Comal County health officials on Monday reported 404 new COVID-19 cases — another record for the highest daily cases and the first time the total has been over the 400 threshold.

Less than a month ago, the county broke 300 daily cases for the first time. Before early January, the county’s peak for new cases was during the delta surge on Aug. 17 with 218 cases.

The county reported one new COVID-related death on Monday, putting the death toll at 491, a news release said. A woman in her 50s died at a New Braunfels hospital on Jan. 7.

There have been a total of 25,610 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Comal County to date.

As of Monday, there are 69 COVID-19 patients in Comal County hospitals —15 are in intensive care and eight are on ventilators. Approximately 73% of these patients are unvaccinated.

Officials said that the Comal County Public Health Department is administering Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for those 18 and older and Pfizer vaccines for anyone five years and older. Booster vaccines are also available.

Appointments can be made by calling 830-221-1150.

Residents are urged to be patient as call volume is extremely high.

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Two West Side homes sustained minor damage and a shed was destroyed due to a fire on Monday morning.

San Antonio firefighters responded to the blaze just after 8 a.m. in the 200 block of Micklejohn Street, near North Zarzamora Street.

A shed caught fire, and the heat radiated to a home on the same property and another home across the street, SAFD said.

The shed was a total loss. Arson investigators were called to find the cause of the fire.

No one was injured.

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A San Antonio site that’s on a mission to preserve history and culture is getting a significant chunk of change to help connect kids to meaningful learning experiences and expand its educational offerings. The National Park Foundation recently announced San Antonio Missions National Historical Park — the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Texas — is among 92 recipients of $2.3 million in Open OutDoors for Kids grants that aim to connect young learners with…

A tea house on the city’s Far Northwest Side was written up by health inspectors last month after different types of meat were again found being repackaged.

Ding Tea Taiwanese Tea House, in the 8000 block of W. Loop 1604 North, was repacking types of meat including chicken into clean plastic bags and then those were put in white plastic bags, city health department records show.

The process caused the food to no longer have any manufacturer information and was a repeat violation by the establishment, records show.

Ding Tea was given an overall score of 73 and was also ordered to clean the interior of all its freezers and refrigerators.

To see more health inspection scores and to go Behind the Kitchen Door with Dillon Collier, click HERE for our special section.

Score Guide:

100-90 = A (Very Good to Acceptable)89-80 = B (Acceptable to Marginal)79 or lower = C (Marginal to Poor)

Metro Health indicates that scores of 69 or lower are failing scores

Other scores this week:

Bunuelos Pastries, 1905 West Ave., 100Domino’s Pizza, 9381 Culebra Rd., 100Great American Cookie, 849 E. Commerce St., 100Schlotzsky’s, 25235 IH 10 West, 100Seoul Food Korean Grill, 2456 Harry Wurzbach, 98Taco Cabana, 19231 Stone Oak Pkwy., 97Big Star Food Mart, 2409 NW 36th St., 92Chuck E. Cheese, 11735 Bandera Rd., 90Kuma Ice Cream, 7915 W. Loop 1604 North, 89Grady’s Bar B Q, 7400 Bandera Rd., 88Guerrero’s Mexican Restaurant, 1859 Rigsby Ave., 88La Revolucion, 4310 Blanco Rd., 86Church’s Chicken, 13323 Culebra Rd., 85Taqueria Chapala Jalisco, 1902 McCullough Ave., 85La Michoacana Meat Market, 2341 NW Military Hwy., 84Jim’s Restaurant, 302 W. Loop 1604 North, 82El Molino Restaurant, 1703 IH 35 North, 81Gorditas Estillo Torreon, 1310 S. W. W. White Rd., 80Conroy’s Bar & Grill, 21119 U.S. Hwy. 281 North, 76Ding Tea Taiwanese Tea House, 8027 W. Loop 1604 North, 73

For food establishment complaints in the city of San Antonio, send an email to Metro Health or call 210-207-8853.

Check out more restaurant scores by clicking here.

San Antonio police issued several citations following a street racing incident on the city’s East Side late Sunday night.

Officers were called around 10:40 p.m. to the intersection of East Southcross and South W.W. White Road after receiving word of roughly 100 vehicles racing and blocking the road.

According to police, when officers arrived the vehicles fled northbound on Interstate 37. Police found just one vehicle blocking the road at the scene.

SAPD said no arrests were made, but that citations were given to the people still around. A truck and Mustang were also towed, police said.

Both the San Antonio Police Department and San Antonio Police Street Crimes unit answered the call. No injuries were reported, police said.

8-year-old Anders Eckert was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in May of 2021.

The Gillespie County Youth Livestock Show earlier in January really showed how a community can band together and raise money, this time in support of Anders and the Eckert family.

Melissa Eckert, Anders’ mom, said the fundraiser at the stock show was completely unexpected and left her speechless.

“It was unbelievable. First, we didn’t know any of this would be happening, obviously. And when they moved her to the end of the sale list, we were kind of suspicious. And then all her friends and family and teammates got up on stage with posters and we immediately started sobbing,” Eckert said.

Eckert said the woman announcing at the bidding is a longtime friend and helped make the event possible.

“The lady that was talking, I grew up with and have always looked up to. So, her getting up there and saying something and acknowledging this tough time just was monumental to us,” Eckert said.

As the excitement at the livestock show grew, the bids came in fast. The total quickly reached over $75,000 in matter of minutes.

“Everybody was just so willing to give. And so, they had that number and then people that hadn’t heard about the giving were able to add on to it. And so, it just warmed our heart completely. We couldn’t stop sobbing,” Eckert said.

Eckert says Anders is just finishing the toughest part in her treatment. She says doctors are targeting the cancer hard in hopes of achieving remission within the first month of therapy.

She says Anders’ battle with cancer hasn’t been an easy journey and adds her and her husband are also caring for two other children.

“It’s hard we also have twin boys, Jack and James that are six years old, and we wanted to make sure that their life was as normal as possible,” she said.

“I think that’s the hardest part that they don’t understand why Cissy is sick and why they can’t see anybody. But to relay that message to an eight-year-old and two six-year-olds, it is very difficult,” said Eckert.

The livestock show ended with a total of a $100,000 raised. Though the funds will provide a tremendous relief, Eckert says she truly appreciates the community’s ongoing prayers.

“With our community behind us, there’s nothing we can’t do, and it’s just made this experience. Much not easier, but a little more bearable, because we have that strong support system,” Eckert said.

LaBelle highlighted the cities, property classes and amenities that are likely to draw the most workers back to a traditional in-office setting. No surprise, but those are the very locations where Boston Properties is doubling down.

Editor’s note: This story was published through a partnership between KSAT and the San Antonio Business Journal.

The largest office tower completed in downtown San Antonio after more than 30 years is on the market.

Newmark Group Inc. quietly listed Frost Tower, the 24-story headquarters of Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc., for sale Nov. 5 without a list price.

Local firm Weston Urban and Dallas-based KDC co-developed the landmark building. Construction wrapped up in 2019.

Weston Urban is gearing up to build its next massive downtown project, a 32-story luxury apartment high-rise at 305 Soledad St. The San Antonio Historic and Design Review Commission granted final approval to the project in December, a key step in obtaining a building permit.

The nearly 3-acre property at 111 W. Houston St. holds an assessed value of $99.5 million, according to the Bexar County Appraisal District. A limited partnership tied to Weston Urban is listed as the current owner.

Frost Tower’s 457,404 square feet of office and retail space is 80% leased, according to Newmark. The 19th through 21st floors of the tower are partially leased, with 54,500 square feet of space available, the listing shows. Amenities include a fitness center and a tenant lounge.

Current tenants include:

Frost Bank, 278,222 square feetNorton Rose Fulbright, 38,841 square feetErnst & Young, 14,606 square feetInsight Global, 10,517 square feetBitdefender, 9,360 square feet

CBRE Group Inc.’s Christi Griggs and Brandon Logan currently oversee leasing in the building.

Bill Day, senior vice president of corporate communications at Frost Bank, said a deal would not change its commitment to downtown. The bank’s 18-year lease does not expire until June 2039. Frost Bank has about 600 employees in the building.

“It’s not going to affect us or our lease at all,” Day said. He declined to comment further on Weston Urban, as the bank financed construction for the project, making their landlord a customer — and Frost does not comment on specific customers.

Frost Bank will generate $297 million of cash flow through its lease, according to Newmark. The bank invested $27 million to build out its lobby space, offices, cafeteria and kitchen.

Weston Urban CEO Randy Smith did not respond to a request for comment prior to publication. Chase Tagen, director of Texas and Central U.S. Capital Markets for Newmark, declined to comment.

New Haven, Connecticut-based architect Pelli Clark Pelli designed the building. Bethesda, Maryland-based Clark Construction was the general contractor.

As San Antonio continues to see job growth and the the region keeps drawing in new residents, investors are coming back into the local market. Those factors, considered along with the downtown location and long-term tenants, signal that a buyer for the soaring tower could emerge sooner than later.

Local office market activity is nearing 2019 levels, with $588 million in investment last year, up from $401 million in 2020 but still down from $746 million in 2019, according to Real Capital Analytics data provided by Transwestern.

Click here to read the full story and see more photos in the San Antonio Business Journal.

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There is nothing like the wait for a professional boxer coming off their first loss.

The fighter wants to get ring back to the gym, train and get another fight scheduled so they can hopefully put their loss behind them.

For Mario Barrios and Keith Thurman, their February matchup can’t come soon enough.

By the time they face each other, Barrios will have waited over seven months to bout again. Thurman will have waited for over two years and six months. Barrios (26-1, 17 KOs) will fight Thurman (29-1, 22 KOs) in a 12-round welterweight contest on Saturday, February 5 in Las Vegas. This will be Barrios’ debut at 147 pounds as he headlines his second straight pay-per-view fight.

Check out what “El Azteca” had to say about moving his training camp to Las Vegas and what helped him get through his loss to Gervonta Davis:

It was announced last week through Premier Boxing Champions that the winner of Barrios vs. Thurman will have a shot at a title eliminator fight later this year and a chance at a welterweight title.

”It’s an awesome feeling [fighting for a chance at another title belt],” Barrios said to KSAT 12 Sports last week. “I had the pleasure of taking the first world title back to San Antonio in twenty-something years when I fought . I promised San Antonio that wasn’t going to be the only world title. So, I’m going to do what it takes to get another one. The goal ultimately is to be unified.”

Barrios added, “This [fight] isn’t exactly a title eliminator but [a win] gets you there a lot quicker. That’s added motivation.”

It’s been reported that the PBC PPV fight will be $74.95.

You can watch more from Mario Barrios coming up this week during the KSAT 12 Sports’ sportscasts and next Sunday on Instant Replay at 11 p.m.

Daniel P. Villanueva has worked with KSAT 12 for over 18 years and is an award-winning producer. To submit story ideas, email dvillanueva@ksat.com