That's fortunate.Police say a driver hit a home after he fell asleep at the wheel early Tuesday morning.
The driver crashed his pickup truck into a bedroom of a home on the city's Northwest Side, police said.
...
Police said no one was in the home at the time of the crash.
And, what did he get for his trouble? Shot.The woman's father was able to scare the men away but they fired several shots at the home, the woman said.
In the process of making their getaway, one of the men happened to drop his cell phone.
The woman said the men later knocked on the door and demanded the homeowner return the lost cell phone.
Now, after running from the cops and getting caught flushing drugs down a toilet, the two men have some charges pending against them.This time, the woman's father answered the door armed with a shotgun, the woman said.
The men ran and the homeowner fired his shotgun, the woman said.
Pellets from the shotgun grazed one of the men's face, the woman said.
That made for easy pickings for the cops. The man's got a few charges pending, now.San Antonio police arrested the man, who they said tried to rob the Electric Company night club in the 400 block of West Laurel.
Police who responded to a burglary alarm said they found the suspect intoxicated.
The man tried to flee the scene by jumping through a metal awning but got stuck.
She's had a few charges filed against her.Police had come to her house to calm a family fight, and that’s when [Yvonne] Delgado, got behind the wheel of a car, authorities said. An officer parked behind Delgado’s car, but she tried to leave anyway, police said.
Delgado backed out of the parking spot with her three children, ages three, five and eight, inside the vehicle, police said. It crashed into the patrol car, officials said.
The latest spat comes as firefighters pour water directly onto the fire, in violation of an agreement with SAWS. TCEQ now says they have no idea when the fire will be extinguished, and it could burn into April. Both TCEQ and SAWS have indicated a willingness to sue the other to resolve the water use issue after contaminated water was found in five test wells.
I was wrong about them bugging out to Mexico. Apparently these two were not bright enough to even leave the city.Police Chief William McManus and District Attorney Susan Reed announced at a news conference that Valerie Lopez, 19, and her boyfriend, Jerry Salazar, were arrested at 5 a.m. today near the intersection of Zarzamora and Interstate 35 by the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, a multi-agency group headed by the United States Marshal's Office.
McManus said Lopez admitted beating her 18-month-old daughter, Sariyah Garcia, to death and hiding her body beneath the house at 1301 W. Winnipeg, where the couple were living.
Reed Sariyah [sic] was killed on Christmas Eve, and that Lopez told investigators that her six-month-old son, Sebastian Lopez, died about two months later when she accidentally rolled over him. His body was also placed under the house.
[Jarrod] Forthman, considered a rattlesnake expert for 20 years, said breeding season in South Texas has slithered upon us.
"They're popping up in garages, backyards, little kids are finding them," he said. "So, it's kind of scary knowing that a lot of these snakes could hurt kids."
I hope Valerie Lopez and Jerry Salazar are found soon. If they had anything to do with the deaths of their babies, they are a danger to all children they may come into contact with (her previous two children were taken away from her). They need to be brought to justice, though I suspect they might be in Mexico by now.Wednesday night, Miguel Lopez had them in his sights, he said. The moment was propitious — both [Tina] Vara and Miguel Lopez had vowed to help police find their sister [the babies' mother] so she can be questioned about the deaths.
...
Miguel Lopez had driven to his father's South Side apartment around 9 p.m. Wednesday to take his dad to a rosary for the slain children. When he arrived, he said, he saw [Jerry] Salazar trying to enter the apartment through a window.
Salazar ran for the Buick and jumped into the back seat with Valerie Lopez, Miguel Lopez said. Somebody else was driving, a man whom Miguel Lopez did not recognize.
The Buick sped off, ran red lights and swerved onto U.S. 90 before exiting and turning back toward downtown, eventually stopping at Metropolitan Methodist Hospital, he said. A woman emerged from the car and ran inside, and the Buick screeched off again.
Miguel Lopez followed it onto Interstate 35, traveling at speeds of up to 100 mph, he said. But traffic was too thick; he lost the car.
Just do it soon, for everyone's sake.SAN ANTONIO -- A second water war erupted Wednesday over the Helotes mulch fire, but this time San Antonio Water System and the state's environmental agency are in the fray.
TCEQ wants to extinguish an underground fire by putting water on what remains of the smoldering pile that has burned since Christmas.
However, SAWS found fecal coliform and fluid from decaying material in at least five nearby private wells.
SAWS official[s] said they want to prevent more contamination and keep their original agreement by squelching the blaze in clay-lined pits instead of directly hosing the pile.
...
The local and state agencies will continue trying to come to some sort of agreement with SAWS.
In fact, a SAWS team was at the site late Wednesday afternoon for a tour, so both sides are still talking, trying to reach an agreement on how to finish the job without contaminating the Edwards Aquifer.
Police were called to a triplex in the 1300 block of West Winnepeg Avenue at 7 p.m. Tuesday after residents reported smelling a foul odor that been lingering for as long as two weeks, San Antonio police spokesman Gabe Trevino said.
"At the time, they thought this still could have been an animal ... in (a) plastic bag," Trevino said. "(They) took a knife, cut the bag a little bit, and ... a child's leg came out of the bag."
A second plastic bag was taken to the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office, where a confirmation was made that the bag contained remains of a second child, police said.
The bodies were that of a 2-year-old girl and a 5-month-old boy, Trevino said.
Neighbors told police that the children's mother, Valerie Lopez, and a man named Jerry moved out of the triplex without the children about two weeks ago, Trevino said.
Left untreated, the mold creeps down from the top of the building, first darkening and then eating away at the creamy colored stone, said Alamo historian and curator Bruce Winders.
"What it does is dissolve the rock," Winders said. "It doesn't do it immediately, but it's one of those really gradual processes."
They arrested 40 students, all told.Police realized a rogue operation was in effect after an officer pulled over a speeder at about 12:30 a.m. Saturday, police spokesman Juan Rivera said.
"He found a stop sign — which they obviously weren't supposed to have — a garden hose and a bunch of other stuff," Rivera said.
The students confessed, and that, combined with noise complaints from residents, led officers to an empty lot that was the meeting spot.
The Police Department assembled a team of officers to watch the lot and arrested students as they stopped by.
...
The biggest item on the scavenger hunt list — which no one got — was a giant globe that serves as a centerpiece at Texas A&M International University, several students said.
AUSTIN — A protest against toll roads highlighted a rally on the Capitol steps Friday, but the Texas Independence Day holiday put folks in the mood to raise hell about other grievances as well.
Many also complained about a national animal identification tag. Some grumbled about the state's loss of control of its borders. A few warned about the coming "North American Union." And some excoriated the United Nations for wanting "to take your gun," exhorting anyone within earshot to "get us out of the U.N."
Firefighters said the size of the burning mulch pile has been greatly reduced over the past several days to half its original size. But smoke continues to be a problem.
Officials with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality announced Friday that the fire was about 75 percent out. They said they hope to have it under control by early next week, but the state agency said they aren’t ready to declare victory just yet.
"Once everybody got on board and once SAWS and TCEQ worked out their deals, I think it moved pretty good,” said Jon Allan, Helotes Mayor.Yes, quit bickering and get it done. Good advice in this case and many others.
New Braunfels is on IH-35 northeast of San Antonio, and it is home to Schlitterbahn, a popular water park. People like to go to the town to have fun and party during the summer, and rowdy visitors causing commotions on the rivers have been an issue for some residents. But, if this story is any indication, there also appears to be a significant portion of the New Braunfels population that likes such visitors. And their cash, I bet.NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas -- Critics of recent City Council actions aimed at taming rowdy river parties have collected enough signatures to force a recall election for a councilman linked with the measures.
City Secretary Michael Resendez said Thursday that residents had gathered enough valid signatures for the election, which targets Ken Valentine.
...
The council voted last month to limit tubers on the Comal to one six-pack-size cooler each and those on the Guadalupe to a 12-pack-size cooler. It also voted to restrict open containers from three riverfront parks and the last public tuber exit on the Comal.
The recall petition accuses Valentine of failing to represent the majority of his constituents and pushing divisive issues.
MONTERREY, Mexico -- A San Antonio couple was arrested in Monterrey after inquiring about a visa at the U.S. Consulate here for a 2-week-old baby boy they said was given to them, police said Thursday.
...
The couple told police the baby's mother gave them the baby because she was too poor to care for him. They said they paid for the woman's expenses during childbirth but denied buying the baby boy.
...
The couple told police they had traveled to Monterrey a year ago to try to adopt a child but were rejected because they were living in the United States. They said they hadn't tried to adopt in Texas because it is too expensive.
"We thought it would be easy to do it this way, but we didn't do it in bad faith," [Tomasa] Ibarra told El Norte. "We wanted to do it the right way, that's why we came to ask."
March 2, 1836 heralded the birth of the Republic of Texas and this year, THE CHURCH THEATRE commemorates the day with the opening of “GONE TO TEXAS, THE MUSICAL”, the award-winning production dramatized by San Antonio composer Tom Masinter, Austin playwright Steve Warren and New York producer-lyricist June Rachelson-Ospa.
Led by an all-star cast and directed by five-time Globe winner Diane Malone, the famous struggle for power and honor is chronicled in a new script with never before heard songs about the legendary men, wives, and families who fought at the Alamo during the 13 day siege that defined Texas history.
The police are still looking for his cohorts.In January, security cameras caught several teens breaking into Madison High School's animal barn and mutilating and killing the animals. One lamb was hanged from a rafter and gutted, and two others were stabbed. ...
Police said an [sic] former Madison student, 19-year-old Horacio Favela, confessed to killing the lamb.
Mayor Hardberger's Communications Gatekeeper, JJ Saulino, lost his temper and possibly his mind last week when he decided to blacklist the San Antonio Lightning from City Hall.
RG Griffing, editor and publisher of the Lightning, is currently running against Hardberger in the Mayoral Joust. ...
Saulino refused to comment on the pictures, or to identify the staffer involved. He went further to say that since Griffing is running for Mayor, Saulino's office will no longer respond to questions from the Lightning.
"You can't be in the media AND run for political office," Griffing quotes Saulino as saying.
Investigators said the child was being supervised at the time of the incident.Poor kid.
Greg Flores, spokesman for SAWS, said the smoky water was discovered as part of stepped-up monitoring activities agreed upon by the two agencies in an effort to protect the drinking water supply for 1.7 million people in the region.
[Texas Commission on Environmental Quality communications director Andy] Saenz said firefighters have made "tremendous progress" since resuming operations on Feb. 12. TCEQ seized control of the pile and hired contractors to extinguish the blaze on Jan. 9.
"The latest estimate we have is that we are between 60 percent and 70 percent extinguished, so we are right on track if not maybe a little bit ahead of schedule to put this thing out," he said, adding that the schedule calls for having it doused by
March 5.
Mmm, I bet that was one good-smelling fire.Police said that the big rig was headed eastbound on Interstate 10 near Roland Avenue at 3 a.m., when a back brake is believed to have caught fire.
The fire caused the tires to explode, creating a flash fire that burned at least half of the trailer, which was hauling Nestle's Crunch chocolate bars.
"We had information that there were too many dogs at this location. We thought there was gonna be 15, but when we got out here, turned out to be 24," animal cruelty investigator Eddie Wright said.
All of the two dozen dogs were Pit Bull mixes, and 10 of them were puppies.
Looks like these particular pit bulls aren't a danger. I wish I could say the same about the rest of them in this town.Animal Care Services had seized the dog, along with 13 other adult dogs and 10 puppies of the same breed, from a vast backyard on the East Side where Gilbert Lopez, 22, has raised the dogs for years. ...
Animal control officers suspected Lopez's animals were being used for dogfights. But when they arrived at his home in the 200 block of Roesler, they encountered animals living in exemplary conditions within a subculture that rejects the pit bull's nasty reputation.
The well-fed, muscular canines sat in spacious cages on 1.4 acres outfitted with a septic tank to eliminate bad odors. The property is equipped with outdoor lighting and a portable toilet for those who attend dog shows on-site.
"The dogs appear to be show dogs more than anything else," said Eddie Wright, animal cruelty investigator for the city. ...
In their brief time at the pound, the 24 seized pit bulls were conspicuously calm — a sign they were well cared for and not a threat, [spokeswoman for Animal Care Services Lisa] Norwood said. Only one dog seemed to rebel against its temporary captors, urinating on a mud flap of the truck used to haul it away.
For those neighbors who aren't so surrogate-mother-minded, though, there's always a way to control the duck population.El Dorado, a Northeast Side neighborhood between Nacogdoches and O'Connor roads, has around 70 ducks at its two ponds — 20 to 30 more than normal, according to Ann Caldwell and Linda Sarsfield, whose yards back up to the ponds.
The self-described wildlife lovers have become surrogate mothers to the brace of ducks (called a flock of ducks in flight and a raft of ducks on water).
"Ducks make a contribution by controlling snakes, mosquitoes and other undesirable things around a pond," Caldwell said. [emphasis added]
Possible overheard conversation: "Uh, can you pick me up? I'm at somebody's house, somebody I don't know, and I'm still in the car. -- No, I'm in the house, too. -- Yeah, so's the car. -- Uh, when you get here, do you mind if I drive home?"Police are searching for a driver who slammed his car into a home on Rio Grande overnight.
Officers say the man driving the car ran off following the crash.
According to police, a woman was left inside the wrecked vehicle. She called a friend to pick her up.
Who wants to bet the "incident" is ultimately forgotten? Politics are funny that way.Yolanda Uresti said Tuesday she was seeking revenge against her husband, state Sen. Carlos Uresti , when she called police to their Southeast Side home early Saturday.
“We said things we wish we hadn't, and, I'll admit, I called the police out of revenge,” she said in a written statement. “As they say, though, what is done is done, and no matter how much we may wish to, we cannot take it back.”
When police turned up at their residence in the 9000 block of Walhalla Avenue , Yolanda Uresti told officers she was upset with her husband “due to him having a possible affair,” according to the San Antonio Police Department incident report. ...
The SAPD dispatcher originally coded the call as a case of family violence with a gun. But the incident was ultimately classified as a disturbance.
That's good for everyone, especially the residents of that town. I just wonder if it will be awhile before they can stomach a big fat link of smoked sausage.SAN ANTONIO -- Firefighting crews in Helotes have reduced a huge burning pile of mulch by 25 percent and officials said the fire should be completely extinguished in two weeks. ...
Officials from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said it appears the water is not seeping into the Edwards Aquifer.
A 17-year-old boy was shot in both legs on the East Side Friday after he and his friends and another group of men “stared each other down,” before one party became aggravated and came after the other.The news story says the two groups of people were merely staring at each other, and it doesn't seem as if there was any other provocation than that. I wonder if there's more to this story than what has been reported.
It will be interesting to see how Griffing covers this on his own Web site. After all, he is the man who announced his candidacy with the declaration, "You people make me sick!", thereby endearing him to all the voters in the Alamo City.Minutes before the City Council put its stamp Thursday on a proposed $550 million bond package, R.G. Griffing formally entered the mayor's race and essentially gave a Bronx cheer to the spending plan. ...
Griffing, publisher of the San Antonio Lightning, a sometimes gossipy, sometimes inflammatory Internet news site, said he simply didn't buy the absence of a tax increase and doubted the need for the proposed $550 million in spending. ...
Griffing filed paperwork for the race Thursday morning, pitting him against Mayor Phil Hardberger and Rhett Smith, the only other candidates so far that have officially thrown hats into the ring. The candidate filing period started Monday and ends March 12.
Bakery owner Patrick McCurdy also is expected to jump into the race.
The sheriff's department says the household was apparently gearing up for a defense from a drive-by attack.SAN ANTONIO -- Eight people, including seven documented gang members, were arrested in a weapons and drug raid Wednesday night on the city's East Side.
Bexar County sheriff's deputies said they confiscated nine pistols, an assault rifle and various high-capacity magazine clips at a home in the 1200 block of Aransas Avenue. ...
"We recovered one loaded weapon in the crib," said Sgt. Ron Tooke of the Bexar County Sheriff's Office. "And another diaper bag with two loaded weapons and 30-round capacity magazines in the diaper bag. And another two loaded weapons in the sides of the diaper bags and throughout the floor of the home. And they were where the children were getting into cabinets and loaded weapons everywhere."
I hope the ladies recover from this accident, and I hope everyone else keeps their grills outside.SAN ANTONIO -- A mother and daughter were injured in a fire that started after they tried to cook with an open barbeque pit in their home, authorities said.
"It appears they were cooking inside the house with briquets cooking with charcoal inside the house," District Fire Chief Chris Varelas said. ...
One of the victims managed to run out of their back door carrying the barbeque pit that had caught fire, a neighbor said.
She tossed the pit outside, but caught fire, a neighbor said. ...
The 59-year-old daughter suffered from smoke inhalation and burns.
Her mother suffered burns from the waist up.
That sucks. And (sorry for the obvious Spanish pun) the whole situation for Mr. Bueno is no bueno.The man was trying to get away from officers when he lost control of the car and hit a home on Ligustrum and Woodlawn Tuesday, police said.
The homeowner was doing renovations on the house, and in seconds, three months of hard work was gone. ...
“All this hard work for nothing,” homeowner Raymond Bueno said. “The day we were suppose to rent it out, this happens."
Well, now, surely there are better ways to fix a marriage.Emergency crews arrived at the Beverly Gardens Apartments on the 7200 block of Harlow just after 11:00 p.m. Sunday. They found the victim inside his apartment, stabbed once in the stomach. He was taken by ambulance to Brooke Army Medical Center.
The man claims a robber attacked him and stole dozens of his DVDs. However, his wife told officers that the two of them are having marital problems and the man may have stabbed himself.
The man will probably be fine. But, again, ouch!SAN ANTONIO -- A man that was running from police was impaled by a fence stake, police said.
The man jumped over a fence to escape police, he slipped, and was impaled in the leg by a metal spike on one of the stakes, police said.
Attorney Jamie Balagia calls himself the DWI Dude.
"I'm not inexpensive, but good lawyers aren't cheap, and cheap lawyers aren't good at this," he said.
Balagia keeps a big, red truck emblazoned with messages like, "Just say no to the DWI cops," and "No blood, no breath, no tests," parked across from the Bexar County courthouse.
Under the SAWS plan, they will provide no more 300,000 gallons a day for fighting the fire. After three days of firefighting, efforts will cease for two days to test more than 30 wells.
If the wells show no contamination, efforts will continue.
"If anything shows up in the aquifer or if anything shows up in the local wells TCEQ, will immediately stop the operation,” said Steve Clouse, of the SAWS.
In addition to the two-day tests, TCEQ will sample all wells in the area twice a day.
Man, if leadership was ever needed to cut through bureaucratic bickering, it's needed here.SAN ANTONIO -- The board of the San Antonio Water System on Thursday unanimously approved a resolution that authorizes lawyers to seek a temporary restraining order that would prevent water from being poured directly onto a huge pile of burning mulch in Helotes. ...
During an emergency board meeting, board chairman Alex Briseno said the SAWS must be prepared to go to court in order to stop firefighters from "screwing up our water." ...
SAWS staff member Steve Clouse said the utility wants to help pursue other way[s] to fight the stubborn fire that has been smoldering since Christmas Day.
"Our intent is to look for equipment or methods that can move the material off of the pile, put it into the clay-lined pits and then extinguish it," Clouse said.
Work has already begun to build clay-lined pits around the fire, which has not been battled for nearly two weeks after water contamination was discovered in two private water wells. ...
Clouse added that SAWS officials will meet with representatives from the Texas Commission On Environmental Quality, possibly as early as Thursday afternoon, to map out a plan of action. [emphases added]
San Antonio City Clerk Leticia Vacek has admitted that City computer problems pervented Mayoral Candidate RG Griffing from filing required financial records on the proper due date in January, however she refused to allow an extension of the filing deadline beyond January 18th, even though she acknowledges the glitch was not fixed until the next week.
When asked directly if she had been influenced in her decision by any City officials, including Mayor Hardberger, she refused all comment. ...
Griffing's maverick campaign has been encountering problems with others in the inbred SA establishment, including the Express-News which refused to accept his political advertising on the grounds that it was not in their "best interest," according to E-N spokesperson Cheryl Cantu.
Ever get the feeling that what's needed most for this situation is some real leadership? Right now, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, SAWS, Helotes officials, Bexar County Commissioners, and just about everyone else is bumping heads over this fire. It's past time someone took charge and just got the thing done without worrying about stepping on any toes.SAN ANTONIO -- San Antonio Water System board members on Tuesday denied a request for 300,000 gallons of water to help fight a huge mulch fire in Helotes.
Board members apparently were concerned how runoff might affect the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, KSAT 12 News reported.
The decision came hours before a contractor was going to resume efforts to fight the blaze, which has been burning since Christmas Day.
And SAWS is upset.SAN ANTONIO -- BexarMet announced Tuesday that it would provide water to extinguish a Helotes mulch fire after San Antonio Water System board members voted to deny a request for 300,000 gallons of water.
BexarMet spokesman T.J. Connolly said BexarMet is obligated to help their neighbors in need.
"This is one of the most challenging environmental problems we've seen in this area in decades, and the idea that SAWS would cut and run and not help their neighbors is inexcusable."
According to a new survey by the makers of TurboTax, people in San Antonio give the least amount of money to charities. On average, San Antonians donate $717 a year. People in Houston and Dallas donate more than a $1,000 each year.
TurboTax. Now there's a reliable polling firm.
Seriously, though, the only thing this survey reflects is what people are willing to admit on their tax forms.Claiming the top spot on America's Stingiest City list is San Antonio where residents donated far less to their favorite charities, doling out on average just over $700 per resident, as reported on Schedule A of the federal 1040 tax form.
The residents of Salt Lake City know that giving to charity not only helps others but it also helps cut their tax bill. Charitable contributions, both cash and donated items, are among the more than 350 possible deductions and credits included in TurboTax Deluxe Deduction Maximizer. TurboTax is the most trusted tax software package, helping millions of Americans year after year prepare and file their taxes with confidence — no matter which city they live in.
San Antonio Police pulled a naked man out of a dumpster overnight, after he was attacked with a knife. ...
The woman told officers on the scene she was angry with [Jessie] Martinez because he wanted to have sex with her 21 year-old daughter. She told police she wanted to cut Martinez’s penis off.
She now faces sexual assault charges.
The crash occurred at the intersection of Huebner and Bandera roads.
Police said the woman drove into the store when she became dizzy and disoriented and mistook the gas pedal for the brake. ...
The car clipped a clerk's leg while he was stocking shelves in the back of the store, police said.
The car eventually came to a stop before going through the store, police said.
Yet. But they want to go after the owner of the pile.Dozens of Helotes residents who live near the mulch fire met with a Houston-based law firm Wednesday night to discuss their legal options.
Resident[s] said they want those responsible for the mess to pay for their expenses.
No lawsuits have been filed.
"There is no reason for that many cats," Elaine Adams, a neighbor, said. "You can't be happy and healthy with that many."
Eddie Wright, an animal care employee, said the cat hoarding case is one of the worst incidents he's seen.
"It's not the worst we've ever seen, but it's close," Wright said.
They are considering several options for getting rid of the birds.As many as 40 Black Vultures are roosting in trees near Seele Elementary School in New Braunfels.
The trees are also near where many students walk, forcing many kids to walk through bird droppings. Principal Cris Vasquez says she's concerned about kids carrying that into the school, as well as in the student's cars and homes.
I'm a bit surprised they weren't doing that some time ago. It seems a bit late now that the thief has been caught.A man is now in jail, accused of preying on people in church. For months, parishioners' tires have been stolen from the parking lot at St. Jude's Catholic Church on San Augustine. ...
Church leaders say more than 15 tires have been stolen over the past year.
Some of the church members say they will patrol the parking lot during services to discourage any more thefts.
SAN ANTONIO -- Police arrested two men accused of breaking into a home and threatening the homeowner.
Police said the men broke into a West Side home and asked for someone who didn't live there.
The resident told police that afterwards the men threatened him with a gun and stole his air-conditioning window unit
Wow.The crash happened close to 10 a.m. Saturday on IH-35 near Rayburn, officials said.
The SUV was swerving in and out of traffic, and the driver lost control on the exit ramp, authorities said. The SUV hit a curb, flipped and then smashed into the home.
This is interesting. Initially the problem seemed to be that the owner was in compliance with regulations, and that perhaps the regulation process was flawed to allow this situation to develop. Now the state is laying the blame on the owner of the pile. It will probably be some time before this is all figured out, but I am curious to see whether the owner was skirting regulations all along or whether the state is just trying to find a scapegoat.SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Texas environmental officials have accused the owner of an enormous mulch pile that caught fire of failing to have proper permits and other environmental violations.
The violation notice disclosed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Friday listed 13 violations at the facility in Helotes, just outside San Antonio. Among them, failing to have proper permits, creating air quality problems, discharging waste water and allowing the pile to grow larger than its permit allowed.
Poteet is a small town south of San Antonio, and it is known for its annual Strawberry Festival.POTEET — City leaders here agreed that fired Officer Justin Sadler violated policy when he allegedly was caught dozing off in his patrol car, but decided Wednesday to reinstate him to the police force anyway.
The City Council voted unanimously to overturn Police Chief Henry Dominguez's decision to terminate Sadler in October after the chief claimed he spotted Sadler napping while parked in front of the Police Department.
The council didn't give a reason for the decision, and Mayor Lino Donato declined to discuss the issue afterward.
A man who does not live far from the burning compost fire in Helotes has figured out a way to make money off of it by starting a side business of "Helotes Fire Attire,” News 4 WOAI learned Tuesday. ...
Now, you can buy Helotes Mulch Fire t-shirts, mugs, aprons, and even the Helotes fire trucker cap online. [John] Largent even created a spot on his website for folks to come up with catchy slogans about the fire.
Largent told News 4 WOAI he understands the seriousness of the situation, but he said this is his way to help. Largent said any money made will go to the Helotes Volunteer Fire Department.
That thing may actually end up burning for a year, as was initially speculated. I bet, by then, Helotes residents are really tired of smelling like barbeque.Monday emergency crews met at Helotes City Hall to talk about a new plan to get the massive fire out. Tuesday was the deadline to get that fire put out, but late last week two water wells in the area showed contamination. ...
There are a lot of options being talked about, including installing drains in the fire pit or putting a clay like material down to help protect the well water, with the biggest concern being the Edwards Aquifer [San Antonio's primary source of water].
"Perhaps change the kind of construction equipment we're using... [sic] perhaps changing the way our operators are working. The idea is to use less water and make sure the aquifer is protected", said [the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality]'s Terry Clawson.
I bet the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality changes some of their regulations after this.Nineteen months before a mountainous heap of compost began burning, an inspector from the county Fire Marshal's office said the 60-foot high pile could not burst into flames.
"There is a recurring complaint about that place (on Henry Zumwalt's property), but it is not a fire hazard at all," inspector Kevin Walton told Express-News reporter Amanda Reimherr on June 22, 2005. "The pile is about 75 percent dirt, so that prevents any fires."
The heap that couldn't catch fire has been burning since Christmas, 28 days ago.
That sounds pretty scary. The crash, I mean.A year ago, a delivery truck slammed into a house, barely missing a man sitting on his front porch. The truck crashed through the garage and a wall collapsed. Now the homeowner, a retired Vietnam veteran, says he felt like he was back in combat.
“Suddenly there was this explosion, and there's a wall behind him that's collapsing. It triggered a flashback and he really thought he was back in Vietnam,” Frank Gasca’s lawyer, Fernando Cruz, told News 4 WOAI’s Aubrey Mika. ...
The recently filed lawsuit claims that the truck driver, Samuel Ellis, didn't put on the parking brake of his Schwan's delivery truck. The company and the driver are now being sued for negligence.
Mighty strange."The mulch fire has made enough enemies, maybe it is time to start making some friends," said Vanessa Macias, a local TV personality listed on MySpace as a friend of the mulch fire. ...
Macias, who lives downwind from the burning pile, said she's not one to belittle mulch madness. Her dogs are wheezing and she's emptied bottles of fabric freshener trying to kill the smoky stench settling into her curtains and couch. But that doesn't stop her from having a chuckle at the fire's expense.
"The situation is here, you might as well make fun of it," Macias said. "You can't stay mad at (the mulch) forever."
WASHINGTON — Jean-David Levitte, the French ambassador to the United States, will discuss France's perspective on the Middle East and the trade climate between America and Europe in an appearance today in San Antonio.
Levitte is meet [sic] with South Texas business leaders and students at the University of Texas at San Antonio during a daylong swing through the city.
The United States and France share extensive trade ties, which, along with direct investment, has integrated the two economies.Integrated? The economies of France and the U.S. are now one unified whole? I highly doubt that. We may have important trade ties to France, but I don't think our economy's well-being is entirely dependent on the French economy. I could be wrong, but I am skeptical, to say the least.
Even odder is that Isiah's mother -- after driving to a distant small town in Texas to complete the transaction with the woman from California -- tried to play it off by saying she did not know what happened to the child.Buena Park Police Department officers in California informed the San Antonio Police Department that they found Isiah Ramirez in Buena Park, Calif.
Police said a woman told the Buena Park police she was given the child by a woman in Texas.
Well, I'm not sure what to make of this. She thinks she is standing up for her rights, but she has been in the service long enough to know that certain behaviors are probably frowned upon, especially if it appears that she is representing the armed forces in some way. I don't think she has a leg to stand on, and I haven't yet decided whether I come down on her side or on the Air Force's side in this.SAN ANTONIO -- An Air Force staff sergeant who posed nude for Playboy magazine has been relieved of her duties while the military investigates, officials said Thursday.
In February's issue, hitting newsstands this week, Michelle Manhart is photographed in uniform yelling and holding weapons under the headline "Tough Love." The following pages show her partially clothed, wearing her dog tags while working out, as well as completely nude.
"This staff sergeant's alleged action does not meet the high standards we expect of our airmen, nor does it comply with the Air Force's core values of integrity, service before self, and excellence in all we do," Oscar Balladares, spokesman for Lackland Air Force Base, said in a statement.
I feel for Zumwalt somewhat. If this was indeed arson, then I think he's getting a raw deal from the state. After all, the San Antonio Fire Department doesn't seem to charge for putting out house fires, no matter how they start. And, it seems like Zumwalt was doing all he could to fight the blaze himself. I'm not sure the state of Texas should be charging him for an emergency response.The state sent a letter to the property owner, Henry Zumwalt, saying it is up to him to pay for the clean up costs, Zumwalt’s attorney said. Zumwalt has filed a lawsuit claiming he is not responsible for the bill, News 4 WOAI learned.
The latest estimates show the fire will be out by the end of the month at a cost of $1.75 million dollars.
“This was not Mr. Zumwalt's fault,” Zumwalt’s attorney Michael Black said. “He's been a good guy in trying to protect the citizens and property in Helotes in trying to put this thing out.”
Zumwalt’s attorney said his client has already paid up to $150,000 to fight the fire. His lawyer claims Zumwalt is not responsible for that bill as well.
“This is a compost fire that was started by arson.” Black said. “Mr. Zumwalt is as much of a vicitm as anybody else.”
At least no one was hurt. And, it gives me the opportunity to once again recall Les Nessman's turkeys.A slew of frozen turkeys were spilled over a South Side road this morning after a train hit a truck carrying the frozen food.
Cost to the state: $1.7 million. Let's hope Oil Mop does what it claims it can do. This fire looks to be a bit out of their field of expertise, but they are probably better qualified than the owner of the pile to tackle the situation.[Texas Commission on Environmental Quality] officials are hiring a Pasadena, Texas-based company called Oil Mop to put out the compost fire, officials said.
According to the company's estimated timeline, crews will spend this week prepping the site with its equipment and workers. Oil Mop crews will begin dismantling the stock pile January 14th and will continue that process through the following nine days. They hope to have the fire extinguished by January 24th, according to the timeline.
If that project ever comes to fruition, and if I can see that banana in the sky, you can bet I will post pictures here. Of course, that's a year and a half away. A lot could happen between now and then.SAN ANTONIO (AP) - A Canadian artist hopes to make the Texas sky his canvas by sending a 1,000-foot-long helium-filled-banana to float overhead next year.
"I want to bring some humor to the Texas sky," Montreal artist Cesar Saez, 38, told the San Antonio Express-News for its Sunday editions.
If the plan works, the giant bamboo and paper dirigible will be launched from a site in Mexico in summer 2008. It will then drift eastward over Texas at a stratospheric altitude of 20 miles before disintegrating.
That's good news for lovers of this quirky restaurant. Here is my previous post on this situation, and here is a picture of the place taken by Thiên at San Antonio Daily Photo, a nice photoblog that focuses on the Alamo City.SAN ANTONIO -- The San Antonio landmark restaurant Pig Stand was forced to close late last year, but the restaurant chain has now reopened one of its locations. ...
In November, the restaurant and drive-in was forced to close because it's [sic] owner owed the state several hundred thousand dollars in back taxes.
A former car hop who had worked in San Antonio for 40 years brought the Pig Stand back to life, leasing the building from the liquidator.
An instrument that once seemed the sole province of the late Tiny Tim and a host of Hawaiian islanders has a flock of Leon Valley youngsters making a joyful noise as they strum and sing along with their teacher, Joyce Flaugher, who leads the Leon Valley Ukulele Club under the awning of the Leon Valley Public Library (right). She says the instrument is “enjoying another resurgence.”Aloha!
The victim is in critical condition. I hope he pulls through, and I hope next time he will stay in bed when someone calls him for a ride.SAN ANTONIO -- A 24-year-old man was stabbed early Wednesday while he gave two other men a ride.
Police said the pair called the man at 2 a.m. and asked him for a ride.
When he picked them up, the two other men starting stabbing him as they reached their destination. ...
The victim told police that he didn't know his attackers, who fled the scene, very well.
I think it's a little odd that there's a need for such a pile in the first place. A 15-year-old pile at that.HELOTES, Texas -- A giant mulch pile smoldering near Helotes would burn for at least a year if left alone, while dousing it would require as much as 100 million gallons of water over a week's time, according to a contractor's assessment. ...
"We have had the pile for at least 15 years and have always done what we were required to do," said Lennie Turpin, general manager for Zumwalt Construction. "We are doing all that we can right now to stop the fire by pulling the pile apart with backhoes." [emphasis added]
Sounds like a big job.State officials have demanded the owner of a massive pile of slow-burning mulch that has billowed smoke for nearly two weeks produce a written plan by Monday explaining how he'll snuff the blaze.
At the same time, they're contacting a private firefighting firm in case they need to step in and take over the job, said Richard Garcia, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality regional director for the San Antonio area.
Up next, the annual Mud Festival, complete with a ball, a parade, a coronation, a pub crawl, and an arts and crafts show. All to celebrate the draining of the river.City officials said the first week of the new year is the best time to conduct the cleanup.
"There's never really a good time to take down the river," said Paula Stallcup, director of downtown operations. "But certainly, we work around the existing conventions and all of our visitors. This is the time to do it because this is the slowest time, if there is a slow time for San Antonio."
A game of reverse Russian roulette early Thursday in a South Bexar County home ended with an 18-year-old woman dead and a man behind bars after he was charged with firing the fatal shot. ...Right. Then why play the game?
The three had engaged in a game of reverse Russian roulette using a .357 magnum. Rather than point the gun at their own heads, participants point the weapon at other people, according to [Bexar County Sheriff's Department Lt. Dale] Bennett.
Details of what happened next are unclear. The suspect said he was about 15 feet away from [Amanda] Studymire when he pointed the gun at her and accidentally shot her in the head, Bennett said. He also claimed not to know the gun was loaded.
The deaths of a man and woman discovered inside their idling big rig at a far East Side truck stop in November was an accident and the two overdosed on methamphetamine, the Bexar County medical examiner's office ruled Tuesday.
Harry Akroyd Jr., 35, and Michelle McLean, 32, were discovered inside their locked cab Nov. 1 at the Petro Stopping Center in the 1100 block of Ackerman Road, just off Interstate 10. A trucker who had parked next to them noticed a foul smell coming from the 18-wheeler and alerted managers. ...
The couple's deaths were the first of several in the area near the truck stop — over the course of a month, five truck drivers were found dead, none with any apparent trauma to their bodies.
On Nov. 20, Robert Monroe was found inside an 18-wheeler at a truck stop in the 11390 block of Interstate 35 South near Fischer Road, but it was determined the 69-year-old had died of heart disease.
On Thanksgiving Day, 42-year-old Byron Gonzalez was found dead inside his rig. The cause and manner of his death is pending a toxicology report.
Ray Hardestey was found dead Nov. 27 inside his rig at the Flying J truck stop, in the 1800 block of Foster Road. It was later ruled that Hardestey, 53, died because of a heart attack.
He also had a dagger and a homemade gun on him.FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - A man who scared churchgoers on Christmas Eve when he pulled a handmade machete from his pants and placed it on the altar while he prayed remained jailed Tuesday on a weapons charge.
Paul Ray Smith Jr., 39, was charged with unlawful carrying of weapons. Bail was set at $750.
Yep, that'll win over the voters.You people make me sick!
Yes, you!
You are hicks and rubes and suckers. You lay down for every tax increase that comes your way. Every stupid political idea.
I sometimes doubt your intelligence.
You are a politician's dream.
Easy marks.
A carnival worker's delight.
Nothing but beasts of burden.
Sometimes you are oxen. Sometimes simply sheep.
You people make me sick!
"She said that he apologized," said Sgt. Brian Custard of the San Antonio Police Department. "He thought she was a young lady and didn't realize she was older and crippled. (He) even offered to put the gun up if it would make her feel better."Wow. I hope he gives up his ways before he comes across a young woman. He may not be so nice next time.
It's sad that these terrifying crimes are happening, but at least they don't seem to be very profitable. Let's hope the dimwits get discouraged before long.She claims three masked men barged their way into her home. They had two guns and an assault rifle. One of the men pointed the rifle at the woman's head and demanded money.
The woman was tied up with plastic ties, while the robbers ransacked her home looking for cash.
They got away with nothing.
I think there's more to this than just some thieves' desire to get a new cell phone. There must be something on that phone that's very valuable to the perps.Police say a pair of robbery suspects stole an unusual item during an overnight home invasion. Instead of grabbing cash or jewelry, officers say the two men made off with a cell phone. ...
Six people were home at the time. Officers say one of those people was pistol-whipped by the suspects.
A fourth grade teacher and an 81 year old grandmother are not the type of people you would expect to be charged in a drug smuggling ring. But that is the case with two women who went before a federal judge Wednesday. The elderly woman is actually accused of hiding cocaine in her underwear! ...
Prosecutors argued the 81 year old drug suspect is key to this investigation.
"Josefina Campos was a leader in the organization," said Asst. US Attorney Greg Surovic.
Campos is accused of carrying the drugs across the border in her underwear.
I'll bet. What's sad is that the sewage came into the homes because a main was blocked, but the local water utility says it is "not responsible for the damages because the sewer main was blocked by grease and rags." That's a drag.SAN ANTONIO -- Several town homes were damaged Monday on the Northwest Side after raw sewage spilled into the residences.
Residents said they woke up to find sewage water on the floors of their town homes in the 4900 block of Ali Avenue. ...
[Angel] Bustamante said his belongings, including Christmas trees and gifts, were damaged by the sewage.
He added that Christmas will not be the same this year because of the mess.
Let's hope the police find the dirtbags that did this.The body of a 25-year-old woman was found stuffed in a barrel in the backyard of an east side house, and San Antonio Police were looking for her killer Monday. ...
Investigators told News 4 WOAI when they got to the house, the front door was open. Several shell casings were found on the front lawn. They found several pools of blood and an assault rifle in the backyard, officers said.
Moments later, [Chanell Monique] Dixon’s body was found inside a 55-gallon drum in the backyrad of the home, authorities said. ...
Dixon was shot, officials said. Her body was bound in a garden hose and wrapped inside a carpet[.]
The December 5-12 news story “Reproductive Outlook?” incorrectly said a Southside Planned Parenthood clinic had closed; it was converted from a free-service clinic to a full-fee clinic in January 2006. Abortion care throughout San Antonio was provided to 1,400 patients, not 10,000. Texas elected six new pro-choice housemembers, not five. And $10 million in federal funding went to Federally Qualified Health Centers for family planning care, while $5 million went to crisis pregnancy centers. [emphases added]
I like dogs and all, but this is taking anthropomorphization to a new and absurd level.The Austin resident was one of about 60 people of all ages, along with several cats and dogs, attending the 4th annual Tribute to Tails, a candlelight service celebrating the lives of companion animals, particularly the ones that have died.
For well over an hour, pet owners read poems, shared stories of beloved pets and contemplated one central question: Do pets go to heaven?
Pastor Ivan Ujueta of Family Vision Center Church, where the service was held Tuesday, said he believes they do — but that their owners have to keep God first, if they want a reunion in the hereafter.
Police discovered the fetus on the 1300 block of Billings Drive around 4 p.m. Thursday, after being called to the home for a burglary in progress, police spokesman Sgt. Gabe Trevino said. ...
As they checked the house, they discovered drug paraphernalia and drug residue and secured the home while they obtained a search warrant, Trevino said.
During that process, a photograph of the fetus was found inside a shoebox ....
The woman in the home, who was in her twenties, claimed she had been assaulted during her pregnancy, causing her to miscarry around May.
UPDATE: The woman who broke up the celebrity couple talks to the Express-News. She's sorry that her e-mail talking about her night with Vaughn became public, but she's not sorry for spending time with him. And, she says she didn't have sex with him.The co-stars of the movie, "The Break-up" ended their real life romance after Vince reportedly had a one night affair with a junior from Trinity University.
Star Magazine reports Vaughn met the San Antonio student while she was studying abroad.
Or, except maybe spending the night in a hotel room with another woman's man.In an exclusive interview with the Express-News Tuesday, Lane, a 20-year-old Trinity University junior said she has no regrets about having spent a night with Vince Vaughn, a dalliance that reportedly led to his break-up with Jennifer Aniston. ...
“It was an innocent night of meeting a celebrity,” Lane said by phone from Rome about her one-night encounter that occurred in late November. “The experience itself is not what I am wanting to change because nothing happened,” she emphasized. “I was star struck. I didn't do anything that hurt anybody else.” ...
“I'm in Europe. I met a star. I acted in the way that any 20-year-old girl would. I don't feel I did anything horribly wrong — except maybe having a lapse in judgment by sending out the e-mail.”
Thousands of pieces of personal information — a gold mine in this age of identity theft — was found buried in a park in Converse. ...
"Drivers license (numbers). Social Security (numbers). Lot of photographs. All the information you'd ever want if you were going to do any kind of fraud," said David Meyer, who is part of the crew that discovered the files. ...
Converse City Manager Sam Hughes did not want to go on camera but says the city never envisioned that all those files, which were buried in 1998, would ever be
accidentally dug up.In 1998, it was perfectly legal to bury that kind of paperwork, but the state law was changed five years ago.
And while routine paperwork can still be buried all personal information has to be burned, recycled or shredded.
Monday morning the city sent in at least half a dozen dump trucks to haul out all of the buried files.
But it's where the files were sent that's concern [sic] some people. The files were sent straight over and buried at the other city park in Converse.
Ms. Flores is quite expressive, isn't she?A month ago another woman, an employee, was targeted at the neighboring Kiddie Koop.
"I opened the doors and all the papers were on the floor and I went, what? So then I looked and my purse was gone and I went, oh!” said Christy Flores, a victim and employee at the Kiddie Koop.
An elderly woman was parked out in front of the store on FM 78 Saturday morning when instead of hitting the brakes, she hit the gas, authorities told News 4 WOAI. The car came crashing through the window of the store.
