The Hot Seat series brought together Wacoans and Texas officials to discuss the 83rd legislative session last Saturday.
The forum let any topic be brought to the table, but much of the discussion with state officials revolved around the heated topic of education.
The series was presented by the Texas Tribune and hosted in the Stone Room of the Ferrell Center.
The No. 1 Baylor Lady Bears defeated Oklahoma 86-64 Monday, extending the nation’s largest winning streak to 25 games. Baylor finished the game with six players in double digits as it found its rhythm in the second half and began widening the gap.
Senior center Brittney Griner’s impact on the team was cemented in this game as Baylor struggled when Griner was on the bench due to foul trouble. She recorded another double-double with 15 points, 15 rebounds, seven blocks and five assists. Griner also moved up to the fourth highest scorer in NCAA history with 3,045 career points.
Baylor’s 90-76 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday puts the team in a tough situation. The loss brings the Bears’ record to 16-11 overall and 7-7 in the Big 12 Conference. This places the team at No. 6 in the Big 12.
Losing to the Sooners decreased the Bears’ chances of being selected for the NCAA Tournament.
With just a .500 record in conference, Baylor has a daunting challenge ahead for the remainder of the season if they want to pull off a coveted NCAA Tournament bid.
All-University Sing audiences were surprised when judges announced a tie for first place.
During Saturday’s Sing finale, both Kappa Sigma and Kappa Omega Tau won first place.
Woodway senior Stephen Harrison, Sing chair for Kappa Sigma, said he was practically shaking while pumping a trophy in the air.
Tonight Baylor Jazz Ensemble concert will include everything from Count Basie to Radiohead.
The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Jones Concert Hall in the Glennis McCrary Music Building and is free and open to the public.
“This is a concert where there will be literally something for almost everybody,” said Alex Parker, senior lecturer and director of jazz studies.
BP put profits ahead of safety and bears most of the blame for the disastrous 2010 spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a U.S. Justice Department attorney charged Monday at the opening of a trial that could result in the oil company and its partners being forced to pay tens of billions of dollars more in damages.
The London-based oil giant acknowledged it made “errors in judgment” before the deadly blowout, but it also cast blame on the owner of the drilling rig and the contractor involved in cementing the well. It denied it was grossly negligent, as the government contended.
Locations you may carry:
On the person’s own premises
Inside a person’s motor vehicle or watercraft
Any other place that is not specifically stated against in the Texas Concealed Handgun Law pamphlet.
Before we begin, it must be stated that this is not a unanimously written editorial.
The Lariat editorial board, whose voice is supposed to be represented in this space, could not come to a unanimous decision on the issue of allowing concealed handguns on campus.
That is why it is the official position of the Lariat editorial board that Baylor University, through the Office of Institutional Research and Testing, should make it a priority to survey the campus to see where we all stand on the issue. It should then make those findings public as soon as possible and send them to area lawmakers.
The former Canadian ambassador to Iran who protected Americans at great personal risk during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis said Monday it was good to hear Ben Affleck finally thank Canada after Affleck’s film “Argo” won the Oscar for best picture.
“Argo” came under criticism from some Canadians, including former ambassador Ken Taylor, who said he felt slighted by the movie because it makes Canada look like a meek observer to CIA heroics. Taylor says it minimizes Canada’s role in the Americans’ rescue.
Iranian officials on Monday dismissed the Oscar-winning film “Argo” as anti-Iran, state TV dismissed it as CIA commercial, some viewers disparaged it as U.S. propaganda while others welcomed a fresh view of their recent history.
All this is despite the fact that the movie based on the escape of six American hostages from the besieged U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 has not been screened in any Iranian theaters.
Despite that ban, many Iranians have seen the movie. In downtown Tehran, bootleg DVDs of “Argo” sell for about 30,000 rials, or less than $1.
Cardinal Keith O’Brien, Britain’s highest-ranking Catholic leader, said Monday he wouldn’t take part in the conclave to elect the next pope after being accused of improper conduct with priests — an unprecedented first head to roll in the mudslinging that has followed Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to resign.
Benedict accepted O’Brien’s resignation as archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh — submitted back in November because he is due to turn 75 next month, the normal retirement age for bishops. But simultaneously, O’Brien issued a statement Monday saying he would also skip the conclave because he didn’t want to become the focus of media attention at such a delicate time for the church.
The No. 23 Baylor baseball team dropped the final game of its series against No. 2 UCLA 5-4. Baylor finished the series 1-2 and is now 2-5 on the season.
“I thought we played hard and I thought we competed,” head coach Steve Smith said. “We’ve got some issues on the mound and behind the plate that got exposed. I thought we were fortunate at the end of it to be in the game with all of those things. We gave them a lot of free opportunities.”
The No. 25 Baylor softball team redeemed itself by winning the Texas Shootout after losing it last year at Getterman Stadium. Baylor defeated North Texas 9-3 on Sunday for the series sweep and tied the program’s best winning streak at 14 games.
“That’s awesome,” head coach Glenn Moore said in regards to the record. “I didn’t realize that, didn’t know that we were approaching that, but that’s nice.”
Sing results are in and there has been a surprising shock, a tie for first place was announced between Kappa Sigma in United We Stand and Kappa Omega Tau in The Ghosts’ Call.
Once the call was made that there would be a tie in first place, all groups started huddling together in anticipation to receive the chance to be one of the two first place winners.
When Kappa Sigma and Kappa Omega Tau were called in for the tie, there was a burst of screams from both men’s groups and the audience.
About 2,000 teachers, students, parents and school administrators rallied at the state Capitol on Saturday, demanding that the Legislature reverse $5.4 billion in cuts to public education amid new data that Texas now spends less per-pupil than almost anywhere else in America.
Led by thunderous high school marching bands whose drumbeats echoed off surrounding buildings, protesters marched briefly through downtown Austin and then gathered for the annual demonstration organized by Save Texas Schools and other advocacy groups.
The Justice Department stayed silent when Indiana and Washington state strengthened their voter identification rules. But when Georgia and Texas lawmakers wanted to do the same, they needed federal approval.
Now, this different treatment for different states will face a make-or-break test at the Supreme Court. In a potentially landmark case, justices on Wednesday will consider whether it’s time to dismantle a key plank of the historic 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Tony Stewart was horrified as he looked in the mirror while taking the checkered flag in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race on Saturday. The scene that played out behind him was unlike anything he had seen in his decades-long career in motorsports.
At least 28 fans were injured by flying debris from rookie Kyle Larson’s Chevrolet, which went hurtling airborne into the wall and broke into pieces on the front stretch of Daytona International Speedway.
The No. 23 Baylor Bears defeated the No. 2 UCLA Bruins 5-0 in the second game of their weekend series on Saturday at Baylor Ballpark.
Junior right-handed pitcher Dillon Newman pitched five scoreless innings for the Bears. Then senior right-handed pitcher Kolt Browder started the top of the sixth and got two outs before getting into a bases-loaded jam. Sophomore right-handed pitcher Ryan Smith came to the rescue and struck out UCLA’s second basemen Trent Chatterton to end the Bruins’ threat. Smith went the remaining three and one-third innings on the mound to lead the Bears to a 5-0 shutout victory over the Bears.
The No. 1 Baylor Lady Bears’ uniforms shined gold, as did Baylor as they routing Texas 67-47. Among the crowd were full of former Lady Bears back for alumni weekend. Baylor also celebrated its third consecutive Big 12 Regular Season Championship, becoming the first team in Big 12 history to do so.
“It’s enjoyable, it’s for me again,” head coach Kim Mulkey said. “I enjoy people who experience this for the first time, and there were many fans out there today that were here for the first time. They came and said this is my first to be here and watch a game. I enjoy it for all the players, but I especially enjoy it for the freshman when it’s their first time to be in that environment.”
You know those tall, leggy beauties that normally carry the Oscar trophies so the stars can present them?
They’ve been replaced this year by aspiring filmmakers. Six college students from across the country won a contest to help present the Oscar statuettes this year.
“This tradition of the buxom babe that comes out and brings the trophy to the presenter to give to the winner seemed to be very antiquated and kind of sexist, too,” said Neil Meron, co-producer of this year’s Academy Awards. “They’re just there to be objectified. Why can’t we have people who actually care about film and are the future of film be the trophy presenters?”
Texas prisoners who complete an intense business entrepreneurship program while behind bars will earn a green and gold stamp of approval for their studies.
Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business now will award certificates of entrepreneurship to state inmates who successfully finish six months of business courses through the Prison Entrepreneurship Program, a nonprofit initiative based at the Cleveland Correctional Center state jail, located northwest of Houston.
The entrepreneurship program, which started in 2004, teaches inmates to prepare business plans as a means of readying them for careers after they are released from prison.
The No. 25 Baylor softball team defeated North Texas 8-3 on Saturday after Baylor responded with runs after being down 1-3. After leaving 18 runners stranded in the double-headers on Friday, Baylor started slow again leaving four stranded before showing up with their power offense.
Senior infielder Kelsi Kettler had a big day with three doubles on her first three at-bats of the season. She also had some key defensive plays in critical moments, making the most of her start. Junior catcher Clare Hosack also hit a three-run, go-ahead homer to give Baylor the lead. Center fielder Kathy Shelton hit a triple in the fifth inning to put Baylor in position to win.
The Baylor Bears lost 4-3 in the first game of a three-game weekend series to UCLA on Friday night.
Senior right-handed pitcher Max Garner started on the mound for the Bears. In the top of the first inning, Garner got off to a quick start by getting UCLA’s leadoff hitter Eric Filia to groundout to second and by striking out Kevin Kramer. UCLA utilized clutch two-out hitting to start generating offense. Shortstop Pat Valaika roped a double down the left field line. Designated hitter Cody Regis singled to center to score Valaika from second to give UCLA a 1-0 lead.
Credit ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Britain’s government bond rating one notch from the top AAA to AA1 Friday, saying sluggish growth and rising debt were weakening the country’s medium-term outlook.
Treasury chief George Osborne said the blow only redoubled his resolve “to deliver our economic recovery plan,” based on deep spending cuts.
Unlike the last couple of games, the No. 25 Baylor softball team had trouble generating offense after their dominant night on Thursday. Baylor continued the Texas Shootout in a double-header beginning with Sam Houston State and finished with UT Arlington. Baylor’s defense did their job forcing back-to-back shutouts, as the pitching stayed consistent to avoid losses. Baylor started slow in both games, but managed to have key hits, allowing them to score.
State transportation officials are rolling out several changes to Interstate 35 construction zones in Central Texas in response to a string of major wrecks and deaths.
Lower speeds, rumble strips and more warning signs will mark work zones along I-35 in the Waco area and parts of Hill, Bell and Falls counties.
Some new 60-mph speed limit signs are up in Hill County, but most of the new safety features will go live in the spring, Texas Department of Transportation spokeswoman Jodi Wheatley said.
Federal officials say air traffic control centers at 25 smaller Texas airports could close or see hours reduced if automatic federal spending cuts take effect next week.
Officials on Friday said travelers should expect delays when the cutbacks begin in April.
The bridge between art and science grew smaller for the medical humanities program on Thursday.
The DeBakey Medical Foundation gave $500,000 to Baylor to increase the Michael E. DeBakey, Selma DeBakey, and Lois DeBakey Endowed Scholarship Fund for Medical Humanities majors. The gift brings the total amount that has been donated to the fund to one million dollard. The ceremony was held on the second floor atrium in the Baylor Sciences Building. It featured speakers from the DeBakey Medical Foundation, Baylor faculty and five scholarship recipients.
Rattlesnakes can be found in many areas of Texas and are a part of southern folklore.
Oglesby, a town southwest of Waco, hosts a yearly festival to catch these serpents in the hopes of controlling the rattlesnake population.
The 44th Annual Rattlesnake Roundup, hosted by the Oglesby Lions Club, will start at 7 a.m. Saturday and will continue until Sunday afternoon.
The No 1. Lady Bears won the Big 12 title after losses by Oklahoma and Iowa State on Sunday, but they still need to work to secure a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Under head coach Kim Mulkey, the Lady Bears are now 150-10 in regular season, non-conference games.
Baylor will face off against Texas at noon on Saturday in the Ferrell Center.
