VOLUME 103, ISSUE 46
www.UniversityStar.com
WEDNESDAY
JANUARY 22, 2014
Defending the First Amendment since 1911
VIDEO | UniversityStar.com
SPORTS | Page 7
The Texas State Athletics video team produces live footage for display at home games and online.
Off to Little Rock: Women’s basketball will travel to the Jack Stephens Center tonight at 7 p.m. to face the Trojans for the second time this season.
CITY
Proposed Safe Passing Ordinance to protect ‘vulnerable road users’ Austin Humphreys | Star file photo A proposal for a nine-story development near downtown has been postponed to allow for more resident input on the project. The land is currently occupied by Cedars Mediterranean Restaurant, Triple Crown and Eskimo Hut.
CITY
Officials to hold talk for proposed development Madelynne Scales | Asst. Photo Editor David Thacker, biology senior, rides his bicycle Jan. 21 on Comanche Street. A proposed Safe Passing Ordinance would require all vehicles to give at least three feet of clearance when passing “vulnerable” road users including cyclists.
By Scott Allen
News Reporter
C
yclists and pedestrians will have more room on the roads if a proposed Safe Passing Ordinance is approved by the San Marcos City Council in the coming weeks. City councilmembers discussed the proposed ordinance during their meeting Tuesday, deciding to allow the proposal to head into the drafting stage with help from city staff members. The ordinance, if passed, will stipulate all vehicles must give at least three feet of clearance when passing “vulnerable road users.” Commercial ve-
hicles such as semi-trucks would have to give at least six feet of clearance. The ordinance, which applies to pedestrians and cyclists, already exists in 22 Texas cities. Neighboring communities such as Austin, New Braunfels and San Antonio have already passed the ordinance. The ordinance is expected to include language protecting the safe passing of all “vulnerable road users” on roadways. This includes pedestrians, joggers, cyclists, skateboarders, equestrians, physically disabled people, construction and maintenance workers, tow truck operators, stranded motorists and farm equipment
operators. Law enforcement would have the ability to write tickets for those who disobey safe passing rules. Robin Stallings, executive director for Bike Texas, a non-profit bicycle education and advocacy organization, said tickets in some cities can reach up to $500 and classify as a Class C misdemeanor. A length of time would be allotted before officers could begin ticketing offenders, similar to the system put in place for the alcohol ordinance enacted last year, said Mayor Daniel Guerrero. The ordinance, if passed, would include
See ORDINANCE, Page 2
The Main Street program will host a Coffee Talk for residents to discuss a proposed ninestory development that would take the place of Triple Crown and other local businesses on the corner of Edward Gary and Hutchison Streets. The Coffee Talk will be held from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday at the LBJ Museum of San Marcos on Guadalupe Street. The talk is a result of the Planning and Zoning Commission’s Jan. 14 decision to gather more resident feedback before making a decision. The proposal requires a zoning change for the building, which is intended to be four stories taller than what is allowed under the current city regulation. The project includes plans for several levels of parking, retail and living spaces. The developer of the project, John David Carson of Carson Diversified Properties 2 LLC, will be present at the talk to answer public questions and dis-
cuss the specifics of the project. The Hutchison Mixed Use Redevelopment project proposed by Carson Properties would sit on land currently occupied by Triple Crown, Eskimo Hut and Cedars Mediterranean Restaurant. City staff recommended the approval of the development during the Jan. 14 P&Z meeting. The development would aim to create a “car free lifestyle” for its residents, John David Carson of Carson Properties said the development will “enhance the urban fabric” of San Marcos with its “highly efficient use of land that prevents sprawl.” The decision on the project’s height, which is four stories above city regulations, was delayed previously so engineers could upgrade the materials being used for the building. —Compiled by Taylor Tompkins, news editor
HEALTH
Community feeling effects of flu virus By Kacee Letbetter News Reporter
With the average influenza season in Texas typically lasting from October to May , San Marcos is already starting to feel the effects of the virus, which is hitting residents harder than in previous seasons. City officials say fewer arrests and medical incidents have occurred in parks due to the alcohol ban that went into effect Jan. 1, 2013.
City park alcohol ban sees ‘positive’ results News Reporter
A year has passed since public consumption and display of alcohol was banned in city parks, a move city officials say has resulted in less crime as visitors have sobered up. Fire Marshal Ken Bell and Rodney Cobb, executive director of community services, gave an update on the alcohol ban in city parks during Tuesday’s city council meeting. Bell and Cobb reported that fewer arrests and hospitalizations resulting from medical issues in city parks have occurred since the ban went into effect Jan. 1, 2013.
What we saw wasn’t so much a higher incidence of the flu, but the people that had the flu seemed to be sicker.” —Clay DeStefano, Central Texas Medical Center
RECREATION
By James Carneiro
Center director. The health center has administered about 1,100 doses of the flu vaccine so far, he said. The flu vaccine is ordered by hospitals and health departments early in the year based on projected numbers from the year before, DeStefano said. Patients who receive the vaccine are still suscep-
Bell said the alcohol ban has helped eliminate a “witching hour” at night when there was typically a spike in criminal incidents and hospitalizations. Bell said this spike often resulted after visitors had spent roughly eight hours drinking in the parks. The city averaged 20 hospitalizations due to activity in city parks in summers before the ordinance was passed, Bell said, in comparison to five hospitalizations this summer. Bell said people have also been “hypersensitive” about throwing beer cans in trash cans since the ordinance went
See PARKS, Page 2
Strains of the H1N1 flu are predominantly circulating this season, and experts say effects of the virus are already apparent. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 138 to 145 million doses of the seasonal influenza vaccine were reported to the CDC for distribution in the U.S. Health care professionals in San Marcos agree this flu season will be particularly severe on those who contract the virus. “What we saw wasn’t so much a higher incidence of the flu, but the people that had the flu seemed to be sicker,” said Clay DeStefano, administrative director for public relations and marketing at Central Texas Medical Center. “It was a tougher flu, if you will.” The Student Health Center provided flu shots last fall and in the beginning of this semester, said Emilio Carranco, Student Health
tible to the virus, but the intensity of their symptoms is not as great and they have a lesser chance of catching the flu, he said. “It’s a preventive measure, and it’s a measure that helps to manage the illness,” DeStefano said. Physicians are generally in agreement that this year’s flu virus is severe and seems to be affecting healthy young adults more than usual, said Laureen Chernow, Hays County communications specialist. “In our case, we’re watching it closely. We’re tracking the trend, trying to make sure we are contributing to the solution,” DeStefano said. Even though younger patients seem to be experiencing harsher effects of the flu, college students still seem to be the least willing to receive the vaccination for the virus, DeStefano said. Students were not a large percentage of the total among those receiving the
vaccine at CTMC, he said. Some students may receive vaccines at their family doctor or pharmacy, so it is difficult to determine what percentage of the student population has been vaccinated, Carranco said. “With less people vaccinated, more people are vulnerable to infection with the flu and more people can spread the flu,” Carranco said. Texas State has a contract that guarantees the health center receives the vaccine, which few other universities have, Carranco said. The contract guarantees the Student Health Center the opportunity to order additional vaccines at any time throughout the flu season, even in the unlikely event of national shortages, Carranco said. The Hays County Local Health Department remains in control of an adequate supply of the vaccination at this time, Chernow said. Most vaccine shortages tend to come from smaller facilities, which in turn do not affect the total supply for San Marcos, she said. Although the estimates for the number of influenza vaccines has fluctuated this flu season, both Carranco and DeStefano said there does not yet seem to be a shortage in San Marcos. The Student Health Center has 400 doses of the vaccination, Carranco said. DeStefano said CTMC stated it still has the vaccine in several of its locations to support the community.