Category: San Antonio News

March is Women’s History Month, and Central Market is celebrating by hosting a series of virtual cooking school classes featuring the stories and recipes of notable female chefs and makers. Here’s who you’ll be learning from, and what signature dishes they’ll be preparing for you live: Pati Jinich is a chef, TV personality, cookbook author, educator, and food writer. She is best known for her James Beard Award-winning and Emmy-nominated public television series Pati’s Mexican…

Bulverde-Spring Branch EMS respond to emergency situations at both the Guadalupe River and at the opening of Canyon Lake, but as the population grows exponentially so does the amount of emergency calls.

But thanks to a new grant, Bulverde-Spring Branch EMS now has a new tool that can help save lives.

“Well, I think they’re all, you know, heartbreaking, especially for the family and for the guys who have to do that kind of stuff. You know, I don’t want to get into specifics, but you know, kids are always tough on all of us because we’re all fathers, grandparents,” Mark Southwell, chief of Bulverde-Spring Branch Emergency Services said.

Southwell has been serving the community since 1995 and has seen firsthand the huge growth in the community. With the influx of people, however, also comes the influx of calls for help and they have jumped from 400 calls a year in 1995 to 4,500 calls a year.

“Last year, we had six known drownings in the area where we could try to make recovery attempt — versus a rescue attempt. A difference being time frame: one is viable and the other is more of a body recovery,” Southwell said.

But now, thanks to a more than $19,000 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority, there is help on the way.

“What we acquired was funding to be able to purchase a specific device called the Aqualung Pro Diver,” Assistant Fire Chief Daniel Torres said.

The Aqualung Pro Diver allows members of a newly formed team to go underwater for longer amounts of time and still communicate with people above water.

“It increases the capability with our technical rescue services that we provide to the citizens of western Comal County. It’s just another layer of specialty for us to be able to provide to anybody in need in our response district,” Torres said.

There are still warnings that authorities have for community members, even with the new technology.

“We hope we don’t have to use it for other than training. Be safe on the water and avoid low water crossings like you should, like everybody knows too. And just be safe when you’re on the water. Don’t be too proud to use flotation safety devices, especially with children,” Torres said.

Southwell said he just wants the community to stay safe. He said he knows the risks of not having the technology.

“I mean, one (drowning) is one too many,” he said.

San Antonio firefighters are trying to find the cause of a fire that destroyed a Northeast Side home, left a man suffering from smoke inhalation and possibly killed three dogs.

The fire broke out after 6 a.m. Wednesday in the 4400 block of Moana Drive.

RELATED: Early-morning fire destroys Northeast Side home, 3 of 5 dogs still missing, SAFD says

Firefighters say three men and five dogs were inside the home at the time. One of the men reported hearing a crackling noise, then smelling smoke.

“He said that when he opened the garage door that flames rolled from the garage through the kitchen,” said Capt. John Flores with the San Antonio Fire Department. “He was able to wake up his co-habitants and they were all able to get out, but they didn’t have time to come back in for the dogs.”

One of the men suffered smoke inhalation and was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Firefighters later found two of the pets alive, but the other three are still missing.

They also faced a challenge from the fire, itself. It appeared that it had been burning for some time and already had caused quite a bit of damage before fire crews arrived.

“All four sides of the house had fire rolling out of the eaves,” Flores said. “That’s usually indicative of it being in the attic already and being fully involved.”

Fire crews had to work quickly to keep it from spreading to the homes on either side.

The neighbors’ homes did not sustain any damage, but the home where the fire started was destroyed.

Flores says he expects that the people who were displaced will get assistance from the American Red Cross.

Investigators are still trying to determine exactly how the fire started, although they do believe it started in the garage, Flores said.

It’s already March, which means Fiesta is fast approaching.

On Wednesday, the Fiesta commission will host a media day for organizers to discuss what’s new for Fiesta and speak about this year’s plans.

KSAT will be at the media day, which starts at 11 a.m., and a livestream of the event will be placed in this article. Delays are possible; if there is not a livestream available, check back at a later time.

Mayor Ron Nirenberg, 2022 Fiesta Commission President Jon Fristoe, and other Fiesta and military officials will be at media day.

Fiesta runs from March 31 through April 10.

This will be the first time during the pandemic that Fiesta will go on at its usual time frame. Last year, it took place in June, and in 2020, it was canceled entirely.

One major thing that will change is the route for the Battle of Flowers and Fiesta Flambeau parades.

The route will no longer head down Broadway due to continued construction. Instead, it will start on Main Street by San Antonio College.

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A Florida teenager who made headlines earlier this year for tracking billionaire Elon Musk’s jet has set his sight on new targets — Russian oligarchs.

Jack Sweeney, 19, has created a Twitter account called Russian Oligarch Jets, which tracks the whereabouts of more than 20 aircraft owned by Russian billionaires and tycoons.

Sweeney crowdsources information for the automated tracking system he created by utilizing Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data. He has been upfront about the fact that some of the information isn’t fully accurate due to a lack of flight information in Russia.

ADS-B data is public and every aircraft in the world is required to have a transponder — or an electric device that uses radiofrequency interrogation to track its whereabouts. Transponders are most commonly used to track aircraft on air traffic control radar.

According to Business Insider, Sweeney uses his automated tracking system to follow the flights of planes registered to Russian VIPs, including the country’s president Vladimir Putin.

Sweeney started trending in January after billionaire, and current Texas resident, Elon Musk asked him to take down a Twitter account that tracked Musk’s jet.

Musk offered Sweeney $5,000 to take down the account, known as @ElonJet, and told the teen it was a security risk.

Sweeney countered for $50,000 and Musk declined so the Twitter account remains, according to a report from Protocol.

Tracking all of the following. pic.twitter.com/cUW5rwS0el

— Russian Oligarch Jets (@RUOligarchJets) February 27, 2022

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Two professors at the University of Texas San Antonio are harmonizing on a project designed to preserve a genre of music born in Alamo City. Sylvia Mendoza and Gloria Vasquez Gonzales, both from UTSA’s Department of Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, have received $5,000 from the school’s Westside Community Partnerships Initiative to document what’s known as the West Side Sound. UTSA describes the West Side Sound, which is said to have originated here in…

Rising home prices are giving potential homeowners another reason to wait. Mortgage rates are expected to rise throughout the year.

The New York Times recently looked at how to assess today’s housing market. First, plan on mortgage rates to rise, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the housing market will slow down, or even fall.

The Times cites a recent study that found competition among buyers could still be strong even if rates rose to 6.5%. You will need to do the math if you could still afford that house you’re looking at with a higher interest rate.

Financial planners recommend people spend no more than about 35% of their income on total housing costs.

To give you a dollars and sense breakdown of what higher rates mean — consider that a $300,000 loan at about today’s rate, around 4%, will give you a monthly payment of about $1,432. Bump that interest rate up to 6% and the payment grows to almost $1,800 — a jump of about $367 a month.

One of the big rules to use, if you still want to go ahead with a purchase, are you willing to stay in the house for at least five years? That will give the home time to gain a bit of equity.

Some of the races in the 2022 midterm primary election came down to the wire on Tuesday night.

Several of them, including the race for Bexar County’s top elected position, will head to a runoff on May 24.

A runoff election means that in races with more than two candidates, one candidate failed to win more than 50% of the vote and the top two contenders will advanced to a runoff. The winner will then advance to the Nov. 8 general election.

Here are all the key runoffs from the Bexar County area and around South/Central Texas.

Bexar County Judge

Democratic candidates for Bexar County Judge — the top elected position in the county — will go head-to-head in a runoff.

Former District Court Judge Peter Sakai received 41% of the vote while State Rep. Ina Minjarez won 31% of the vote.

Whoever wins the general election in November will succeed Nelson Wolff, who has been Bexar County Judge since 2001.

Congressional District 28

The Democratic and Republican primary for Congressional District 28 is headed to a runoff.

On the Democratic side, immigration attorney Jessica Cisneros and Congressman Henry Cuellar went back and forth on the lead on Tuesday. While close to 50%, neither cleared that threshold for the nomination.

On the Republican side, Cassy Garcia, who won 29% of the vote, will face Sandra Whitten for the nomination.

Congressional District 35

Among the 10 candidates who sought the Republican nomination in the district, it came down to two for the runoff: former Corpus Christi Mayor Dan McQueen and Michael Rodriguez.

McQueen led the way with 21% of the vote while Rodriguez trailed with 15% of the vote. The district, which spans from Austin to San Antonio, is reliably Democratic.

Congressional District 15

GOP Candidate Monica De La Cruz was able to avoid a runoff in Congressional District 15, while Democrats are headed to a runoff.

Democrat Ruben Ramirez (28%) will face Michelle Vallejo (20%) in the runoff.

Congressional District 21

Democrats Claudia Andreana Zapata, who won 47% of the vote, and Ricardo Villarreal will meet in the runoff. Chip Roy won the Republican nomination.

Attorney General

Despite an endorsement from former President Donald Trump, Ken Paxton was forced into a May runoff. He’ll face Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush. Paxton led with 43% of the vote, but didn’t capture the needed 50%. Amid the election, Paxton is being investigated by the FBI over accusations that he used his office to help a wealthy donor.

The Democratic nomination will also be decided in a runoff. Rochelle Mercedes Garza won 41% of the vote and will face former Galveston mayor Joe Jaworski, who won 22% of the vote. The GOP runoff winner will likely be the favorite in November.

Lieutenant Governor

Dan Patrick won the Republican nomination, but the Democratic nomination has yet to be decided.

Mike Collier led the way with 42% of the vote, but Michelle Beckley was close behind with 34% of the vote.

Land Commissioner

It appears that Land Commissioner candidates for both parties are headed to a runoff.

Democrat Sandragrace Martinez, who won 32% of the vote, will face off against Jay Kleberg, who won 26% of the vote.

Republican Dawn Buckingham led the way with 42%, and Tim Westley trailed behind at 15%.

Railroad Commissioner

Republican Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian (42%) appears to be in a runoff with Sarah Stogner (18%) while Luke Warford took the Democratic nomination.

Texas Senate District 24

Republican State Sen. Pete Flores appears to be headed to a runoff with Raul Reyes in Texas Senate District 24. Flores led with 46% of the vote.

Texas House District 122

Former San Antonio City Councilwoman Elisa Chan and former Republican Party precinct chairman Mark Dorazio appear to be headed for a runoff.

Chan captured the most votes, 37%, while Dorazio had 28% of the vote.

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Find local Bexar County races, including judicial seats, here. Find elections from surrounding counties here.

Read more on KSAT 12′s Vote 2022 page.

Abbott, O’Rourke victorious; Attorney General candidates, Bexar Co. Judge Dems, CD-28 to runoff

A blaze on the Northeast Side has destroyed a home, forcing its residents to evacuate and leaving firefighters searching for three pets early Wednesday morning, the San Antonio Fire Department said.

The fire was called in around 6:15 a.m. at a home in the 4100 block of Moana Drive, not far from Eisenhauer Road and Loop 410.

Firefighters said when they arrived, they found flames and smoke coming from the home. They were able to put the fire out quickly, and without incident.

Fire officials said the home’s three residents made it safely out. The house, however, has extensive damage and is now likely a total loss. The cause of the fire is not currently known.

One of the men walked to an ambulance and firefighters say he had some smoke inhalation, so he will go to an area hospital. Another was carrying a dog in his arms and it appeared to be alive.

The SAFD said so far, two of five dogs from inside have been found alive. Three others are still missing, possibly still inside the destroyed house, authorities said.

According to the San Antonio Fire Department website, as many as 15 units answered the call.

KSAT12 has a crew at the scene.

This is a developing story. Stay with KSAT12 both online and on-air for more information.