The last time Kayla Kapavik joked with her cousin Joey Pustejovsky or saw her home was Easter. Now, both are gone.

Kapavik is one of a handful of Texas State students from West who were affected by the April 17 explosion.

Kapavik, radiation therapy sophomore, said her 29-year-old cousin was a firefighter and the city’s secretary. She said her cousin was on the first radio call between the police and fire department when the fire was reported.

“From the beginning, there was a person who called in the fire and 30 seconds in you can hear my cousin, and he is the first responder,” Kapavik said. “He said he was on his way. When he got there he assessed the situation and went (into the building).”

Kapavik said police began trying to get the firefighters out of the plant once they realized how dangerous the fire was getting.

“That’s why some of them survived,” she said.

City councilmembers unanimously approved the final reading of the new Comprehensive Master Plan Tuesday, which will officially be updated for the first time in almost 20 years.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have a master plan. Congratulations,” said Mayor Daniel Guerrero at the city council meeting.

The councilmembers, city staff and residents completed the 13-month process of updating the city’s 17-year-old master plan, which will now guide the population growth and infrastructure for the next 10 years. Matthew Lewis, director of planning and development services, said the whole process started with Dream San Marcos. Lewis said public input was the driving force of finalizing the master plan.

“It captured community voices we typically don’t hear from, and (the public’s) ideas were incorporated in the Comprehensive Master Plan,” Lewis said.

Texas State is one step closer to its sixth name change since 1903.

State senators unanimously approved Senate Bill 974 April 10, which would eliminate “–San Marcos” from the end of the university’s name. The change is currently pending in the House, from which university administrators hope to hear a final decision later this week. The institution’s name was modified 10 years ago from Southwest Texas State University to its current title. Provost Eugene Bourgeois said this should be the last name change for the university.

University President Denise Trauth said in a statement the school is already referred to as “Texas State” or “Texas State University” in instances other than legal documents.

Bourgeois said the name change reflects the “need and desire” to eliminate confusion surrounding the Round Rock campus. If Gov. Rick Perry signs the bill into law, the Round Rock campus would be referred to as the “Texas State University Round Rock Campus.”

Students busted by university police for small amounts of marijuana could avoid jail time under a “cite and release” resolution the Associated Student Government hopes to push through the administration.

ASG senator Kevin Kutras authored a resolution that would allow the University Police Department to participate in a cite and release program, which is an option under Texas House Bill 2391. Law enforcement officers can issue citations for nonviolent crimes without taking the individual to city or county jail under HB 2391. ASG passed its resolution in February.

Students would be protected from any adverse academic consequences resulting from spending time in jail, such as missed classes and tests. The resolution said it would allow for UPD officers to focus on violent crimes.

City councilmembers voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the first of two readings of the new Comprehensive Master Plan, which is being updated for the first time since 1996.

The council, city staff and residents recently completed a 13-month process of updating the city’s master plan, which will guide the growth and development of San Marcos for the next 10 years. The council will make its final vote on the plan April 16.

“It’s been a plan a long time coming,” said Mayor Daniel Guerrero.

They created a citizen advisory council and a steering committee made up of volunteer members from a cross-section of the community to develop the master plan. It entails rewriting land development code, looking at the 37 existing neighborhoods and adopting the parks master plan and environmental restrictions across town.

City council members approved an inter-local partnership between the city and university’s transportation systems during their March 19 meeting to continue bus services throughout the area.

Councilwoman Kim Porterfield, Place 1, said the six-month union between Capital Area Rural Transportation (CARTS) and the Texas State tram system will benefit the city’s most vulnerable residents, including the elderly, children, disabled and those who live in rural areas. Porterfield said she is excited about this next step toward becoming an urbanized area.

“This is very exciting for San Marcos,” Porterfield said. “We have an opportunity to further develop the transit system.”

Laurie Moyer, managing director of Transit and Solid Waste, said the six-month agreement to collaborate on routes, budgets and schedules started on March 1 and will end on Sept. 30.

Hongtai Cheng, post doctoral research associate, is observed by Heping Chen, assistant professor at the Ingram School of Engineering, as he works on a portable robot. The two are researching how to make the robot move on its own.

Harold Stern, director of the Ingram School of Engineering, is often terrified when Heping Chen’s $100,000 hunk of steel roams the halls of Roy F. Mitte’s fifth floor.

Texas State’s crunch for land has forced the university to be one of the most space-efficient higher education institutions in the state.

Texas State should have more than 2.9 million square feet of space supporting its current level of students, according to the space model formula designed by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. However, the university falls short at 1.8 million square feet. Bill Nance, vice president for Finance and Support Services, said space at Texas State has to be used very efficiently because of the square footage deficit.

Members of the San Marcos City Council affirmed prohibiting Zelicks Icehouse from having live, outdoor, amplified music during their Feb. 19 meeting.

The councilmembers voted 5-2 in favor of an appeal to Zelicks’ conditional use permit from Barry James and his wife Brenda Smith. Live outdoor music will no longer be allowed at the bar. Councilmembers Jude Prather, Place 2, and Ryan Thomason, Place 5, were the dissenting votes.

James and Smith own the Young Building across the street from the bar and appealed Zelicks’ conditional use permit because of concern about the high volume of noise during evenings.

Councilmembers first approved James’ appeal during the Jan. 15 meeting, sending the conditional use permit back to the Planning and Zoning Commission upon the request of Chairman Bill Taylor. The commission reapproved Zelicks’ permit with a 5-2 vote on Feb. 12. The city council still had the final vote, despite the bar receiving the commission’s approval.

The San Marcos City Council approved a piece of development Tuesday that would create up to 1,750 new single-family residences in the city’s outlying land.

The councilmembers voted 6-1 in favor of the development agreement for the western extraterritorial jurisdiction. The approval allows Lazy Oaks Ranch, LP to build single-family neighborhoods on a 937-acre tract near San Marcos Baptist Academy, with an additional 469 acres of open space and floodwater drainage area. Councilman Jude Prather, Place 2, was the dissenting vote.

Kristy Stark, assistant director of Development Services-Permit Center, said Lazy Oaks Ranch would sit entirely on the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone, with Purgatory Creek dividing the site. Stark said the amount of land to be developed depends upon the results of federal environmental studies.