This category is for general business news stories local to San Antonio.
Bexar Kolache Company is expanding its local footprint on the Northside and amping up partnerships with local businesses.
Read more stories wrapping 2021 here.
There’s no need to stick to the rivers and the lakes that you’re used to if you’re looking for a record-setting fish.
From the Gulf of Mexico to deep in the heart of Texas, there were a ton of record-breaking catches this year by Texas anglers and we’ve compiled a list of a few of our favorites.
Speaking of the heart of Texas, that’s where you’ll find O.H. Ivie Lake, which yielded eight record bass in just seven days earlier in the year.
According to the Runnels County Register, the fishing fever began on Feb. 19 when Joe McKay of Bussey, Iowa landed a 16.4 largemouth bass.
Officials with Texas Parks and Wildlife posted a photo of McKay to Facebook and congratulated him on the new lake record. (Turns out the monster fish was also the 16th largest largemouth bass ever caught in Texas.)
Another record-breaking largemouth bass was caught by 15-year-old angler Trace Jansen in February. He set a new waterbody record for Lake Travis with a 15.32 pound fish, beating the previous waterbody record that was set in 1993 by more than one pound.
Jansen wasn’t the only junior angler with a big catch this year, Colt Franke reeled in a 33.5-inch, 24.5 lbs. blue catfish at Calaveras Lake in November. The catch beat the previous junior angler record for a blue catfish caught in Calaveras Lake by more than two pounds, which was set by Braedon Brown just one month prior.
This next angler is reeled in a potential world-record blue catfish. Ben Christensen, of Johnson City, caught the 31.55-pound monster fish on Oct. 11 in the Pedernales River and posted a photo of his possible record-breaker on his Instagram pearlsnapflyfishing.
“This catfish is definitely a personal best,” Christensen told KSAT. “The rod tip was bent over almost double during the whole fight.”
Christensen used a 4-weight fly rod to reel in the blue catfish, which he says is typically unsuitable for catching fish over about five pounds.
And last, but not least, the heaviest rod and reel saltwater record in the state of Texas for 2021 was set by Troy Lancaster who landed a whopper 876-pound bluefin tuna off the coast of Port Aransas, breaking a nearly 40-year state record.
Lancaster caught the 121-inch female tuna on April 13 using skipjack tuna as bait. He said he was trying to catch a marlin but he ended up with a 19-year-old tuna instead.
Rod and Reel Freshwater Records:
Bass, Largemouth bass x Smallmouth bass – Caught March 1 at O.H. Ivie Lake by Wyatt Frankens. Weighed 7.6 pounds.Bass, Largemouth x Spotted – Caught March 14 at Houston County Lake by David Daniel. Weighed 4.69 pounds.Common Carp – Caught March 28 at Lady Bird Lake by Kevin Olivier. Weighed 44.25 pounds.Longnose Gar – Caught June 22 at Clear Fork Brazos River by Amanda Martin. Weighed 30.3 pounds.River Carpsucker – Caught June 20 at Denton Creek by John Paul Hays. Weighed 5.1 pounds.Tilapia Hybrid – Caught May 25 at Lake Travis by Keller Colton Shaw. Weighed 5.78 pounds.
Rod and Reel Saltwater Records:
Atlantic Cutlassfish – Caught Jan. 2 in Upper Laguna Madre by Jeffrey Mills. Weighed 5.13 pounds.Bigeye – Caught Aug. 12 in the Gulf of Mexico by Cody Dunn. Weighed 2.7 pounds.Bluefin Tuna – Caught April 13 in the Gulf of Mexico by Troy Lancaster. Weighed 876 pounds.Buffalo Smallmouth – Caught Feb. 26 in the Sabine River by Robert Vail. Weighed 28.13 pounds.Goldface Tilefish – Caught April 19 in the Gulf of Mexico by David Shane Ranking. Weighed 4.85 pounds.Queen Snapper – Caught Aug. 25 in the Gulf of Mexico by James Christopher Dean. Weighed 19.4 pounds.Scalloped Hammerhead – Caught Oct. 4 in the Gulf of Mexico by Derrick Bonner. Weighed 300.5 pounds.Vermilion Snapper – Caught Oct. 15 in the Gulf of Mexico by Troy Stephens. Weighed 5.81 pounds.Yellowedge Grouper – Caught Aug. 1 in the Gulf of Mexico by Hal Kennedy. Weighed 37.9 pounds.Yellowfin Grouper – Caught Oct. 1 in the Gulf of Mexico by Dylan Becherer. Weighed 47 pounds.
For a complete list of the current state and water body records visit the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.
Texas bets big on bass leading to even bigger fishPeople are dumping aquarium pets into San Antonio River and it could cause bank collapseDiscarded fishing line takes 600 years to break down and it’s endangering Texas wildlife, officials sayOne million red drum fish stocked in two Bexar County lakes
San Antonio police are investigating after a body was found in a West Side drainage ditch late Tuesday.
An SAPD sergeant said a homeless man discovered the woman’s body at around 11 p.m. in the ditch in the 2500 block of Culebra Road, between North General McMullen Drive and NW 24th Street.
The woman was believed to be in her 30s or 40s. Her identity has not been released, and it is unclear how she died.
Paramedics said it looked like the woman had been there for a while. Homicide detectives are investigating.
Read also:
Body found along Interstate 10 on East Side, SAPD saysWoman shot during argument at Northeast Side apartment complex, San Antonio police sayMan wounded in exchange of gunfire at West Side convenience store, police say
Street sweepers found a dead person while working along Interstate 10 on the East Side on Wednesday morning, according to San Antonio police.
Officers said the workers came upon body parts at around 4 a.m. on the eastbound access road of Interstate 10 near Foster Road.
Police believe the person was hit by one or more vehicles but they don’t know when it happened or who did it. The drivers did not stop to render aid.
The name, gender and age of the person were not released.
The exit ramp and access road at the interstate and Foster Road were closed while officers investigated, but they have since reopened.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
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Woman shot during argument at Northeast Side apartment complex, San Antonio police sayMan wounded in exchange of gunfire at West Side convenience store, police say
San Antonio police are investigating following an exchange of gunfire at a West Side convenience store late Tuesday night.
Officers were called around 9:30 p.m. to a convenience store in the 750 block of Cincinnati Avenue, not far from North Zarzamora Street and Interstate 10 after receiving word of shots fired.
According to police, two men were inside the store talking and watching the surveillance cameras just before exchanging gunfire. That’s when, police say, both people fled to their vehicles and drove away from the scene.
Police said one of the men showed up in a sedan to a hospital with a gunshot wound. He was taken to University Hospital in critical condition.
At this time, it is not clear exactly what started the altercation. No other injuries were reported.
SAPD said the other man involved in the shooting has not been found. The investigation is ongoing, police said.
A woman in her 30s is hospitalized following a shooting at a Northeast Side apartment complex early Wednesday morning, San Antonio police said.
Officers were called around 2:15 a.m. to an apartment complex in the 4800 block of Ray Bon Drive, not far from Rittiman Road and Eisenhauer Road after receiving word of a person wounded.
According to police, the woman was shot during an argument with a man near the leasing office. The man fled the scene after the shooting.
The woman was taken by EMS to Brooke Army Medical Center, where she is listed in critical condition. Her name has not been released.
SAPD also did not say exactly what the argument was about. It is unclear if the man has been found.
The San Antonio Police Department, the San Antonio Fire Department and EMS all answered the call.
The investigation into the shooting is ongoing, police said.
A potential shot at greater visibility, bigger bowls and larger paydays is on the line.
It’s been hard to get into the holiday spirit. But what if it’s not the holidays that are causing the blues?
Read more stories wrapping 2021 here.
The past two years have left the Bexar County justice system in limbo because of COVID-19.
But even when courts were not having in-person jury trials in 2021, cases were still moving along virtually.
Below are the top court moments of 2021, in no particular order.
In 2020, courts were forced to shut down in-person hearings and trials. It wouldn’t be until June 1, 2021, when they would reopen. The backlog grew immensely and at one point there were more than 9,000 cases left in limbo. Not all was lost as the courts were able to go virtual and find ways to move cases along through Zoom. The civil side eventually held a virtual jury trial — a first for Bexar County. From June to August courts tackled that backlog but the Delta variant forced Administrative Judge Ron Rangel to close them down again. They reopened in October and look to be fully open with no limit on jury trials at the start of 2022.
In 2019, Christopher Davila and two family members staged the kidnapping of his 8-month-old son King Jay. It was later determined that King Jay was not alive and Davila admitted he left the baby’s body in a backpack in a field less than a mile from Davila’s home in the 5800 block of Castle Brook Drive. Davila was charged with injury to a child causing death and in June he took a plea deal, pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Davila must serve at least half of his sentence before he will be eligible for parole, officials said.
It was a trial watched by many from gavel to gavel as it was the first to be entirely live-streamed by KSAT 12. Otis McKane faced the death penalty for the death of SAPD Detective Benjamin Marconi. After two weeks of testimony, the jury deliberated for just 25 minutes and found McKane guilty. As he was about to be handcuffed, McKane elbowed the bailiff in the face and was tackled down. Two weeks later, McKane was sentenced to the death penalty by the jury.
Schools and parents were all wondering what to do as school was about to begin. Governor Greg Abbott mandated that schools or cities did not have the power to enforce mask mandates. When the city of San Antonio ordered a mask mandate for schools a lawsuit followed. It would end up being the state versus San Antonio. Temporary restraining order hearings were heard in Bexar County and ruled in favor of the city but a few days later the state Supreme Court would turn that decision around. It led to further back and forth and left many school districts and parents not knowing what to do.
More recently, the Texas Fourth Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the City of San Antonio and Bexar County. A trial date for this case is scheduled for July 11, 2022.
Michelle Barrientes Vela, who faces felony charges of tampering with evidence and multiple counts of official oppression, remains free on bond nearly two years after she and her former Precinct 2 Captain, Marc D. Garcia were indicted by a Bexar County grand jury. Throughout 2021 there were multiple hearings on her case which was delayed due to multiple factors, including the original trial judge recusing himself, COVID-19 court restrictions and a failed attempt earlier this year by Barrientes Vela’s defense team to have the district attorney removed from prosecuting the former constable. As of right now, her trial is expected to begin in late Jan. 2022.
It’s being called a complete overhaul of the criminal justice system in Bexar County. In October, the Managed Assigned Counsel System, or MAC, went into effect. Officials hope it will improve legal services for defendants who are indigent, meaning they don’t have enough money to pay for a lawyer. While other MAC Systems exist in other counties, this is the first one that is a complete overhaul of felony, misdemeanor and juvenile cases, local Administrative Judge Ron Rangel said.
Attorneys for a man accused of a Trinity University student’s death have moved to bar his retrial, citing prosecutor misconduct and double jeopardy after his 2019 trial ended in a hung jury. Defense attorneys said that they filed a writ of habeas corpus “seeking relief from double jeopardy.”
“The law affords the prosecution ‘one full and fair opportunity to convict,’” defense attorney John Hunter said in a news release.
Howerton faced murder, rape and kidnapping charges in the initial trial in December 2019. Jurors spent nine hours deliberating over two days but the trial ended in a mistrial when no decision was reached. As of right now, there is no decision on that motion filed and a retrial has yet to be scheduled.
More than two years after Linda Collier Mason was charged with intoxication manslaughter for hitting and killing cyclist Tito Bradshaw, a judge granted her a plea deal in October with minimal jail time and 10-years probation. Mason, now 70 years old, was ordered to serve 20 days in jail and 100 days on house arrest. Bradshaw’s family was unhappy about the plea deal and wanted the district attorney’s office to take the case to trial.
“I don’t think justice was served for us because we didn’t get the type of punishment we thought we were going to get,” Tito Bradshaw’s father Harry Bradshaw said. “They didn’t think it was a winnable case with a woman of her age with a trial jury, but I think it was wrong.”
McDonald who is accused of killing his wife and burning her body in 2019 was released on bond in November from the Bexar County Jail, court records show. The late discovery of evidence led to a partial bond reduction during a Bexar County court hearing for the Air Force Major. That late discovery of evidence also resulted in the trial being rescheduled, a date has yet to be announced.
From the courtroom to Willie Nelson’s tour bus, for almost five decades Paul Venema has been capturing KSAT viewers with his stories. After 47 years, Venema announced his retirement and signed out for the last time in May. Venema has reported on many historic stories throughout his career including the trials of the Branch Davidians, killer nurse Genene Jones, and the quad mom murder trial of Allen Blackthorn, who was found guilty of hiring a hitman to kill his ex-wife.
“As for what I will miss the most, it’s the people,” Venema said. “I’ve met so many wonderful people along the way whose friendships I will always treasure.”
In the midst of the holiday travel hustle and bustle, San Antonio passengers have a reason to slow down and take in the sights.
A series of murals that decorate some of the walls inside San Antonio International Airport’s long-term parking facility offer a visual escape.
“We have six different artists that created five different concepts that were all highly unique,” said Matt Evans, the airport’s Arts and Culture manager.
RELATED: ‘If These Walls Could Talk’: Work begins on murals at Travis Park Church
The artwork, which adorns the area outside the elevators of the parking structure, includes painted pictures of San Antonio staples.
For example, one features a super-sized pan dulce, while another includes tiny outlines of the Tower of the Americas and The Alamo hidden among a colorful background.
Evans says the murals were part of a 2019 marketing campaign aimed at local residents and completed in partnership with San Antonio Street Art Initiative.
“We were coming out of summer travel and looking toward holiday travel of that year,” Evans said. “We wanted to remind people that we have a very easily accessible and convenient long-term parking garage.”
Putting the paintings onto the walls wasn’t exactly easy work.
The surface, itself, had to be prepared first.
Then there was a matter of scheduling, timing the work to be done during the airport’s off hours.
“We had to do this overnight when traffic was less,” Evans said. “We had to shut down one elevator bay and redirect people and have golf carts provided.”
All told, he says, the project took about two weeks to complete.
However, it took only a couple days for the artists to finish their paintings, Evans said.
He says while the main goal was to beautify the area, the murals also serve another purpose—to help travelers navigate what can be a confusing space.
They act as memory markers to help them find their vehicles.
“So folks can remember after a week away on vacation, ‘Hey, I think we parked, was it level 2 or level 3? I can’t remember, but it definitely had a big concha on the way out,’” Evans said, laughing.
The murals make up only a portion of the artwork in and around the airport.
There are sculptures and paintings within the terminals and car rental building.
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