The year 2023 was yet another year full of trauma, grief, and resilience.
Great artists were lost. Wars divided communities and campuses. San Antonio and South Texas continued to be at the center of a migration wave that politicians have struggled to address. Civilian confrontations with law enforcement ended tragically over and over. And the prospect of a chaotic and violently historic 2024 election season cast a long shadow.
But there were also moments of happiness, or at least relief. A new star joined the Spurs constellation. The return of more beloved arts events demonstrated how the community has healed since the depths of the pandemic. New buildings rose into the sky, and new businesses opened their doors to enthusiastic customers. The tropics were quiet.
The stories below represent the vivid mosaic of news TPR's journalists assembled in 2023. The array of work illustrates a community — from New Braunfels to the Rio Grande, and from the Gulf Coast to Uvalde — that emerged from another year bruised but stronger, more complicated, and more determined.
Abortion
Buckle Bunnies Fund kept operating in Texas while other abortion funds shut down thanks to its nontraditional structure, dedicated volunteers, and a willingness to accept legal risks.
Since Texas adopted a full ban on abortion, not only have abortion seekers been forced to leave the state but so too have the abortion providers. Texas Public Radio’s Kayla Padilla and David Martin Davies tell us more in their series "Planes, Trains and Automobiles – Evading the Texas Abortion Ban."
Many Texans who have an unwanted pregnancy have little choice than to go out of state to access a legal abortion. It’s expensive and difficult but even more so for those living in deep South Texas. New Mexico is far away but Mexico is not. So what are the options for getting an abortion across the RGV border in Mexico? Texas Public Radio’s Kayla Padilla and David Martin Davies went to find out.
State government
Three months after being suspended from his duties as the state’s top prosecutor, the Texas Senate will begin what could be a weeks-long hearing to decide whether Paxton will be permanently removed from office.
360 Queen Entertainment appears in court as part of ACLU Texas' lawsuit against a statewide drag ban.
Texas’ foster system has dropped hundreds of runaway kids from its care over the past five years. 170 of those kids were minors when the state stopped its relationship. One legislator says the state is 'washing its hands' of the most vulnerable youth — youth who often end up being sexually abused or trafficked while missing.
According to a TPR analysis of state data, even with recapture, today’s school funding system still isn’t fair. And, because the funding system is also really complicated, the ways it’s unfair aren’t very well understood.
Education
San Antonio families have been fighting for school funding equity for 50 years. But wide disparities in funding still exist.
San Antonio ISD’s historically Black East Side neighborhoods have more schools on SAISD’s proposed closure list than any other part of the district.
The federal judge’s order requires the library system to update its online catalog to reflect the 17 books are available for checkout, and it prohibits officials from removing any more books.
Border and Immigration
A group of civil rights advocates, aid workers, journalists, and politicians inspected the string of wrecking ball-sized buoys, which is the centerpiece of what Gov. Greg Abbott calls Operation Lone Star.
A video obtained by Texas Public Radio appears to show members of the Texas National Guard ignoring cries for help from a woman carrying a baby who seemed to be in danger of drowning in the Rio Grande.
A 911 call alerted police that 15 men and 2 women were trapped. Border Patrol agents stopped the train east of Knippa. At least four people were hospitalized in area hospitals.
The video, shared with Texas Public Radio by a human rights worker who asked to remain anonymous due to their work with the Mexican government, appeared to show guards at the detention facility walking away as the fire raged.
Migrants in Mexico are seeking asylum in the United States as the emergency immigration restriction known as Title 42 comes to an end.
It's estimated that half a million people live in colonias along the Texas-Mexico border. These communities lack basic needs for the residents, including running water, storm drainage and sewage. What are the challenges of living in a colonia? Who is responsible for improving the substandard conditions?
Caliber 60, a limited series podcast about the flow of avocados, guns and people, drops on March 15th. Subscribe to Caliber 60 to follow Linda’s story.
The Biden administration is working to allow tens of thousands of Afghans to remain in the United States. After the Taliban takeover two years ago, they were allowed to come to the U.S. under a temporary program, but that program is scheduled to expire this summer.
Law enforcement and accountability
Both adults and children have lost faith that law enforcement can or will protect them.
Inmates say food melts in front of them and claim their cells' temperatures exceed 150 degrees.
Thirteen guards from a Texas prison have been fired or resigned after the beating of an inmate that left him hospitalized — likely for the rest of his life. Several eyewitnesses along with former staff said staffing and training issues are leading to more violence. TDCJ denied the incident was due to staffing or training.
Sgt. Alfred Flores and Officers Eleazar Alejandro and Nathaniel Villalobos were arrested Friday and charged in the murder of Melissa Perez. They were released on bond Saturday.
Three SAPD officers were charged with murder after shooting and killing Melissa Perez in her apartment in June. Perez had schizophrenia; now, families of others with severe mental illnesses worry their loved ones are at risk too.
Former Bexar County Precinct 2 constable also received a six-year suspended prison term, and she was ordered to perform 600 hours of community service and pay a $2,500 fine. She will also be on probation for five years.
Melvin Quinney was convicted of indecency with a child and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Now, the courts recognize no abuse took place.
Military affairs
Fort Hood, the Army base in Central Texas, will be redesignated Fort Cavazos May 9. The new name honors the Army’s first Hispanic four-star general.
Aguilar was the girlfriend of suspected killer Army Spc. Aaron Robinson
After a string of high-profile deaths and disappearances, the Army is trying harder to find soldiers who fail to report for duty.
The old Wilford Hall Medical Center at Joint Base San Antonio Lackland is being torn down. Once the flagship of Air Force medicine, the facility has sat vacant for years. Now officials are working to preserve its history.
The new basic training curriculum aims to better prepare recruits for the uncertainties of war.
Technology
The failed launch of SpaceX's Starship rocket from Boca Chica in South Texas last week did more than explode the world's largest rocket. It caused more environmental damage than expected.
Few space companies that came to the city during the height of SpaceX's test launches in 2021 remain in Brownsville today, despite city money and promotion.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas paid the bitcoin miner Riot $31.7 million in energy credits in August to not mine bitcoin in order to save energy for the state's power grid.
Soundlight boxes give those without sight the opportunity to enjoy the solar eclipse.
Health
Bexar County said Steward Health Care System asked for a bailout to save Texas Vista. Allegations of securities fraud are now casting shadows over any future discussion.
For the last 25 years, the U.S. has required that grain and cereal products be fortified with folic acid — and the CDC is now urging manufacturers of products made using corn masa flour to add the B vitamin to minimize the risk of birth defects in the Latino population.
COVID cases have been increasing for weeks nationwide, but a COVID expert says not to call it a surge just yet.
Medical misinformation is killing people, according to the head of the Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Robert Califf blames misinformation and disinformation about public health for the fact that life expectancy in the United States is between three and five years lower than it is in other high-income countries.
Did you know there is still one tuberculosis hospital in the United States? There is just one: The Texas Center for Infectious Disease in San Antonio. Host Bonnie Petrie takes us there.
San Antonio
Paul Rusesabagina returned to San Antonio Wednesday night, according to his daughter.
SAC’s student government and a majority of President Naydeen González-De Jesús’ senior executive team sent separate letters to Alamo Colleges District Chancellor Mike Flores declaring 'no confidence' in the president.
San Antonio has its first guns-for-groceries exchange and finds an enthusiastic response.
The expectations and hype are sky high as Wemby is tall.
The need for accessible public restrooms for people with disabilities is crucial. Standard bathrooms don’t offer things like low changing tables for people with incontinence issues. This barrier for the disabled often leaves many of them feeling isolated.
A small west-side park puts poetry front-and-center
Arts and culture
The Alamo Collections Center, located on the grounds of the mission-turned fortress, site of the 1836 battle during the Texas Revolution against Mexico, opens on Friday.
Lerma's Nite Club reopened in July as a community center. They're offering free conjunto music and dance classes as a way to help preserve the genre.
For nearly 60 years San Antonio women cooked up and served Mexican food in downtown plazas
The bees that produce the region's honey and the townspeople both share a strong sense of community.
One woman's ambition to create a dialogue between San Antonio and Havana artists is blossoming.
Those we lost
She encouraged the study of mariachi music in middle and high schools throughout the city.
Our Lady of the Lake University said in a statement that the painter, muralist and tile artist died on Monday morning.
Pioneer María Martin helped train participants at San Antonio's Esperanza Peace & Justice Center before her death. Some of those students reflect on what they learned and how Martin's legacy in journalism will live on.
He built an automotive sales and service empire, but he also was known for his ownership of professional sports teams, including the San Antonio Spurs, the Denver Nuggets, and the Minnesota Vikings.
TPR was founded by and is supported by our community. If you value our commitment to the highest standards of responsible journalism and are able to do so, please consider making your gift of support today.