thebattalion ● friday,
march 12, 2010
● serving
texas a&m since 1893
● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2010 student media
Texas dry spell ceases
this day in
S U history
■ Two-year drought devastates farmers, El Niño brings moisture
March 12, 1901 Andrew Carnegie, one of the world’s foremost industrialists, offered the city of New York $5.2 million for the construction of 65 branch libraries. The Scottish immigrant’s fortune eventually would establish many more libraries and charitable foundations.
Brandi Tevebaugh The Battalion After two years of dry weather, the drought in Texas is over, according to measurements done by the Office of the Texas State Climatologist. John Nielson-Gammon, Texas State Climatologist and professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M, said the measurements of precipitation have reached normal levels. “We’re looking at the precipitation for various periods of time as well as soil moisture, stream flow, and reservoir levels,” Nielson-Gammon said. “We started receiving less than normal precipitation in the fall of 2007 and by that winter, we had reached drought status.” The two-year drought was not as long or as severe as other droughts like those in the 1950s, but did impact crop production and cattle. “There was one county in south Texas where they had their entire cotton crop fail,
inside scene | 3
b!
See Drought on page 2
Nicholas Badger — THE BATTALION
Brodie Green survived being hit in the face by three different fast balls and is back and ready to play.
Mighty, ‘Mighty Tiger’ The indie pop musical group might only have so-so vocals, but they make up for it with strong composition that creates something original.
sports | 5
Aggies beat Huskers No. 23 Texas A&M defeated Nebraska to move into the Big 12 semifinals and will face No. 1 Kansas.
voices | 6
Living loyally Despite in-state rivalries, Aggies are loyal Texans, the most prideful of all the state. When one of our brother teams are playing an out-of-state team, we should root for them.
Saving face After three head-on collisions with fastballs, Greene steps up to the plate Brad Cox The Battalion Football often steals the show as being the violent and deadly sport of America, but baseball, for its leisure and slow pace, can be a painful experience. Imagine standing in the batter’s box, staring down a top hurler in the league. With a determined grit and a clever eye, you lean in, looking for a fastball you can send over the wall. But if that fastball comes in too high, too close — blackout. The stadium is quiet as coaches and trainers stand around you as the blood coming from your face mixes with the
See Greene on page 5
Pain is glory The most common baseball injuries include:
◗ Pitcher’s elbow ◗ Leg sprains and breaks
◗ Shoulder pull ◗ Concussion ◗ Cracked teeth http:// familyeducation.com
■ Austin rally encourages unity, political activism, fight to change policies Brandi Tevebaugh The Battalion Katherine Kelly, a junior pre-law major in Florida, is organizing Justice Rally 2010, a forum fighting injustice, on the south steps of the Texas Capitol. “I feel like Texas has so much going on as far as corruption and injustice,” Kelly said. The event at 5 p.m. March 18 is free and will feature speakers, live music and a march. The speakers will include Regina Kelly, who is the inspiration for the movie “American Violet,” lawmakers, exonerated inmates and attorneys. “We’re going to allow students to come up and speak if they want to say anything,” Kelly said. See Justice on page 2
College Station taxis face regulations State rates Austin: $2.50 for the first 1/8 mile plus $0.25 for each additional 1/8 mile. Dallas: $2.25 for initial meter drop, and $0.20 for each additional 1/9 mile. Houston: $2.50 for the first 2/11 mile, and $0.17 for each additional 1/11 mile.
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red clay below. This story is too real for senior outfielder Brodie Greene, who has taken pitches to his face not once, not twice, but three times. “It’s just something about it, I can’t get out of the way,” Greene said. “It’s kind of a magnet I guess.” Magnet is one of a few words to describe the anomaly of the ball finding a way to Greene’s face. He has been hit by a pitch 21 times, meaning his face has been hit 15 percent of those times. Hit by pitch single-season record holder, Luke Anders, was hit 21 times in 2008, but was never hit in the face.
Fighting against injustice
Samantha Johnson The Battalion The College Station City Council Transportation Committee discussed possible changes to the requirements for College Station taxi companies. “I don’t want to tell someone how to run their business, but I think we should have predictability, accountability and safety in our taxis,” said Dennis Maloney, city council member and chairman of the Transportation Committee that met March 4. He said one of the concerns is when people get rides from different companies and do not know how much they will be charged.
“There have been concerns from people that there is no predictability in taxi rates,” Maloney said. “We don’t want to have a price control or set rate, but what we would like to see is a system where people can know what kind of price they will have before they get into the cab.” Bryant McCombs, a senior history major, said it would be better if people knew in advance what to pay. “Having fares printed on the outside, or having one set rate would definitely help us decide which cab we would take,” he said. Jason Adams, the owner of Maroon Cab, See Taxi on page 2
As is many other U.S. cities, College Station taxi cabs will soon be required to post rates and obey seat belt rules to ensure accountability.
3/11/10 9:06 PM