up to be a good one.

I excitedly waited several months in hopes of leaving Waco’s Starplex Cinema startled at every shadow and wary to hang out with any people named Toby.

One Book One Waco presents a book signing by “Where Dreams Die Hard” author Carlton Stowers at 7 p.m. today in the auditorium at University High School.

President Barack Obama sharply challenged Mitt Romney on foreign policy in their final campaign debate Monday night, accusing him of “wrong and reckless leadership that is all over the map.” The Republican coolly responded, “Attacking me is not an agenda” for dealing with a dangerous world.

Baylor and Texas came into Saturday night’s game in a minor state of panic. Both teams started the year strong, but each has lost its last two games. The Bears fell to the Longhorns 50-56, 106 points and 1,132 points later.

Senior quarterback Nick Florence finished the game 30-of-41 with 352 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

“I was really proud of the team and how they fought,” head coach Art Briles said. “We challenged them this week to be tough physically and mentally, to have a tough man’s mentality.”

Attorneys representing around 600 school districts argued Monday that Texas’ school financing system is so “hopelessly broken” that it violates the state Constitution while keeping students from being prepared for the well-paying jobs of tomorrow.

The state countered that, even though the system is flawed, it’s nowhere near a crisis point.

Six lawsuits have been filed on behalf of about two-thirds of school districts, which educate about 75 percent of the state’s roughly 5 million students. They have been rolled into a single case, which opened before state District Judge John Dietz in Austin. The trial is expected to last into January.

Being absent from your chores back home is no excuse to be absent from voting in the 2012 presidential election.

Students who are away from the county they are registered in can still vote in the presidential election by receiving an absentee ballot.

Citizens may also utilize absentee voting if they are sick or disabled, are 65 years old or older on Election Day or are incarcerated.

Leaders from the Republican and Democratic parties of McLennan County will gather tonight for a public discussion of the upcoming election at 8 p.m. in the Brooks Flats Lobby.

The event, “The Choice: A Conversation,” is sponsored by Brooks Flats, Kokernot, Arbors, Fairmont and Gables residential communities.

The session is free and open to faculty, staff and students.

By Daniel Hill Sports Writer The Baylor football team is at a pivotal moment in its season. A three game…

The Indiana Fever made it their mission to get Tamika Catchings a WNBA championship.

Catchings had won three Olympic gold medals and an NCAA championship at Tennessee in 1998, but never one in the WNBA.

She scored 25 points to help the Indiana Fever win their first WNBA title with an 87-78 victory over the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday night.

The No. 20 Baylor women’s soccer team certainly found a flair for the dramatic over the weekend after two nail-biting victories over conference foes Texas and Iowa State.

Friday’s victory over the Texas Longhorns came in double overtime, but not after some late-game drama. Senior forward Dana Larsen scored what appeared to be a game-winning goal in the 80th minute of the game.

Larsen fired a shot from about 30 yards away. The ball landed in front of Longhorn freshman goalkeeper Abby Smith. It appeared as though Smith would make a routine save, but the ball took an odd bounce and went over Smith’s head and into the goal.

Layne Lynch, the only returning Uproar Artist from the 2011-2012 school year, is determined to hit the ground running this year.

“I was really shocked and also just really grateful,” Lynch said. “I felt really cool and really honored. I want to do this with my life, so I was really excited to be certain that I could use this year to focus to the best of my abilities on music.”

Lynch is unsure of what exactly would classify her genre.

Few Baylor students have frequented the family-owned café in Hewitt, The Mix Gifts and Café, but a new expansion that includes a coffee shop and food truck on Speight will be hard to miss.

The food truck, Street Eats, is currently open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday on the corner of Speight and 14th Street, and will continue the tradition of the Hewitt café’s famous French style quiches, sandwiches, soups and homemade desserts.

National Geographic Society has chronicled scientific expeditions, explorations, archaeology, wildlife and world cultures for more than 100 years, amassing a collection of 11.5 million photos and original illustrations.

A small selection of that massive archive — 240 pieces spanning from the late 1800s to the present — will be sold at Christie’s in December at an auction expected to bring about $3 million, the first time any of the institution’s collection has been sold.