Tag Archives: San Antonio

Hill Country flood roundup

Just some articles of interest, no real thread. Climate Change Helped Fuel Heavy Rains That Led to Devastating Texas Flood Climate scientists said the torrential downpours on July 4 exemplify the devastating outcomes of weather intensified by a warming atmosphere. … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

So now the Lege will get involved

As I said yesterday, I don’t know if Greg Abbott would have called a special session to address the great tragedy happening in the Hill Country if one hadn’t already been on the calendar for other reasons. He didn’t call … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege, The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The flood warning history of Kerr County

They’ve tried for awhile to get some funding for a flood warning system. They’ve failed every time. Nearly a decade before catastrophic flash flooding killed at least 75 people in Kerr County, including 27 children, several local officials were hard … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

On the value of disaster warnings

It’s hard to know where to start with this. For the last three days, state Rep. Wes Virdell has been out with first responders in Kerr County as they searched for victims and survivors from the devastating floods that swept … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Hill Country flood update 2

A brief overview of the situation, written on Sunday at noon. The death toll rose to 68 as a result of the Fourth of July floods along the Guadalupe River, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said. That includes 28 children. There were … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

SCOTx rules for San Antonio in the Brackenridge Park religious liberties case

Noted for the record. The Texas Supreme Court has sided with the City of San Antonio in a dispute involving a Native American church that worships at Brackenridge Park. The case centers on the Lipan- Apache Native American Church, who … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on SCOTx rules for San Antonio in the Brackenridge Park religious liberties case

What’s next for Ron Nirenberg?

Hopefully something political. In his last official address as mayor, Ron Nirenberg described how a global pandemic shook the one of the country’s most impoverished large cities into action on addressing poverty — and shaped his own approach to leadership … Continue reading

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on What’s next for Ron Nirenberg?

San Antonio to start construction on its first BRT line

Exciting times. Work starts next month on VIA Metropolitan Transit’s biggest construction project to date — a system of corridors designed to get riders faster to their destination using dedicated bus lanes, prioritized traffic signals, and more frequent pickups and … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on San Antonio to start construction on its first BRT line

Gina Ortiz Jones wins SA mayoral runoff

Good. San Antonio’s next mayor will be Gina Ortiz Jones, a 44-year-old West Side native who rose from John Jay High School to the top ranks of the U.S. military on an ROTC scholarship. Jones defeated Rolando Pablos, a close ally of … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2025 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Gina Ortiz Jones wins SA mayoral runoff

Waymo “road trip” coming

Company’s coming. Houstonians have the opportunity to see driverless vehicles in action. Google’s autonomous-driver sister company, Waymo, announced Tuesday that it’s initiating road trips this summer for testing and exploration in Houston, Orlando and San Antonio. The road trip consists … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Waymo “road trip” coming

More on Austin’s MLB ambitions

Veteran Longhorn sports-knower Kirk Bohls, formerly of the Statesman and now of the Chron, has a long look at the team working to bring an MLB franchise to Austin. Matt Mackowiak has a plan. The long-time Austin political strategist and … Continue reading

Posted in Baseball | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on More on Austin’s MLB ambitions

Pour one out for the Houston Landing

CityCast Houston sends off the non-profit local news organization that deserved better. The Houston Landing made a huge splash when it launched as a local non-profit newsroom in 2023. But this week, it’s closing down. So, what went wrong? Host … Continue reading

Posted in Other punditry | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Pour one out for the Houston Landing

Some May election results

And then there were two for San Antonio Mayor. The race to become San Antonio’s next mayor is headed toward a partisan showdown between one candidate loved by national Democratic Party leaders and another who has close ties to the … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2025 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Early voting for the May elections starts today

I don’t have a written press release from the Harris County Clerk about early voting for the May 3 election to share with you, but they did send out this all-graphics email that tells you what you need to know. … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2025 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Early voting for the May elections starts today

Paxton sues San Antonio over abortion funding

First, this happened. In an election-year reversal, San Antonio city leaders voted 6-5 Thursday to fast-track distribution of $100,000 to organizations that provide reproductive services, including emergency contraception and transportation for out-of-state abortion care. Just months ago, city staff shut down a … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Yeah, that’s too many candidates

There are how many people running for Mayor of San Antonio?!? San Antonio is barreling toward the most bizarre mayoral election in recent memory. A massive field of 27 candidates has no clear frontrunners. State and national PAC money is flowing into … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2025 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Smaller number of federal buildings on the chopping block

Progress? I dunno. Less than two weeks after posting – and abruptly pulling down – a list of federally owned office buildings to be sold, the U.S. General Services Administration has released a much shorter list that includes one property in Houston. A … Continue reading

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Smaller number of federal buildings on the chopping block

Make America hungry again

They’re working on it. The San Antonio Food Bank expects to lose $3 million due to federal funding cuts, leaving officials at the nonprofit saying they’re not sure how they’ll make up for that shortfall and that they are worried … Continue reading

Posted in Food, glorious food, National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Make America hungry again

The federal buildings that may or may not get sold

Who can even tell with these incompetent wannabe evildoers? The General Services Administration, landlord for federal government, said Tuesday it planned to sell more than 440 buildings across the U.S., including three in Houston and 21 others in Texas. The … Continue reading

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The federal buildings that may or may not get sold

CenterPoint’s useless generators officially sent to San Antonio

They will not be useless there. Texas’ main grid operator on Tuesday approved a $54 million plan to replace two aging natural gas-powered plants near San Antonio with the massive mobile generators that CenterPoint Energy came under fire for not … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

And this is how measles spreads

Hopefully this won’t turn into something much bigger. Health officials in Hays County have issued a public health alert after a possible measles exposure in the area. Officials said a person who tested positive for the contagious virus visited San … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on And this is how measles spreads

TEA takes over South San Antonio ISD

Of interest. Following a state-mandated conservatorship and years of squabbling board members, the Texas Education Agency decided Wednesday to overhaul South San Antonio Independent School District’s entire board of trustees. The state also appointed Saul Hinojosa, a retired superintendent for … Continue reading

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on TEA takes over South San Antonio ISD

Muskian rampage could close hundreds of federal buildings in Texas

Look around, here today and maybe gone tomorrow. Billionaire Elon Musk’s chainsaw diet for the U.S. government could shutter near 450 federal offices across Texas that do anything from assisting ailing veterans to answering questions about retirement and disability benefits, … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Solar For All grants caught in a trap

They can’t get out, at least not at this time. More than $400 million in federal funding for Texas-based organizations to implement clean energy programs remains frozen, jeopardizing efforts to expand access to rooftop solar panels and battery storage systems in … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Solar For All grants caught in a trap

From the “We got ghosted by Elmo’s airport tunnels” department

Never ever trust anything that guy says. It’s been three years since a Bexar County agency gave the nod for an underground tunnel between the airport and downtown San Antonio. It now appears those plans have been tanked, but not … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

San Antonio gets more funds for its first BRT line

Good for them. If only we had the same inclinations. San Antonio and Bexar County landed a $268 million federal grant to fund more than half the cost of the VIA Green Line, the Alamo City’s first-ever Advanced Rapid Transit … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

CenterPoint finds a use for those useless-to-us generators

San Antonio, here they come. A plan is in the works to partially relieve Houston-area ratepayers of CenterPoint Energy’s $800 million lease of controversial generators that have sat mostly unused during power outages. The bulk of the lease includes 15 large generators, … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on CenterPoint finds a use for those useless-to-us generators

The birds and the trees and the religious liberties

I really don’t know what to make of this, which is a story about an unusual religious liberties lawsuit that the city of San Antonio and the 2021 constitutional amendment that expanded religious freedom in Texas, stemming from a backlash … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The birds and the trees and the religious liberties

Trying to improve on ShotSpotter

Meet Wytec, a new type of AI-powered gunshot-detection system. Wytec International Inc., a builder of 5G wireless networks, is working on artificial intelligence software to deploy on networks of sensors to pinpoint the location of gunshots or other campus problems … Continue reading

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Gina Ortiz Jones joins the crowded field for San Antonio Mayor

Noted for the record. Former U.S. Air Force Under Secretary Gina Ortiz Jones, who has long been rumored as a potential 2025 mayoral contender, launched a campaign website this week. Jones served as Under Secretary of the U.S. Air Force under the … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2025 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Taco Cabana renaissance

I’m interested in this story for two reasons. Taco Cabana is expanding its signature pink restaurants into nearby states, with redesigned stores and blue agave tequila in every margarita, but San Antonio will remain home to its headquarters and its … Continue reading

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Taco Cabana renaissance

High speed rail II proposed in the Lege

For obvious reasons, I don’t expect this to go anywhere. As plans for a Dallas to Houston bullet train move forward, one state legislator is hoping to kick-start another high speed rail line from North Texas to San Antonio. State Rep. John … Continue reading

Posted in Bidness, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Six Houston restaurants get Michelin stars

And the crowd goes wild. After months of speculation, the Michelin Guide announced its inaugural Texas selection of restaurants at a private awards ceremony in Houston on Monday night. The respected guide from the French tire manufacturer doled out 15 one-star reviews … Continue reading

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Six Houston restaurants get Michelin stars

Cool pavement

Very interesting. More than 20 people died in Dallas and Tarrant counties from heat-related illnesses in 2023 as Texas saw record heat waves and triple-digit temperatures, according to the counties’ medical examiners. Heat-related emergency visits to hospitals also spiked. Cities … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment