Category: San Antonio News

A man told San Antonio police he was shot outside a Northeast Side apartment complex while he tried to collect his W2 forms, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

Investigators said the incident happened Monday outside the Aria Apartments in the 5300 block of Gawain Drive.

The shooting victim said he went to the complex to collect the forms from a woman, and he saw her and her male relative on the stairwell, the affidavit states. The woman’s relative confronted the man, began to argue, and pulled out a gun with a child present, according to police.

The relative, later identified as 61-year-old Arthur Monroe, struck the man in the head with the gun and shot him in the hand, police said.

The shooting victim was taken to Brooke Army Medical Center and Monroe fled the scene before police arrived.

Investigators interviewed the shooting victim at the hospital, where he told them that Monroe pointed the gun at his head and threatened to kill him, the affidavit states. He tried to move the gun away from his head and that’s when Monroe opened fire, police said.

Jail records show Monroe was arrested Tuesday and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. His bond is set at $75,000.

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San Antonio police are searching for a suspect after a man was stabbed at a homeless camp on the city’s Northeast Side early Wednesday morning.

The incident occurred around 2 a.m. in the 8700 block of Perrin Beitel Road, not far from Loop 410 and Industrial Center Road.

According to police, the victim had gotten into an argument with man dressed in all black behind Valero gas station. That’s when, police say, the victim was cut in the chest and back, likely with a box cutter. The suspect fled following the stabbing.

The wounded man was taken by EMS to an area hospital, where he is listed in stable condition. The man’s name has not been released.

The San Antonio Police Department, the San Antonio Fire Department and EMS all answered the call.

SAPD did not say exactly what the argument was about. The investigation is ongoing, police said.

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

The Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association announced Friday the Texas oil and gas industry saw gains of more than 1,000 jobs between December 2021 and January 2022 — and more than 15,000 positions in the past year.

The newly released figures are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and are adjusted against unemployment tax records by TIPRO in its employment calculations.

TIPRO’s analysis found that Texas employment in January totaled 176,300 jobs — an increase of 1,200 jobs from the revised December numbers. Texas employment for January 2022 totaled 176,300, an increase of 1,200 jobs from revised December numbers. This number also reflects an increase of 16,000 positions since January 2021.

The TIPRO report noted January’s job posting data in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors is on the rise along with rising employment, with 8,276 active job postings in the Texas oil and gas industry in January, with more than 3,000 of that number added in January alone.

TIPRO identifies 14 different industry sectors within the Texas oil and natural gas industry. The sector with the highest number of unique job listings in January was support activities for oil and gas operations, which had 2,555 postings. This was closely followed by 1,022 positions in the petroleum refineries sector and 787 postings in crude petroleum extraction.

Sought-after positions included heavy tractor-trailer truck drivers with 420 postings and personal service managers with 283 postings.

The top three cities for unique oil and natural job postings were Houston, Midland and Odessa, according to TIPRO, and the top three companies for job postings were Halliburton with 418, National Oilwell Vasco Inc. with 408 and Baker Hughes with 381.

Ed Longanecker, president of TIPRO, said, “Our industry will experience continued growth in employment and oil and gas production this year to meet growing global demand for our product and to offset distributions in global supply.”

He added that during a multiyear “boom cycle,” it’s critical that the industry continue to offer high-paying jobs in order to provide energy security to both this country and other democracies worldwide.

A February State of Energy report released by TIPRO found that Texas oil and gas industry accounted for more than one-third of total industry employment in the country in 2021,and the gross regional product for the state’s oil and gas was $200 billion last year — 12% of the state economy.

Read more stories like this on San Antonio Business Journal.

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How much did you earn at your previous job? That’s the question many of you dread on job applications. On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced new efforts to prevent federal agencies from asking job applicants about their salary history.

The change gives Clarissa Jenkins, 30, of East San Antonio, hope. She said the question keeps people from making more money because it lowers the bar for employers and hurts workers.

“I have three kids. I have real bills. I have a car. $8.25 is not going to get me nowhere…[it’s not] even going to put a dent in my rent,” said Jenkins.

Jenkins is a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) and needs a job. She told KSAT she’s been searching for the last six months but can’t find a job that pays enough.

“Our minimum wage of $7.25…we can’t make a living off of it…our cost of living is three times higher.”

That’s why Jenkins supports the Biden administration’s plan. However, the regulation would come from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and would only affect federal, not private-sector jobs.

“You need to be somebody that’s resourceful,” said Workforce Solutions Alamo CEO, Adrian Lopez.

Lopez, however, said there are some things job applicants can do to get higher pay.

“If you start to articulate your value to that particular employer…not only that you bring the work experience they’re looking for, but that you can offer up other sorts of skills sets. Those are good ways to…negotiate a better salary,” said Lopez.

As for Jenkins, she told KSAT she’s going back to school to become a dental assistant. Her hope is that she earns enough money to make a better future for her family.

On Tuesday, the Senate voted unanimously to pass the Sunshine Protection Act. If approved in the House of Representatives and signed by President Joe Biden, Daylight Saving Time would become permanent across the United States in 2023.

What would this mean for San Antonio?

Well, first of all, we would no longer need to change the clocks twice a year, losing an hour of sleep in spring. Nice!

Additionally, from early November through early March, the sun would set an hour later than usual. This means brighter evenings, with the earliest sunset occurring closer to 6:30 p.m. rather than 5:30 p.m. as observed with Standard Time.

It also means later sunrises in winter. From late December through early January, the sun would rise close to 8:30 a.m.

The origins of Daylight Saving Time

While many cite Benjamin Franklin as the “Father of Daylight Saving Time,” this is just a bit of an exaggeration from a joke that the founding father made during one of his trips to France.

Franklin notoriously made fun of the French for their perceived laziness, as they would sleep in past sunrise. He suggested, as a joke, that the French would save candles by changing their clocks so that people would get up out of bed earlier in the morning. This quirky quip didn’t actually result in the physical changing of clocks.

In reality, people have been suggesting seasonal changes to time-keeping for centuries. But it wasn’t until World War I, when conserving fuel was important, that countries made Daylight Saving Time official.

In order to reduce the need for artificial light and thus saving fuel, Germany became the first country to turn the clocks ahead by one hour in 1916. European countries followed, with United States jumping on board in 1918.

The use of Daylight Saving Time in the United States was inconsistent after the Great War. This led to confusion, prompting the Uniform Time Act of 1966, requiring states that observe DST to begin at 2 a.m. on the last Sunday in April. The law does NOT require every state to observe DST, and to this day, Arizona and Hawaii observe Standard Time year-round.

A San Antonio-area couple said they were offered a $10 credit after finding an addictive pain relief pill in a plate of nachos purchased at a Leon Valley Mexican restaurant.

The incident happened Sunday at a Chacho’s restaurant located in the 6700 block of Poss Road, near Bandera Road.

The pill, which appeared to be a combination hydrocodone/acetaminophen tablet, was found in the sour cream on the couple’s plate of nachos, they told the KSAT Defenders.

The pill is prescribed to relieve moderate to moderately severe pain.

Hydrocodone is an opioid that is regulated by the federal government.

“I got the fork and I kind of like started pressing on it and it was hard,” said the female customer, who asked that she not be identified. “I was expecting to just relax and eat and then I see a pill inside my food.”

Employees working at the restaurant Tuesday refused to comment and eventually called police in a failed attempt to have the KSAT news crew removed from the sidewalk in front of the establishment.

Reached for comment, Chacho’s owner John Burke said via email, “We have operated multiple restaurants for more than 30 years, serving more than 50,000 customers per week in our restaurants without any such incident or even report of (an) incident. Food safety is and has been our highest priority.”

Burke asked for the customers’ contact information so that he could communicate with them directly in an effort “to keep this customer as a customer,” his email stated.

The couple told KSAT they were in the process of filing a formal food safety complaint with Leon Valley’s health and sanitation officer since the incident happened inside Leon Valley city limits.

“At this point, it had nothing to do with the food or returning our money. It was more like, ‘They needed to investigate this,’” the female customer said in a phone interview.

KSAT has requested a copy of food safety complaints filed against the establishment in the past five years.

In a follow up email sent Tuesday evening, Burke said Leon Valley’s health officer determined it is unlikely the pill was introduced into the food at the restaurant.

Leon Valley officials have so far not responded to emails seeking comment about the investigation.

To see health inspection scores and to go Behind the Kitchen Door with Dillon Collier, click HERE.

San Antonio city leaders who spoke with KSAT 12 News offered their condolences to 28-year-old Kevin Johnson’s family after he was shot and killed by officers, which led to a tense confrontation between the crowd and police. However, they chose to withhold further comment until the details are confirmed and the body cam footage is released.

Johnson’s family at the scene on Monday said witnesses had told them he had been shot nine times in the back. SAPD Chief William McManus said Johnson pulled a gun out of his waistband as he ran away.

Until he’s seen the body cam footage, McManus had said at the scene, “At what point the officers shot, I don’t know.”

ORIGINAL REPORT: Chaotic scene unfolds on West Side after 3 SAPD officers shoot, kill man

Officials said Johnson had a felony warrant for being a felon in possession of a firearm, stemming from an incident last month in which Johnson met up with two friends and fired his gun in the air. Records state Johnson had multiple previous felony convictions, including a 2019 charge of assault on a public servant, which prohibited him from possessing firearms.

Police had said Johnson was also wanted on a past case for assaulting a peace officer. KSAT only found one active warrant in our search.

City leaders said they’re still waiting for more information on Johnson’s case.

“I don’t have any comment on it until we get the investigation completed and I get the facts,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said.

Mario Bravo, who represents District 1 on the city council, also said, “I want to make sure that everything was done as it should be. I’m going to stay on top of the situation, stay informed, make sure the community gets all the information they need.”

Bravo said the incident occurred near where his district and District 5 meet on the city’s West Side.

Bravo’s District 5 colleague, Teri Castillo, said, “It’s unfortunate that someone lost their life, but it’s important that we wait to hear the details on what occurred and took place yesterday.”

Melissa Cabello Havrda, who represents District 6 and chairs the city council’s Public Safety Committee, said, “As a citizen of the city, having grown up here, I want to make sure that our citizens feel safe and that our officers can are able to do their work and supporting both our community and our officers as part of the community.”

Act4SA, a grassroots agency that works to reimagine public safety in San Antonio, issued the following statement:

“Yesterday afternoon, SAPD opened fire on 28 year old Kevin Johnson in broad daylight allegedly striking him nine times in the back. ACT 4 SA is extending their sincerest condolences to Arlene Garcia, Jasmine Johnson, and the rest of Kevin’s family and offer our support in any way we can. We are ready to mobilize.

“Kevin was running from officers chasing him for outstanding warrants when three separate SAPD officers in pursuit opened fire, excessively striking him nine times. No matter what the circumstances are, no person deserves to be murdered by firing squad when they are running in fear of their life.

“This also raises questions of why SAPD chose to shoot an armed Black man nine times in the back when Bexar County deputies were able to tase and arrest a white man who was not only armed, but dressed in full tactical armor as he was stealing a vehicle only two days before. He was reaching in his pocket when he was tased.

“SAPD’s “Us vs. Them” mentality crosses the boundaries of excessive policing. We are extremely disappointed to learn that they pepper sprayed mourners and family members of the victim including the victim’s mother who is currently battling breast cancer.

“Yesterday’s response from the community makes it apparent that we are tired of excessive abuse coming from San Antonio law enforcement agencies.

“Finally, this is a grim, blatant example of the need to reform SAPD body camera policy to release critical incident body camera footage sooner than 60 days. For context, the Austin Police Department has a 10-day policy and the same size police department as our own. Dallas, with the second largest police force in the state, has a 72-hour window.

“The Johnson Family deserves to know what happened to Kevin. We are calling on Chief McManus to release the body cam footage within the next 72 hours for accountability and transparency to both Kevin’s family and the community.”

Popular San Antonio sports radio host Mike Taylor has become a well known advocate and voice for transgender children and families.

Taylor has been a local radio staple for more than a decade. For years, he lived in San Antonio and Austin, doing his show on Ticket 760. But about two years ago, his family moved more than 3,000 miles away to live in Hawaii, in part to protect his young transgender son MJ.

“Two and a half years ago, when we made this decision, Texas didn’t have any laws on the books that would protect us from future discrimination. Now they’re trying to pass laws that would absolutely totally discriminate against us, which is crazy,” Taylor said. “That’s the number one reason why we went, to protect our son from any future discrimination, not from people, but literally from the state, from the laws of the state, which we now have proven out to show that they absolutely are trying to come after our people.”

The latest directive from Gov. Greg Abbott called for abuse investigations into the use of gender-affirming care for transgender children.

A Texas judge issued a statewide halt to those investigations last week, however, Attorney General Ken Paxton tweeted that his office had appealed that ruling late Friday night.

Taylor said it’s difficult to see his son and the trans community continually be attacked.

“I’m a Texas man. I love Texas. I still do. And to know we have leaders in Austin that are trying to pass discriminatory laws, that’s what they are. Discriminatory laws against my son, and maybe even me, is so disheartening and devastating,” Taylor said.

Taylor continues to use his platform to speak out for families of transgender children and he’s also made every effort to clear up misconceptions about the community.

“It’s not a mental disorder. We’re just normal people. That’s the message that I want out there,” Taylor said. “There are people in this state that think that we’re all having underground illegal, unethical surgeries. No one is. We’re normal people.”

All Taylor wants is for his son to grow up as a normal kid. He said he will continue to do his San Antonio and Austin shows from Hawaii until MJ, now 10 years old, can have a normal life in the state he used to call home.

“Everyone that knows him still loves him. He’s beloved here by the people that matter. There’s just a few people that don’t understand us and unfortunately are in a position of power politically,” Taylor said.

He also invites anyone interested in the topic to have a conversation with him.

“I don’t want to fight with anybody. I’m not trying to take a political side. I’m not trying to take a moral side,” Taylor said. “I welcome anybody to call me. I need to let people realize that we just are such a small group of people that we’re not some huge threat. We don’t need laws passed against us to discriminate against us. Whether you will ever totally understand it or not. I need you to understand that this is senseless what’s going on in Austin.”

Northeast ISD librarians made the decision to move, update or remove more than 100 books following a controversial book review that started late last year.

The district’s Executive Director of Learning Support Systems Esmeralda Munoz provided an update on the book review to the school board on Monday evening during a regularly scheduled meeting. Out of the 432 books reviewed by campus librarians, 11 were moved to campuses with older students, while 110 were either removed or updated.

According to a breakdown provided by the district, 43 titles were replaced, either with a newer edition of the book or a book covering a similar subject that had more positive professional reviews. Sixty-seven titles were flagged for lack of reviews, outdated content or poor professional reviews, the breakdown shows.

See NEISD’s book review list below.

The district is also working on instituting other changes for the book review process.

Munoz said the district is working on a more “structured weeding schedule” to regularly review titles.

NEISD is also giving parents more power in the process, giving them the opportunity to participate in campus or district-based book committees and allowing them to access their child’s checkout history while also giving them the ability to prohibit their children from checking out books intended for older audiences.

The review’s origins

Though district officials maintain that the review was not politically motivated, it stemmed from a wider book list put together by Republican State Rep. Matt Krause last year.

Krause sent inquiries to school districts across Texas about a list of nearly 850 books, primarily dealing with race and sexuality. Schools were not obligated to conduct the review, but NEISD Superintendent Sean Maika previously said that he was already mulling a book review before receiving Krause’s request.

“Since we were already determining how best to review our library books, we used that list as a jumping-off point,” NEISD Superintendent Sean Maika previously said.

Librarians temporarily pulled the books from the shelves during the review, considering factors like age-appropriateness, current information on the topic, physical condition and student interest.

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The company was founded in 2012 and acquired seven years later by Cracker Barrel for $36 million.