Category: San Antonio News

Known for entertaining children with on-stage productions of many of their favorite storybooks, the Magik Theatre family is mourning one of its own — 51-year-old Richard Solis.

Solis lost his battle against COVID-19 on Wednesday.

Richard Rosen, Magik Theatre’s founder, said Solis would want to be remembered as “a person who brought joy to people, who did a great job, who was a professional and who loved children.”

“He was extraordinary, and one of a kind, for sure,” said Becky King, another founding member of the Magik Theatre. “I’ve lost one of my best friends.”

Dylan Collins, a former Magik actor and longtime friend, said, “(Solis) was just so engaging, and he was a good guy.”

At first, when Solis was about 20 years old, he told Rosen he wanted to be an actor. Yet, Rosen said all he noticed were the earrings and studs Solis had in his ears and nose.

“That guy will never be on my stage,” Rosen said he later told an assistant. “That shows you how stiff and crazy I was.”

Eventually, Solis became like his own son, Rosen said.

Besides his talent on stage, Rosen said Solis had a gift with children.

Before the pandemic, Rosen said after a performance, the actors would visit with their young audience in the lobby.

“We felt it was important for children to understand that these were not real people,” Rosen said. “Richard would stay out there longer than anybody. He would get upset if somebody wasn’t giving their whole to dealing with the children.”

Those who knew him said Solis also was “resourceful” as a prop master.

“Anything that he could get his hands on, he would make something out of it,” said Collins.

For example, King said Solis made a puppet maneuvered by two little hooks on a string.

“Just unbelievable, the talent that man had,” said King.

So much so that King said Solis became an art teacher.

Rosen said Solis also was a strong LGBTQ advocate.

“He refused to give in to the idea that was wrong,” Rosen said.

Funeral arrangements for Richard Solis have not been announced.

As coronavirus cases surge across the country because of the fast-spreading omicron variant, Bexar County is also seeing a spike in new cases.

Metro Health’s COVID-19 website reported 733 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, bringing the total number of new cases to 2,942 so far this week. That includes 957 new cases Monday, 828 on Tuesday, and 424 on Wednesday.

Dr. Ruth Berggren, an infectious disease specialist with UT Health San Antonio, joined the KSAT Q&A on Thursday to discuss the latest rise in omicron COVID-19 cases and what people should do before seeking help at an emergency room.

“We’re seeing surges, and the positivity rate at the university is as high as we’ve ever seen it, with 31.5% of the people being tested coming back positive. So this is largely omicron at this point,” Berggren told anchor Stephania Jimenez during the Q&A on Thursday’s 6 O’Clock News. “And people have gotten the message that Omicron is highly infectious, more infectious than delta, but less lethal, and that is true.”

There are 352 patients in area hospitals, with 70 in the ICU and 30 on ventilators, according to Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council hospital data on the Metro Health COVID-19 website. There are 10% of staffed beds available and 67% of ventilators available in our area hospitals.

See more of today’s COVID-19 statistics and city resources for the public here. Note: The city’s dashboard is temporarily using data provided by the CDC’s National Electronic Disease Surveillance System until Jan. 3.

Berggren said many people are heading to the emergency room with COVID-19 symptoms, making it harder for some with more severe emergencies to get help.

“Omicron is causing a huge number of people to come to the emergency room to be evaluated. Up to a third of the adults that are coming into the University Hospital emergency room right now are coming in because of COVID-like symptoms. Very few of them are getting admitted,” she said.

Berggren says those who have COVID-19 symptoms should try to get an at-home test or one through a public testing site or a primary care office before heading to an emergency room.

“Put a mask on, and don’t take that mask off when you’re around other people until or unless you have a confirmed negative test result,” she said. “So you can do a lot of good before going to the emergency room by trying to discern whether you have COVID or not.”

Berggren stressed that ERs are for people who are really sick and need immediate help.

“By that, we mean having shortness of breath, having difficulty breathing, very high fevers, and people with those symptoms who also have underlying health conditions that put them at high risk for a bad outcome,” she said. “Those people are the ones that need to be in the emergency room. That’s who we’re there for, and we want to take care of you. But if you’re not having those serious symptoms, you’re better off getting care from your primary care doctor and also seeking a COVID test in the community.”

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Have you seen those beautiful pics of one-pan dinners on Instagram or Pinterest? Most of them use a sheet pan. It’s a popular shortcut to get a meal on the table for several people while using the least amount of cookware for easy cleanup. But to get the best results, it all starts with a good one. Consumer Reports just tested a number of sheet pans to find out which ones cook the best and clean up the easiest.

CR bought and tested 19 pans in their lab, both coated and uncoated. They roasted chicken and vegetables on each pan, timing cooking speed. And a sticky mix of pumpkin and cream cheese was baked on to see how easy the pans were to clean.

CR tested the pans for durability by scouring the surfaces with steel wool to replicate wear over time. In general, uncoated pans cook a little more evenly and they’re more durable, but they’re harder to clean. And you can pay as much as $150 for one. But the Nordic Ware Naturals Baker’s Half Sheet for $18 ($27 in Canada) is a top performer. It heats evenly and aced CR’s durability test.

Testers found that coated pans heat up and cook faster, and they’re much easier to clean. The Williams Sonoma Goldtouch Pro Nonstick Non Corrugated Half Sheet for $33 ($48 in Canada) heats up quickly and was the easiest to clean.

A Consumer Reports’ Best Buy is a coated pan from Walmart. The Mainstays Gold Nonstick Aluminized Half Sheet Pan got high marks overall. And at just $8 (it’s not available in Canada), it leaves you money left over to double up on dinner and invite some friends!

And here’s a tip to keep your pans in shape. Coated sheet pans are steel underneath, and they can have a raw edge that’s prone to rust. So dry them completely in the oven while it’s still warm.

The FBI is asking for the public’s help finding two missing men from Laredo.

Lee Roy Gonzalez Jr., 18, and his 27-year-old cousin, Arturo Guadalupe Jaime, were last seen alive on the afternoon of Dec. 17, according to a news release. That day, they traveled from Laredo to Nuevo Laredo in Mexico using Jaime’s white 2013 Ford F-150.

Authorities believe that the men had the pickup’s windows tinted while in Nuevo Laredo, but since then, they have not returned home and their family has been unable to reach them. Investigators believe the men are still in Mexico.

Gonzalez, who recently graduated from a high school in Laredo, has black hair, brown eyes and is 5′5″ in height. He was last seen in a black baseball cap and a blue T-shirt.

Jaime, who works at a Laredo warehouse, has black hair and brown eyes and is 5′8″ in height.

Both men are bilingual, speaking both English and Spanish.

The license plate of the pickup truck is NSG5035, according to the FBI news release.

Anyone with information on these men is asked to call 210-225-6741. Tips can also be sent online. Tipsters can choose to remain anonymous.

Read more:

Road rage shooting suspect wanted in Bexar County captured in LouisianaMan shot, killed downtown, search underway for suspect, San Antonio police say

Some downtown San Antonio streets will be closing down for the Celebrate SA new year event Friday, according to San Antonio police.

Alamo Street will be blocked at Market and Nueva streets and Cesar Chavez Boulevard. Market Street will still have access to the Hilton hotel, SAPD said.

Event-goers can use two authorized rideshare dropoff and pickup zones at the following locations:

Market Street at Alamo Street (east of Alamo Street, north of the event)Martinez Street at Alamo Street (south of the event)

SAPD says traffic downtown is expected to be heavy. It will be closed off starting at midnight, Jan. 1, and last approximately 20 minutes in these areas to ensure fireworks display safety:

Chavez from Alamo Street to I-37Tower of the Americas Way, south of Montana

The Celebrate SA Event kicks off at 6 p.m. and is free to the public. Click here to learn more about the event.

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Local medical officials with University Health are urging people to only use local ERs for true emergencies.

A recent spike in COVID-19 due to the omicron variant has people flocking to local emergency rooms to be tested. But University Health says testing should be done through a primary care provider or with a designated testing site.

“Our Emergency Department is experiencing a huge spike in patients, including critical trauma patients, heart attacks, strokes and serious complications from diabetes,” said University Health’s Director of External Communications Elizabeth Allen.

A recent spike in COVID cases and other upper-respiratory illnesses have people flocking to the ER as well.

Even though many clinics and testing facilities will be closed Friday for New Year’s Eve, people who are only mildly to moderately ill with COVID-like symptoms are urged to monitor and manage their symptoms at home so emergency room doctors can manage the most critically ill patients.

Local leaders are also urging people to help reduce the spread of COVID.

“It’s too late to stop the Christmas surge, but we can stop a New Year’s pile on,” Allen said. “People should avoid crowds and skip the New Year’s Eve parties and in-person get-togethers.”

On Tuesday, Metro Health issued a similar plea saying Bexar County is reporting a “three-fold increase in COVID-19 cases.”

Local health officials said they’re recommending that everyone wear a mask in public regardless of vaccination status and consider using a self-test before joining indoor gatherings with others outside of their household.

“As we prepare to celebrate the New Year, we ask that Bexar County residents exercise caution to avoid infection from the coronavirus and help prevent spreading it to others,” Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said. “All of us must be on guard now that omicron is the dominant variant in the community.”

According to the newest recommendations from the CDC, anyone exposed to COVID-19 should isolate for five days, followed by five days of mask-wearing in shared public spaces.

City and county leaders will hold a press conference at 10 a.m. on Friday from the medical center. You can watch a livestream of the event in the video player at the top of this article.

“We need everyone to do all they can to help prevent a real crisis in our community,” Allen said.

That includes getting COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters, health officials said. Many vaccine clinics will also be closed Friday for New Year’s Eve including Metro Health’s Alamodome Drive-Thru clinic.

Also on KSAT:

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Editor’s note: As 2021 comes to a close, we look back at the most popular headlines of the year in San Antonio. This year, Alamo City readers were drawn to stories of travel hot spots and nature, the best schools and restaurants, and, naturally, H-E-B. 1. Spectacular skywalk officially opens at San Antonio’s new land bridge. Elevating nature walks to a new level, the Skywalk at Phil Hardberger Park enables pedestrians to wander through the…

A volunteer search and rescue group discovered a plastic bag with bones inside on the Northwest Side Thursday, police said.

However, the bones are not related to the missing 3-year-old Lina Khil, San Antonio Police Department Chief William McManus.

“A volunteer group found a plastic bag of bones, we don’t know if they are human or animal… obviously they are very, very old,” he said. “There is nothing on this scene related to missing Lina.”

The rescue group discovered the remains in a wooded area less than a mile away from the Villas Del Cabo apartment complex, in the 9400 block of Fredericksburg Road, where Lina went missing on December 20.

I want to be clear, the volunteer group’s discovery of a bag of bones is in no way related to the search for Lina Khil. Our aggressive search for her continues.

Please continue to share any actionable tips with SAPD Missing Persons at 210-207-7660. pic.twitter.com/TmbrvQ8UHc

— Chief Bill McManus (@Chief_McManus) December 30, 2021

She was last seen wearing a black jacket, red dress and black shoes.

Lina was reported missing by her mother, who said she briefly left Lina at the complex playground and she was returned, the child was gone.

Lina and her family are refugees from Afghanistan.

The local search and rescue organization joined the San Antonio Police Department and the FBI in their mission to find Lina this week.

On Wednesday, the Search and Rescue SATX organization searched in the Medical Center Field, about three minutes down the road from the Villas Del Cabo Apartments on Fredericksburg Road.

“We are expanding the search,” said Nina Glass, the organization’s director. “What SAPD is doing — we are going outside of their search area and helping them.”

Read more about Lina Khil:

Reward for 3-year-old Lina Khil grows to $150,000 as San Antonio police ask for public’s helpSan Antonio search and rescue group joins mission to find missing 3-year-old Lina KhilAs search for missing 3-year-old Lina Khil continues, chief says lack of progress ‘disheartening’

Many of those details came as the company associated with the project was approved Dec. 14 by the Bastrop City Council for the steps necessary to designate the site as a media production development zone — a status that allows for certain sales tax exemptions.

As she settles into her new role with the Hispanic Chamber, Rodriguez-Hernandez said that she has a vision to accelerate local businesses by going back to the basics of connecting through events.