Category: San Antonio News

Mexican icon Vicente Fernández, or otherwise known as the king of ranchera music, died early Sunday. He was 81.

The announcement was shared on Fernández’s Facebook page, as his team thanked him for his incredible music career.

“It was an honor and a great pride to share with everyone a great career of music and give it all for its audience. Thank you for continuing to applaud, thank you for continuing to sing,” the statement said in part.

Fernandez died while hospitalized in Guadalajara, according to a report from NBC News, though further details are unavailable at this time. Funeral arrangements are still pending.

The singer was also hospitalized back in August after he took a fall at his ranch in Los Tres Potrillos, as reported by The Associated Press.

Fernández had quite the impact worldwide, including in San Antonio. Some residents in Market Square emphasized their love for the singer and his music.

“He’s one of the best, best things that Mexico had to offer,” said Arturo Haro.

Local mariachi band Azteca De America also talked to KSAT about how they’re remembering Fernández.

“We’ve lost someone who has been in our ear since we started performing as kids. Somebody as special as Vicente, you just feel like they’re suppose to be here forever,” said the band.

Fernández had several iconic songs during his career, including “El Rey,” “Volver, Volver” and “Por tu maldito amor” among others.

According to the AP, Fernández sold more than 65 million albums, filmed more than 35 movies and has a plethora of awards, including three Grammys and eight Latin Grammys.

This is a developing story and we’ll bring more details as they become available.

A beloved San Antonio burger joint has officially rebranded itself after a recent “hurtful” trademark issue with a Houston restaurant chain.

Papa’s Burgers owner Robert Walker announced the restaurant’s new name on Friday, which is “The Good News Burgers.”

The name change comes after the restaurant received a cease and desist notice from Pappas Restaurants, due to the similarities in their restaurant titles.

Walker previously told KSAT that he filed a trademark for Papa’s Burgers, but before doing so, he reached out to the Houston restaurateur “out of respect so that it wouldn’t be an issue.” However, at last check, he didn’t hear back.

READ MORE: Papa’s Burgers changing name after ‘hurtful’ trademark issue with Houston’s Pappas Restaurants

He added that the original name for his restaurant paid homage to his father, or “Papa.”

“My dad is retired military, which is where the red white and blue came from,” Walker said. Counsel told him that he could fight the trademark, given that it’s just a one-letter difference and in a different city. However, that could be very costly for Walker, as it is around $25,000 just to start the process.

This is why Walker did the next best thing — rebrand his restaurant. Though, the decision wasn’t an easy one, especially given that his restaurant has received several public accolades in the last nearly nine years.

Walker previously told KSAT that he intends to expand his restaurant with two or three more locations in the next two years under the new name.

Related:

The best burger in Texas is right here in San Antonio, list saysPopular San Antonio burger joint closes original location on the West SidePapa’s Burgers set to open new location in spite of COVID-19 pandemic challenges

A swath of tornadoes tore through the Midwest Friday night, and Saturday’s early morning light revealed the sheer devastation left in its wake across multiple cities.

The weather event is being deemed as one of the most deadly tornado systems to run through the state of Kentucky, according to Gov. Andy Beshear, as damage and recovery efforts continue.

Reports say the tornadoes touched down in Mayfield, Kentucky, Edwardsville, Illinois, and Monette, Arkansas.

In Mayfield, a tornado touched down for 227 miles and ripped through a candle factory. Gov. Beshear says deaths are feared in 10 counties and the toll could exceed 100.

The tornadoes also struck a nursing home in Arkansas and partially collapsed an Amazon facility in Illinois.

These photos show the storms’ devastation in Kentucky and Illinois. All photos are courtesy of Getty Images and The Associated Press:

These images were taken in Edwardsville, Illinois:

These images were taken in Mayfield, Kentucky:

We’ll add more images to this story as they become available.

More on KSAT:

Kentucky governor: Tornado on ground for more than 200 miles

Editor’s note: Each weekend, we share five stories that captured the attention of the Alamo City over the past seven days. Here are the most-read stories of the week. 1. Soaring $2.5 billion overhaul of San Antonio airport cleared for takeoff. Attention San Antonio travelers: Your airport is poised for major upgrades. 2. Fast-growing Greek restaurant chain dips into San Antonio in 2022. The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill will cook up its first Alamo City…

If you’re tired of looking for your “cheaters” so that you can read instructions, recipes, your cellphone news feed, or just a good book on your bedside table, a solution has now been approved by the FDA in the form of revolutionary eye drops.

Vuity is a prescription eye drop that shows results in temporarily treating presbyopia in clinical trials at Parkhurst NuVision Eye Clinic in San Antonio, and is now available locally.

Presbyopia is also known as age-related blurry near vision, and usually shows up in men and women in their 40s and 50s.

Eyeglasses that magnify are the most common approach for those who begin to lose their sight, and some surgical techniques can address it too. Now Vuity is an option that will be available by prescription only.

Dr. Bobby Saenz, clinic director at Parkhurt NuVision, which also offers Lasik, explained, “This drop actually uses the eye’s natural ability for the pupil to get smaller and as the pupil gets smaller, what happens is it extends our depth of focus and it allows us to see better up-close.”

One drop is placed in each eye, and approximately 15 minutes later, most people with this form of nearsightedness no longer have blurry vision. The affect on the pupil lasts anywhere from six to 10 hours.

“What’s going to happen is what we saw in the clinical studies that we did here because we were one of the principal investigators in that study. Patients definitely saw better up-close, and even some saw better at distance,” said Saenz.

It should only be used once a day, preferably in the morning, eliminating the need for reading glasses for the rest of the day.

Vuity is manufactured by Allergan and was approved for use this week. The first vial arrived at Parkhurst NuVision on Thursday.

Dr. Saenz says the eye drop will not likely be covered by most medical insurance and costs $79 for a month’s worth of drops. He also says it can be used in conjunction with other treatments and techniques for mitigating nearsightedness and farsightedness, including Lasik surgery.

There are other investigational eye drops also nearing completion in their clinical trials, so there may be more advances along the same lines.

For more information, you can contact your eye doctor or Parkhurst NuVision on Datapoint at www.sanantonio-lasik.com.

More on KSAT:

More screen time amid pandemic could lead to eye problems in children

In this week’s Real Estate Recap, two West Coast firms make big residential deals in the Alamo City.

The fastest growing companies in San Antonio were honored during the Business Journal’s 2021 Fast Track Awards.

Impossible Foods has bumped its reach another notch with the Texas launch of The Impossible Shop, the first-ever delivery-only Impossible restaurant concept that delivers Impossible meals right to your door. Texas was selected as one of 10 exclusive markets for launching the Impossible Shop, along with Arizona, Colorado, California, New York, Maryland, and Wyoming. According to a release, this new delivery-only restaurant is available on select delivery platforms, including DoorDash, Postmates, Uber Eats, and Grubhub….

UPDATE: Six San Antonio Tamale spots have advanced to the second round of our tasty tamale showdown!

Hundreds of people voted in the first round as we went from 12 restaurants to six. Here are the final six.

Adelita’s Tamale and Tortilla FactoryDel Rio Tortilla FactoryDelicious TamalesRuben’s Homemade TamalesTamale Boy Tacos and TamalesTellez Tamales & Barbacoa

PREVIOUS STORY:

Sharing or making tamales during holidays is a time-honored tradition for many Texas families.

Whether it’s beef, pork, chicken, verdes or rojos, tamales are part of our heritage.

And, in San Antonio, there’s no shortage of restaurants that make delicious tamales, sometimes year-round.

The origins of tamales in Central America date back to the Mesoamerican empire around 8000 to 5000 B.C.

They were considered the food of the gods for many Indigenous civilizations, including the Aztecs and Mayans.

MORE: KSAT News Now’s previous Tasty Taco showdown and watch KSAT Explains deep dive into taco culture in San Antonio

They are made with masa or dough and can be filled with various items. Now we want to know what is your favorite home-grown tamale spot in San Antonio.

We’ve compiled 12 tamale locations in our area and want our viewers to vote for their top spots, and write-ins are allowed. The top six vote-getters will move onto the second round, and the third and final round will feature the top three tamale locations! SCROLL DOWN TO VOTE.

VOTING ROUNDS

12 restaurants will be narrowed to 6 on Dec. 15 and announced on KSAT News Now at 11 a.m. on KSAT.com, followed by Round 2 votingRound 2 winners will be announced Dec. 20 and announced on KSAT News Now at 11 a.m. on KSAT.com, followed by voting for the third and final roundThe winner will be announced on KSAT News Now at 11 a.m. on Dec. 23

RESTAURANTS

Adelita’s Tamale and Tortilla FactoryB&B Tamales and Food To GoDel Rio Tortilla FactoryDelicious TamalesLa Luz Tortilla FactoryMartinez Barbacoa Y TamalesMimi’s Barbacoa Tacos TamalesOlgitas MolinoRuben’s Homemade TamalesTamale Boy Tacos and TamalesTellez Tamales & BarbacoaTortilleria Los Hermanos

VOTE HERE

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A beloved San Antonio burger joint is about to go through a rebranding after a “hurtful” trademark issue with a Houston restaurant chain.

Papa’s Burgers owner Robert Walker shared a Facebook update on Monday stating that the restaurant received a cease and desist notice from Pappas Restaurants.

KSAT spoke with Walker who said he went to file a trademark for Papa’s Burgers but first reached out to the Houston restaurateur “out of respect so that it wouldn’t be an issue.”

“I was advised by counsel, that because of the similarities of the names, it could be a problem. I read their history and respect their family legacy. We’re a family-owned business too,” Walker said.

So he sent a letter to the Pappas explaining that he wanted to trademark Papa’s Burgers because Walker is planning on opening more locations in San Antonio in the near future.

Walker told KSAT the cease and desist letter was “a little bit out of left field. I responded to it and sent them a heartfelt letter but haven’t heard back.”

In the Facebook post, Walker said the whole thing is a “little heart breaking considering the reasons behind our name but it is with a heavy heart that I must inform you that sometime in the next 90 days you will begin to see changes in the rebranding of the name in our restaurants.”

Walker told KSAT Papa’s Burgers pays homage to his father, which his family calls Papa.

“My dad is retired military, which is where the red white and blue came from,” Walker said.

Counsel advised Walker that he can fight the trademark since it’s a one-letter difference and a different city, but that it could be very costly – upwards of $25,000 just to start the process.

The second option is to rebrand. A difficult decision Walker said, because the restaurant has already received so many public accolades in the nearly 9 years it’s been open.

Papa’s Burgers “El Caliente Burger” was named the best in Texas by Eat This, Not That, in February 2020.

The restaurant has been featured on many local news channels and Walker said there are plans to expand with 2-3 more locations in the next two years, albeit under a different name.

“It’s never caused any issues in the last 9 years,” Walker said. “It’s just kind of a slap in the face.”

KSAT has reached out to Pappas Restaurants and received the following statement:

“We appreciate that Mr. Walker’s restaurant is a family-run business. We, too, are a family-run business, and for over 25 years, our family has invested time and care into making a brand that our customers love to visit. To protect the efforts of our family and team, the Pappas Burger trademark is registered in the United States Patent and Trademark office. Unfortunately, Mr. Walker’s chosen mark is confusingly similar to our protected trademark, and we are left with no choice but to protect it. We wish Mr. Walker nothing but the best, and look forward to working with him on a reasonable solution and timeline.”

Walker plans to announce the new name of Papa’s Burgers once the trademark has been officially filed.

Related:

The best burger in Texas is right here in San Antonio, list saysPopular San Antonio burger joint closes original location on the West SidePapa’s Burgers set to open new location in spite of COVID-19 pandemic challenges