Public commentary on the proposed plastic bag ban

The following quotes are from Monday’s open forum during which Austinites voiced their opinions on the proposed plastic bag ban. City officials began considering the ban in April, and Austin City Council members voted in August to draft an unofficial ordinance outlining possible provisions for the ban, according to The Daily Texan.

“The decision to [have a ban] has basically been made. But we want to do everything we can to minimize the impact. We don’t want to create a hardship.”
— Mayor Lee Leffingwell, who supports the ban, at the meeting, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

“You can go out any day of the week and find plastic bags flying. This past weekend on Saturday it was windy and I caught a few.”
— Austin Resource Recovery director Bob Gedert on the prevalence of plastic bags, according to the Texan.

“I have questions about Big Brother deciding what I can and can’t do.”
— Austinite Harold Wettig at the meeting voicing his opposition to the ban, according to the Statesman.

West Virginia to join Big 12

The University of West Virginia has “applied and been accepted” to join the Big 12 conference, an anonymous source told The New York Times on Tuesday. The move comes after Missouri’s recent indication that it will seek to leave the Big 12 after next year and join Texas A&M in the SEC. The future of the Big 12 conference has been in doubt recently, as Missouri’s departure would have left the conference with only nine schools. Other schools being considered for membership include Brigham Young University and the University of Louisville on Tuesday.

“We were carefully analyzing how we stood nationally, what our options might be, as we looked at continuing instability which was driving us, really, from the Big 12 perspective.”
— Missouri chancellor Brady Deaton, on Missouri’s decision to leave the Big 12. He hopes to be able to reveal Missouri’s new conference within the next several weeks, according to the Kansas City Star.

“I don’t have any dealings with that. If I had an opinion, I don’t even know who I’d call.”
— West Virginia football coach Dana Holgorsen, on his school’s move to the Big 12, according to ESPN.