AltWeeklies Wire
Obama Administration touts rule change to aid undocumented familiesnew
This month the Obama Administration announced plans to tweak a long-standing immigration rule, rolling out the newest partial fix that, if implemented, could help thousands of mixed-citizenship families caught in immigration limbo. With Obama moving into campaign mode, needing support from a booming Hispanic population largely disappointed with first-term record on immigration, the announcement served as a well-timed hit — the National Immigration Forum declared it a “tremendous victory.”
San Antonio Current |
Michael Barajas |
01-27-2012 |
Policy Issues
Political Boundariy Fight May Delay Texas Primary Electionnew
With the high-profile Texas redistricting case hitting the U.S. Supreme Court this week, there are still no legally approved maps to guide the state's April 3 primary, which continues to edge closer.
San Antonio Current |
Michael Barajas |
01-11-2012 |
Elections
Tags: Elections, 2012 texas primary
Hundreds of Mentally Ill Stranded in Texas Jailsnew
Defendants in Texas with severe mental illness land in the criminal justice system where they're forced to languish for months behind bars while an overburdened state hospital system struggles to find room.
San Antonio Current |
Michael Barajas |
01-04-2012 |
Health
Texas vs. EPAnew
As 2011 dawned, state leaders were openly refusing to abide by new nationwide greenhouse gas emissions standards.
San Antonio Current |
Michael Barajas |
12-30-2011 |
Environment
Texas vs. Womennew
Jeffrey Hons, president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Trust of South Texas, says he refuses to turn the page on 2011 in anger, frustration, or disappointment.
San Antonio Current |
Michael Barajas |
12-30-2011 |
The War on Women
Tags: texas, planned parenthood
Censored Scientist Wants to Restore Sound Policy-Making in Texasnew
Two months of sustained outrage from scientists, academics, and newspaper editorial boards may have changed things at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality — at least when it comes to publishing hard, peer-reviewed science.
San Antonio Current |
Michael Barajas |
12-23-2011 |
Environment
Will Bexar County’s No-refusal Blood Draws Dismantle the Effectiveness of Traditional DWI Defense?new
District Attorney Susan Reed has been on a steady crusade for over two years to push Bexar County into full-time no-refusal territory, setting up a legal framework to draw blood from any suspected drunk drivers who refuse a breath test any day of the week.
San Antonio Current |
Michael Barajas |
12-15-2011 |
Features
Walking Woundednew
The VA missed serious warning signs that presaged a Texas vet’s violent breakdown.
San Antonio Current |
Michael Barajas |
12-01-2011 |
War
ICE Policies Leave Overburdened Foster-Care System in their Wakenew
A sustained federal crackdown made 2011 a banner year for deportations. A record 397,000 undocumented immigrants were sent packing. And while the Obama administration cheers that more than half of those deported were convicted of crimes, advocates warn of a troubling by-product of rising immigration enforcement: children left behind as natural-born citizens absorbed by the foster-care system.
San Antonio Current |
Michael Barajas |
11-16-2011 |
Immigration
San Antonio Mulls Restrictions on Homeless Residentsnew
Over the past month, San Antonio's City Council, with prodding from fed-up downtown business owners and residents, has eyed stricter so-called panhandling laws, designed to crack down on aggressive solicitation.
San Antonio Current |
Michael Barajas |
11-09-2011 |
Homelessness
Tags: Homelessness
Bond Package Projects Coming Out of Woodwork for a Share of Anticipated $596 millionnew
There’s this quiet, almost collective groan out of City Hall when talk turns to our largest-ever bond package starting to take shape. Everyone’s got their hands out, palms up, seeking cash just a month after city officials wrapped marathon budget sessions — sessions filled with community groups and organizations pleading for funds. Hoping to ride Mayor Julian Castro’s framework-for-the-future plan, those who packed a series of bond committee hearings over the past month insist their projects — from refurbished baseball diamonds to multi-million-dollar redevelopments deals — are “SA2020-aligned” in cult-like fashion. “Everybody’s eying this thing like it’s a fucking ATM,” quipped one city official.
San Antonio Current |
Michael Barajas |
11-03-2011 |
Policy Issues
Natural-Gas Production Linked to Quakes in England, Arkansas, and Texasnew
Late last week, the region’s largest earthquake on record rattled the heart of South Texas oil and gas country, shaking the ground 47 miles southeast of San Antonio in Atascosa County and sending mild tremors as far north as Burnet.
San Antonio Current |
Michael Barajas |
10-26-2011 |
Environment
‘Farm System’ for Covert Tech Contractors on Display in San Antonionew
The spies are in town. Thousands of them, from those inside U.S. and foreign intelligence agencies to reps with major government security contractors like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop-Grumman.
San Antonio Current |
Michael Barajas |
10-20-2011 |
Features
Former CIA Agent Claims the Military Poisoned His Familynew
The ugly side effects surfaced soon after Kevin Shipp transferred in 1999 from CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., to Camp Stanley, the sprawling U.S. Army weapons depot just north of San Antonio. His now ex-wife, Lorena Shipp, suddenly began to suffer near-constant migraines.
San Antonio Current |
Michael Barajas |
10-17-2011 |
Civil Liberties
San Antonio woman recounts time at birthplace of Agent Orangenew
When Diana Quintanilla Montoya and her husband Thomas left San Antonio for their new post at Fort Detrick, they’d been married for just two days. Touring the military installation for the first time, they noticed signs across the base warning: “Don’t ask questions, don’t take pictures, what you see here stays here.”
San Antonio Current |
Michael Barajas |
10-13-2011 |
Civil Liberties
