Baylor News
“It’s such a robust, multi-pronged kind of approach to community development and helping students be successful,” Engblom said. “It helps [students] feel like Baylor is their home away from home.”
The U.S. News annual best colleges report was released last Tuesday, ranking Baylor among the best in the nation for undergraduate education and first-year experience.
“We’re very excited about the success of our academic programs over the last year. We’re even more excited about what’s to come under Baylor in Deeds,” Brickhouse said.
Dr. Dave Bridge, an associate professor of political science who teaches a course on campaigns and elections, said he thinks celebrity endorsements don’t really tend to persuade voters who are set in their thinking — unless that celebrity is Taylor Swift.
Waco News
Kolaches, music, Polka dancing and more are lined up for three days to honor West’s Czech heritage through the annual Westfest.
Almost five months ago, an explosion from a fertilizer plant rocked West, causing injuries, devastation to nearby homes and casualties. In spite of the tragedy that took place, president of Westfest John Hurtick said the hosts of Westfest still want to focus on the celebration aspect of the event.
During the months following the April 17 fertilizer plant explosion in West that destroyed 100 homes and killed 15 people, the Baylor community has continued to offer support through a physical presence and large monetary donations.
The university created a West Relief Fund the week the explosion happened and by July 10, the fund had raised more than $290,000, the entirety of which was donated to the First Baptist Church of West.
Cameron Park will be sectioned off with roadblocks for the next nine months and visitors will have to follow posted detour routes to reach their destinations.
Since the first week of August, Cameron Park Drive has undergone a $1 million reclamation project to repair the uneven road.
The entire project, which will be broken into three phases, will continue through May 2014.
Beginning at Redwood Shelter, 2300 Cameron Park Drive, and concluding two miles down at Lover’s Leap, the city of Waco’s engineering department will implement an eco-friendly, three-phase project to repair the road.
All traffic trying to enter the inner parameter of the park is being rerouted.
Waco locals Chip and Joanna Gaines will be lighting up television screens across the nation this coming March 2014 with their new HGTV show, “Fixer Upper,” as they renovate homes in the Waco/Dallas area needing tender loving care.
“The first rule of real estate is location, location, location, but what happens when a buyer’s only option in the right location is a house with dreadful design and a clunky layout?” HGTV asks in its description of the new show on its website, www.hgtv.com.
State News
INTERNATIONAL
The Iran war is now in its 46th day. Iran responded by restricting access to Hormuz, which carries about a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil, and moving to toll vessels transiting the strait. Waco drivers are already feeling it. The local average hit $3.38 a gallon last week, up 21 cents in seven days and 75 cents year-over-year, according to AAA data.
Gas prices in Texas have surged more than 70 cents per gallon since the U.S. went to war with Iran three weeks ago. The near-total shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz has driven oil prices up more than 40%, pushing the national average to its highest point since 2023 and sending diesel past $5 for the first time in three years.
The largest U.S. military operation in the Middle East in decades unfolded as American and Israeli forces struck Iran Saturday, killing its supreme leader and triggering retaliatory strikes from the Gulf to Israel. The White House said the campaign is aimed at dismantling Iran’s military and toppling its government.
Dr. Joshua Alley, assistant professor of political science, said part of the Trump administration’s interest in Greenland has to do with America’s national security strategy.