Category: San Antonio News

In the final installment of the Business Journal’s sneak peek into the finalists for the 2021 Business of the Year Awards, we will be looking at: SouthStar Communities; TaskUs; Texas Biomedical Research Institute; USAA; and the University of Texas at San Antonio.

The San Antonio Zoo has released thousands of tadpoles of the critically endangered Puerto Rican crested toad back into their natural habitat.

The zoo recently released more than 5,000 tadpoles in Puerto Rico, according to a press release.

The species is critically endangered with the population fluctuating between 1,000 and 5,000 adult toads in the Guanica National Forest.

The Puerto Rican crested toad, with its long, upturned snout and crest above the eyes, can be difficult to track in the wild because it’s nocturnal and there aren’t very many of them, zoo officials said.

The San Antonio Zoo began breeding Puerto Rican crested toads in 2010 with The Puerto Rican Crested Toad Conservancy (PRCTC) and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

The PRCTC works to protect and restore the toad’s habitats and creates new ponds for them.

Since 2010, the San Antonio Zoo has released more than 16,000 tadpoles in Puerto Rico.

“Saving Puerto Rican Crested Toads is one of almost 20 research and conservation programs San Antonio Zoo has partnered with to create a global community that loves, engages with, acts for, and protects animals and the places where they live,” said San Antonio Zoo President & CEO Tim Morrow in a press release. “We’re honored to be a part of this initiative. It’s a great testament to this community’s dedication to wildlife protection as well as the depth of our abilities.”

Click here to learn more about the zoo’s conservation efforts.

Also on KSAT:

Extremely rare and critically imperiled turtles rehabilitated by San Antonio Zoo, released back in Texas watering holeFrom creepy to heartfelt, the best Texas animal/wildlife stories of 2021From ringtails to raccoons, trail cam photos show animals crossing San Antonio land bridge

More than five trillion, with a “T”, is sold, bought, and traded in the stock market each and every day and more and more twenty somethings are getting in on the game.

In fact, parents are now teaching their pre-teens and teens the ins and outs of the Dow Jones and NASDAQ.

Kids learn reading, writing, arithmetic. And now, the ups and downs of investing.

The first step… start with an allowance. The app Busykid, allows parents to match chores with your child’s age, and suggests the allowance amount and the frequency.

So, what’s the rate for cleaning the toilets? $2.50. Folding laundry is worth $4. Pulling weeds … $2.

Next, have your kids deal with debit and credit cards. Greenlight is an app where parents can pay their children through their bank accounts. Kids can have their own debit cards, get cash back, and even invest their money.

The key here, every trade needs a parent’s approval. And when they do make money, have them use it for something important. Roth IRA’s can be set up for kids of any age. With an initial invest of $500, and just an additional $500 investment every year in 50 years at 5%, they could have $120,000.

Also, to spark interest, set up a siblings or cousins investment club, or your child can start one at school.

The value comes from being able to share ideas, debate the importance of facts they learn about the companies and then vote on the best moves to make.

San Antonio police are searching for a suspect following a fatal shooting in downtown early Thursday morning.

Officers were called around 12:40 a.m. to the intersection of East Market Street and South Alamo Street after receiving word of shots fired.

According to police, an elderly man was shot in the upper body and was killed. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said the suspect fled towards the River Walk after the shooting. That person has not yet been found.

A motive for the shooting is not currently known. SAPD is collecting evidence and combing the area in search of the suspect.

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

The investigation is ongoing, police said.

Firefighters battled flames at a Northwest Side Middle Eastern restaurant late Wednesday night, the San Antonio Fire Department said.

The fire was called in around 11 p.m. at Jerusalem Grill in the 9200 block of Wurzbach Road, found not far from Interstate 10 and the Medical Center area.

Firefighters said when they arrived, they found heavy smoke coming from the back of the restaurant and saw flames coming from the roof. They got a quick knock down of the fire.

Fire officials said the fire started in an AC unit and spread quickly into the attic space. No injuries were reported.

A fire investigation team is now working to determine the exact cause.

The San Antonio Fire Department and the San Antonio Police Department both answered the call.

A damage estimate to the restaurant was not given.

Federal data shows a troubling increase in the number of children hospitalized nationally with COVID-19. Texas is pointed at as one of the states with higher numbers.

Since the beginning of December, there’s been a 50% increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in children, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.

Dr. John Fitch, a pediatrician at Heritage Pediatrics, is seeing an increase in his own office.

“Over the last couple of weeks, it’s it’s it’s a little bit of a mini-explosion,” Dr. Fitch said. “We were maybe having one or two people per 100 that we tested positive. It’s probably somewhere between 15 and 25% that are positive now.”

There was a similar increase back in September with cases of the delta variant.

The Department of Health and Human Services data shows the number of children hospitalized in the country with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID has more than doubled in a month, from 800 to 2,100.

“When you have a lot more people being diagnosed, you’re going to see more hospitalizations,” Dr. Fitch said.

While he’s seeing a greater number of cases in his office, they haven’t been severe enough to require hospitalization.

Dr. Fitch says he’s starting to see gastrointestinal issues appearing as symptoms, similar to what was seen at the start of the pandemic. If you or your child is having stomach problems, he recommends getting tested.

A KSAT crew spoke with parents about the rise in cases in kids. John Ortiz was just finishing a game of tennis with his daughter, Natalie.

“It kind of stresses the importance of being vaccinated, especially for children and, and continue wearing a mask and then using the precautions,” John said.

Natalie, who is 12, was vaccinated in May. Despite being scared of the actual needle, she’s happy she is vaccinated.

“I’m not going to get sick as bad as other people might if they didn’t get it,” Natalie said.

Dr. Fitch agrees, saying the surge of COVID cases right now just reiterates the need for vaccines for everyone, especially school-aged kids.

“We vaccinate for rare things all the time, and so I think it is worthwhile vaccinating,” Dr. Fitch said.

He expects a rise in flu and RSV cases as kids come back from winter break, adding those can both lead to hospitalizations as well. He says that should be another reason parents should get their little ones vaccinated.

The Creative Mango, a San Antonio advertising company, is donating 100 missing person banners with a picture of 3-year-old Lina Khil in hopes of finding the child.

“We’re donating 100 banners free of cost to anyone who wants to come pick one up so they can hang up at their storefront or their residential home,” said Marco Garcia, owner of The Creative Mango.

Garcia said his company had already printed out about 45 banners and will continue to print more.

Garcia said making the banners and giving them out free of charge is the least he could do.

The banner states Lina was abducted. However, SAPD investigators are currently treating the case as a missing person case because they have no evidence she was taken when she was reported missing on Monday, Dec. 20.

Moroccan Bites restaurant is one of the businesses that has already put up the banner. Lina’s disappearance is a sensitive subject for owner Wafa Elmarouti, who is a mother herself.

“One of my customers came, and he said I got this for the little girl. I’m like, ‘Don’t even think about it. Don’t even ask me. Just put it on. I mean whatever we can do because babies are everything.” Elmarouti said.

Anyone with information about Lina Khil’s disappearance is asked to call SAPD’s missing person unit at 210-207-7660. The total reward money for anyone with information that could lead to Lina’s whereabouts is $150,000.

ALSO ON KSAT.COM

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’Parents worried about safety of their own children after Lina Khil, 3, vanished from playgroundSan Antonio police using ‘every available asset’ in search for missing 3-year-old Lina Khil, chief saysSan Antonio police seek missing 3-year-old girl last seen on Northwest SideMedina County Sheriff’s Office searching for wanted man, three children

UPDATE: A Silver Alert for a missing 81-year-old man has been discontinued.

According to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, John Lamb has been found.

Lamb was reported missing yesterday.

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(Original Story)

A search is underway for a missing 81-year-old man last seen in San Antonio on Wednesday, according to Texas Department of Public Safety.

John Lamb was last seen around 5:05 p.m. in the 89000 block of Highland Star in a green 2008 Mercury Mariner with Texas License Plate FTS9859.

Police say Lamb is diagnosed with a cognitive impairment, and the disappearance “poses a credible threat to their own health and safety.”

Lamb is described as being 6 feet tall, with grey hair and hazel eyes. He was last seen wearing a white short-sleeve button-up shirt with green and blue jeans.

Anyone with information regarding Lamb’s whereabouts is asked to call the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office at 210-335-6000.

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