Omicron spike putting a new strain on area hospitals and medical personnel.

After announcing its coming debut in North Texas, Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bojangles is on track to open new locations in Austin and San Antonio.

Despite many attempts, Hollywood just can’t seem to learn how to properly showcase women as leads in action movies. Even the ones that work — a Wonder Woman here, a The Old Guard there — only serve to prove the rule that most action films starring women fail to meet the standards of those featuring men. To be clear, this is rarely the fault of the actors, who by and large are strong and talented…

Football icon John Madden influenced many people during his time as a hall of fame coach and broadcaster.

That included South Texan Martin Madro, the son of Joe Madro, a respected coach in his own right who coached with Madden in the late 1970s in Oakland.

“Being a son of a professional football coach, obviously you run into a lot of interesting people,” said Martin Madro.

Before their time in Oakland, the Madro family lived in San Diego.

“My father was offensive line coach for the San Diego Chargers,” said Madro. “John was the defensive coordinator for San Diego State.”

One of Madro’s most memorable stories of Madden is not even from the field, it was from church. Madro would go with his father to Sunday night mass and Madden would pull his dad aside after the service to pick his brain about the game.

“He would be waiting by the car. As a kid, I remember this so much because I just wanted to get home. I didn’t know who this guy was and it happened several times in a row! I even started to go into church with my mom so I could avoid that,” Madro joked.

Madro said Madden was the same person on the field as he was off it.

“The way he talks and his energy. It wasn’t some shtick that he invented for Monday Night Football or even as a head coach, it’s just who he was,” said Madro.

Years later, Madro’s father was on Madden’s coaching staff during the Raiders run of competing for Super Bowl championships. Madro’s father was on Madden’s coaching staff until 1978 when Madden left the organization. Madro said his father would go on to win a few championships with the organization.

“My dad won two Super Bowls with the Raiders. Obviously, that’s like the pinnacle,” said Madro. “The Raiders were quite a troop.”

Madden died on Dec. 28 and left behind an impressive legacy and impact on the game of football. But Madro said he will never forget those moments from his childhood when it was just his dad and John talking football from a church parking lot.

“He held my dad captive,” Madro joked. “My father was a good teacher so he wasn’t going to just say, ‘Hey John, I got to get out of here.’ He enjoyed talking football and John was a good student. You can see that by the results of his lifetime.”

The construction industry continues to face material delays and labor shortages going into 2022, and that is not expected to change anytime soon.

In an effort to share information on COVID-19 vaccines, the City of San Antonio’s health department team is continuing to canvassing neighborhoods this year.

With Omicron cases surging, the city’s Community Health and Prevention team says it’s critical to continue reaching out to the community and talking to residents living near vaccination clinics and in neighborhoods with lower vaccination rates.

The team gathered at the Benavides Learning Center Monday morning to discuss ways they will provide COVID vaccine information to the community.

“We’ve seen a lot of reaction from people, people that haven’t heard about the vaccine or where to get it,” said Val De Leon, a Community Health and Prevention team supervisor.

Last year, the team went door to door to provide information. This year, the team will be handing out fliers to people walking in the streets.

“Every time we have a clinic set up like one of our mobile clinics, it’s our job to kind of go out and march the streets and make sure that we put a flier in everybody’s hand who does not have a vaccine,” Nathanael Gonzalez, a Community and Prevention team member said.

Gonzalez joined the team in 2020 and said while canvassing, they try to answer as many vaccine questions as possible.

“Is it safe? Which ones do we have? Is that one shot, two shots? What are some side effects, some of the symptoms that you know I can expect to feel once getting it,” Gonzalez said.

The team will be canvassing in neighborhoods later this week with a goal of handing out more than 1,000 fliers.

“The people that have not gotten vaccinated, their biggest thing, a lot of them is they want to wait and see,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said some people have conspiracy theories about the vaccine.

“We have their conspiracy theories and that’s fine. You know, we’re not there to push it on anybody or force it on anybody. We’re just there to be a resource to the community,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez is thankful he can be a part of something impacting so many lives.

“It’s a good feeling to be able to go out into your community and help them and provide a resource that they probably need,” Gonzalez said.

Comal County health officials on Monday reported 352 new COVID-19 cases — another record for the highest daily cases.

Until last week, the county’s peak for new cases was on Aug. 17 with 218 cases. But last Wednesday, the county reported 300 cases followed by 315 cases on Thursday.

There have been a total of 22,637 cases in Comal County to date.

The death toll from the virus remains at 486, a news release said.

Comal County hospitals on Monday reported caring for 44 COVID-19 patients.

Currently, there are 10 patients in intensive care and three on ventilators. Approximately 83% of those patients are unvaccinated, officials said.

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.

Also on KSAT.com:

Track the latest COVID-19 numbers in San Antonio and surrounding areasClinic offering COVID vaccines, testing, draws large crowd outside Bexar County JailHere are the COVID-19 vaccine pop-up clinics taking place around San AntonioWhere to get tested for COVID-19 in San Antonio, Bexar CountyWhere to get a COVID-19 vaccine in San Antonio

A local beekeeper is about to generate some national buzz. Charlie Bee Company, a reality TV show starring New Braunfels beekeeper and bee removal specialist Charlie Agar, just debuted on KLRU, Austin’s PBS affiliate. And this spring, the series is set to air nationwide on PBS stations. The eight one-hour episodes of Charlie Bee Company track Agar as he goes about his work along the Austin-San Antonio corridor. “People are just now beginning to understand…

A new federal program will launch centers aimed at elevating minority businesses in rural areas. Here’s what business owners need to know.

Authorities have arrested a man accused of repeatedly stealing merchandise from a San Antonio Dollar General store.

Jeffrey Avilez, 35, was arrested Sunday and charged with robbery, records with the Bexar County Jail show.

San Antonio police said on Nov. 5, Avilez went to a Dollar General on Castroville Road on the West Side, and a female employee recognized him as a known shoplifter.

The employee watched the suspect as he went through the aisles and filled his pants and pockets with items, police said.

The employee called the police when the suspect was inside the store and locked the doors to prevent him from leaving.

The clerk told the suspect to return the store items, and Avilez placed bandages and antibiotic ointment on a nearby store display, an arrest affidavit states.

With the front door still locked, both the suspect and employee went to the back door, and the suspect pushed her out of the way.

He then told her, “I’ll come back for you b****,” the affidavit states.

Police were able to identify the suspect based on fingerprints he left behind on the bandages.

Records show Avilez’s bond is set at $35,000.