Tag Archives: San Antonio

What school districts have to look forward to

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From San Antonio: The San Antonio Independent School District is bracing for $33 million to $55 million in cuts for the coming fiscal year, due mainly to the state budget shortfall. The trustees Tuesday night discussed options to reduce costs … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

How many soccer leagues are there?

Posted on January 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I happened across this story about a new professional soccer team coming to San Antonio, and was struck by this bit: [Team owner Gordon] Hartman and Aaron Davidson, CEO of the NASL, said that efforts by Spurs Sports & Entertainment … Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

San Antonio streetcar study

Posted on January 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Fort Worth may have punted on streetcars, but San Antonio is still moving ahead. It’s not a green light, but it is a boost nonetheless for VIA Metropolitan Transit’s plans to build two streetcar lines downtown. The transit agency recently … Continue reading →

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Teaching safe social networking skills

Posted on December 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This seems like a good idea. The all-boys San Antonio Academy has long used an internal e-mail system provided by a company called Gaggle. So when Gaggle launched the Social Learning Wall application this year, the private academy’s administrators jumped … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Recycling for apartments

Posted on December 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The city of San Antonio is taking a big step forward in expanding its recycling program. The new amendment ensures that all families and individuals living in apartments, condominiums, townhomes, high rise condominiums and San Antonio Housing Authority properties have … Continue reading →

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

“CSI:San Antonio” would be far preferable

Posted on December 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, hell no. According to The Hollywood Reporter, CBS is planning a neo-Western crime drama from executive producer Anthony Zuiker called “Desperado.” It focuses on a group of lawmen who enact cowboy-style justice in modern times on criminals in San … Continue reading →

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RIP, Carlos Guerra

Posted on December 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I join Greg and Stace in mourning the loss of former Express News columnist and blogger Carlos Guerra. Carlos Guerra, a former columnist at the San Antonio Express-News, was found dead Monday in Port Aransas, officials there said. Officers with … Continue reading →

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San Antonio solar farm

Posted on November 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

There’s more solar energy available in Texas now than before. [Texas’] first solar farm, an array of 215,000 photovoltaic panels that capture sun rays and turn them into power, went on line Thursday in San Antonio. Statewide, at least six … Continue reading →

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San Antonio smoking ban passes

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

By a slightly larger margin than expected. The City Council on Thursday approved a fortified smoke-free ordinance aimed at protecting public health, despite pleas from frustrated bar and restaurant owners who said that the ban would hurt their business. The … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Smartphones in the schools

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This makes a lot of sense to me. While most [San Antonio] area school districts maintain policies that ban students from using cell phones on campus, a few districts are breaking the mold and beginning to admit smart phones into … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Mayor and the smoking ban

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting story about San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, who did not campaign on expanding that city’s smoking ban but is now the leading proponent of it. He’s likely to get it passed on Thursday with a 6-5 vote, though a … Continue reading →

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San Antonio smoking ordinance heads for a vote

Posted on August 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The revised San Antonio smoking ordinance has made it out of Council committee and will be voted on, in some form, next week. The proposal originally sought to ban indoor smoking, ending the exemptions for bars, pool halls, comedy clubs, … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Social media guidelines in San Antonio

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. There’s no standard policy or set of procedures governing how public entities or their employees should use social networking sites. Agencies are in various stages of evaluating what constitutes proper online conduct. Bexar County is writing a social media … Continue reading →

Posted in Websurfing | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Still more on the San Antonio smoking ordinance

Posted on July 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an Express News article from last Sunday about the effect that municipal ordinances that have banned smoking in bars and restaurants have had on those establishments. Interestingly, the main place it goes for anecdotal evidence is Houston. Lizzard’s Pub, … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

San Antonio smoking ban protests

Posted on July 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The proposal to strengthen the smoking ban in San Antonio has drawn protest from a previously silent constituency. LULAC, the San Antonio Mixed Beverage Association, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the San Antonio Restaurant Association … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Defining downtown San Antonio

Posted on July 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The city of San Antonio is going to take a closer look at what it’s doing with its downtown. How to change the locals’ experience of downtown, and why it even matters, has become Topic A for many — in … Continue reading →

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Smoke-Free San Antonio update

Posted on June 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, the city of San Antonio is working on updating its ordinance that restricts smoking. The first draft of that has emerged from committee, and it’s got some teeth to it. The strengthened recommendations, which will be considered … Continue reading →

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BRT for San Antonio?

Posted on May 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, San Antonio is seeking federal funds to build a streetcar line emanating from downtown. That’s not their only big transit plan in the works. As the On the Move blog reports, VIA has proposed changing one of … Continue reading →

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2010 Houston term limits survey

Posted on May 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Last month, I posted several links with information and research relating to term limits, including the results of a 2004 City of Houston survey about them and the proposed wording for an updated survey. That updated survey has been done, … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Still smoking in San Antonio

Posted on May 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

But maybe not for much longer. San Antonio City Councilman Justin Rodriguez announced [last] Friday that he is sponsoring an ordinance to outlaw smoking in most public places, including all bars, restaurants and workplaces. Rodriguez said San Antonio is one … Continue reading →

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

TAMU-SA groundbreaking

Posted on May 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We know that UTSA is growing rapidly, but they’re not the only state school in San Antonio any more, as ground was broken for the Texas A&M-San Antonio campus this past Friday. Born in May 2009 after a drawn-out political … Continue reading →

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UTSA’s growing pains

Posted on May 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This story about UTSA and the issues it faces as it tries to accommodate its mostly non-residential student population as it grows is so reminiscent of Houston I had to keep reminding myself as I read it that it wasn’t … Continue reading →

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

VIA thinks bigger on streetcars

Posted on May 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

They may be scaling back in Dallas, but San Antonio’s transit agency will apply for more federal funds to build a more extensive streetcar network. VIA Metropolitan Transit’s board of trustees voted Tuesday to spike a federal grant application for … Continue reading →

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San Antonio proposes texting-while-driving ban

Posted on April 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It may wind up being a bit more than that. The days of eating double-bacon cheeseburgers, putting on makeup and sending text messages from behind the wheel could be numbered in the Alamo City. Police Chief William McManus on Wednesday … Continue reading →

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

What’s in a diploma?

Posted on March 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

My alma mater doesn’t make the news very often, so when it does, I take notice. A group of students at Trinity University is lobbying trustees to drop a reference to “Our Lord” on their diplomas, arguing it does not … Continue reading →

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San Antonio to introduce tiered water rates

Posted on March 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them. The San Antonio Water System presented a proposed rate structure to the City Council on Wednesday that would penalize high-volume users while rewarding those who use less. “This is designed to change behavior,” said Doug Evanson, SAWS … Continue reading →

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UTSA football update

Posted on March 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib has a nice story about the state of UTSA’s fledgling football program. Next fall, UTSA will spend millions to field a football team it hopes will someday compete with cross-state rivals like the University of Texas, Texas Tech … Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

“Drop by drop”

Posted on March 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve talked a lot about flooding and drainage issues, and about the possibility of water rate increases in Houston, but something that has not gotten a lot of attention is water conservation. I want to call your attention to a … Continue reading →

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

More on streetcars in Fort Worth

Posted on February 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The TCU Daily Skiff writes about Fort Worth’s plans for streetcars. The city of Fort Worth plans to move forward with bringing in a nationally recognized consultant to finalize aspects of a modern streetcar system that would consist of an … Continue reading →

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

Endorsement watch: Cisneros for Bell-Metereau

Posted on February 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve written about the GOP primary in SBOE District 5 a couple of times, as there’s a sensible Republican (Tim Tuggey) running against incumbent wingnut Ken Mercer there. SBOE 5 also has a competitive Democratic primary, and by all indications … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

San Antonio to seek federal funds for streetcar system

Posted on February 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Another step forward for San Antonio’s quest to lose its title as the most populous city in America without rail transit. VIA Metropolitan Transit’s trustees on Tuesday approved the routes for a streetcar system and directed agency staff to seek … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Houston’s hotel occupany tax lawsuit tossed

Posted on January 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Back in 2006, the city of San Antonio filed a lawsuit against online hotel room bookers such as Expedia and Travelocity on the grounds that they were largely avoiding their hotel occupancy tax. The city of Houston did the same … Continue reading →

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Panel to review term limits appointed

Posted on December 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Back in October, Houston City Council agreed to create a commission to study Houston’s term limits law with an eye to possibly placing a resolution on the ballot next year with some changes. Yesterday, that commission was named. Mayor Bill … Continue reading →

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TAMU-SA update

Posted on December 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an update on the Texas A&M campus in San Antonio, which is now searching for a full-time president of the school. Regents for the Texas A&M University System have appointed an advisory committee made up of regents, administrators, faculty, … Continue reading →

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