Ryan Loyd

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.

The first steps are in motion that will take Mayor Julián Castro’s early education initiative from the ballot box to the classroom.

On Thursday city council officially appointed the new Pre-K 4 SA Board of Directors. They also voted to hire a recruiting firm to look for the top positions within the initiative, and they adopted the ordinance to implement the sales tax increase.

Appointees to the board include:

The tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut is especially difficult to deal with because the majority of the deaths were children, but a local family ministry director says that honesty is still the best policy.

Katie Rode said parents may find themselves talking with their children about the shooting spree. Her advice is to be as open and honest as possible, and not worry about avoiding the word 'death.'

The Vía Metropolitan Transit Board voted to increase regular fares on Tuesday night, but it doesn’t mean customers will immediately see increased costs.

A local governmental approval committee consisting of Bexar County Commissioners, members of the San Antonio City Council and members of the suburban council of mayors will still need to give the green light before fares go into effect on Feb. 1.

Although San Antonio isn't directly a part of drilling and extraction activities of the Eagle Ford Shale, it is one of the many communities benefiting from the  injection of economic power.

According to a new report by the San Antonio Economic Foundation, road damage caused by trucks traveling to and from the Eagle Ford Shale drilling sites is a big challenge for Bexar County and the City of San Antonio. The report recommends infrastructure planning during the next legislative session.

As the buildings are beginning to be identified for the Pre-K 4 SA initiative approved by San Antonio voters in November, city council is busy making their selections for the 11-member board of directors.