San Antonio airport to get 420 pound ‘autonomous security robot’
The San Antonio City Council agreed Thursday to lease a nearly 5′ 5″ tall, 420-pound “autonomous security robot” to patrol a secure area of the San Antonio International Airport to check on alarms set off by opened doors. It’s expected to be deployed within a month.
Dallas’ city manager resigns, leaving one more major Texas city without a chief executive
City Manager T.C. Broadnax resigned amid tensions with city leaders, including Mayor Eric Johnson. Three of Texas’ major cities — Dallas, Austin and El Paso — now have vacancies at the top of their local governments.
‘A middle finger’: San Antonio councilman blasts staff rejection of crime prevention office plan
Nearly 20 months after the East Side councilman submitted a request to consider the creation of a brand-new “Office of Crime and Recidivism Prevention,” a top city executive had told him and the other committee members that such an office was unnecessary.
SAPD will see officer increase after budget passes, but demand still exists for mental health unit
Overnight, SAPD responded to at least four shootings across San Antonio. With the City Council passing its spending plan for Fiscal Year 2024, SAPD will soon see an officer increase to help increase response abilities.
Passengers, business groups push for more direct flights as San Antonio International Airport looks to expand
Just this week, the City Council passed its $3.7 billion spending plan for Fiscal Year 2024. As KSAT reported, the airport system requested more funding for capital projects this year than last, in part to tackle new airport additions.
Some sparks fly as council finalizes budget, including fund to assist travel for abortion care
As the San Antonio City Council spent a second day debating last-minute tweaks to the city budget, a proposal that could help fund trips to out-of-state abortion clinics continued to be a point of contention.
‘Air of compromise’: Abortion travel fund, mental health teams among proposed city budget tweaks
Expanding a popular mental health team, creating a fund to help cover travel to out-of-state abortion clinics, and giving more money for Animal Care Services were among the most high-profile changes council members discussed making to the budget - largely favorably.
Kansas newspaper's lawyer says police didn't follow warrant in last month's newsroom search
The lawyer for a small Kansas newspaper raided by police last month said he believes officers didn't follow the search warrant's requirements to only seize computers believed directly involved in suspected identity theft.
San Antonio joins Houston’s lawsuit against Texas over new law curbing local authority
The city’s lawsuit challenges the validity of House Bill 2127, which would prevent cities like San Antonio from making or enforcing local laws on issues like evictions, employment benefits, or a host of other subjects.
San Antonio plans to max out homestead exemptions, lower homeowner bills this year
The city has to lower its tax rate in order to stay under a state-imposed cap, but city staff are also recommending the city max out the possible homestead exemptions at 20%. That would result in San Antonio homeowners paying less on their city tax bills than they did in 2022, even though their home values are likely higher.
City Council efforts to require water breaks for construction workers could be blocked by Texas preemptive bill
The city of San Antonio is looking at requiring companies to give construction workers time for water breaks. A bill waiting for Governor Greg Abbott’s signature, would restrict cities from creating local rules, that state law already covers.
SAPD Chief ‘cautiously optimistic’ on violent crime plan’s progress
The number of violent street crimes such as murder, robbery, non-family aggravated assault, and deadly conduct with a victim fell citywide in the first four months of 2023, but some of the worst areas for those crimes saw even bigger drops.
City Attorney: San Antonio won’t take ordinances off the books in face of sweeping preemption bill
A bill that would prevent cities from passing laws on evictions, labor issues, and numerous other areas, is on Gov. Greg Abbott's desk. With no clear answers on what is or isn't allowed, San Antonio's city attorney said the city will continue to enforce all its ordinances.
Footage shows SA Councilman drank much more than his attorney claimed in court
Newly obtained security video from the night of Councilman Clayton Perry’s drunken hit-and-run shows he drank more than San Antonio Police had originally tallied, and much more than his attorney argued in court last month.
Moses Rose’s owner rejects final $5.26M offer, prepares for eminent domain fight
The holdout owner of a bar in the way of a new Alamo museum has said the City of San Antonio’s “best and final” $5.26 million offer to buy him out isn’t good enough. Now, with the city and its partners prepared to use eminent domain, the deadlock appears to be headed to court.
‘Glib, smug smile’: Pelaez lays into business group for supporting bills to curb local control
Following a briefing on the the current legislative session, District 8 Councilman Manny Pelaez highlighted the fact that the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce had testified in favor of a pair of bills the city has been fighting.
District 7 council candidate says opponent’s father tried to steal campaign sign
Sandragrace Martinez filmed a confrontation with a man she says she caught pulling up one of her campaign signs and putting it into a truck. It wasn’t until after she posted the video that she realized the man was her opponent's father as well as an elected official himself.
Rundown apartments now subject to extra inspections
In a near unanimous voice vote Thursday, the San Antonio City Council passed a new “Proactive Apartment Inspection Program,” which stems out of the attention that properties with numerous citations like Seven Oaks Apartments attracted in the summer of 2022.
Rosie Castro confirmed as interim District 7 councilwoman
Amid a standing ovation, the San Antonio City Council confirmed the civil rights activist and mother of the city’s two most recognizable political figures, Maria del Rosario “Rosie” Castro, as the interim council member for District 7 on Thursday morning.
San Antonio plans to make ‘bad actor’ apartment landlords pay for extra code enforcement inspections
Instead of waiting for new complaints about the same old properties, the City of San Antonio plans to send code enforcement officers out to proactively look for issues and make the landlords of the troubled properties help foot the bill.
SA Justice Charter supporters call city attorney’s comments on ballot initiative “unethical”
Supporters of a San Antonio ballot initiative meant to decriminalize marijuana possession and abortion in the Alamo City say the city attorney’s public warnings about its enforceability are “unethical” and “immoral.”
Crowded races for Mayor, D1, D2, D7 and D10 in San Antonio election
When the filing period for San Antonio’s May 6 election had closed at 5 p.m. on Friday, 59 candidates had signed up to vie for the 10 council districts and the mayor’s seat. The election will be the first under the city’s newly redistricted council district map.
North Side councilmen leave chambers rather than put marijuana, abortion onto May 6 ballot
Because the proposed charter amendment was the result of a successful petition, the city’s legal team said the city council had no choice but to put it on the ballot.Even so, three North Side councilmen made sure to leave council chambers rather than help pass it: Councilman Manny Pelaez (D8), Councilman John Courage (D9), and Councilman Clayton Perry (D10).
‘The time has come for me to step aside’: Clayton Perry says he won’t run for re-election
A day before the filing deadline for the May 6 election, a spokeswoman for Perry’s office passed out a statement from the councilman saying he will not be running, though he said “this is not the end of my public service.”
With filing deadline looming, Perry undecided on re-election bid; only one candidate in D10 race so far
As Councilman Clayton Perry's legal troubles from an alleged Nov. 6 hit-and-run continue, possible opponents are eying his seat on council, which some allies have advised him to seek for a fourth term. But with just over a week left in the filing period, Perry says he still hasn't made up his mind whether to run for re-election.
District 7′s Ana Sandoval to resign from San Antonio City Council with just months left in her term
Sandoval, who was first elected to the San Antonio City Council in 2017, has only four-and-a-half months left in her current term, which ends in June. She plans to step down at the end of the month to focus on personal obligations.