News

Now that early voting is underway, San Antonians will see a barrage of candidate signs popping up like spring flowers at polling locations across the city.

In addition to the campaign signs at the Collins Garden Library on District 5’s North Park Street, campaign volunteers to some of the six candidates in the race to represent the city's near west side are welcoming people to the polls.

"Vote David Medina!" could be heard as one man shouted the words proudly in an effort to get the incumbent, David Medina, re-elected.

The water in Medina Lake has fallen so low that the San Antonio Water System is no longer drawing water from it. The shift will affect the water source for the southern portion of Bexar County.

At the end of last week, SAWS shut off its pump in Medina Lake, which is now only five percent full.

"The water remaining is developing some water quality issues," said SAWS Spokeswoman Ann Hayden.

The decision to stop pumping was due to a concern about the water quality level and the amount of algae.

Construction begins today for the realignment of Market Street underneath IH-37, and as the city begins to make way for expansion of the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, parts of Market Street need to be repositioned.

The first phase is a permanent closure of the contraflow lane from the northbound feeder road onto Commerce Street. The road will be converted into a pedestrian walkway and bike lanes.

State Education Commissioner Michael Williams has been campaigning over the weekend to reducing the number of high-stakes exams required for graduation. 

At a business luncheon put on by the Texas Association of Businesses, Williams spoke about reducing the number of end-of-course exams from the current number of 15 tests.

The Texas Senate has passed a bill that will help veterans more easily access their education funds under the G.I. Bill.

SB 1158, The Hazelwood Act, was designed to ensure veterans and their children that they would be exempt from specific tuition and fees at public institutions of higher learning in the State of Texas.

World Heritage Week began Saturday in San Antonio, and there are plenty of activities throughout the week from April 27 - May 4, including an opportunity for children to learn about the missions and earn a World Heritage Badge.

The Texas Senate approved SB 1678, which was authored by Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, in response to misspending related to the addition of a Jumbotron at the American Airlines Center in Dallas and another at the Circuit of Americas facility in Austin. 

Deuell said the fund, which is controlled by the Texas comptroller, needed a major overhaul.

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is noticing an increase in the number of small Mexican honey wasps in the Bexar County area and experts are putting out the word that these insects are not the harmful wasps that people are typically afraid of.

The Mexican honey wasp is a beneficial insect that eats other more harmful pests, and Molly Keck, an entymologist with the Texas A&M AfgiLife Extension Service, said they are not prone to attacking humans, unless they become irritated.

Unlike its House companion, Senate Bill 1403 does not rely heavily on test scores taken from high-stakes exams to evaluate teachers.

Originally the bill included a provision that mandated 25 percent of a teacher's evaluation was directly related to students' grades on the state’s end-of-course exams.