This is TPR's roundup of the latest headlines and news developments. It provides a succinct and clear summary of the stories TPR is following.
Today's weather: Expect a high today of 96 and a low of 62. Today is also an Ozone Action Day. People with breathing issue should limit their time outside. Also, don't forget to try to glimpse a comet over the western horizon, starting this weekend.
The tropics: The remnants of Hurricane Milton have dissipated over the Atlantic Ocean. Tropical Storm Leslie poses no threat to the United States. The Gulf of Mexico is quiet. The Atlantic hurricane season ends on Nov. 30.
Election 2024 voter guides: Charter amendments on council pay, term lengths, ethics revisions
Flu shots available: Bexar County and University Health will offer another free drive-thru flu shot clinic on Saturday, from 8 a.m. to noon, at Southwest ISD at 11914 Dragon Lane. Registration is required for each family member getting a vaccine. Find out more at UniversityHealth.com/events. There will be two more flu shot events in late October and early November.
Bexar County begins expansion of substance recovery center
Bexar County breaks ground today on expansion of a substance recovery center for non-violent offenders.
The expanded center on Applewhite Road on the South Side will have a total capacity of 370 treatment beds once it's completed. The expansion costs $25 million and was funded with federal COVID-19 relief funds.
County officials said the additional beds will help reduce jail crowding. The county is already housing inmates in two other counties to help meet state jail standards on population.
Officials said the expanded center could also help reduce repeat offenses.
Boerne improving water that exceeded federal limits for chemicals
The City of Boerne was recently notified by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that its water supply tested slightly above federal limits for chemicals.
Drinking water exceeded the maximum contaminant level for total trihalomethanes — a byproduct of the water treatment process.
The limit for the chemical is .08 milligrams per liter. Boerne tested at .083 milligrams — the equivalent of three drops of water in an Olympic sized swimming pool.
The city said it was fixing the issue and residents do not need to use an alternative water supply.
Texas back in court to stop DACA
The State of Texas was back before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday in its latest effort to have stop the popular Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
The state's attorneys asked a three-judge panel to keep in place a ruling that declared DACA was unlawfully implemented. The state argued that it faces unnecessary costs under the program associated with educating and providing health care to DACA recipients.
But attorneys for the Biden administration and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund said Texas hasn’t proven that harm and lacks standing to have the program halted.
For more than a decade, DACA has protected hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from deportation and a renewable two-year work permit. The Biden administration attempted to codify DACA in 2022 but Texas and other Republican states again sued to end it.
The litigation has prevented new applications from being approved but renewals are still being processed. It’s unclear when the judges will rule but the ultimate decision will likely come from the United States Supreme Court.
Texas sees decline in gun violence homicides in 2023
Texas has seen a 15% decline in gun violence homicides so far this year compared to 2023, according to a recent report from the Center for American Progress.
San Antonio saw a 21.5% drop in gun violence victimizations. El Paso, Houston, Fort Worth, and Dallas also saw significant declines.
Gun homicides typically peak in the warmer months. But the report found 2024 saw the smallest summer surge in the gun violence victimization rate in the U.S. since 2018.
Bexar County warns of spike in auto title fraud and stolen cars
The Bexar County Tax Assessor Collector's Office warned consumers of a recent spike in fraudulent auto titles and stolen cars.
Three buyers were swindled out of a total of $28,000 in the last few weeks.
The Tax Assessor's office said several individuals have come in to transfer the title of a vehicle bought on the internet only to find out the vehicle is stolen or the title is fraudulent.
It urged residents to ensure private auto purchases are safe and legitimate.
Alamo Colleges wins federal award again
The Alamo Colleges District has been honored with a 2024 Malcolm Baldridge Award for organizational excellence.
Chancellor Mike Flores credited the award’s requirements for helping the community college meet its goals. “We're changing the trajectory of the student’s life and their families," he said, "and the Baldrige framework has been a critical part of that.”
The Baldridge Award is a presidential award from the U.S. Department of Commerce. It was redesigned this year to focus on organizational resilience.
The Alamo Colleges were one of five organizations across the country honored with the award this year. It’s now the first higher education institution to win twice — it first won the award in 2018.
San Antonio schools honored for veteran education
Several San Antonio area colleges and universities have been awarded a gold designation from The Texas Veterans Commission’s Veterans Education Program.
Texas State, Texas A&M San Antonio, and all five schools in the Alamo Colleges District received the top honor.
At Texas State, where veterans make up about 8% of the student body, it was the fourth consecutive year they were recognized for their veteran education and their services that directly support the success of student veterans.
The recognition considered schools that have a centralized place for veteran students to meet, a U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs work-study available on campus, mental health services for veterans and more.
The Texas Newsroom's Julian Aguilar contributed to this report.
