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 84 and a low of 62. A cold front before the weekend will bring a chance of rain. The weekend looks pleasant and sunny.
The tropics: The National Hurricane Center expects Hurricane Rafael, currently north of Cuba, to move into the Gulf of Mexico and then weaken as it takes aim at Mexico's Gulf Coast by this weekend. The Atlantic hurricane season ends on Nov. 30.
City council prepares new downtown plan for housing, tourism
The San Antonio City Council is drafting a new strategic plan for the city’s downtown. It will vote on a final draft next spring.
Centro San Antonio President and CEO Trish DeBerry says a key aspect of the plan aims to bring more residents from across San Antonio into downtown. It calls for consistent events that attract them to the city’s center every week.
Another objective is expanding housing supply downtown. Most city-incentivized housing added downtown between 2012 and 2020 were best-suited for residents making between $70,000 and $100,000 per year.
Assistant City Manager Lori Houston said that planners "really need to focus our incentives on ... deeply affordable [homes], and we should not be looking at projects that are only mixed income. We should be looking at projects that are 100% affordable.”
Deeply affordable monthly rents for those residents would be between $450 and $900.
As those discussions moved forward, San Antonio's housing authority celebrated the opening of the 100 Labor Downtown Apartments on Wednesday. Its 44 units are designated as subsidized income-based units. Rent will be based on 30-percent of the tenant's income, with the remaining units being market rate.
One of the last of Texas Seven gets new trial
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has granted a new trial for one of the last living members of the Texas Seven, a group of prisoners who broke out of the Connally Unit, a Texas prison, in 2000. While on the run, they fatally shot police officer Aubrey Hawkins.
Randy Halprin was part of the group. His lawyers argued that he should get a new trial because the judge who presided over his case referred to the inmate — who is Jewish — with racial slurs and antisemitic language.
Of the seven inmates who escaped, only two are still alive: Halprin and Patrick Murphy, who is awaiting execution. The appeals court halted Halprin's execution in 2019.
It is expected that Halprin will be sent to Dallas for his new trial.
Edgewood ISD board gets a new trustee
An Edgewood ISD trustee who has been at odds with his colleagues appears to have gained an ally on the board.
20-year-old trustee Michael Valdez endorsed a slate of three candidates as change agents in Tuesday’s election. One member of the slate, Sergio Delgado Jr, defeated incumbent Richard Santoyo.
Edgewood ISD voters also re-elected Board President Martha Castilla, and they chose former San Antonio Police Department employee Rudy Lopez for an open seat on the board.
Valdez was censored by the Edgewood school board in January for what they described as disrespectful conduct. He adamantly opposed the board’s decision to close schools last year.
Councilman accepts plea deal in DWI case
San Antonio Councilman Marc Whyte has accepted a plea deal in his 2023 Driving While Intoxicated case.
Whyte was arrested last year on suspicion of driving drunk after he was stopped on the city's North Side.
The district attorney's office said it dropped the DWI charge and offered Whyte a plea bargain to a charge of "Obstruction of a Highway" -- the same offense level as a DWI.
Whyte pleaded no contest and received six months probation. During that period, he is banned from drinking alcohol. Whyte's charge will be dismissed if he follows the terms set by the county judge.
Bexar County grants go to UT Health San Antonio
Bexar County awarded three grants to UT Health San Antonio, totaling $9.9 million in COVID relief funding to improve access to health care.
The money from the the American Rescue Plan Act will support further recovery from the pandemic, address addictions from substance abuse, and fund studies into behavioral health and long COVID.
The county selected UT Health San Antonio’s Be Well institute on substance abuse and related disorders for two year grants totaling $7.6 million to support local substance use treatment.
Health Confianza will receive $2.3 million to address long COVID and health literacy challenges.
Wurstfest parties on in New Braunfels
The annual celebration of sausage and all things German has passed the halfway point of its long run on the grounds of Landa Park in New Braunfels.
But there is plenty of time to do the "Chicken Dance" or blow the suds off the top of a beer before its ends on Sunday.
Besides plenty of flowing beer taps, there are all sorts of vendors selling German foods. There is also live tuba um-pah music under tents and in the gigantic Wursthalle, where lights hang from the rafters above a big stage and dance floor.
Learn more about the festivities here.
Alamo City will host 2025 HBCU basketball games
San Antonio has been selected to host the 2025 HBCU All-Star Basketball Games. The games celebrate the rich culture and legacy of historically Black colleges and universities.
They'll showcase student athletes from four premier Black college conferences and several independent teams.
The games will be played on April 6 at the Freeman Coliseum -- in between the NCAA Final Four games on April 5 and 7.
The All-Star games have previously been hosted in New Orleans, Houston, and Phoenix.
