A new Latino leader is headed to the city’s West Side to lead the next generation of professionals. After a months-long search, Our Lady of the Lake University named its first-ever Latino male president — Dr. Abel Antonio Chávez.

The change comes after the current president, Dr. Diane Melby, announced her retirement in May 2021.

Chávez said he’s humbled at the opportunity.

“A big sense of obligation and responsibility came upon me,” Chávez said.

Currently, Chávez serves as vice president for Enrollment and Student Success at Western Colorado University.

His degrees include:

An associate’s degree in science from Front Range Community CollegeA bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from the University of ColoradoA master’s degree in business administration from the University of HoustonA doctorate in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Colorado Denver.

The president-elect is a Colorado native with ties to the Texas-Mexico border.

“Mom and dad are from Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico,” Chávez said. “As a kid, we were raised in Denver, and we would travel to El Paso (and) to Juárez a few times a year. Those were our vacations. So, a good four months of the year were spent down in Juárez.”

Chávez said he experienced and witnessed first-hand the complexities first-generation students face.

“I’ve seen the disparities from one side to the other side of the border, and it is not fair. But the reality is that there’s stark differences from one side to the other,” Chávez said. “From housing to economic development, energy development, food, water to transportation. The list goes on.”

He is eager to bring that perspective to OLLU, where 66% of enrolled students are Hispanic, and 40% of the entire student body identify as first-generation students, just like him.

“What I want to do is position our students at Our Lady of the Lake University to take on some of those most complex and daunting challenges… and go out into the world and continue to do some phenomenal things for society,” Chávez said.

Along with students and the institution, Chávez said his focus is also on the parents and grandparents of prospective students.

“It all starts with making myself available to sit down with families, with grandparents, with prospective students and answer their questions,” Chávez said.

The first step, according to Chávez, is to help families navigate the admission and federal financial aid application process.

“There are very easy things that we must be doing immediately to create a positive pathway to enrollment at Our Lady of the Lake (University),” Chávez said. “Then, what we do is continue to partner with faculty who are already doing some phenomenal work across (OLLU).”

His mission is to create dynamic, real-world student growth and success opportunities.

“I have some writing projects currently in the works that I want to submit before I arrive to campus this summer,” Chávez said. “I will make a case for continuing to identify and surgically remove some of these barriers of access, affordability and completion that our students continue to struggle with.”

One local criminal district court judge is hoping to get cases in her court moving along by proposing the option of a hybrid trial.

Judge Velia Meza of the 226th District Court is hoping to soon get clearance to put in place a hybrid trial process. The jury selection process would be virtual, conducted over Zoom, while the trial would take place in-person.

“I’m providing an avenue whereby we can still keep going and we can use it even when we reopen,” Meza said.

Civil trials have been allowed to be held virtually during the pandemic but not criminal trials. Recently, the Texas Supreme Court changed that, with certain stipulations. Those conditions include both the defense and the prosecution agreeing to a hybrid trial and local authorities would have to allow it during a time surging COVID-19 infections.

The pause in criminal trials have led to a backlog of roughly 30,000 cases.

Meza said not all cases would be considered. Hybrid trials would only be used for lower-level felonies, not murders or other serious crimes involving victims.

Meza’s primary opponent, attorney Demetrio Duarte, opposed the proposal. From a criminal defense lawyer’s standpoint, this isn’t an option he would recommend to any of his clients, he said.

“I want a full jury trial face to face where I can see that everybody is paying attention, that I get their body language, that I can hear what they’re saying,” Duarte said. “And no, I’m not going to go and agree to a hybrid jury trial.”

If Meza does get the clearance for a hybrid trial, it can begin in about two weeks.

Related:

‘Justice isn’t being served’: Frustrations growing as Bexar County jury trials are on hold againEverything you need to know about how jury duty has changed in Bexar County during the pandemicJury trials in Bexar County suspended until March 1 due to omicron surge

Now that we’re one year past last winter’s freeze, KSAT is honoring the people who got us through it. Nurses top that list. Like all Texans, they too dealt with outages and freezing conditions. However, the nurses at University Health also put aside their own challenges to help the rest of us deal with an unprecedented disaster.

“I remember driving to work and seeing cars along Medical Drive or Babcock Road spinning out of control,” said Matt Lozano, patient care coordinator at University Health.

Lozano has been in the healthcare field for more than 10 years. Like many San Antonians, he remembers the nightmare that was last February’s freeze. With a community on edge because of the COVID-19 pandemic, losing power presented more complications for an already stressed group. Yet, some nurses remained at University Health for days. Instead of giving up, they worked longer shifts and got creative.

“Some of our nurses, they spent the night…and other charge nurses like myself, they slept in their offices,” Lozano said.

On top of that, nurses also had to deal with sicker-than-usual patients.

“The patients who presented here to the emergency department were a lot sicker…they were waiting to get care,” Lozano said. “We were stretched thin as well…our EMS systems were taxed during this time as well — it was hard for them to drive.”

And then, there were the dialysis patients who lost power at home. Lozano said nurses added more to their workloads to make sure those patients got essential treatment.

“We were able to find…one of the community dialysis centers that was able to go ahead and take patients from here and all over the city,” Lozano said.

Reflecting on last year’s events, Lozano told KSAT he and his staff also learned a lot from the experience. Since then, his department has expanded its communication system, and continues to prepare for its next emergency.

“We have mock drills throughout the year, and that helps us plan to go ahead, and how soon our staff can get here to be able to go ahead and plan, [so we’re]…successful should another disaster occur,” Lozano said. “We’re here to take care of you. We take pride…our staff loves what they do, and they are great at what they do. We’re here for you.”

Also on KSAT.com:

Couple charged in fatal beating of 12-year-old boy in Northwest Side apartment, police sayDirt moved into AT&T Center to prepare for 2022 San Antonio Stock Show & RodeoAuthorities identify man killed in crash involving tractor-trailer in Kerrville

During last year’s winter storm, hundreds of thousands of residents in Bexar County and the surrounding area were without power for several days. Tens of millions of Texans battled the days-long sub-freezing temperatures without power and in some cases running water. At least 246 people also died statewide as a result of the storm.

This led to both the Texas Legislature, ERCOT and CPS Energy making changes meant to avoid a repeat of last year’s catastrophic power grid failure. But, will it be enough to prevent another major blackout?

In the first episode of Breakdown with #StephAndSteve, streaming at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 9, KSAT 12 anchors Steve Spriester and Stephania Jimenez will be joined by local experts, stakeholders and a San Antonio City Council member to take a closer look at the changes. They’ll explore whether those changes have prepared San Antonio and other communities across Texas for the next big freeze.

The guests include:

CPS Energy CEO and interim president Rudy GarzaDistrict 7 City Councilwoman Ana SandovalEd Hirs, professor of energy economics at the University of HoustonDemonte Alexander, San Antonio-based Public Affairs ConsultantDillion Collier, KSAT Defenders investigative reporter

The show will debut Wednesday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m. on all of KSAT’s digital platforms, including:

KSAT.comKSAT PlusKSAT News mobile appFacebookYouTube

The live stream will be available to watch in the player above, and will be added for on-demand viewing when it’s over.

Talk to #StephAndSteve

If there are any topics you would like to see covered on the show’s future episodes, use #StephAndSteve and post your idea on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can also fill out the form below to submit your story ideas.

Read more:

Texas grid vulnerable to blackouts during severe winter weather, even with new preparations, ERCOT estimates showCPS Energy says it is ready for cold blast, says customers should also prepareCPS Energy’s bond rating takes a hit, despite rate hike meant to protect itTimeline: How the historic winter storm, Texas blackout cold-stunned the San Antonio area

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Texas Parks and Wildlife Department combined forces with the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Nature Conservancy to safeguard Honey Creek Spring Ranch in Comal County from future development.

Honey Creek Spring Ranch, which has been owned and operated the Moore family for more than 150 years, has been regarded as an area of ecological importance.

This is not the first time land in this area has received a conservation easement. In 1981, the Nature Conservancy acquired 1,825 acres in Comal Country. That acreage was transferred to Texas Parks and Wildlife to create a 2,294-acre Honey Creek State Natural Area.

This latest easement will now add an additional 621 acres to those protected lands. There has been a push to utilize more conservation easements across the county.

The property is viewed as important due to the fact its home to endangered to threatened species. This includes the endangered golden-cheeked warbler as well as the black-capped vireo. In addition, Honey Creek Cave, which runs underneath the property, is the largest cave system in Texas. Several miles of underground river emerges from the ranch’s namesake and is the primary source of water for Honey Creek, which is a tributary to the Guadalupe River. The cave also serves as a conduit to the Edwards Aquifer.

“Honey Creek Spring Ranch is home to critical wildlife species and unspoiled ecological features which are quickly disappearing from Texas. Six generations of my family have called this special place home,” said co-landowner Joyce Moore. “And after 150 years, our stewardship efforts have always included leaving the land in a healthier state. With rampant development now occurring throughout the area, it is even more critical for my family to continue this legacy of conservation into the future.”

The landowners offered a bargain sale in order to make the conservation easement a reality. It was also funded by the Texas Farm and Ranch Lands Council and is one of the most recent properties benefitting from the protections of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Farm and Ranch Lands Conservations Program and Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Agricultural Conservation Easement Program. The Nature Conservancy worked with the landowners to complete the transaction.

“This latest land protection win helps create a more resilient and connected Central Texas,” said Suzanne Scott, state director for the Nature Conservancy in Texas. “The Honey Creek Spring Ranch easement illustrates how landowners and agencies can collaborate to protect land, safeguard water, and protect native and threatened species—critical work in rapidly growing areas like ours.”

“The preservation of the Honey Creek Spring Ranch is a critically important piece of the broader efforts to conserve Honey Creek and the surrounding watershed,” said Carter Smith, Executive Director of TPWD. “This property, which has been well stewarded by the landowners for many generations, is located near two of our state parks and provides essential habitat for many species living in the Texas Hill Country. The efforts put forward by the landowners and our partner agencies to conserve this and many other properties in Texas are truly a testament toward the importance of conserving our wild places for the people of Texas.”

The conservation easement will not allow for public access.