Car crashes into church

Oh man, the automobile vengeance upon homes -- or former homes, at least -- has taken a very sinister turn.

A car crashed through a church on San Antonio's West Side early Thursday morning, leaving behind some major damage.

San Antonio police responded to the accident at the Woodlawn Hills Baptist Church on W. Woodlawn at Maiden Lane and said the accident left a hole in the side of the building where Sunday school classes are held.

Woodlawn dead-ends in front of the church. However, investigators said the driver did not stop and, instead, drove through four walls and finally came to a stop behind the church.

...

A witness told police the car hit the curb then flew through the air as it went through the church building. It left behind 50 to 60 yards of skid marks.

(from KSAT-12)

Skid marks fifty to sixty yards long, and still enough energy to go completely through a building? Holy cow, that's fast!

"Suit claims Spurs violated state law"

Bitter much?

The San Antonio Spurs are being sued by a lawyer [Of course.  ----ed.] who is alleging the team violated the state's deceptive and fair trade practices law.

On Monday, Larry McGuinness filed a class-action suit in Miami-Dade County, stating Spurs coach Gregg Popovich "intentionally and surreptitiously" sent their best players home without the knowledge of the league, the team and the fans attending the Nov. 29 game against the Miami Heat. McGuinness contends that he, as well as other fans, "suffered economic damages" as a result of paying a premium price for a ticket that shouldn't cost more.

...

"It was like going to Morton's Steakhouse and paying $63 for porterhouse and they bring out cube steak," said McGuinness, who said he bought his ticket on the resale market. "That's exactly what happened here."

(from ESPN.com, by way of WOAI-TV)

As much as I like the thought of our beloved Spurs players being compared to high-quality steak, I'm more entertained by the thought of the Heat team being nothing more than hamburger to a Florida fan.

Eat that, LeBron!

Truck smashes into house

Well, I haven't reported on this kind of thing in a long time. And what a way to bring the meme back.

An elderly woman and her daughter were rudely awakened Tuesday morning when a large truck crashed into the side of their house.

Accident investigators said it happened around 4 a.m. in the 900 block of Mount Serolod Drive, off of Blanco Road, near Ramsey.

Witness Aurora Williams said she was following her friend, who was driving a cargo truck down Blanco Road, when he suddenly veered off the road and wrecked into the home.

...

At the time, the woman's daughter thought the crash was the sound of thunder and that a tree limb had fallen on the house.

(from KSAT-12)

There's that thunder sound again. I wonder if all vehicle crashes into houses sound the same, just like how people say tornadoes sound like freight trains.

Oh no, you WILL NOT tase me, bro!

Wow, they sure have some tough ones at the sheriff's office.

A Bexar County sheriff’s deputy was arrested around 9:30 Thursday night on Braun Road near Loop 1604 on the Northwest Side. Police investigators say a traffic officer parked in a patrol car saw Deputy Susanna Cervantes drive into a parking lot and hit two concrete poles that were barriers to a propane tank.

“She observed the vehicle back up from the poles and then strike the poles again,” said Sgt. Javier Salazar from the San Antonio Police Department.

...

Police say after being tased, Deputy Cervantes ripped the taser probes out of her body and continued her tirade. So investigators say they had no choice but to taser Cervantes a second time. Cervantes was eventually taken to the ground and handcuffed.

(from WOAI-TV)

Too bad she couldn't keep that energy focused on the bad guys.

Finding ordnance

In the street. And, supposedly, it was a missile.

A missile was found in the middle of a street in West Bexar County Thursday morning.

The missile was discovered around 9:00 a.m. at the intersection of Firefox Den and Barking Wolf, near Loop 1604 and Marbach Road.

Bexar County officials said the missile, which was 16" to 18" long, was used for training purposes and was not a 'live.'

(from WOAI-TV)

I don't know, a foot and a half seems a bit short to be a "missile". I know that it's possible something that size could be guided, and then, therefore, a missile. But that sounds more like a rocket.

Either way, it's not something you would expect to find in the street, whether it is "a 'live'" or not.

Gettin' medieval on Talisman Street

Here in Texas, home invaders better think twice. Most of us will shoot back.

But a select few will take you back to the Middle Ages.

 Three men who broke into a home Thursday morning on the city's East side were confronted by a homeowner with a sword, San Antonio police said.

The homeowner, Robert Suniga, told police the men said they were looking for his son.

"They were saying that they were SAPD. They were saying they had a search warrant. They were saying that he raped their little sister," Suniga said.

Suniga didn't buy the mens' story. Instead of handing over his son, Suniga armed himself for a fight. He went to his bedroom to get a sword that a friend gave him as a gift, telling him to use it to protect his family.

(from KSAT-12)

Burning Christmas

It looks like Ebenezer Scrooge is still alive. And I don't think he's changed much.

A torched Christmas tree sent people scrambling from a Denny's restaurant early Sunday and investigators say the fire was no accident.

The fire happened at the Denny's near 35 and Rittiman just after 3:30 a.m.

Investigators say it appears someone set the restaurant's Christmas tree ablaze.

(from KSAT-12)

"New LED street lights fail in the rain"

Sometimes it's better to be a late adopter of a new technology. That way, you let all the other folks work through the bugs before you spend your money on it.

But the leaders of San Antonio seem to love to adopt anything "green" just as soon as they possibly can, even before all the problems have been discovered. And sometimes this produces head-shaking results.

Earlier this year we told you the City of San Antonio and CPS Energy are spending more than $14 million of your money to replace street lights with energy saving LED fixtures.  Now the News 4 WOAI Trouble Shooters have uncovered that all 25,000 of the fixtures had to be sent back to the manufacturer because of a glaring defect.

Close to 2,000 of the street lights are already up in a few areas around the city, but installations came to a halt a few weeks ago when some of the new fixtures began to fail. 

...

In September CPS Energy noticed something similar happening: some of the new lights going dark shortly after installation.  And the cause?  Rain… getting into the fixtures and shorting them out.

(from WOAI-TV)

Seems they've also had problems with bird droppings covering up the sensors that are supposed to tell the lights to shut off in the daytime. In the end, these LED lights will probably work out to be a good product, but I bet you didn't know that you, as a San Antonio taxpayer, were helping to pay for the beta testing.

And you don't even get to play with it.

Micromanaging, to the nth degree

Think you run your team? Maybe you don't.

NBA Commissioner David Stern says the San Antonio Spurs will be hit with "substantial sanctions" for their decision to send four regulars home before their game in Miami on Thursday night.

Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green were sent home by San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich, who cited a desire to get them rest at the end of a long road trip. The NBA was not happy, and Stern released a statement saying he apologizes "to all NBA fans."

(from KSAT-12)

All of them. Not just the ones who follow the Spurs.

That's what a commissioner is for, apparently.

Ruining your job prospects

If you're looking for a job, I understand that you might be a bit desperate. But you might actually get called back for a second interview if you can control yourself and refrain from robbing the customers.

Maybe.

Management at the Hacienda Vallarta Mexican Buffet at 7200 Bandera Road gave KENS 5 surveillance video of the suspect, who can be seen entering the restaurant then breaking into the truck before leaving the parking lot in a red Ford Taurus.

They say the man had stopped in at the restaurant to see if there were any job openings.

...

Surveillance video shows the suspect walk into the restaurant at 2:27 p.m. Monday. Three minutes later he finishes stealing [Bob] Martinez's belongings and flees in his car.

(from KENS-5)

Bonus strangeness: The man is a repeat customer/applicant.

The manager at Hacienda Vallarta says they recorded the same man entering the restaurant then breaking into an employee's car three weeks ago.

"Butterfly travels to SA on plane"

I don't know, it just seems like they're enabling this underachiever.

A lone Monarch butterfly flew from Albany, N.Y., to San Antonio Monday not on it's [sic] own, but onboard a Southwest Airlines flight -- for free.

It was all to help the butterfly make its migration to Michoacan, Mexico, for the winter.

The butterfly emerged from its chrysalis too late to travel with other butterflies and it was already too cold in the northeast to make the trip.

...

"I said, 'What are you doing here? You're late! Your very late for a important date!'" said [the Butterfly Woman of Shokan, N.Y. Maraleen] Manos-Jones.

(from KSAT-12)

I hope that date isn't with one of San Antonio's many grackles. For Ms. Manos-Jones's sake, that is.

Car crashes into house

Well, really it's a bar. But there's no denying the loads of strangeness contained within this story.

A woman crashed a pickup into a bar this morning, then ran away in high heels, police and witnesses said.

She was headed south in the 1800 block of Quintana Road about 7 a.m. when she veered into oncoming traffic, clipping a Hyundai Accent before barreling through a parking lot and into Dayzee Dukes Saloon, police said.

George Valdez, who lives next to Dayzee Dukes, peered out a window after hearing the impact and saw a large dust cloud at the bar.

Dazed, the driver emerged from the building and appeared to have difficulty getting her balance, Valdez said.

“She looked kind of wobbly, but I don't know if it was from the crash or the heels,” Valdez said.

Then, she sprinted away, chased by a beer truck driver.

(from the Express-News)

Now read that again. And tell me you didn't chuckle just a little.

A truck.
In a bar.
Named Dayzee Dukes.
A cloud of dust!
A wobbly woman emerges.
In heels.
She sprints!
Chased by a beer truck driver.

It's all there, telling a story in a way that I don't mind reading over once or twice. Good writing, Ms. Ana Ley. Good writing.

"Slippery thieves stealing used grease from S.A. restaurants"

At first glance, I wonder why restaurant owners would be upset about this situation.

Big’z burgers and fries aren’t the only things popular at this award-winning restaurant — so is the used cooking oil.

“The more people you serve, the more grease you go through (and) the more full that grease trap is out there,” manager Matthew Coker said.

But lately, the grease trap has appeared empty. The fry cooks noticed it first. Then, the restaurant turned to its surveillance cameras.

“There’s been what looks like a company truck backing up and stealing it. It has happened to us several times already.”

(from KENS-5)

I'm clueless about this. Do restaurants sell their used grease? I was always under the impression they had to pay someone to haul it away, like trash, in which case the theft wouldn't really be that big of a deal. Of course, if the restaurants do make money selling the old oil I can see why they'd be irked if someone stole it.

Does anyone know more about this? Is it standard practice for eateries to sell cooking grease? I am genuinely curious.

Not making the cops go too far

You know, if you're going to crash into another vehicle, you might as well make it easy for the police to respond.

It was wrong place, wrong time and definitely wrong vehicle for a driver who crashed into a PD wagon right in front of the new downtown police station.

Police say that driver slammed his car into the police wagon just after midnight Saturday.

The wagon was on a mail delivery run and parked outside the new station in the 300 block of S. San Saba.

(from KSAT-12)

"3 deadly pedestrian crashes on San Antonio streets have others alert"

Geez, is a certain race in town, or what?

An especially deadly day for pedestrians on San Antonio streets has other people on alert. Three people were hit and killed Tuesday while crossing busy roadways.

San Antonio police said the triple tragedies began with the death of Erna Zwicke, 90, who was hit while crossing Fredericksburg Road near W. Agarita Avenue in a wheelchair around 7:30 a.m.

Twelve hours later, a man who friends said was homeless died after being hit by a pickup as he crossed Walzem Road near Montgomery Drive. The driver sped away from the scene, according to police.

...

Shortly after 8 p.m., San Antonio officers were called to the scene of a third fatal crash.

An accident report stated that a 47-year-old woman was struck by an 18-wheeler on the Interstate 35 North access road near Fisher Road.

(from KSAT-12)

Run fast, if you're on foot. Slow down a bit, if you're not.

Not thinking long enough about a good place to nap

Sometimes the criminals just kind of catch themselves, don't they?

San Antonio police made two big arrests Wednesday, detaining two suspects they believe are linked to numerous burglaries with theft in the tens of thousands of dollars.

Officers said one of the suspects who is in his 20s was found sleeping in a car full of electronics at an apartment complex located off of Vance Jackson and Orsinger.

Police said the suspect in the car told police the property belonged to someone inside an apartment.

After going into the apartment they found a stolen gun and another suspect, also in his 20s, hiding in a closet, detectives said.

(from KENS-5)

And they like to smile for the cameras, too.

I love you, mija. I'll see y'all later!

"Neighborly feud ends in south-side street brawl"

Well, that makes it sound like everyone was getting along just peachy as they were exchanging fightin' words. You know, before it got all western on the South Side.

An argument between two south-side neighbors turned into an all-out street brawl late Tuesday night.

The brawl, which involved nearly a dozen people, started as an argument between two women at the intersection of Linda Lou and Hackberry, San Antonio police said.

Each of the women called more family members outside to help, police said. It didn't take long for the two families to start exchanging punches.

Police said everyone scrambled into a home when officers arrived at the intersection.

(from KENS-5)

And on National Night Out, no less.

Not behaving ethically

In case you haven't heard, yet, the City of San Antonio's deputy manager sat on a selection committee for a very big contract while at the same time applying for a job at a place where one of the head honchos also runs a company that was bidding on said big contract. He got the job, and the relevant company got the contract.

And now he seems baffled that some people don't find the smell quite right.

Deputy City Manager Pat DiGiovanni said late Tuesday that he made a regrettable, embarrassing mistake by not recusing himself from a committee charged with selecting a construction company for a $300 million Convention Center expansion project because of a potential conflict of interest.

DiGiovanni, 54, said he is drafting a letter to the city's Ethics Review Board that he expects to file this week to determine whether he violated the city's policies.

He served on a bid review committee while negotiating a new job with a nonprofit whose vice chairman has a financial stake in the Convention Center project, the San Antonio Express-News reported last week.

...

DiGiovanni accepted a job as CEO of the Centro Partnership, a nonprofit created to encourage downtown development, the day before he sat on a panel hearing presentations from four companies vying for the Convention Center project. The panel ultimately recommended the project go to a joint venture of Phoenix, Ariz.-based Hunt Construction Group and San Antonio-based Zachry Corp.

(from the Express-News)

Guess who's vice chairman of the Centro Partnership: David Zachry.

Seeking out HIV

If you see this van cruising your neighborhood ----

---- then you know you're in an at-risk area.

Oh, wait. Never mind. They're just calling out the neighborhoods anyway.

"Now we can reach out into the deep east side, south side and the west side, where there's a lot of barriers to getting to health clinics or to getting testing," explained SAAF Director David Ewell.

(from KENS-5)

What, do they have music playing, like ice cream trucks, to let the neighbors know they're in the area? Do they park and just hawk their services, like food trucks? Seriously, how do they get the people who need testing over to the truck to take the test? I would think most people passing by would have a reaction similar to this guy in the video at the news story link:

I probably would not use it, but I think it's an excellent social resource.

And I think most people who are thinking about getting a test to see if they are HIV positive would rather do so in a more discreet location, so they are probably likely to shun this resource as well, as excellent as it may be. Perhaps it will be useful and helpful in the long run, but I kind of doubt it.

I do like the way they Hispanicized the whole thing by throwing in a gratuitous "¡Ay!" in the thought balloon. Maybe the California outfit that donated it thought us San Antonians would appreciate that little bit.

Thanks, Cali.

Beer!

It's only Bud Light, but it's still a shame.

The wreck happened just before 10:30 a.m. on the ramp from 35 South to I-10 West.

Police say the beer truck driver lost control on the curve and crashed into a retaining wall.

His truck trailer flipped and beer poured out onto the roadway.

(from KSAT-12)