Monday, April 3, 2023
Courtesy of Tribune News Service Mingling Huang (in white) raises a fist as she yells in agreement with a speaker during a rally in opposition to Texas Senate Bills 147 and 552 on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, in Dallas. (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News/TNS)
4 Texas bills that could limit Chinese, Iranian, North Korean and Russian land ownership By First Last Staff Reporter
Concerns over Chinese ownership of land in Texas spiked after lawmakers discovered that a Chinese subsidiary purchased about 140,000 Multiple bills have been filed in acres near Laughlin Air Force Base in the current Texas legislative session Val Verde County. seeking to regulate some people from A December 2020 U.S. DepartChina, Iran, North Korea and Russia ment of Agriculture report showed and their purchasing property in the that China accounted for less than 1% state. Similar bills have been filed in — 352,140 acres — of all foreign-held at least 15 other states and Washingland in the United States. ton, D.C. Here are some of the bills introLawmakers who have authored duced in the Texas Legislature: some of the bills have said the legislaSenate Bill 147 tion is intended to protect the state The bill: SB 147 would ban citifrom governments that are considered zens and businesses from China, Iran, a threat to the U.S. by the federal gov- North Korea and Russia, or those ernment. Those who oppose the bills governments, from buying property say they are rooted in xenophobia. in Texas. It could have limited excep-
tions, for instance for people with dual U.S. citizenship. Author: Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham Coauthors: Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen; Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston; Sen. Drew Springer, R-Muenster Status: Pending in committee March 2 Background: SB147 angered many in the Chinese American community when Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted his intent in January to sign the bill if passed. The bill, according to Kolkhorst, “builds on” Senate Bill 2116, a bill passed by Republicans and Democrats in the last regular legisla-
tive session to protect “critical infrastructure.” Some Democrats who voted in favor of SB 2116, including Gene Wu and Rafael Anchia, have spoken out against SB 147, which currently states that “an individual who is a citizen of China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia” would not be allowed to purchase or acquire real property. After multiple rallies against the bills sprung up in major Texas cities, including Houston and Dallas, Kolkhorst and other Republican lawmakers have said the bill would clarify that people who are lawful permanent residents and dual citizens would not be affected by the proposed legislation. See 4 bills on 6
Cyclones defeat Cowgirls in close top-20 matchup Gina Foster Staff Reporter Wild fans, intense matches and fierce competitors contribute to creating quite the atmosphere for a Friday night Big 12 top-20 matchup. The Cyclones defeated the Cowgirls 4-2 at the Greenwood Tennis Center to end OSU’s 4-0 Big 12 record. However, it did not go down without a hard fight. “Well, I think there’s always lessons to be learned,” said coach Chris Young. “There’s things that you can take that are positives and there’s things
to learn from it. What we want to do is learn from playing a good team like this and improve the rest of the season.” These close losses may be tough, but Young does not let them go to waste. Alana Wolfberg came back from a 5-1 deficit to win set one 7-5 and set two 6-3. The fight and passion was evident to the crowd, as eyes were glued to court two.
See Matchup on 5
Carson Toulouse Jordy Mercer played 10 seasons in MLB, his last being in 2021.
How Mercer became the student-assistant coach for OSU baseball
Daniel Allen Staff Reporter Jordy Mercer felt the hot, summer sun blaze down on him outside of his house in Edmond. It appeared to just be a normal day, but little did he know, it would soon alter its course. Mercer felt his phone buzz in the
back pocket of his jeans. Bewilderment struck as he saw it to be OSU coach Josh Holliday. “I expected another casual phone call,” Mercer said. “Josh didn’t even hesitate when he offered me a job as the student assistant.” The position had been previously held by former OSU and MLB player, and Chicago White Sox manager Robin Ventura for the past three seasons. Mercer had already planned on returning to school to attain a degree. Still, he was uncertain about accepting. So, he mentioned it to who he refers to as “ole reliable.” His wife, Kasey Mer-
cer.
“I explained to (Jordy), the only thing this was going to do was open more doors for him down the road,” Kasey said. “I told him that it would be the only time he would be able to do student coaching.” Kasey hasn’t missed the long nights, waiting for Jordy to call nor the sparse amounts of time the two spent together. She did miss being a baseball mom and wife. She missed seeing her kids run around the bases of PNC Park and Comerica Park, and so did Jordy. See Mercer on 3