Latest news with #SanAntonioReport
Axios
12-05-2025
- Health
- Axios
San Antonio air pollution ranks among worst in U.S., report finds
The San Antonio area is among the top 25 metros in the U.S. with the worst ozone pollution, according to the American Lung Association's 2025 State of the Air report. Why it matters: Air pollution threatens everyone's health — especially children, older adults, and people with asthma, heart disease or other lung conditions. By the numbers: San Antonio, New Braunfels and Kerrville jointly ranked 20th among the nation's most ozone-polluted cities, with nearly 2.8 million residents — including 1.8 million people of color — at elevated risk from unhealthy air. Hispanic people are almost three times more likely than white people to live somewhere with poor air quality, according to the report. The big picture: Nearly half of Americans — about 156 million people — live in areas with unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution, according to the American Lung Association's 2025 State of the Air report. Zoom in: Bexar County received an F grade for ozone pollution, with 32 days of high ozone levels (designated orange) during 2021-2023. The area also had two days of elevated short-term particle pollution, earning a B grade for that category. Context: San Antonio's air quality challenges are driven in part by high temperatures that create "ideal conditions for ozone formation," according to the American Lung Association. The latest: In March, the EPA approved Texas' plan to reduce vehicle emissions in Bexar County through a mandatory inspection and maintenance program. The program aims to help the region reach compliance with federal ozone limits by November 2026. It would require annual emissions testing for gas-powered vehicles two to 24 years old, per the San Antonio Report. What they're saying: "Clearly, we need to do more to control the pollutants that are impacting our changing climate and worsening the factors that go into the wildfires and the extreme heat events that are threatening our health, instead of thinking about how to roll them back," says Katherine Pruitt, senior director of nationwide clean air policy at the American Lung Association and report author.
Axios
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Axios
San Antonio humanities grants canceled by Trump administration
The Trump administration has canceled federal humanities research grants worth millions of dollars — including money for San Antonio-based projects, per interviews and a data analysis by Axios. Why it matters: Since 1965, grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) have supported scholarship on what the agency calls "the building blocks of American civil society." Driving the news: The LBJ-era agency has been virtually shuttered. The agency's workforce was put on administrative leave this month, per NPR, and the flow of money appears to have been largely frozen, the New York Times reported. State of play: Seven San Antonio-based organizations have received NEH grants in recent years, supporting projects that range from historical research to digital storytelling and preservation. Two were completed and five were ongoing. The Esperanza Peace and Justice Center received the largest local NEH grant — $491,666 in 2023 — to preserve and repurpose historic Westside buildings as part of its Rinconcito de Esperanza cultural campus. The grant was scheduled to be paid out in February. Esperanza Peace and Justice Center did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Zoom in: The biggest grant is a five-year, $5.9 million award to Humanities Texas, whose mission is to improve classroom teaching and support libraries and museums throughout the state. Humanities Texas has awarded grants to San Antonio institutions including the Witte Museum, the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, the San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum and Trinity University, according to the San Antonio Report. What they're saying: Humanities Texas leaders this month wrote to supporters that they learned their federal funding was terminated. "These cuts will have a devastating effect," the organization wrote. The latest: The Mellon Foundation on Tuesday announced it's awarding roughly $250,000 to Humanities Texas as part of a nationwide effort to help organizations hit by funding cuts. The other side: NEH says it's "repurposing its funding allocations in a new direction in furtherance of the president's agenda."
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Here's your guide to voting in Texas's May 2025 local elections
There's another election right around the corner for Texans in cities such as San Antonio and Fort Worth. During the May 3 elections, voters in many parts of Texas will cast their ballots for local leaders or initiatives. Here's how to see if there are elections in your community and how to register to vote by the April 3 deadline. Though some cities and school boards held elections in November, many local governments in Texas hold their elections in May of odd-numbered years. That's why some communities will have elections and others will not. In addition to school boards and cities, some other special districts, which help manage services like water, hospitals and libraries, may also hold elections. To see if there are any local elections in your community, check your county's election website for notices of local elections. You can also check out the League of Women Voters' local chapters to see if they have information about elections in your area. These elections may be to elect local leaders or for initiatives that require voters' approval, such as tax increases and taking on bond debt to fund projects. Some notable elections include: * San Antonio's mayor and city council (San Antonio Report voter guide) * Fort Worth city council (Fort Worth Report candidate guide) * Dallas city council (D Magazine voter guide) * Dallas ISD school board (D Magazine voter guide) * Northside ISD (San Antonio Report school board elections guide) * San Antonio ISD school board (San Antonio Report school board elections guide) * El Paso ISD school board (El Paso Matters school board elections guide) * Denton city council (Denton Record-Chronicle) * Denton ISD school board (Denton Record-Chronicle/KERA) Here are the county election websites for Texas' largest counties: * Harris County * Dallas County * Tarrant County * Bexar County * Travis County * Collin County * Denton County * Fort Bend County * Hidalgo County * El Paso County April 3 is the last day to register to vote and to submit an address change for the May local can check to see if you're registered and verify your information through the Texas Secretary of State's website. You'll need one of these three combinations to log in: * Your Texas driver's license number and date of birth. * Your first and last names, date of birth and county you reside in. * Your date of birth and Voter Unique Identifier, which appears on your voter registration certificate. Generally speaking, if you registered to vote in a previous election, you should still be registered, but there are various reasons why you may want to verify your registration status. You also need to update your registration after a name or address must reside in a Texas county or political subdivision by the voter registration deadline to vote in the upcoming election unless you qualify for absentee voting. You can read more about absentee and mail-in voting here. You can vote at your previous polling location if you moved within the same political subdivision, such as your city or school district. If there are elections you would qualify to vote in at both polling locations, you may be able to vote at your new location on a limited ballot. But limited ballots are available only during early voting at the main polling place, which should be noted in a county or political subdivision's list of early voting locations.U.S. citizens in Texas can register to vote in the election if they are 18 or older or if they will be 18 by election day, which is May 3. Learn more about voter registration eligibility requirements here. Typically, voters have to submit a paper application 30 days before the election. For this election, the deadline is April 3. There are several options to submit a last-minute application by the deadline: * Visit the voter registrar office in your county (find yours here) * Register through a volunteer deputy voter registrar (for instance, local chapters of the League of Women Voters often hold voter registration events) * Mail the application to the voter registrar in your county If you decide to mail an application, it must be postmarked by the April 3 deadline for you to vote in the May 3 election. You can request a postmark at your local post office. Applications left in mailboxes or mail drop off boxes may not always be postmarked the same day. You can ask for an application at county voter registrars' offices and some post offices, government offices, or high schools. You can also print out the online application and mail it to the voter registrar in your county. This will require an envelope and postage like regular mail. Download your application here. To avoid any issues, some local voter registrars in the past have recommended completing or delivering an application in person if you're registering close to the deadline. If you are renewing your driver's license, you may be able to register to vote through the Texas Department of Public Safety. If you're allowed to renew your license online, you may also be able to register online. This is the only form of online registration in the state. After you register to vote, you will receive a voter registration certificate within 30 days. Eligible people experiencing homelessness can vote, as long as they provide on their registration an address and description for where they are residing, such as a shelter or a street intersection. If needed, their mailing address can be different, but P.O. Box addresses are usually not considered residence a county receives a non-deliverable notice after sending a voter registration certificate or suspects an address change, a voter is placed on a 'suspense list' and asked to confirm their address. Voters on the suspense list can still vote if they update or confirm their address before the voter registration deadline or fill out a 'statement of residence' when voting. But they may have to vote at their previous polling location or vote on a limited ballot. If no action is taken by a suspended voter, they are removed from the voter rolls after about four years, according to the Texas Secretary of State's office. If you're concerned about your voter registration, you can verify it online you have questions or concerns about your registration, you can find your county's voter registration contact here. Inside polling locations, there are typically 'resolution desks' where poll workers can address registration issues. You can also find answers to frequently asked voting questions at April 22 is the last day to apply to vote by mail. This option is limited in Texas. Read more about who qualifies must be received by the early voting clerk in your county — not postmarked — by April 22. Applications can also be submitted by fax or email, but the county must receive a hard copy within four business days. They can also be dropped off in person. You can download an application here or request an application to be mailed to you here. If you're looking to vote by mail, give yourself as much leeway as possible. You'll need to budget for the time it may take your county to get your ballot to you in the mail after you deadline for mail-in ballots to be returned to the county is election day, May 3. If a ballot is postmarked by 7 p.m. locally that day, it'll be counted if the county receives it by 5 p.m. on May 5. Absentee ballots can also be delivered to county election offices in person with a valid form of ID while polls are open on election day. Completed ballots from military or overseas voters are accepted if they're received by May 8. (Military and overseas voters can go through a different ballot request and return process.) Early voting in person runs from April 22-29. If you can't vote inside of a polling place because of COVID-19 or a disability, you may be eligible for curbside voting. Read more here. Election day is May 3. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on election day. What dates do I need to know for possible runoffs? Runoffs will take place on June 7 in any race where no candidate receives more than 50% of the votes. The last day to register or update your voter registration for the runoffs will be May 8. Applications to vote by mail must be received by the early voting clerk in your county — not postmarked — by May 27. Early voting is scheduled for May 27-June option is fairly limited in Texas. You're allowed to vote by mail only if: * You will be 65 or older by election day. * You will not be in your county for the entire voting period, including early voting. * You cite a sickness or disability that prevents you from voting in person without needing personal assistance or without the likelihood of injuring your health. * You're expected to give birth within three weeks before or after election day. * You are confined in jail but otherwise eligible (i.e., not convicted of a felony). College students who are registered at a residence in Texas, such as a parent's home, but are studying out of state can apply for absentee ballots. Students studying in Texas who are from other states can also choose to register to vote with their dorm or Texas address. If you are voting absentee, such as from out of state or overseas, and want to see what will appear on your ballot, you can get a sample ballot from your county. In most cases, sample ballots can be found on your county's election must provide an ID number on both their application for a ballot and the carrier envelope used to return a completed ballot. This must be one the following ID numbers: * A driver's license number * A state ID number * The last four digits of their Social Security number * Texas election ID certificate number (a photo ID issued by DPS and which is different from the number found on your voter registration certificate) If you don't have any of these, you can also check a box indicating you have not been issued that identification. This identification rule was added by the Texas Legislature in 2021. Some voters have had their ballots or applications rejected because they didn't provide an ID number or the number they provided did not match the one the state had for the voter. If you don't have a license number on file or are unsure about which ID number you provided, the secretary of state has previously suggested contacting your local voter registrar to ask about how to add one to your voter registration record. Other voting advocates have suggested voters include both their driver's license or state ID number and the last four digits of their Social Security number, if they have both, to avoid issues. What's the state's definition of a disability ? The Texas election code's definition for disability is broader than other federal definitions. A voter is eligible to vote by mail if they have a 'sickness or physical condition' that prevents them from voting in person without the likelihood of 'needing personal assistance or of injuring the voter's health.' It's up to the voter to decide this, and election officials don't have the authority to question a voter's reasoning. While a lack of immunity to COVID-19 alone does not allow a voter to request a ballot based on disability, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that it was up to voters to decide if that lack of immunity, combined with their medical history, meets the state's eligibility criteria. What kind of postage do I need to return my mail-in ballot? It depends on where you live. Postage for mail-in ballots will vary by county because the style and size of the ballot could be different from county to county — and some counties may pay postage for you. Local elections offices should have the specifics once ballots are finalized. That said, if you don't have enough postage, your ballot is not supposed to be returned to you. Instead, the Postal Service is supposed to deliver the ballot and bill the county for the insufficient or missing will allow voters to correct their mail-in ballots if the ballots are at risk of being rejected for a technical error, including missing information or signatures. This also applies to issues with the applications for those ballots. County officials are responsible for alerting voters if there is a defect with their application or ballot. Voters can use an online ballot tracking tool to check the status of both their application to vote by mail and their ballot. The tracker can also be used to make corrections. You can access it here. The deadline to correct mail-in ballot applications is April 22. The deadline to correct a mail-in ballot is May registered to vote may vote early, but it must be done in person unless you qualify to vote by political subdivisions, such as school districts, are not required to use county election precincts or polling locations for the May 3 election, so voting may be limited to one or a few polling locations run by that governing body. For instance, school districts may use one of their buildings for voting. Polling locations for early voting and election day should be listed on your county's website or on a governing body's notice of an election on their website, such as on a school district's webpage or announcement of a bond need one of seven types of valid photo ID to vote in Texas: * A state driver's license (issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety). * A Texas election identification certificate (issued by DPS). * A Texas personal identification card (issued by DPS). * A Texas license to carry a handgun (issued by DPS). * A U.S. military ID card with a personal photo. * A U.S. citizenship certificate with a personal photo. * A U.S. passport. Check out this story for more can still cast votes if they sign a form swearing that they have a 'reasonable impediment' from obtaining a proper photo ID. However, those voters will also have to present one of the following types of supporting identification documents: * A valid voter registration certificate. * A certified birth certificate. * A document confirming birth admissible in a court of law that establishes your identity (which may include a foreign birth document). * A copy of or an original current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or other document that shows the voter's name and address. (Any government document that contains a voter's photo must be an original.) If you have a valid photo ID but forgot it, you can cast a provisional ballot but will have to visit the local voter registrar's office within six days of the election to present an acceptable ID or documentation in order for the ballot to be counted. A registered voter without a valid photo ID or any of the supporting documents can also cast a provisional ballot. We can't wait to welcome you to the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, Texas' breakout ideas and politics event happening Nov. 13–15 in downtown Austin. Step inside the conversations shaping the future of education, the economy, health care, energy, technology, public safety, culture, the arts and so much more. Hear from our CEO, Sonal Shah, on TribFest 2025. TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Yahoo
Suzanne Simpson murder: Texas attorneys sift through evidence as husband's case rocks affluent neighborhood
More than five months after Texas real estate agent Suzanne Simpson vanished in a wealthy area of San Antonio, attorneys are still sorting out evidence as her husband faces a murder case and her body has not been found. Simpson, a 51-year-old mother of four, went missing Oct. 6, 2024, after reportedly fighting with her husband of 22 years in front of their house in Olmos Park in the San Antonio area. Authorities believe Brad Simpson "intentionally and knowingly caused the death" of Suzanne "on or about Sunday, Oct. 6," records show. Brad Simpson is charged with murder, tampering with evidence, aggravated assault and prohibited weapons possession in his wife's disappearance and suspected death and is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday for a status hearing after it was delayed in February. Both prosecutors and Simpson's defense attorney said during a Feb. 12 hearing they would need more time to go through discovery in the case. Prosecutors were still sifting through data and expecting more evidence from the Texas Rangers, according to the San Antonio Report. Suzanne Simpson Murder Case: Texas Defense For Missing Realtor's Husband Looking For Holes In Evidence Trove On Oct. 6, the night of the fight and Suzanne's disappearance, the Simpsons and their 5-year-old daughter attended a party at The Argyle club, an exclusive, ritzy club in Alamo Heights. Bystanders witnessed the couple having a "verbal altercation" while at the party, according to an arrest affidavit. Read On The Fox News App Around 8:30 p.m., Suzanne Simpson and her daughter left the party and went to the H-E-B grocery store in San Antonio from 8:40 p.m. to 8:51 p.m., according to surveillance footage obtained by police. They arrived at their house soon after, documents show. Later that evening, Suzanne phoned a family friend to say she was stopping by. She also called her mother to tell her Brad assaulted her, injuring her arm, back and neck, according to court records. She arrived at the family friend's house at 9:25 p.m. Around 10 p.m., the family friend's neighbor reported seeing Brad and Suzanne arguing loudly and "physically struggling" in front of his house. Suzanne Simpson's Dna Found On Murder Suspect Husband's Saw That Can Cut Metal The neighbor observed Suzanne "attempting to get away from Mr. Simpson's grasp as he tried to pull her downwards." The neighbor also observed Brad chasing after his wife and trying to grab her, according to documents. The neighbor later heard screams coming from the wooded area across from his home. About one hour after witnessing Suzanne and Brad Simpson fighting in front of his home, the same neighbor saw Brad's truck leave the area and then return about an hour later. SIGN UP TO GET True Crime Newsletter The next morning, on Oct. 7, surveillance footage from a San Antonio H-E-B grocery store captured Brad and his truck, which contained a large ice chest. Later that morning, he bought food at a drive-thru in Kendall County, Texas, and camera footage captured three white trash bags, a heavy-duty trash can, an ice chest and a "large bulky item wrapped and secured in a blue tarp" that was held down by a firewood rack in the back of Brad's truck, according to the affidavit. Shortly after the drive-thru, Brad was allegedly seen purchasing two bags of cement, a construction bucket, a box of heavy-duty trash bags, Clorox disinfectant spray and insect repellent with cash at a nearby Home Depot, police learned through cellphone data, surveillance footage and a Home Depot receipt. Prior to his purchase, Brad asked an unknown male in the parking lot for directions to the nearest dump in Boerne. His cellphone was apparently turned off at the time. At a gas station that same morning, surveillance footage captured Brad's truck, which was missing the white trash bags, but the blue tarp, firewood rack and trash can were still present. Husband Charged With Murder Of Real Estate Agent Suzanne Simpson Showed 'No Emotion' After Her Disappearance: Docs After picking up his daughter from school in the afternoon, Brad was spotted on another surveillance camera "washing and cleaning the drive front (sic) side and the rear-left passenger side" of his truck at a car wash back in San Antonio. Suzanne's friend reported her missing the evening of Oct. 7. When police contacted Brad about his wife's disappearance, he allegedly told them he had not seen her since Oct. 6, around 11 p.m. Missing Suzanne Simpson's Daughter Said Father 'Took My Mother's Life' After Real Estate Agent's Disappearance On Oct. 8, Brad exchanged text messages with his longtime friend and business partner, James "Val" Cotter, who is also charged in the case. "If you're in Bandera, can you haul a-- to meet me at your house?" Simpson allegedly texted Cotter. "I don't have much time." Follow The Fox True Crime Team On X In a later text to Brad, Cotter wrote, "Get over here!! I won't tell anyone" and "You're my brother." Cotter was charged with tampering with evidence with the intent to impair an investigation and possession of prohibited weapons in Suzanne's disappearance. He posted bond in November 2024. Suzanne Simpson's Husband Went To Dump Site, Home Depot, Car Wash Hours After Real Estate Agent's Disappearance: Docs Authorities arrested Brad Oct. 9, 2024, and Cotter on Oct. 21, 2024. On Oct. 9, Texas Rangers executed a search warrant on Brad's property in Bandera County, where they found a ground-level burn site with a burnt laptop and multiple cellular devices. They also searched his truck and identified stains that tested "presumtively positive for blood," which were tested and determined to be Brad's blood. GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE True Crime Hub In December, Bexar County Criminal District Attorney Joe Gonzales announced via press release that Brad had "concealed" a "reciprocating saw" two days after Suzanne's disappearance, and authorities informed family members that Suzanne's DNA had been identified on the saw. Brad remains in Bexar County's jail with bonds totaling $3 million and a federal hold by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for the weapons charge. His attorney could not be reached for comment. Fox News Digital's Mollie Markowitz contributed to this article source: Suzanne Simpson murder: Texas attorneys sift through evidence as husband's case rocks affluent neighborhood
