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.
Cold front continues in SA
For San Antonio, wind chills in the 20s until mid-morning for much of this week could bite exposed skin.
Highs Wednesday and Thursday in San Antonio will likely not climb out of the 30s. All of San Antonio will likely see a very cold and rainy Wednesday night and Thursday.
The Hill County and Austin areas this week are more likely than San Antonio to see frozen precipitation, especially from Wednesday night through Thursday.
CPS Energy prepared for winter weather
Following ERCOT's weather watch, CPS Energy says it has taken all necessary actions to prep for the cold.
The local utility says weatherization activities are complete to protect critical equipment from freezing temperatures, and crews are on standby.
CPS Energy said last year it had nearly 2,000 megawatts of additional generation from new power plants in Corpus Christi and Laredo to support San Antonio into the winter.
CPS Energy customers are encouraged to sign up for energy alerts or call 210-353-2222 to provide their emergency contact information so the utility can reach them in an emergency.
NEISD implements new discipline policy
A new North East ISD policy in middle and high schools could send students to the alternative center if they refuse to be searched or run from administrators.
District principals say the policy is in response to an increase in students “refusing to comply with lawful searches” after they are suspected of vaping.
The punishment is the same consequence students receive for being caught with vapes or THC cartridges under a state law passed in 2023.
San Antonio ISD claimed an exemption from the state law last semester.
SAPD releases footage of police shooting
The body camera footage from a San Antonio Police Department officer shows the events leading up to a Dec. 3 shooting.
Police attempted to stop 33-year-old Jeffrey Schopp for jaywalking. Schopp led officers on a chase and appeared to be holding a firearm while fleeing from officers through a drainage ditch.
Officers fired at Schopp several times, who then fatally shot himself in the head.
SAPD is investigating the circumstances around the shooting.
New chief justice appointed in Texas
Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Justice Jimmy Blacklock as the next chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court following the retirement of Nathan Hecht on Dec.3.
Blacklock was the general counsel for Abbott's office before he was appointed to the state's highest court in 2018. He also worked in Abbott's office when Abbott was the Texas Attorney General.
Blacklock's term expires in 2026, after which the position will be up for election.
Justices will hear the first oral arguments of the year next week.
Social Security Fairness Act signed into law
The law will increase benefits for retirees by an average of $360 a month and impact public sector retirees who were not receiving full Social Security benefits.
Joe Jones, president of the San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association, said this law is a win for public sector retirees.
"A very high percentage of us have to have second, sometimes third, jobs. And those second, third jobs we pay Social Security taxes on," he said. "To be excluded from that for over four decades ... that was just unfair."
President Biden signed the bipartisan act into law on Sunday.
UTSA supports rural businesses
The University of Texas at San Antonio has opened a center in Laredo to support minority business owners.
The Rural Center South Texas provides technical assistance to business owners free of charge. It offers advice on how to obtain financing, apply for government contracts, and enter new markets.
It also helps business owners navigate obstacles they experience due to being geographically isolated.
The Rural Center South Texas is a satellite office of UTSA’s center in San Antonio, funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Point in Time count
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Point In Time count finds the people experiencing homelessness on a single night in San Antonio rose in 2024 compared to the previous year.
HUD released the findings last month, which examined homelessness across the U.S. on one night in January 2024.
The San Antonio/Bexar County Continuum of Care reported 3,398 sheltered and unsheltered people in the city during the count — around 300 more than 2023.
That is also higher than numbers reported in Fort Worth, Houston, and El Paso.
Remembering Howard Peak
A celebration of life for former San Antonio mayor Howard Peak will be held Tuesday.
Peak died in November at the age of 75.
He began his career as a city urban planner, served as a city councilman for two years, and then as mayor from 1997 to 2002.
Peak was also the architect of the city's Greenway Trail System.
The celebration will be held a 2 p.m. at the San Antonio Botanical Garden.
KERA's Toluwani Osibamowo contributed to this report.
