TOMMY CALVERT

Bexar County's 2022 budget includes $400,000 for the statue, whose location in Pletz Park opens it for additional county funding.

A seemingly routine county redistricting process turned contentious as Precinct 4 Commissioner Tommy Calvert accused Precinct 1 Commissioner Rebeca Clay-Flores of possibly putting a political opponent into his district. Calvert is up for re-election in the March 2022 primary.

Bexar County commissioners signed off on a plan that would balance the population between precincts 2 and 3.

Many families across Bexar County will have fresh produce just in time for the holiday season, thanks to an urban farm on the East Side that is helping fight food insecurity.

Bexar County commissioners reviewed three different maps Tuesday that would rebalance the four precincts' population within legal guidelines.

Seven people were detained and 65 gambling machines were seized in connection with two illegal gambling operations on the Northeast Side, according to Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar.

Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert went all the way to the top of county law enforcement in an attempt to discuss the case of a world champion boxer charged with robbery hours before that suspect turned himself in to authorities in San Antonio late last month, records obtained by the KSAT 12 Defenders reveal.

Forget the Alamo authors ask readers to widen their perspective beyond the myth of the "heroic Anglo."

Writers of 'Forget the Alamo,' the book that become a subject of ire for GOP state...

Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert has organized a discussion with the authors of the new book "Forget the Alamo."

San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said 1,035,582 people have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 804,762 are fully vaccinated.

Opinion: The authors of a new Alamo book believe the Collins collection contains some very strong material, but other items are suspect.

Mayor Ron Nirenberg reported 710,896 first-dose COVID-19 vaccines have been administered, and 417,650 people are fully vaccinated.

SAN ANTONIO – Bexar County commissioners are considering paying to test San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo attendees for COVID-19, but rodeo organizers aren’t interested. Precinct 4 Commissioner Tommy Calvert raised the idea of testing rodeo attendees with the county footing the bill during Tuesday’s Bexar County Commissioners Court meeting. The commissioners are next scheduled to meet on Feb. 9 -- two days before the start of the rodeo. However, Sides said rapid testing for entry was “not only financially but logistically a challenge for us. The Rodeo is a County event in a County facility, so operational decisions are up to the County.”

SAN ANTONIO – After testing positive for COVID-19, Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert is sharing his experience to warn others to remain vigilant during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I tasted it and I noticed I couldn’t taste it and I was very disappointed. “When I couldn’t taste my shrimp, I got some caramel popcorn and couldn’t taste that,” Calvert said. It was just a little congestion, occasional runny nose, but it wasn’t constant.”Despite having a negative test, Calvert said he still wanted to be on the safe side. My advice is don’t ever let your guard down.”Related: Commissioner Calvert tests positive for COVID-19 days after appearing in Commissioners Court

SAN ANTONIO – Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert on Monday confirmed he tested positive for COVID-19, just days after appearing at last week’s Commissioners Court meeting. Calvert said via telephone Monday he tested positive Friday and has reached out to other county leaders and staff with whom he came into contact. Calvert said a friend who visited him on Jan. 1 contacted him two days later and said she had tested positive for the virus. Jan. 14, two days after Calvert took part in the public meeting, he could no longer taste food, Calvert said via telephone. The following day Calvert took another COVID test and this time it came back positive.

click image Instagram / dunawayassociatesThe Agrilife Extension Service is working with Debra Dockery Architects and Dunaway Associates L.P. to create the Greenies complex. Two months after planting its inaugural crops, Bexar County’s Greenies Urban Farm will distribute its first harvest of superfoods to low income San Antonio families on Friday.“It’s the right time to get the ‘food is medicine’ message out as vitamin deficiencies lead to … hospital beds taken during the COVID [pandemic] and flu season,” Precinct 4 County Commissioner Tommy Calvert said in a release.Greenies is located in Calvert's East Side district, occupying a once-vacant lot across from Loop 1604 on Sherman Street between North Gevers and Hudson streets. The food distribution will take place at the farm at 1 p.m.A new program from the urban farm will provide free superfoods such as kale, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower and collard greens to patients at the county’s medical clinics and those enrolled in University Health System’s Carelink insurance program.These nutrient-packed veggies can improve the healthcare outcomes for those with top medical ailments and who cannot afford natural foods, according to program organizers.Greenies' 10-acre tract has been transformed into a greenspace that will eventually include demonstration and teaching gardens, an outdoor classroom and kitchen, a 300-person event center, a farmer’s market and more.

SAN ANTONIO – Bexar County officials have hired an ombudsperson following a string of internal and federal employment complaints against management, the KSAT 12 Defenders have confirmed. Allison Highley was hired October 28 and will be under the direction of County Manager David Smith. (KSAT)The latest, filed earlier this month by a longtime county employee, accuses Smith-Dean of retaliation, according to multiple sources. County officials have claimed Millan was reassigned because she was uniquely qualified to help several county agencies manage COVID-19-related expenditures. Memo: Bexar County Manager David Smith directed employees to receive absolutionA third employee accused Smith-Dean late last year of harassment and bullying as part of an internal complaint.

SAN ANTONIO – Do you need your flu shot? With flu season quickly approaching, University Health and Precinct 4 Commissioner Tommy Calvert will host a flu shot drive on Saturday, Nov. 14 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Freeman Coliseum, 3210 East Houston Street. Additional details:Individual registrations must be submitted for each person receiving a flu shot. To register for the flu shot drive on Nov. 14, click here. KSAT Community operates in partnership with University Health, Energy Transfer and Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union.

click image Instagram / ulisanantonioGreenies Urban FarmThursday morning, the first plants were introduced to the soil at Bexar County's new Greenies Urban Farm, a plot of land that will provide produce to the San Antonio Food Bank and local food pantries.A short distance west of the AT&T Center, the once-vacant, 10-acre span of land has been transformed into a greenspace that will eventually include demonstration and teaching gardens, an outdoor classroom and kitchen, a 300-person event center, farmer’s market and more, according to a release.Precinct 4 Commissioner Tommy Calvert joined SA Food Bank CEO Eric Cooper and District Extension Administrator of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Michael Haynes to plant the first of many cool-weather vegetables to commemorate the completion of the first phase of the project.Greenies Urban Farm is located in the vacant lot across from 1604 Sherman, behind Wheatley Middle School on San Antonio’s East Side.

The leaders worked, sometimes vigorously, to persuade their local governments to buy COVID-19 tests from a company Hayungs was hoping to partner with. Calvert, meanwhile, did not disclose that he once held an unpaid position on the advisory board of Hayungs’ company, MRG Medical. Villalobos, the Hays County chief of staff, said in a statement that Republicans were blocking access to COVID-19 tests. “Approved to Re-Vamp / Re-Brand Hays County Indigent Healthcare Program.”The county commissioners had not approved him to do anything. He did so without input from key Hays County medical leaders or approval from his fellow commissioners, as county rules require.

SAN ANTONIO Two Bexar County commissioners are butting heads, but over what depends on which one you ask. Precinct 3 County Commissioner Kevin Wolff sent a memo to the entire Bexar County Commissioners Court on Aug. 24, blasting Precinct 4 Commissioner Tommy Calvert. In his memo, Wolff claims Calvert ultimately wants to eliminate the County Manager organization of government. And it was a pretty insane tirade.Instead, Calvert believes Wolffs message was driven by something else -- scrutiny of the Bexar County Military and Veterans Service Center, which Wolff oversees. Wolff is in his final term on the commissioners court after deciding not to seek reelection.

SAN ANTONIO Bexar County is distributing free Pelixglass kits to small, local businesses as they reopen during the coronavirus pandemic. The kits were handed out Monday morning at the Freeman Coliseum in order to assist small businesses reopen safely, according to a news release. For small businesses that missed the event, county officials said there will be additional distributions on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday in other precincts. All small businesses in the county qualify for the kits but they must pre-register and bring a confirmation email, according to a news release. Small businesses can also request additional essential items, including personal protective equipment, via Bexar Countys Small Business and Entrepreneurship Departments webpage.

Bexar County commissioners voted Thursday to allocate $39.5 million of federal coronavirus funding to workforce retraining efforts. That money made up half of the $79 million that the federal government gave to Bexar County under the national coronavirus relief package. COPS Metro is asking for up to 80 percent of County [coronavirus relief] funds to be spent on workforce-related programs, he said. He cautioned that federal funding would not be a cure-all for the local economy. Commissioners will vote on exactly how to use coronavirus relief funding next week.

Local leaders and experts gathered for a virtual town hall Monday evening at the first of several planned panels to discuss the new coronavirus and its disproportionate impact on the black community. If not, then practice the social distancing of 6 feet so you can keep yourself safe.Hall joined Councilwoman Jada Andrews-Sullivan (D2), Commissioner Tommy Calvert (Pct. 4), state Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins (D-San Antonio), San Antonio Metropolitan Health District Director Junda Woo and San Antonio Fire Department Chief Charles Hood for a live-streamed panel on Monday hosted by Black Video Network. But, this [pandemic] just amplifies the inequities that were already there before.Coronavirus response in the black community also includes helping small business owners, Andrews-Sullivan said. The District 2 councilwoman said she was working with San Antonio for Growth on the East Side (SAGE) to partner with LiftFund, a micro-lender based in San Antonio.

Local leaders and experts gathered for a virtual town hall Monday evening at the first of several planned panels to discuss the new coronavirus and its disproportionate impact on the black community. If not, then practice the social distancing of 6 feet so you can keep yourself safe.Hall joined Councilwoman Jada Andrews-Sullivan (D2), Commissioner Tommy Calvert (Pct. 4), state Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins (D-San Antonio), San Antonio Metropolitan Health District Director Junda Woo and San Antonio Fire Department Chief Charles Hood for a live-streamed panel on Monday hosted by Black Video Network. But, this [pandemic] just amplifies the inequities that were already there before.Coronavirus response in the black community also includes helping small business owners, Andrews-Sullivan said. The District 2 councilwoman said she was working with San Antonio for Growth on the East Side (SAGE) to partner with LiftFund, a micro-lender based in San Antonio.

The week saw positive cases in San Antonio increase from 723 to 992, a 37 percent increase, and deaths from 27 to 38, a 40 percent increase. Starting Monday, people in San Antonio and Bexar County must wear cloth face coverings in public spaces. Calls for housing assistance have jumped from an average of 47 per week before the pandemic to 5,300 last week, said Assistant City Manager Lori Houston. The San Antonio Food Bank continued to experience record demand for assistance from unprecedented numbers of families. San Antonio author Shea Serrano demonstrated the power of one with a social media call to action that raised more than $100,000 for the San Antonio Food Bank.

4) accused the Southeast Nursing and Rehabilitation Center of inadequate staffing, unclean environments, and improper care of its residents who have coronavirus. Staff at the facility told Calvert that some Southeast Nursing residents had not had a shower in three to five days, he wrote. These are my constituents and this is not acceptable care to me nor the people we represent, Calvert wrote Wednesday. San Antonio Metropolitan Health District Director Dawn Emerick said officials from Metro Health and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission visited and investigated Calverts concerns. She also said Metro Health has no authority to regulate nursing homes but her organization felt it was important for local health authorities to visit Southeast Nursing.

Two San Antonio nursing homes will house coronavirus patients from other nursing homes in the region, City officials announced Friday. The plan comes after 101 people at Southeast Nursing and Rehabilitation Center tested positive for COVID-19. No sick nursing home residents have been moved to the East Sides River City Care Center or the Westover Hills facility in Far West San Antonio yet. Having two nursing homes ready to accept nursing home residents with COVID-19 will help prevent spreading the virus in other care facilities. Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda (D6) said she was pleased with the new housing plan for nursing home residents with COVID-19.

SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio city officials on Friday announced a plan to potentially house COVID-19 patients from nursing homes in the region at two long-term care facilities in an effort to try mitigate the spread of the virus. City officials confirmed patients from both locations have already been moved to other facilities in the area to make room for potential patients. The expo hall late last month was prepped as an alternative care center if San Antonio hospitals become full. The Texas Tribune reported Friday that 13% of nursing home facilities in the state have at least one resident with COVID-19. Nursing home with 70+ COVID-19 patients fined $68,000, cited for 28 violations in 2019

More than 42,400 Bexar County residents cast ballots during the early hours of Tuesday voting.But not without glitches.Bexar County Elections Department reported that 42,441 people voted as of 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, the widely-watched primary election referred to as Super Tuesday. However, poll watchers say they received reports of technical problems at 10 locations, including the busy John Igo Library and Copernicus Community Center. Dallas, which also recently switched voting machines, also experienced glitches, he added. "Across the state, it seems like there's been a lack of preparedness and proper infrastructure," Gonzalez said. Every reader contribution is valuable and so appreciated, and goes directly to support our coverage of critical issues and neighborhood culture.

The first round of coronavirus evacuees at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland were released on Thursday after completing a two-week mandatory quarantine. Of the 91 evacuees, one remains in treatment at a local hospital. The patient was transferred out of Methodist Texsan Hospital on Thursday for continued treatment at an area hospital, Methodist Healthcare said in a statement. The release of evacuees comes amid controversy surrounding their admission to civilian hospitals in San Antonio after arriving for quarantine on the Air Force base. Cornyn said that while people are concerned with how coronavirus evacuees are being treated in the U.S., his biggest concern is how China has mishandled this situation.Because China is afraid of being given bad press, they have simply shut down and are not being transparent, he said.

The phone call came after Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff on Tuesday asked for patients to be kept on Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland to minimize risk to local health care providers and residents. Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert (Pct. Better yet, Calvert said, taking evacuees to Wyoming, Nebraska, or keeping them at the port of entry would be more more appropriate than sending them to San Antonio, which is a major population center. We have the same concern as the rest of public as to where these people are going and risks of exposure, Calvert said. The judge and the Commissioners Court are supposed to be in charge of situations like this and we are not.

The underlying message was to get out and vote, and a booth was set up to encourage students to register. You have to respect others, too.The panel also delved into how voting can influence issues that affect college students economic and housing opportunities in particular. The Tobin Lofts here, which are designed for San Antonio College students, arent full of San Antonio College students, Calvert said. Paramedic sophomore Jamilah Elliott, who attended the panel for a class grade, said she felt more informed by the discussion and plans to attend more of the colleges Black History Month events. Asked her thoughts on an all-Democrat panel, Elliott added It didnt feel like there was any kind of bias.

One Bexar County commissioner is asking questions about a potential proposal to have the county take over funding for hike and bike trails along local creekway parks. After the River Authority vote, Nirenberg then proposed a San Antonio Water System takeover of funding to protect the Edwards Aquifer. As of September, the Citys Parks had spent $113 million out of the $190 million for creekway trails that voters have approved four times since 2000. The City has so far built 69 miles of trails, with funding committed for another 50 miles. In his letter, Calvert asks 17 questions about the aquifer program, the creekway trails, and Nirenbergs transportation proposal.

click to enlarge Jade Esteban EstradaBexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert has been an outspoken critic of VisionQuest's plan to open migrant shelters here. Municipal officials have slammed the door for the sixth time on for-profit detention company VisionQuest's effort to open shelters for migrant boys in the San Antonio area.On Tuesday night, Universal City's council unanimously turned down a rezoning request from New Covenant Family Church to turn a shuttered school building into a shelter for up to 60 boys, the Express-News reports The decision follows a vote late last year by the San Antonio City Council to bar the Arizona-based firm from locating another migrant youth shelter at an East Side community center owned by the Second Baptist Church.The Detroit-based law firm of Dalton and Tomich subsequently sued the city on behalf of Second Baptist, arguing that that the church's plan was constitutionally protected under its religious freedom.But the San Antonio area isn't alone in pushing back at VisionQuest since the company won $25 million in federal grants to house unaccompanied minors in government custody.Some of the blowback stems from anger about the Trump administration's draconian immigration policies. But officials in communities including Los Angeles and Philadelphia have also expressed concern over the 46-year-old company's track record with detention facilities Last summer, Los Angeles' city council adopted a motion declaring that private detention centers such as one proposed by VisionQuest "are not welcome in the City of Los Angeles," adding that officials "must ensure that none will ever be built or operated within its borders.Earlier this month, a Pennsylvania judge stopped the company from opening a shelter for migrant youths in North Philadelphia at the city's behest. Philadelphia terminated a contract with VisionQuest in 2017 after state inspectors raised concerns about the treatment of children in its custody.Citing state inspection records, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that staff members directed physical violence against children at its facilities. The sites were also dirty and employed workers who lacked adequate training, according to records.Jesus never said let the little children come to me and I will bash their heads through a wall, Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert, one of VisionQuest's most vocal local critics, told theafter the Universal City vote.

He and architect Debra Dockery recently unveiled some of the first renderings for his plan to turn the land into a place he calls Greenies Urban Farm. From the Goonies to the Greenies, Calvert said. Dockery has partnered with Bryan Mask of Dunaway Associates, which is working on the landscape architecture for the urban farm. Agmenity currently manages the urban farm in the newer master-planned community of Harvest Green in the suburbs southwest of Houston. But regardless of whether they are choosing to live near a farm for health, nostalgia, or status, the urban farm is undeniably attractive to todays homebuyers, and this could be good economic news for the Eastside neighborhoods around the Greenies farm.

SAN ANTONIO - In an 8-3 vote, the city's Zoning Commission voted Tuesday night against turning a portion of Second Baptist Church on the East Side into a migrant shelter for boys. Related: Community leaders, church members clash over proposed migrant shelter on East SideAndrews-Sullivan said to allow the church to become a shelter, it would have to be rezoned as a detention center. Related: Proposed federal detention center in San Antonio draws mixed opinionsJeff Bender, a spokesman for Visionquest, the company that wants to run the migrant shelter, said the company is not seeking to turn the church into a detention center. "We also have to remember the church has voted twice ... in favor of this." Despite the Zoning Commission vote, the City Council ultimately will decide the request.

The agreement includes a 10-year, 60 percent tax abatement on eligible capital investment and a public infrastructure grant of $750,000. We will make river improvements and promote walkable neighborhoods with sidewalks and an elevated pedestrian bridge that connects the Tobin Hill community to the river and the Brackenridge Park Trail, he said. The Borden Park project will sit two blocks north of the Pearl on over 5 acres adjacent to the River Walk and connect the Tobin Hill neighborhood to the river. In addition to trails and a pedestrian bridge across the river, four billboards facing Highway 281 are to be removed. The site has previously served as a storage facility, which will be demolished and replaced with a five-story multifamily housing development and parking structure.

RELATED: Community leaders, church members clash over proposed migrant shelter on East SideBut Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert pushed back against that assertion. I'm glad they brought up religion, because it allows me to remind them that the Ten Commandments says thou shall not kill," Calvert said. "And VisionQuest has had 12 children die under their custody. Youth Name Death Reason Organization Responsible Year of Death Robert Erwin Drowned Vision Quest 1980 Lyle Foodroy Drowned Vision Quest 1980 Robert Zimmerman Drowned Vision Quest 1980 Charles Lucas Drowned Vision Quest 1980 James Lamb Drowned Vision Quest 1980 Bernard Reefer Drowned Vision Quest 1980 Carlos Ruiz Unknown Vision Quest 1994 Dawanne Takeuchi Accidental Vision Quest 1980 Danny Lewis Accidental Vision Quest 1989VisionQuest officials said they've provided a safe space for more than 100,000 migrant children over the last several decades. Bender would not say whether they would sue the city if the church was not rezoned.

"If VisionQuest wanted a detention center they could have just opened a large warehouse with nothing in it but concrete floors and walls. More News Headlines Proposed federal detention center in San Antonio draws mixed opinions(Previously)The future of a community center at an East Side church is in limbo. Some church members want it to become a shelter for migrant boys who cross the border unattended, but those opposed say it would operate more like a detention center. "Our church members would not bring any shame and disgrace to the community. Sullivan is encouraging fellow City Council members to vote against the necessary zoning change that would allow the church to host the shelter.

A company looking to temporarily house unaccompanied migrant children in San Antonio faced a wave of opposition from local elected leaders and community groups this week after it signed a lease with an Eastside church. Our plan is for a shelter for unaccompanied migrant youth who came here seeking asylum, said Second Baptist Church Deacon Thomas Washington. VisionQuest faced similar opposition this summer to a facility for migrants it plans to open in New Mexico. Second Baptist Church has crossed the line. Your hands will not be clean.Details of the contract between Second Baptist Church and VisionQuest are still being worked out, Washington said.

Bexar County Commissioners selected Bexar County Deputy Sheriff Leticia Vazquez on Wednesday as the interim constable for Precinct 2. After an hour of interviewing five candidates and discussion, commissioners unanimously voted to appoint Vazquez. Out of the 29 applicants for the interim position, commissioners narrowed the search on Tuesday to five: Vazquez, Donald Falcon, Javier Flores, Mary Ruiz, and Debra L. Zerda. Vazquez also said she does not plan to run for the constable seat in March, something that commissioners said they preferred in a candidate. I dont have any plans right now to run for constable, Precinct 2.

BEXAR COUNTY SECOND CHANCE JOB FAIRRegardless of how long you have been out of work due to the economic downturn or a former incarceration, Bexar County and Commissioner Tommy Calvert stand ready to assist you. Bexar County's 2nd Chance Job Fair is geared towards providing you, your family and your community an opportunity to be productive members of society. Our goal is to connect employers with job seekers who have been unemployed. Along with the job fair there will be non-profits on-site to offer information on the services they provide as well as information regarding the expungement process, tattoo removal, and workshops on various topics. There are over 800 businesses that are committed to hiring formally incarcerated local residents from all education and skill levels.

SAN ANTONIO - Some frustrated homeowners in northeast Bexar County said they're hoping to finally get some answers about a low-rent apartment complex that could be built just feet away from their homes. Possible increases in crime and traffic in the Walzem Road and FM 78 area are some concerns residents have. Steve Glover, who has lived in his house in the Brentfield subdivision for 20 years, is one of the frustrated homeowners. "A 216-unit apartment complex. But residents who may be affected feel like they've been left out of the loop"They never told us.