Author: Travis Pettis

Community

The rise and fall of Hillcrest

Travis Pettis

Tpettis@foghornnews.com You’re going to get two things before you walk out of Sam’s Barber Shop. First, you’re going to hear “the good news,” and second, you’re going to get a great haircut. The rust-red building located in the middle of Hillcrest has long been a hotspot for the community. “Thank you Lord for giving us another day on this earth,” says Sam Johnson, also known as Sam the Barber. Johnson is the owner of Sam’s Barber Shop and has been cutting hair on the Northside since 1953. He has seen all the changes — from the good to the bad.…

Community

Built on uncertainty: Bridge project, and lives, on hold

Travis Pettis

Travis Pettis tpettis@foghornnews.com As leaders of the African American community in Corpus Christi come together to meet at the Oveal Williams Senior Center, they file past a picture of former President Barack Obama hanging above the doors. Many see Obama as a symbol of hope, something this community needs more than ever right now. As with most events, it starts with hands linked and heads bowed in prayer. This community is held together with strong religious beliefs, which give them a foundation in times of uncertainty. Uncertainty would have to be the best way to describe what the Northside community…

Campus

Federal agents visit Del Mar College for recruiting event

Travis Pettis

Those interested in law enforcement get tips on how to apply Students interested in law enforcement careers with the government learned firsthand what it takes when several federal agents visited Del Mar College’s West Campus Nov. 30. Agents from the FBI and ATF, as well as immigration agents, came to share how to get into their agencies and also tell their personal experience going through the process of becoming being agents. Education was the most important issue that all the agents hit on at the event. Del Mar College alumnus Larry Gamboa, now a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or…

Campus

Bennett takes board seat from Boggs in election

Travis Pettis

Hutchinson, McCampbell hold on to their spots The 2016 Del Mar College Board of Regents races are officially over. Three out of the nine seats were up for grabs. District 2 incumbent Susan Hutchinson ran unopposed, while District 5 representative Jim Boggs ran against Ed Bennett and At-Large incumbent Trey McCampbell ran against Laurie Turner. Hutchinson, who ran uncontested, is ready to continue helping Del Mar grow. “I am honored to have the voters of my district confirm that they want my continued representation of their interests on the Del Mar College Board of Regents,” Hutchinson said. “The board is…

Campus

Many Vikings take advantage of free RTA bus rides

Travis Pettis

Some Del Mar College students are taking full advantage of their free bus rides, which may be a new experience for many. I have ridden the bus in Washington, D.C.; England; and Luxembourg, Germany and riding the bus in Corpus Christi is totally different. On the upper East Coast and in Europe everyone rides the bus. Business professionals wearing several-thousand-dollar suits can be seen riding the bus. You could be sitting next to the CEO of a Fortune 500 company and wouldn’t even know. It’s just the culture of those places where people use public transportation. In Corpus Christi riding…