News

Saturday's city council election wrapped up with several decisive victories for incumbents, but a few races are still to be decided.

District 4 Councilman Rey Saldaña beat his challenger with 84 percent of the vote, East Side Councilwoman Ivy Taylor will be returning for a third term, Ray Lopez of District 6 and Cris Medina of District 7 each won their races handily, as did District 9 and 10 Council Members Elisa Chan and Carlton Soules.

Update: (11:46 a.m.) City officials are expecting an additional 8,000 vehicles in the downtown area for the graduation ceremonies this afternoon and advise people traveling in and around downtown to plan for congestion.

The first ceremony is scheduled to conclude at 4:30 p.m., meaning afternoon traffic congestion on area highways and streets will likely begin earlier than normal.

In the first segment:

An incumbent unseated, and runoffs in District 8 and 5. How does this election change the direction of city hall? We will take a look at the results of Saturday's municipal elections with Gilbert Garcia of the San Antonio Express-News and Texas Public Radio's Ryan Loyd.

In the second segment:

Each week on World Music (Saturday nights from 8-10 on KSTX 89.1 FM), I take a look at celebrations happening around the world. This week, a fragrant festival in Morocco.

ROSE FESTIVAL

With the growing number of drones being used by by law enforcement and the public, Texas lawmakers are taking up the issue to try and set some ground rules.

House Bill 912 would restrict the use of drones, and is inching closer to becoming law. 

The likelihood of fixing Texas roads seems slim as Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, a leader of transportation in the House, withdrew his bill from the floor.  

The bill would have raised the state’s registration fee $50 to help pay for roads, but that was lowered to a $15 increase as the bill was debated. 

New ethics standards are on their way to San Antonio City Hall as the city council voted to add changes to the ethics code after several recent incidents cast a shadow of doubt on city leaders.

The most recent incident was over the vote for a new District 9 library, which was located next to Councilwoman Elisa Chan’s North Side business.

At the time, city staffers working on the project knew the library and Chan’s business, Unitech, were bordering each other, but said nothing to the city council on the matter.

Texas Matters: President Obama visited Austin on Thursday to promote his jobs and middle class growth strategy. Also on this show: Latino unemployment in Texas, the Boquillas border crossing opens in Big Bend and the last night to pass bills out of the Texas House.