Shows
WTAW - Interviews25th anniversary of the Texas A&M's bonfire collapse as remembered by those on WTAW who covered the collapseThis podcast is the conversation on WTAW's The Infomaniacs November 18, 2024 on the 25th anniversary of the Texas A&M bonfire collapse as remembered by WTAW's Scott DeLucia and WTAW alumni Jay Socol and Tom Turbiville, who covered the collapse.Click HERE to be directed to Texas A&M's bonfire memorial website.
2024-11-1809 min
WTAW - InterviewsCity of Bryan's communications director visits WTAW's The InfomaniacsCity of Bryan communications director Lacey Lively visits WTAW's The Infomaniacs November 7, 2024.The conversation includes a trip down memory lane with Lacey, former Bryan and College Station communications director Jay Socol, who filled in for Chelsea Reber on WTAW newscasts.Then Lacey previews the Veterans Day program at Veterans Park and how to add names to the Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial at Veterans Park.She also issues an invitation to check out the city of Bryan's holiday event schedule online at bryantx.gov/holidaycheer
2024-11-0706 min
Brazos MattersShel Winkley, MeteorologistShel Winkley, longtime Chief Meteorologist at KBTX-TV discusses his history with KBTX, his new position with non-profit Climate Central, what exactly Climate Central is and does, his meteorologist heroes, the future of broadcast meteorologists, and finally a dramatic reading of Twitter DMs with Jay Socol.
2024-04-2827 min
WTAW - InfoMiniChatsScott's Out, Jay's InIntroducing Jay Socol! Joey Chestnut wins again! July 4th recap. Dogs and fireworks. Costco is cracking down on sharing memberships. What are the best hotdog condiments? Hottest day in the world. Dog walking. Good whiskey news.
2023-07-0538 min
All Up In Your BusinessAll Up In Your Business: Trends in economic development and retail marketsSince longtime host Jay Socol retired last spring, it's been a while since our last episode of All Up in Your Business. Due to popular demand, the podcast returns, but with a slightly different look.
College Station Chief Development Officer Natalie Ruiz now co-hosts the program with Economic Development Manager Brian Piscacek to update us on business trends and the restaurants, retailers, industries, and events that might be coming to town. We'll produce a fresh podcast addressing various topics on a quarterly basis.
In this discussion with Aaron Farmer of The Retail Coach, Natalie and...
2023-02-2340 min
WTAW - The First 100 YearsJay Socol Remembers Bonfire 11-18-99Jay Socol was news director at WTAW the day Aggie bonfire collapsed.
2022-11-2202 minWTAW - The First 100 YearsWTAW's Teresa Woodard and others climbs to larger MarketJay Socol recruits WTAW's Teresa Woodard and others climbs to larger Market
2022-09-0202 minWTAW - InfoMiniChatsWhere are the ponies?Wordle. Quirky country song titles. Wordle starters. GIF guy passes away. 98.6. Tipping less. Toilet paper appreciation day. Groundhogs on the crosswalks. Coach Taylor roasts Zach. Workout cheerleader. Food news. Exoplanets. Scott goes to the movies. Skip Intro. A visit with College Station's Jay Socol.
2022-03-2542 minWTAW - InfoMiniChatsShow and TellUSFL is back. Show and tell. What are the worst apps to look at before bed? Pancake cake. Sleep like a 24 year-old. Birthday party themes. How do men and women rate looks? Show and tell. Dogs can understand different languages. Happy birthday to the iPhone. Who invented the burrito? Taco Bell has launched their subscription service. Men and women have nothing in common. Cereal news. Fun facts with Jay Socol.
2022-01-0741 minAll Up In Your BusinessAll Up In Your Business: CS‘s taco prowess + Nat‘s takes on who/what might be comingIt's been quite a while since College Station Economic Development Director Natalie Ruiz stepped up to the podcast microphone to update us on the restaurants, retailers, industries, and events that might be coming to CSTAT.
In this discussion with College Station Communications Director Jay Socol, Natalie covers Midtown, Costco, Gringo's, the Wolf Pen Creek area, and how CS ranked so high on a list of Texas cities with the best tacos.
All Up In Your Business is now available via:
Podbean
Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
iHeartRadio
Spotify
Stitcher
2021-11-1030 minAll Up In Your BusinessAll Up In Your Budget - Ep. 4: FY22 Capital Projects & DebtWhat a difference a year makes! Last year, the pandemic gave us a near-dormant economy and enormous uncertainty. This year, there are genuine signs of hope and recovery -- normalcy, even? -- that went into the development of the City of College Station's proposed fiscal year 2022 budget.
In this four-part mini-series called All Up In Your Budget, we'll talk about the main takeaways from this proposed $353.7M budget (Spoiler: No recommended increases to the tax rate or to the electric, water and wastewater rates.) and talk about some important proposed increases to public safety and other core...
2021-07-1413 minAll Up In Your BusinessAll Up In Your Budget - Ep. 3: FY22 Enterprise FundsWhat a difference a year makes! Last year, the pandemic gave us a near-dormant economy and enormous uncertainty. This year, there are genuine signs of hope and recovery -- normalcy, even? -- that went into the development of the City of College Station's proposed fiscal year 2022 budget.
In this four-part mini-series called All Up In Your Budget, we'll talk about the main takeaways from this proposed $353.7M budget (Spoiler: No recommended increases to the tax rate or to the electric, water and wastewater rates.) and talk about some important proposed increases to public safety and other core...
2021-07-1411 minAll Up In Your BusinessAll Up In Your Budget - Ep. 2: FY22 ExpensesWhat a difference a year makes! Last year, the pandemic gave us a near-dormant economy and enormous uncertainty. This year, there are genuine signs of hope and recovery -- normalcy, even? -- that went into the development of the City of College Station's proposed fiscal year 2022 budget.
In this four-part mini-series called All Up In Your Budget, we'll talk about the main takeaways from this proposed $353.7M budget (Spoiler: No recommended increases to the tax rate or to the electric, water and wastewater rates.) and talk about some important proposed increases to public safety and other core...
2021-07-1409 minAll Up In Your BusinessAll Up In Your Budget - Ep. 1: FY22 Conditions & RevenuesWhat a difference a year makes! Last year, the pandemic gave us a near-dormant economy and enormous uncertainty. This year, there are genuine signs of hope and recovery -- normalcy, even? -- that went into the development of the City of College Station's proposed fiscal year 2022 budget.
In this four-part mini-series called All Up In Your Budget, we'll talk about the main takeaways from this proposed $353.7M budget (Spoiler: No recommended increases to the tax rate or to the electric, water and wastewater rates.) and talk about some important proposed increases to public safety and other core...
2021-07-1414 minAll Up In Your BusinessAll Up In Your Business: The business of managing College StationBryan Woods became College Station's city manager in November 2018, but less than two years later he began a year-long deployment to the Middle East with the U.S. Navy Reserve. Now he's back with a lot of work to do, including prepping a draft budget for FY 2022, overseeing completion of a new city hall, and helping sustain economic growth as we emerge from a pandemic.
Woods and Communications Director Jay Socol cover topics ranging from the nature of Woods' relationships with Texas A&M, the City of Bryan and Brazos County...to the significantly different role the...
2021-06-0230 minAll Up In Your BusinessAll Up In Your Business: A hot market is filling vacant propertiesOur economy is rebounding -- you can feel it. And while so many businesses didn't make it through the worst of the pandemic, no matter how hard they fought, College Station is once again a hot market for retailers looking to establish a location. Filling empty properties is among the top priorities for our Grow College Station team, and that's the primary focus of this episode.
You'll hear Communications Director Jay Socol and Economic Development Manager Aubrey Nettles talk about the vacancies where they're seeing the most interest, some confirmed (and nearly confirmed) successes, and even the...
2021-05-2426 minAll Up In Your BusinessAll Up In Your Business: What you should know about CostcoEarlier this week, we dropped a podcast episode that reviewed what's new in, and what's coming to, College Station. (Spoiler: It's a lot!)
During that episode, we teased an announcement that was expected later in the month -- a development on 19 acres of city-owned land in College Station's Midtown. Turns out later in the month is now: Costco Wholesale has filed a site plan for that location.
We hope you'll take just a few minutes to listen to our brand-new mini-episode that explains what Costco's site plan filing means -- and what it doesn't mean...
2021-04-0709 minAll Up In Your BusinessAll Up In Your Business: We're getting a what?Our first episode of 2021 covers a lot. So much, in fact, that we ditched the studio and did an actual tour of some of the fastest-growing areas of College Station to talk about what's new and what's coming.
Communications Director Jay Socol and Economic Development Manager Aubrey Nettles make stops at Jones Crossing, CapRock, Tower Point, the Lowe's Shopping Center and Midtown -- then finish with a lightning round that covers additional areas of College Station.
Keep in mind that this episode was shot for video, so the audio-only version cuts out some driving time...
2021-04-0524 minAll Up In Your BusinessAll Up In Your Business: How tourism can fuel business recoveryThis is the first time College Station Communications Director Jay Socol has interviewed Economic Development Director Natalie Ruiz since the pandemic changed everything. In spite of the local, state and federal funding put into the hands of local businesses, we still lost far too many. So, now what?
In this episode, Natalie talks about her dual role of supporting local businesses while aggressively working to bring in more jobs that diversify College Station's economy. She also explains how her office's brand-new tourism division aims to bring people to College Station at a time when there is still...
2020-10-2430 minAll Up In Your BusinessAll Up In Your Budget - Ep. 4 (Capital projects, tourism)After a multi-month, coronavirus-inspired break, we're back -- this time with a special miniseries: Four episodes that focus on the College Station's proposed budget for fiscal year 2021. We're calling it All Up In Your Budget.
The idea is to take a 330-page budget document and explain the big ideas in it, the changes caused by this health and economic crisis, how sustainable we think those are and what it means to our residents. This is a budget year like no other and we want to make sure that residents and taxpayers understand what's in it, what's not...
2020-08-1026 minAll Up In Your BusinessAll Up In Your Budget - Ep. 3 (Expenses)After a multi-month, coronavirus-inspired break, we're back -- this time with a special miniseries: Four episodes that focus on the College Station's proposed budget for fiscal year 2021. We're calling it All Up In Your Budget.
The idea is to take a 330-page budget document and explain the big ideas in it, the changes caused by this health and economic crisis, how sustainable we think those are and what it means to our residents. This is a budget year like no other and we want to make sure that residents and taxpayers understand what's in it, what's not...
2020-08-1017 minAll Up In Your BusinessAll Up In Your Budget - Ep. 2 (Revenues)After a multi-month, coronavirus-inspired break, we're back -- this time with a special miniseries: Four episodes that focus on the College Station's proposed budget for fiscal year 2021. We're calling it All Up In Your Budget.
The idea is to take a 330-page budget document and explain the big ideas in it, the changes caused by this health and economic crisis, how sustainable we think those are and what it means to our residents. This is a budget year like no other and we want to make sure that residents and taxpayers understand what's in it, what's not...
2020-08-1019 minAll Up In Your BusinessAll Up In Your Budget - Ep. 1 (What we're dealing with)After a multi-month, coronavirus-inspired break, we're back -- this time with a special miniseries: Four episodes that focus on the College Station's proposed budget for fiscal year 2021. We're calling it All Up In Your Budget.
The idea is to take a 330-page budget document and explain the big ideas in it, the changes caused by this health and economic crisis, how sustainable we think those are and what it means to our residents. This is a budget year like no other and we want to make sure that residents and taxpayers understand what's in it, what's not...
2020-08-1022 minAll Up In Your BusinessAll Up In Your Business: Dallis family/Burger MojoThe Dallis family has operated some of the most-iconic food and beverage destinations in College Station. Cafe Eccell may be their best-known restaurant, but they recently entered the highly competitive burger market through their new concept Burger Mojo.
In this episode, Economic Development Director Natalie Ruiz and Communications Director Jay Socol talk to Costa and Andreas Dallis about their legacy of business ventures and how difficult it is to remain relevant in a fast-growing, student-driven community. They even explain why they believe a burger joint in close proximity to so many other burger joints has a solid...
2020-02-2727 min
All Up In Your BusinessAll Up In Your Business: Walk-On'sWho better to open a Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux in College Station than a former walk-on to the Texas A&M football team? Cory ('08) and Jenny ('01) Davis are poised to open their business in south College Station -- their first foray into the restaurant business -- and talk about how College Station was the only city they ever considered for such a major endeavor.
Also in this episode, Economic Development Director Natalie Ruiz and Communications Director Jay Socol talk about how the City of College Station sometimes spots opportunities to help new businesses or developers find...
2020-02-1228 min
All Up In Your BusinessAll Up In Your 2020 (The FujiDunkinMacAndCheeseBuc-ee's Episode)In terms of economic development, 2019 was a heckuva year for College Station.
Economic Development Director Natalie Ruiz -- who recently was recognized in public for the first time due to this podcast (such a diva...) -- and Communications Director Jay Socol reflect on some of the successes (and near-misses) from the past year + look ahead at what 2020 might bring in terms of new jobs and a diversified economy for College Station. Among the broad topics:
2020 bringing more focus to Northgate
Why a grocer or Target near Northgate makes sense
More quality jobs from FUJIFILM Dyosynth Biotechnologies
...
2019-12-3023 minAll Up In Your BusinessCollege Station Eco-Devo 101We hear it all the time:
"Hey, College Station, how come you don't bring a [fill in the blank] to town?"
Or the other side of that is, "Hey, bozos, why do you keep bringing more [fill in the blank] to our city?"
First, some of you have anger issues. Seriously, though, a lot of people don't understand:
What the city can be credited for bringing to town
What the city should not be credited/blamed for bringing to town
What our economic development staff is actively recruiting to CS
In t...
2019-09-2620 min
Dr. E's SUPER reads!Episode 2: Timeless Learning by Pam Moran, Chad Ratcliff, & Ira SocolBuy the book at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1119461693/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_nF-GDb12ZCMNV | Follow the authors: @PamMoran @IraSocol @csratliff | Reach out to me @Jay_Eitner or on Telegran & Voxer: @Eitner
2019-09-1906 minAll Up In Your BusinessAll Up In Your Business: Breakfast you'll be la Gladeleine aboutIn this podcast episode, College Station Economic Development Director Natalie Ruiz returns to talk about new restaurants, office space, commercial growth and more. Natalie and Communications Director Jay Socol also dive into an email from a pod listener (we have one!) who expressed concerns about what feels like constant expansion in College Station.
You can submit a question or comment, too: jsocol@cstx.gov
Video version + transcript: https://youtu.be/tGBSkp0BW2k
All Up In Your Business is now available via:
Podbean
Apple Podcasts/iTunes
Google Play
Spotify
Stitcher
Please su...
2019-08-0520 minAll Up In Your BusinessWhat's coming to CS + real talk about Gringo's and Buc-ee'sCollege Station Economic Development Director Natalie Ruiz and Communications Director Jay Socol have a jaunty (thanks, thesaurus!) discussion about some businesses either recently on the ground or at least have a really good shot at it. But they also talk about one that appeared to be a sure thing until...it wasn't: Gringo's.
Back in aspirational mode, Nat explains how genuine the interest is from Buc-ee's in a College Station location vs. her own wishful thinking.
Also discussed: Why it matters so much that extensions to Lakeway Drive and Pebble Creek Parkway are now open...
2019-05-0721 min
All Up In Your BusinessHow Krispy Kreme finally came to CSLike BBQ, burgers, tacos -- or any other food type you can think of - donuts are a pretty personal thing for people. College Station has a variety of options, all with loyal followings.
But long-suffering fans of Krispy Kreme can finally rejoice: The red light of happiness is in Aggieland.
Franchisee Brian Davis doesn't have the typical connection with College Station or with Texas A&M University. He talked to us about why he chose College Station, why the Harvey Road location was actually his second choice, how it takes nearly 100 people to operate...
2019-04-1121 minAll Up In Your BusinessAll Up In Your Business: An introductionFor those of you who listened to a previous podcast series about economic development in College Station, Texas -- "Is This A Thing?" -- we now bring you something new.
Our reinvented podcast, "All Up In Your Business," will still bring focus to what's coming to College Station and what's not + feature deep-dive discussions with those who are bringing new development to our city. But "All Up" will also feature legacy business owners and developers to hear their successes and struggles.
For anyone who lives in the College Station-Bryan area, or maybe who has a...
2019-04-1002 min