Time is up for Temple ISD - in a good way. Today marks the end of the legally required 21-day waiting period for the official appointment of Dr. Robin Battershell as Temple´s new superintendent. The board of trustees will meet today to vote on the decision.

WASHINGTON - The number of Hispanics in the United States rose by 1.4 million over a year´s time to 45.5 million as of July, continuing rapid growth that could increase their influence. This election year has focused more attention on how much it is increasing.

BELTON - Globalization is inevitable, and it´s changing the world´s economy in ways only hinted at in daily news accounts, a state labor market expert told a development conference here Wednesday. Rich Froeschle stressed the importance of education and busted a fistful of myths about the global marketplace during his 1½-hour speech during the Central Texas Economic Outlook Conference. Froeschle is deputy director of the Labor Market and Career Information Department of the Texas Workforce Commission.

BELTON - Area economic and workforce developers asked Rebecca Ryan to see how prepared Central Texas is to attract the next generation of employees. So Ryan, who owns Next Generation Consulting in Madison, Wis., took a look.

You know fuel prices have gotten out of control when even your dog walker is adding a surcharge to the bill. In the week ended Monday, self-serve regular gasoline rose nearly a nickel a gallon in California to an average of $3.892 - a record - while nationwide the average jumped nearly a dime to a record $3.603, according to the Energy Department´s weekly survey of service stations.

The Temple College Leopards are one step closer to heading back to the NJCAA Region V Tournament. Temple got a much-needed sweep of Vernon with 8-2 and 11-2 wins on Wednesday at Danny Scott Sports Complex.

DALLAS - From the start, Avery Johnson was a perfect fit as coach of the Dallas Mavericks. At the end, it was pretty obvious he wasn´t.

MILANO - Brad Jones made quite an impact in his first season as Milano football coach. He guided the Eagles to an 8-4 record and their first 11-man playoff victory in school history in the fall of 2007, but Jones won´t be around to build on his success.

DALLAS - Back to the Shark Tank. Milan Michalek scored San Jose´s first power-play goal of the series with 16:34 left and the Sharks beat Dallas 2-1 on Wednesday night to avoid being swept in the Western Conference semifinals.

BOSTON - Takedowns and menacing gestures. Double technicals and flagrant fouls. And the Boston Celtics are heading to Atlanta to try to deliver the knockout punch. Paul Pierce scored a playoff-high 22 points and Ray Allen hit three 3-pointers in the middle of the third quarter Wednesday night to turn back the Hawks´ last charge, leading Boston to a hard-fought 110-85 victory over Atlanta and giving the Celtics a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Paul Guillen, longtime golf pro at Temple College, died Monday at a local hospital following a two-year bout with cancer. He was 76. Guillen has been associated with the Temple College Golf Course for over 30 years. He worked as the full-time golf pro from 1976 until 1997, then remained in the role on a part-time basis until 2006.