Layoffs loom as school teachers, staff members brace for cuts

  ... SAN ANTONIO -- Across the state, school districts have been tightening their belts, preparing for an anticipated $10 billion in cuts to education ... The Texas Classroom Teachers Association told its members in January to brace for furloughs and layoffs, saying that the cuts to education will not be limited to teachers but also support staff and programs ... Among the programs targeted, Pre-K and the $1.3 billion the state normally allots for the program that educators say is crucial to

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Layoffs loom: School teachers, staff members brace for cuts

SAN ANTONIO -- Across the state, school districts have been tightening their belts, preparing for an anticipated $10 billion in cuts to education ... The Texas Classroom Teachers Association told its members in January to brace for furloughs and layoffs, saying that the cuts to education will not be limited to teachers but also support staff and programs ... Among the programs targeted, Pre-K and the $1.3 billion the state normally allots for the program that educators say is crucial to early

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Local lawmaker seeks safer Internet dating environment for Texans

SAN ANTONIO --With more than 20 million Americans reportedly online and looking for love, some Internet dating is successful ... And some dates are not ... “He actually was married,” said Amber Garza, about her aunt’s online date ... Skeletons in the Internet closet may never see the light of day, until that first date ... Garza added: “She was really upset. She had no idea. How did she find out? His wife called her.” ... It could’ve been worse. What if the match is a felon, or maybe

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Senator from San Antonio wants online dating safer for Texans

SAN ANTONIO -- A state lawmaker wants to make Internet dating safer for Texans ...     ... Democratic Sen. Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio has filed a bill that would require Internet dating services to perform criminal background checks on all users who live in Texas ...     ... The website would have to disclose a user's criminal history if he or she has been convicted of a felony, is a registered sex offender or has been convicted of domestic or family violence ...

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Texas set to become second state allowing guns on campus

AUSTIN - Texas is preparing to give college students and professors the right to carry guns on campus, adding momentum to a national campaign to open this part of society to firearms ... More than half the members of the Texas House have signed on as co-authors of a measure directing universities to allow concealed handguns. The Senate passed a similar bill in 2009 and is expected to do so again. Republican Gov. Rick Perry, who sometimes packs a pistol when he jogs, has said he's in favor of the

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Predictable as Bluebonnets in Spring: Biennial March of the 'Enhancements' Begins Anew

While I'm pleased to see some key innocence-related legislation up in tomorrow's House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, I'm dismayed if unsurprised to see several so-called, Orwellian-termed "enhancement" bills (i.e., legislation creating new crimes or penalties, and/or increasing existing ones) also made the cut for the committee's first substantive hearing. (Last session, at least 40% of bills assigned to that committee increased criminal penalties, and the parole board counted 59 new

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San Antonio pub owner wants to tap into bigger beer market

If you want to sample Scott Metzger’s Old Bat Rastard brew, you will have to travel to San Antonio, sit down at his pub, Freetail Brewing Company, and order a frothy glass from the tap or ask for a half-gallon growler to go ... Pub owners like Metzger would love to sell their brews in retail stores, bars and restaurants, but state law prohibits it. So he and other owners have formed Texas Beer Freedom, a nonprofit lobbying organization, to push for legislation that would allow brewpubs to get

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Sonogram bill: No simple answers for former teen mom

“Was that twitch in my gut the baby, or just nerves?” the teenager thought to herself. She grabbed her stomach for the rest of the short, five-minute trip to a women’s clinic on the northeast side of San Antonio. It was a quick trip, but the decision that would be made there would last a lifetime ... Looking back on that day a decade ago, "Kim" says she didn’t know what to think -- beyond that she was pregnant and her mom was driving her to the clinic for an abortion ... “When I got

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Beer Sampling by Texas Brewpubs, Music with Michael Martin and The Infidels. Friday, Feb. 25th

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Photos from Council Candidate District 1 Diego Bernal event

L-R: District 1 Council Candidate Diego Bernal , with State Rep. Joaquin Castro , mariachis, supporters, sign ... District 1 Council Candidate Diego Bernal's recent official announcement photos @ Main Plaza from Christina Bazaldua ...

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