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Local Marine Corps Vet Still Awaiting Trial

News Maria Anna Esparza fears she’s losing her son, again. In November 2011 the Current chronicled the story of Adan Castañeda, a 27-year-old sniper who... By Michael Barajas | 5/22/2013

Prepare the Bat-Signal: Subdivision Plan Encroaches on Globally Significant Preserve

News Each summer our local weathermen look at the Doppler and tell us to disregard a cloud hanging over the Hill County. No, it’s not sign of some impending... By Michael Barajas | 5/22/2013

Cityscrapes: One More Hotel

News Just one more hotel, and the city will boom. That has long been the mantra of this city’s business and political leaders. With her decision to... By Heywood Sanders | 5/22/2013

Monk's Toolbox: A Local Start-Up Helps Craft Brewers Handle Their Biz

News During the height of Medieval barbarism, as Mayan civilization hit the skids, Scandinavian Vikings plundered rocky European coasts, and Arabian armies... By Isis Madrid | 5/15/2013

Lamar Smith angry that ICE is finally prioritizing spending
Thu, 28 Feb 2013 16:36:33 +0000

Low-risk, non-violent immigrant detainees released from ICE detention centers?! Cue the outrage from Congressman Lamar Smith in 3, 2 … “Spending cuts are no excuse for releasing thousands of criminal and illegal immigrants into our streets,” the local GOP rep told the daily. “The (Obama) administration is either incompetent and unable to prioritize spending, or reckless. Neither is acceptable.” If he was either A) a true fiscal hawk or B) not a political opportunist willing bait his base by taking potshots whenever immigration’s in the news (which he most definitely is), then Smith wouldn’t be so incensed. News broke this week that ICE has released “several hundred” (officials haven’t divulged a true number) low-risk detainees from its detention centers nationwide to brace for federal spending cuts slated to kick in tomorrow. ICE says none of those released have been convicted of violent crimes. Conservatives, rightly or wrongly, have criticized the Obama Administration for over-hyping the estimated fallout from so-called sequestration, issuing dire projections meant to scare Americans into supporting Obama’s budget demands when, in reality, the cuts could be spread out in a much less damaging fashion. Ironically for Smith, though, ICE is cutting exactly where it should, releasing immigrant detainees [...]
Group hopes to turn Texas into a battleground state
Tue, 26 Feb 2013 19:50:53 +0000

Texas is a red state. There’s no denying that. But this lovely shade of crimson has not always graced our fair state. Throughout the 1960s Texas was deep blue. Congress didn’t see a Republican Senator from 1877 to 1961. But things slowly changed. More Republicans won at the State House and in Congress. It took nearly 40 years, but the GOP locked in control of Texas Senate seats and the governor’s mansion by the late 1990s. The illusion of unchallenged Republican power in the Lone Star State is a recent development. Enter Battleground Texas, a self-proclaimed “multimillion dollar effort” hoping to again put Democrats in statewide office in Texas. Leading the campaign is Jeremy Bird, who worked as National Field Director for Obama’s 2012 campaign. Bird’s first goal is to get as many people registered to vote as possible, a move Democrats hope will channel the growing Latino vote in their favor. Turning Texas purple, then eventually blue, has been an ongoing discussion since last year’s Presidential Election. Mayor Julián Castro, for his part, has outspokenly predicted Texas turning to swing state, and eventually to a reliable Democratic voting base, in recent months. On CBS’ Face the Nation, Castro told [...]
Watch Castro’s State of the City speech at noon
Tue, 26 Feb 2013 16:18:05 +0000

Watch live streaming video from nowcastsa at livestream.com After a year of pumping his lofty, transformative vision of SA2020, Mayor Julián Castro attempted to define his legacy as something more fundamental at last year’s State of the City address: early childhood education. “Let me be very frank, it’s the initiative in my tenure as mayor that I care about the most. … I am willing to stake my entire mayoral tenure on the need to invest in these young people,” Castro said. By the year’s end, that idea had grown into Pre-K 4 SA, the mayor’s single most important policy achievement to date. Today Castro will again deliver his State of the City speech at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. We’re assuming most of you weren’t willing/able to shell out the $550 per table for the event. No worry. Check out NOWCastSA at noon. They’ll be live streaming the whole thing. – Michael Barajas

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