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The State Press

Biofuel Research Grant Awarded

The Auburn University's Department of Biosystems Engineering has been awarded $4.9 million to help develop systems which will handle, deliver and lower the cost of biomass feedstock from the seed to the pump.Feedstock is raw material, usually plant or agricultural waste, that can be processed into fuel."Our feedstock is going to be woody biomass with the kind of the trees and things we have all around us here in the South," said Steven Taylor, head and director of the department of biosystems engineering.Biomass is a clean, renewable energy source that can help diversify transportation fuels in the U.S., according to the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) News Web site.Auburn University was one of the five projects awarded the federal grant by the U.S.


The State Press

Library Offers New Amenities for Guests

The Ralph Brown Draughon Library has seen its share of changes over the years, but imminent remodeling of the building will rival any seen before.What began in the summer with the closing off of part of the first floor near the Mell Street entrance will result in a full service Caribou Coffee shop and a learning commons area on the second floor."We had been working with SGA and the Student Advisory Council (SAC) for several years, asking them to survey students and get input about their thoughts on the library," said Bonnie MacEwan, dean of libraries.


The Auburn Plainsman

Goodbye Power Cords, Hello Wireless Electricity

Imagine a world where clusters of mangled wires under desks are non-existent. Imagine a world where laptops and cell phones charge every time they enter a room.A world where all those things are possible may not be far away.The idea of wireless electricity dates back more than 100 years to Nikola Tesla and his giant electrical towers, known as Tesla coils, which would relay electrical charges through the air."Tesla made an antenna of the high-voltage end of his secondary, it became a powerful radio transmitter," according to PBS online.

The Auburn Plainsman

Auburn City Council changes open records policy

Auburn City Council changed their policy for open records in a unanimous vote at Tuesday night's meeting.Council changed the policy to unify Auburn with state guidelines on open records.Although Auburn had a policy, it did not distinctly line up with Alabama's state policies. The new record is a written document formalizing Auburn's policies with state law.

Morgan Thacker/ Associate Photo Editor

Buds May Blunt Booze's Abuse of Brain

The results of a University of California San Diego study claim adolescents who use marijuana may be less susceptible to brain damage from binge drinking."I was definitely surprised by the results," said Susan Tapert, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California San Diego, and one of the main researchers in the study.The study's goal was to research the capacity of the adolescent brain to process information efficiently after exposure to drugs and alcohol.Between 2007 and 2009, researchers studied adolescents ages 16 to 19.The subjects were divided into three groups: binge drinkers, binge drinkers who also used marijuana and a control group who rarely or never used alcohol or drugs.Binge drinking is defined as having five or more drinks in one sitting for men and four or more drinks in one sitting for women.The researchers were surprised to find the results of the study deviated from what they had hypothesized, Tapert said."We found that the damage to their white matter was right in the middle (of the results)," Tapert said, about the subjects who frequently used marijuana and alcohol.

Morgan Thacker/  Associate Photo Editor

Where Do All The Bikes Go?

The benefits to biking on campus are numerous: it is good for the environment, it is cost efficient and it is great for the body.But, many students don't realize their bikes can be confiscated if they don't have the correct parking permits.All bikes, just like motorcycles and other vehicles on campus, need to have a permit or decal, which are free of charge.Students must know the make, color and serial number of the bicycle to obtain a parking permit.

The Auburn Plainsman

Gameday Parking for Students

C-Zone Lot (Coliseum) -- All vehicles must be removed by 6 a.m. the day before a home football game.West / RO, C-Zone Lot (west end of Thach Avenue) \0xAD-- All vehicles must be removed by 6 a.m.

The Auburn Plainsman

Ala. Advanced Placement Testing Rises

The College Board, which administers Advanced Placement tests nationally, said the amount of students taking AP exams in Alabama has risen to 24.5 percent of all high school students.Alabama also leads the nation in increases of students who qualify for college credit with their scores with 21.1 percent of students.Gov.

Morgan Thacker/ Associate Photo Editor

Toomer's Ten Welcome Downtown

Most people who have ventured downtown at night realize that parking spots are scarce.And many people have probably succumbed to the temptation of parking somewhere where they could be towed when they can't find any other spot.However, with the institution of Toomer's Ten, resorting to parking in tow-away zones may be a thing of the past."The amount of parking relieved from the downtown area has been dramatic," said Thomas Stone, manager of SkyBar CafeToomer's Ten was originally designed to provide students a safe way of getting to and from downtown Auburn at night.However, these ten buses may be helping more people than just students.And despite the loss of several parking spaces in front of the bar, Stone said he thinks that the buses have created five to six times more parking spaces.

The Auburn Plainsman

FEMA Demands Money From Baldwin County

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has questioned whether funds allocated to Baldwin County were used properly for post-hurricane cleanup.According to the December 2008 Office of Inspector general report, Baldwin County received a total of $41.3 million for 2004 Hurricane Ivan and 2005 hurricanes Dennis and Katrina.The money came in amounts of $36 million, $800,000 and $4.5 million for the three respective hurricanes.Government auditors recommend in the OIG report that FEMA reclaim $10.5 million because the auditors suspected the county claimed $7.7 million in tipping fees from landfill disposal, $1.64 million on stump removal labor, even though most stumps were removed by homeowners, $1.06 million in interest earned from tipping fees, $28,569 in duplicate fees and $10,302 covered by insurance costs.Baldwin County claimed it gave money to contractors who were supposed to accomplish these tasks, but the report claims the money was eventually funneled back into the county's pocket.However, financial data contained in the county's audited financial statements for the 2005 fiscal year indicates that the county's solid waste fund, which includes the costs of maintaining the county's landfills, benefited from tipping fees related to the hurricanes.Federal regulations (44 CPR l3.22(a)(2)), prohibit the use of federal grant funds to accrue a profit."(Revenues in the Baldwin County Solid Waste) fund increased 3.25 times, from $4.7 million in 2004 to over $15.2 million in 2005, while expenses increased only 1.29 times, from $3.9 million to $5.0 million for the same period," according to the OIG report.Baldwin County disagrees with the OIG's allegation that it accrued interest on the money it received from FEMA, according to the OIG report.After reviewing claims by Baldwin County and the OIG, FEMA sided with the OIG on all issues except tipping fees and interest earned on the fees.FEMA will pursue a total of $5.8 million in reimbursements, $3.47 million from excessive tipping fees and $656,000 from interest, according to an Aug.

The Auburn Plainsman

Auburn Celebrates College Colors Day

Gov. Bob Riley has declared tomorrow is College Colors Day in Alabama.College Colors Day is a national movement of students wearing their college or university's school colors to help kick off the college football season.The movement encourages Auburn fans to wear orange and blue throughout the day.The University has announced that tomorrow will be an All Auburn, All Orange day.Kelley White, a sophomore, said she definitely thinks encouraging students to wear Auburn blue and orange before athletic events gets people pumped.White said she thinks it says good things about Auburn when people see the photos and everyone looks like they support the school."I think it's great, it gets everyone involved, everyone's excited," said Kenny Quinlan, a sophomore in finance, about organizations that are independent of universities getting involved in college athletics.

The Auburn Plainsman

New Carmike Cinemas in the works for Opelika

Cinema buffs in Opelika now have another opening day to mark in their calendars.Last week, Carmike Cinemas Inc. announced their plans to build a new movie theater in Opelika at the intersection of Exit 58 of Interstate 85 and Highway 280 across the interstate from Tiger Town."We expect it to be another jewel in the crown that is Opelika," said Al Cook, director of Economic Development in Opelika.The future site of the cinema is in the Capps Landing development, which currently holds a Hampton Inn and a Holiday Inn Express.