News

People who are saddled with big student-loan debts can soon take advantage of the government’s loan repayment and forgiveness plan that officially begins this Friday.

The Department of Education program will allow students and families who are paying off high student loan debt to reduce their payments to 10 percent of their discretionary income.

Derrick Smith, a certified credit counselor with Consumer Credit Counseling of San Antonio, said students must have received two separate loans.

Bexar County Sheriff-elect Susan Pamerleau is using the final days of December to gather her executive team so they can hit the ground running on new year's day.

On Monday, at her second press conference since the election, Pamerleau announced she would retain Chief Deputy Manuel Longoria.

"He provides great continuity," she said. "Besides that, he’s a man of integrity, he cares about the officers, he cares about this community. He’s got the right sight picture and I know that already he and I are working great together."

The federal hearing concluded without a final decision in the case between the Northside Independent School District and a John Jay High School student who refuses to wear a radio frequency identification card.

In the meantime, 15-year-old Andrea Hernandez, the sophomore refusing the ID card, will be allowed to stay at John Jay until the end of the semester. Northside Superintendent Brian Woods said that decision was made by the district.

[Update: Thursday, Dec. 20] The Texas School Safety Center, located at Texas State University in San Marcos, now says there are only 29 schools not in compliance with the safety audits.

This is down from the 78 total districts who did not meet the Texas Education Code safety requirement -- 38 that did not report, and 40 that were not fully compliant. The center said that slow paperwork is to blame for those schools that are now cleared.

SAMMinistries says a million dollars donated by a local philanthropist this week will help the center provide financial planning classes to more people who are on the "cliff" of homelessness.

Harvey Najim, who wrote the personal check, said people come in need of assistance, but are not looking for a hand-out.

It’s not uncommon for Latinas who have an abnormal mammogram test to not follow up and get the medical treatment they need, but a little extra support from helpers called “patient navigators” can make the difference.

Facing a possible diagnosis of breast cancer can be tough for anyone to process, but for whatever reason, Hispanic women need a little extra help to get them back to the doctor.

The City of San Antonio has been working on a diversity action plan when concerns arose at previous city council meetings that leaders were not selecting enough African-American or other minority firms for contracting jobs.

The jobs are for upgrades to streets, sidewalks, and other public infrastructure that voters approved in the 2012-2017 city bond program; 140 projects worth $596 million. Members of the community stepped forward to ask why minority candidates seemed to have been passed over, and Mayor Julián Castro has requested an action plan.

City leaders began working on updating city code following the Aug. 15 fire that claimed the lives of four men at a boarding home located at 309 W. Norwood Ct.

On Thursday, city council members approved the ordinance that establishes a yearly boarding home registration and inspection program for the safety of residents.

Often times residents in boarding homes are elderly or disabled. City leaders believe new regulations will increase their quality of life and survivability in worst-case scenarios.

Mention Frida Kahlo and we immediately think of the painter and the wide range of self portraits she produced during her troubled -- and at times anguished -- life. A recent recording by the Dublin Drag Orchestra with vocalist Clara Sanabras brings to light another side of Kahlo: occasional poet and writer. "La Vida Callada," ("The Unspoken Life") is included on the recently issued "¡Viva Frida!" from the Heresy record label. This track stands out for its balance of contrast and similarity to what the Dublin Drag Orchestra (DDO) has come to champion - early music.