Cities & Counties
Helotes may not accommodate telecom facilities in residential areas
By Edmond Ortiz Helotes officials are not favoring a proposal to possibly open up residential districts to the installation of telecommunications facilities. What is happening City Council met Aug. 27 to discuss the idea of amending Helotes’ code of ordinances to consider the placement of telecommunications structures within a residential neighborhood through a specific use…
A look at proposed county budgets in the San Antonio area
By Edmond Ortiz Taking a queue from many city governments and school districts, officials in Bexar County and neighboring counties say they want to follow a stick-to-the-basics approach in developing their respective Fiscal Year 2027 budgets. In most instances, leaders in Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe and Kendall counties are striving to stave off a property tax…
Robots are coming to Universal City – to help shore up public walkability
By Edmond Ortiz Universal City is deploying a squad of robots built and programmed to patrol key corridors to help upkeep safe pedestrian pathways. What is happening According to a city announcement, the city is partnering with Oregon-based company Daxbot, which creates what it calls “people-centric autonomous robots” that enhance communities. Daxbot offers two kinds…
Balcones Heights mayor arrested for assault
By Edmond Ortiz Balcones Heights Mayor Johnny Rodriguez was arrested Aug. 26 after an assault that allegedly occurred during a tension-filled Aug. 24 City Council meeting. What you should know Balcones Heights Community Relations Manager Roy Martinez confirmed that Rodriguez was arrested by Bexar County Pct. 2 Constable Leticia Vasquez on a misdemeanor warrant for…
Kendall County to end partnership with Flock Safety over privacy worries
By Edmond Ortiz Kendall County commissioners unanimously voted Aug. 25 to not renew an agreement with Flock Safety Group, echoing residents’ concerns that the company’s technology could be abused, and considered a breach of people’s privacy. What you should know Kendall County and Flock’s partnership originally began last fall, launching a one-year term of service…
Comfort nonprofit receives $2K grant meant to boost tourism of Hill Country town
By Edmond Ortiz Visit Comfort TX recently received a $2,000 grant designed to help support the nonprofit’s efforts toward publicizing the Kendall County town as a hidden gem of a Hill Country destination. What is happening The grant was extended by the Texas Heritage Trails Program, part of the Texas Historical Commission. THTP encourages communities,…
News Briefs (Aug. 20): Therapy dog arrives in Alamo Heights ISD; Tobin Hill hospital sees progress on murals; city OKs airport Terminal A/B project; H-E-B expansion receives tax break
By Edmond Ortiz This edition of News Briefs features the introduction of a trained counseling dog helping students at an Alamo Heights school, and the approval of key leaders for an upcoming San Antonio International Airport project. Also, local residents recently applied their creative skills toward a mural project at a Tobin Hill neighborhood hospital….
Durango to replace Cesar Chavez in city street name reversal
By Edmond Ortiz The name Durango Boulevard is returning to city street signs. City Council unanimously voted Aug. 20 to remove the name Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard in favor of the former road name, Durango Boulevard, an action that applies to a busy east-west corridor that runs between Southwest 36th Street on the West Side…
Converse council nixes asphalt plant proposal
By Edmond Ortiz Converse City Council voted unanimously Aug. 18 to reject the construction of an asphalt manufacturing plant. Council took the city planning and zoning commission’s narrow approval of a special use permit, which was being sought to build an asphalt plant on an undeveloped tract along Farm Road 78 near the Salitrillo Creek…
Contested races await Converse, Schertz, Windcrest, Edgewood ISD voters in November
By Edmond Ortiz Converse, Schertz, Windcrest and the Edgewood Independent School District will have full slates of contested races in the Nov. 3 elections. Aug. 17 was the deadline for local candidates to snag a Nov. 3 election ballot spot in one of the five San Antonio-area cities and school districts slated to hold an…