JOHN COURAGE

The city's first-ever gun buyback event led to people exchanging more than 900 weapons for H-E-B gift cards, according to San Antonio Councilman John Courage.

People will be able to exchange as many as 20 unloaded weapons for H-E-B gift cards at the drive-thru event at Alamodome Parking Lot B between 12-5 p.m. on Sunday.

The Peace Initiative gathers local organizations against gun violence by honoring victims killed.

San Antonio District 9 Councilman John Courage is requesting help funding a gun buyback program on Nov. 19, which he says will be the city’s first..

People can bring as many as 20 unloaded weapons to the Alamodome parking lot on Nov. 19 and, depending on the condition and type of firearm, receive between $50 and $300 worth of gift cards per weapon.

The city council passed the $3.7 billion spending plan for fiscal year 2024 Thursday morning in a 10-0-1 vote. It will take effect Oct. 1 at the beginning of the 2024 fiscal year.

The City of San Antonio plans to take advantage of a change to state law that will allow parents to surrender their newborn babies in special, alarmed boxes at fire stations and other designated spots.

The San Antonio City Council awarded Amstar, Inc. a $3.5 million contract for repairing the historic retaining walls, stabilizing the pump house, and reconstructing the grand stair case. However, the city’s plans to cut down dozens of trees in the process has draw sharp criticism.

The San Antonio City Council declined Wells Fargo’s card Thursday as it voted 7-4 to drop the multinational banking giant from a proposed pool of underwriters.

The San Antonio City Council delayed a routine vote on Thursday after its members split on whether to do business with Wells Fargo because of its recent scandal and penalty-plagued record.

7 Council incumbents were re-elected, including one by a razor thin margin

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).

City leaders are pushing for “baby boxes”. Although similar to the Safe Haven or Baby Moses Law, this proposal would allow parents in crisis to give up their child anonymously.

Radar Feedback Signs have been installed near Johnson High School to help curb speeding.

District 9 Councilman John Courage said messages of hate targeting the Jewish community and transgender individuals were found in several neighborhoods in the last week.

The San Antonio City Council amended the city’s noise ordinances on Thursday to limit the hours during which construction crews can do any exterior building construction work, including demolition and excavation. The council also approved more stringent penalties for violations.

The City of San Antonio is looking at two different ordinances that deal with noise made by construction companies and music venues or residential noise complaints.

The City of San Antonio’s Train for Jobs SA program has struggled to meet its promised results, but there’s hope for a voter-approved program set to begin in the spring.

As CPS Energy pushes for city council approval of a new rate hike, the utility’s interim CEO doesn’t expect to win over many of its customers.

Council members’ concerns over the process for appointing trustees to the city’s water and utilities spurred lengthy discussions Thursday, but ultimately weren’t enough to derail the newest SAWS and CPS Energy board appointments.

San Antonio and Bexar County officials are considering imposing a vaccine mandate on city and county employees after similar moves were taken in California and New York City.

Because there’s already a $5,000 minimum for its current exemption, city staff say boosting the homestead exemption to 5% would only save the average San Antonio homeowner with a $195,730 home an extra $27 each year.

The council members on the San Antonio Housing Authority Public Facilities Corporation Board delayed a vote on financing during a Tuesday meeting that would have allowed the “Friedrich Lofts” project to move forward. The project would create 358 units of studio, single-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments in a non-historic portion of the Friedrich Complex on East Commerce and Olive Street.

With all the votes counted, the following candidates have been declared winners in Districts 1, 2, 3, 5 and 9, respectively: Mario Bravo, Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, Phyllis Viagran, Teri Castillo and John Courage.

John Courage and Patrick Von Dohlen will once again square off on Saturday in a runoff election for the District 9 council seat.

Councilmember John Courage faces four challengers in the race for San Antonio City Council District 9.

SAN ANTONIO – With all Texans 50 years old and over now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, the pool of people anxiously looking for appointments has grown larger. On Tuesday, one alternative will come up again - the creation of a vaccine registry or waitlist. The city council’s Community Health and Equity Committee is scheduled to meet at 3 p.m. Tuesday. While a vaccine waitlist is not on the official agenda, it is expected to be discussed. The District 9 councilman brought up the registry idea at least twice in February city council meetings.

San Antonio – The San Antonio City Council has sent a proposed charter change to voters, which could offer more flexibility in what kind of projects the city can fund with bond money. The city council voted 10-1 Thursday to add the proposal onto the May 1 ballot for voter approval. Ad“There may be still other state laws or federal laws that govern what we can do on specific projects,” City Attorney Andy Segovia said. Perry also criticized the way the proposed amendment was brought to the city council. Amendments added to the ballot by the city council are typically considered by a mayor-appointed charter review commissionAdWhile there was no commission this year, a 2018 Charter Review Commission had previously considered changing the charter language surrounding the use of bond dollars, at Nirenberg’s request.

Courage used the opportunity to once again call for a citywide, central registry for which residents could sign up and be notified when it’s their turn to get the shot. Currently, residents must try to call or register online at each of the individual vaccine providers whenever new doses become available. A central registry, Courage argued, would help residents feel secure in the knowledge they’d eventually be in line to get vaccinated. Ad“We need to be able to reassure them that they will be contacted by call or email when their time comes to receive the vaccine. They’ll know where to go, they’ll know when to go and what to be prepared for when they get there,” Courage said.

SAN ANTONIO – With the Cenotaph relocation apparently off the table, San Antonio City Council members discussed options forward for the $400 million Alamo Plan. With the monument’s relocation a “crucial” part of the overall plan, city staff members say plans or timelines need to be changed. “We’re going to have to redo redesign because that Cenotaph is not moving,” City Manager Erik Walsh told council members. In its entirety, the Alamo Plan includes repairs to original structures, a redesign of the plaza and a museum. Following the nearly two-hour public discussion, council members spent close to another hour in a closed executive session but took no official action.

SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio City Council passed a $2.9 billion budget Thursday that makes few changes to the San Antonio Police Department, over the strong objection of activists. The San Antonio Police Department’s general fund budget will increase more than $7 million over the FY 2020 budget to roughly $486.5 million, largely due to a scheduled 5% pay increase for officers. As police funding discussions take place in San Antonio and cities around the state, Gov. The San Antonio Police Officers' Association released a statement from its president Mike Helle in support of the budget vote, too. “The City Council, and the people of San Antonio, should make no mistake: this ‘repeal’ movement is just one more way to ‘defund police!’” Helle wrote in the statement.

SAN ANTONIO Two San Antonio City Council members were the recipients of anger for their positions over the Black Lives Matter movement and other recent controversial issues that have recently surfaced during city meetings. I believe that Black lives matter. I believed Black lives mattered before I ever heard the term Black lives matter. I will continue to believe Black lives matter. District 10 Councilman Clayton Perry also sparked some anger from people during that June meeting, when he did not raise his fist in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

SAN ANTONIO – As a new decade begins, City Hall reporter Garrett Brnger has been talking with members of the San Antonio City Council about their New Year's resolutions. District 9 Councilman John Courage said he has resolved to listen to his constituents. To see more resolutions from other San Antonio City Council members, click here.