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State Rep. Jeff Leach (’05) Talks Criminal Justice Reform At Texas Tribune Festival

Leach spoke on a panel Friday morning at Texas Tribune Festival titled “Criminal Justice and the 89th Legislature” with his colleague State Representative Joe Moody, a Democrat from Texas’ West-most district in El Paso. The pair discussed their efforts to initiate further criminal justice reform in the State of Texas. Though Leach and Moody caucus in opposite parties, Leach said, “In the Texas House, we don’t have to hate each other. . . . There are a lot of things we can work together on.”

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6 New Hot Spots in Waco for Fall 2024

There’s no denying the growth and change in Waco, Texas over the past decade. With this rise in popularity, new Waco hot spots are constantly sprouting, bringing in plenty of new gems and expanding the city’s offerings for locals and tourists. Whether you’re just visiting or are a looking for your new favorite spot, here are some new hot spots in Waco you need to check out, including the many offerings at Hotel Herringbone, a new barbecue joint, and Common Grounds’ newest location. There’s so much to explore in Waco, Texas!

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A Commitment to Inclusion: Empowering Waco’s Minority and Women-owned Small Businesses

“The beauty of living in a community where small businesses thrive,” said Oh My Juice owner Denitia Blount, “is that it sets a place apart. Whenever I go to a town or city, I want the local flair,” she said. “I want to feel like I’m somewhere different. When you go to a chain, you aren’t seeing what makes a place great. You aren’t tapping into the people. In Waco, people are drawn by what’s homegrown and the diversity of our small businesses.” Inroads have been made in recent years to support that diversity in Waco, even though the challenges for all small business owners everywhere are significant: Inflation. Supply chain issues. Renovation costs. Demands for a quick return by lenders. The Bureau of Labor reports a third of new businesses close within their first two years. It’s worse for minority and women business owners. Blount couldn’t secure a loan to start her business in 2013 unless her husband, who has a successful nationally-recognized business, co-signed. People of color face even more discrimination and other inequities. According to a recent Bloomberg Report, eight out of ten Black-owned businesses fail within the first 18 months.  

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Col. John Paul Stapp: There Was Much More Than Speed to the Fastest Man on Earth

For a time in the 1950s, Baylor graduate John Paul Stapp was the holder of the land speed record and was as famous as Col. Chuck Yeager. Once featured on the cover of Time magazine, Stapp is considered the “Father of the Seat Belt” in the United States and is even credited with coining one

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On Death and Dying

Candi K. Cann calls herself a death scholar. Technically, the associate professor in the Baylor Interdisciplinary Core of the Honors College is a thanatologist, though she allows that most people don’t know what that is. For the record, a thanatologist is a specialist who studies death, dying, grief, and loss. It’s no secret that Americans have been remarkably averse to talking about death, but a 2018 survey released by The Conversation Project suggests that a huge cultural shift may be under way. “We have begun to break the taboo around talking about death,” Ellen Goodman, founder of The Conversation Project, reported at the time.

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