This is TPR's roundup of the latest headlines and news developments. It provides a summary of the stories TPR is following.
Today's weather: There's a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Otherwise, it will be mostly sunny with a high near 86.
Texas braces for impacts of tomato tariffs
U.S. tomato supply is at risk as the Trump administration plans to impose a 21% duty on fresh Mexican tomatoes starting July 14.
While avocados have been spared, the new tariff would affect the 4 billion pounds of tomatoes imported from Mexico annually.
NatureSweet, a San Antonio-based company with farms in both countries, expects to pay millions of dollars in added costs. This would likely be passed onto consumers.
Tomato prices could rise by more than 10%, impacting restaurants and households.
Local consumer spending remains steady
The Texas Comptroller's Office collects city sales taxes on behalf of a municipality and then returns the money to the city.
When more money is spent by consumers, city sales tax collections rise — a good indicator of consumer sentiment about the economy.
Collections for the month for San Antonio were up more than 2% compared to March of last year.
More than $46 million in city sales tax revenue has been returned for that month.
Measles exposure reported in Fredericksburg
Officials said there was a potential measles exposure in Fredericksburg after someone infected with measles visited the Hill Country city during the last weekend in April.
The infected person was from El Paso, which has seen 44 measles cases linked to the West Texas outbreak.
Gillespie County Public Health said the person visited at least four locations in the tourist town on April 26:
- Burger Burger
- Loca on Main
- Felt Boutique
- Allen's Boots
Details of deal between Metro Health, Lennar Homes wastewater operator released
Details of a settlement agreement between San Antonio Metropolitan Health District and wastewater operators for a controversial proposed Lennar Homes subdivision in northwest Bexar County have been released.
The agreement between Metro Health and Municipal Operations, LLC was released on Wednesday after a state district judge’s orders.
In part, the settlement provides for land application of wastewater on the subdivision property but could still allow the plant to discharge treated wastewater into Helotes Creek.
The agreement also called for the wastewater operator to apply four inches of additional soil to filter reused water. Critics claimed that this would do little to protect both the Trinity and Edwards Aquifer from the risk of contamination.
Study: TAMU-SA brings $300 million to Bexar County economy
A new analysis founds that Texas A&M San Antonio generated nearly $300 million in economic impact in Bexar County during the 2022-23 fiscal year.
The analysis by data company Lightcast found this was equivalent to supporting around 3,242 local jobs. It was nearly double the economic impact the university had in fiscal year 2018.
University officials said this illustrated the institution's remarkable growth over the past several years.
The South Side San Antonio campus is the youngest institution in the Texas A&M University System.
Early voting for June 7 runoff election now eight days
Early voting for the June 7 municipal runoff election in San Antonio will now be eight days instead of six.
After last Saturday’s election, the Bexar County Elections Department posted a notice that said early voting would start on Tuesday, May 27, and run through Tuesday, June 3. But it did not include the weekend in between.
After complaints from voting rights activists, Bexar County posted an updated schedule including weekend early voting hours.
Find more information on those hours and where to vote at bexar.org/elections.
