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A new parking garage, artwork and public gathering spaces could reshape the Northgate district, according to a long-range vision presented to College Station City Council June 25. Safety measures were also largely discussed.

What you need to know: Among the proposed improvements and additions are:

• A parking garage with new parking signage and hardscape

• The addition of many benches

• A statue depicting Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen

• A promenade area

• Sanitation improvements, resurfacing and a new marketing strategy

The preservation of the “Core Northgate” overlay stretches from First to Lodge streets and University Drive to Church Avenue. 

The city is also looking to increase parking revenue in the Northgate district with the addition of a surface parking lot. The lot, which would be a little larger than 1.5 acres, would fit more than 100 parking spaces and generate an estimated $500,000 per year.

What’s next: The council did not take any action. Revisions and more presentations of the plans will be at the city council meetings in the near future.

Texas A&M University’s AgriLife will receive part of a $105 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for research concerning the potential New World screwworm outbreak in the United States, according to a June 17 release.

What’s happening: Under the USDA program New World Screwworm Grand Challenge, the grant is going toward readiness on the detection, control and eradication of the screwworm. Texas A&M AgriLife was chosen to lead seven proposals and contribute to seven additional projects, in addition to already contributing to another USDA project.

The projects are going to focus on four core areas, including developing traps and monitoring systems, strengthen response and release sterile worms more efficiently.

Zooming in: Texas A&M has been responsive to the outbreak within the state, deploying a veterinary emergency response team.

The takeaway: With 22 active cases in Texas, efforts from A&M and the USDA hope to curb the outbreak before it becomes an epidemic.

Brazos Valley AC Services and Repair, a College Station-based HVAC company, commemorated its new location courtesy of a ribbon-cutting from the BCS Chamber of Commerce.

Founded in 2020 by Jose and Pricislla Gonzales, the business is licensed, insured and certified by the Better Business Bureau. It stands by treating “every home like our own, with honesty, respect and quality workmanship,” with over 10 years of HVAC experience.

Before you go: Brazos Valley AC’s new location has been open since February, and is a sign of its expanding business output. The company serves both Bryan and College Station, as well as other parts of the Brazos Valley. Its hours are 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday through Friday.

• 3204 Longmire Drive, Suite B, College Station

Need to catch up on news from the past week in the Bryan-College Station area? Check out these five stories.

Texas A&M-RELLIS to develop 77 acres for a small nuclear energy reactor

How Sweet Eugene’s became College Station’s ‘third home’

Brazos County completes employee compensation study, findings suggest rates are overall competitive

College Station kicks off first phase in Harvey Road Corridor Redevelopment Plan

Bryan Fire Department testing 48/96 schedule to improve recruitment, retention

The State Board of Education is nearing the finish line in its massive rewrite of what Texas public school students will learn about world and state history.

The details: The curriculum overhaul would shift the focus in social studies classes to a Texas-centered approach, deemphasizing lessons about world cultures and injecting more content about Christianity’s role in the founding of the United States.

Some educators and students have expressed concerns that the proposal lacks significant teachings about civil rights history, Japanese internment in the 1940s and people of color’s contributions to the nation. Meanwhile, Republican board members have pushed back, saying that the rewrite is necessary to teach students about American exceptionalism and Texas heritage in an attempt to undo what they called “a watering-down of American history.”

What's happening: The board has spent the bulk of its meetings this week making amendments to a 143-page social studies proposal, which includes hundreds of standards that students would be expected to learn each year. If adopted June 26, the new requirements would take effect in 2030.