San Antonio, TX

After six hours and five candidate interviews, Bexar County commissioners on Wednesday voted to appoint longtime Chief Deputy Rolando R. Tafolla as interim sheriff.

Tafolla pleased commissioners when he told them Wednesday he had already reached a mutual agreement with Premier Management Enterprises, a Louisiana jail services company, to terminate its operation of the jail commissary. The contract with Premier sparked an ongoing public corruption investigation that forced the resignation of former Sheriff Ralph Lopez on Aug. 31.
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A federal disaster declaration was issued Saturday for Texas counties in Hurricane Dean’s possible path — including Bexar and 15 others in South Texas — a quick response to Gov. Rick Perry’s request for it.

The unusual pre-disaster designation, which applies to 32 counties in all that could be damaged or likely would receive evacuees, would allow federal aid to flow more quickly after landfall.
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Flash flood warnings continue this morning for most of south Central Texas, including Bexar County, as remnants of Tropical Storm Erin stubbornly churn over the western Hill Country.

At least seven people were killed Thursday as the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin swept inland, bringing torrential rains through much the state, closing major thoroughfares and stranding dozens in its floodwaters.

San Antonio officials are still searching this morning for a young woman who was swept away in high water just south of North Star Mall. Three other South Texans are still unaccounted for.

In Houston, two people died after the waterlogged roof of a storage unit outside a Houston grocery store collapsed, according to Houston fire and Harris County hospital officials. A truck driver drowned in Harris County when his 18-wheeler went into a flooded retention pond, according to county’s Office of Emergency Management.

A small tornado reportedly touched down in Kendall County Thursday evening, doing minor damage to a building near Cave Without a Name. Also in Kendall County, residents were evacuated from homes along the Cypress Creek in the Comfort area late Thursday.

Boerne Police Chief Gary Miller said the waterways there were receding after flirting with disastrous flooding. The city’s lake was six feet below the spillway on its dam, which has only been topped twice before, in 1997 and 2002.

The San Antonio River is rising at a pace that will have it hitting more than 53 feet at the City of Elmendorf later today. That would put it on an historic list of the top five river levels at that location. In 1998 it reached over 64 feet.

“I’ve been here 6 years and this is the highest I’ve ever seen it,” Cody Dailey, Elmendorf city administrator said Friday morning. “At this point we are not evacuating. There is one home with reported flood damage, but there is no reported injuries or widespread flooding to homes. It’s mostly field damage.”

A staffer at the Bandera County Emergency Management Center said damage assessments were underway along the Medina Lake shoreline, where about 50 homeowners evacuated along Lakeshore Drive South. No reports of water entering homes had been received as of early Friday.

The level of Medina Lake rose nearly four feet on Thursday, sending a river of water over the spillway, but officials said it was receding early Friday

That was welcome news in Castroville, where the rising Medina River had approached an RV park in the city’s regional park before it started to drop.

In Medina County, a feared repeat of the major flooding in D’Hanis last month didn’t materialize, the sheriff’s office said.

The Red Cross had set up shelters in Boerne and in Southwest San Antonio for flooding victims and stranded motorists. No one was staying in the one in Boerne but in Bexar County there were people staying at the shelter established on the south west side of the city at Christa McAuliffe Middle School.

Have I mentioned that I am sick of all the rain this summer???

San Antonio, rain, flooding

Bexar County Sheriff Ralph Lopez testified this morning before a criminal grand jury, the Express-News has learned.

Lopez appeared under a subpoena sought by District Attorney Susan Reed’s office. Before his testimony, Lopez and his attorney Jason Davis declined to say whether Lopez is a target of the investigation or a witness.

The sheriff testified for about 45 minutes. After his testimony, Lopez said “I’ve done nothing wrong. It’s all a political witchhunt.” .

It’s believed to be the first time that Lopez has appeared before the grand jury. The exact scope of the investigation is unknown, but the grand jury has sought records related to Lopez’s campaign manager, John Reynolds.

Source: My SA News

San Antonio, Bexar County, Sheriff

A little late, but still an awesome picture in my book!

Wordless Wednesday, Shamu, Sea World, San Antonio

Boudros
It’s contemporary cuisine with a cutting edge featuring the flavor of our regional heritage with a distinctive menu of Texas and southwestern specialties.
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Casa Rio
The first restaurant on The San Antonio Riverwalk. Featuring great Mexican Food and one of the best Riverwalk locations in San Antonio.
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Fig Tree
Simple elegance in La Villita, Fig Tree celebrates tradition in a gracious setting just steps away from the Riverwalk. Fig Tree evokes a congenial spirit for business, entertaining, and social occasions.
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Los Patios
Serving lunch daily, its famous tree covered patio make for a wonderful lunch venue. Serving San Antonians and visitors since 1968, the Gazebo menu features classics like Chicken Green Enchiladas, Crepes Gazebo & creative daily specials.
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restaurants, San Antonio

For the first weekend in August- check out what’s happening in San Antonio and the surrounding areas!

Real. Fun. Farm at the San Antonio Zoo
Event Description
The exhibit features a barnyard-like theme, music, an interactive “feed-the-goats” program, lots of seating, and several hand-washing stations. A Real. Fun. Farm attendant will provide educational information, while children and adults enjoy fun, hands-on contact with African pygmy goats.

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Miss Appropriations: Stolen Materials - Borrowed Time
Visual Arts - Galleries
San Pedro Springs Gallery

Local contemporary artist, Nemo. Nemo’s show consists of a series of small format pencil on velum drawings of the female form inspired by haute couture magazine ads.
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Here Be Dragons Exhibit
Cultural Centers - Museums, Entertainment - Activities, Cultural Centers - Art/Visual
UTSA’s Institute of Texan Cultures

Event Description
You might not think about dragons every day, but you can find them all over Texas! As a matter of fact, dragons have played a significant role in the traditions and beliefs of many cultures that are represented in the Lone Star State. This exhibit explores those beliefs and tells the stories of many Texas dragons, from the ones in family crests to the ones that hide under your bed! This exhibit has great activities for kids, including Lego building stations and a kid-friendly activity area! And it will be hard to miss Draco, a towering animatronic dragon with a sixteen foot wingspan!

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Menopause the Musical (ends Sunday, August 5th)

Event Description
Four women at a lingerie sale with nothing in common but a black lace bra and memory loss, hot flashes, night sweats, not enough sex, too much sex and more! This joyful musical parody set to 26 classic baby-boomer songs.

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San Antonio, events

If you have kids, then a trip to the San Antonio Zoo is a must! My youngest can never get enough of the zoo, no matter what the weather.

San Antonio ’s first zoo consisted of a collection of animals assembled in San Pedro Park in the 1800s. In 1914, Colonel George W. Brackenridge, one of the city’s leading citizens and founder of the San Antonio Express-News, placed buffalo, elk, deer, monkeys, a pair of lions, and four bears on land he had deeded over to the city in what is now known as Brackenridge Park. This collection became the San Antonio Zoo.

Much about the San Antonio Zoo has changed since Colonel Brackenridge assembled his collection of animals in 1914. Today, the San Antonio Zoo is home to more than 3,800 animals representing 750 species. Here are a few of the Zoo’s current exhibits:

* African Plains
* Kronkosky’s Tiny Tot Nature Spot
* Butterflies! Caterpillar Flight School
* Lory Landing
* Gibbon Forest
* Attwater’s Prairie Chicken
* Richard Friedrich Aquarium
* Reptile House
* Hixon Bird House
* Rift Valley
* Cranes of the Worl

Children, as well as adults, will have a great day at the San Antonio Zoo!

San Antonio Zoo

1. Use for leverage to pry off the lid from a difficult “line-up-the-arrows” childproof medication bottle

2. Tape one to the tail of your kite for a little more stabilizing weight.

3. Teach your toddler to count with them.

4. Teach your little bit older child a little culture and history by looking in the dictionary to find that the American coin is only called a “penny” in slang, and that its proper name is “cent.”

5. Collect in your change jar and cash in when full.

6. Scratch off lottery tickets

7. Make sculptures like penny towers

8. For good luck, place one over every doorway when you move into a home.

9. Fill a sock with pennies for self defense.

10. Play penny poker.

11. Use to open the battery compartment of a remote control.

12. Find one heads up to have good luck.

13. Increase the pH of soil for hydrangeas.

More Thursday Thirteen

Thursday Thirteen, uses for pennies

More Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday, Torch of Friendship, San Antonio

If you are in San Antonio- SeaWorld is a must do!

A little history lesson:

Milton C. Shedd, Ken Norris, David Demont, and George Millay brought SeaWorld to life, yet that was not the initial idea. The four graduates of UCLA originally set out to build an underwater restaurant and marine life show. When the underwater restaurant concept was deemed unfeasible, they scrapped those plans and decided to build a park instead, and SeaWorld San Diego was born on March 21, 1964. With only a few dolphins, sea lions, 6 attractions and 22 acres, the park proved to be a success and more than 400,000 guests visited there in just the first 12 months.

The Anheuser-Busch Company made an offer to purchase the SeaWorld parks. However, HBJ also owned and operated two other parks, Cypress Gardens and Boardwalk and Baseball, and out of fear of not being able to find a buyer for the two other parks HBJ refused to sell the parks individually. Despite a long negotiation, Anheuser-Busch bought all six parks: SeaWorld in San Diego, Aurora, Orlando and San Antonio as well as Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven and Boardwalk and Baseball in Haines City. Soon after the sale was final, Busch sold Cypress Gardens to the park’s management and closed Boardwalk and Baseball. Anheuser-Busch put millions of dollars back into the parks to revive and to prolong their longevity. In February of 2001, Anheuser-Busch sold the Ohio park to Six Flags, Inc., operators of neighboring Six Flags Ohio.

SeaWorld’s main attraction is its Orcas (killer whales), several of which are housed in 7-million-gallon habitats that are each known as Shamu Stadium. It is important to note that there is not just one Orca named Shamu. Shamu was the name of the first Orca ever to be brought to SeaWorld San Diego in the 1960s. ‘Shamu’ is now used as a stage name for adult Orcas in performances at SeaWorld parks. The Orcas all have real names. Currently, Sea World houses 22 Orcas in its three parks. Seven Orcas live in the San Diego park: Corky, Kasatka, Ulises, Orkid, Sumar, Nakai, and Kalia. Nine live at SeaWorld Orlando: Katina, Kalina, Tilikum, Taima, Takara, Kayla, Trua, Nalani, and Malia. SeaWorld San Antonio holds six Orcas: Taku, Kyuquot, Keet, Unna, Tuar, and Halyn.

SeaWorld, San Antonio, Shamu, Anheuser-Busch Company, Anheuser-Busch

I recieved this in an e-mail from a fellow Texan~ it is too funny not to share!
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DUI - TEXAS STYLE

Only a person in Texas could think of this.

From the county where drunk driving is considered a sport, comes this true story. Recently a routine police patrol parked outside a bar in Austin , Texas after last call the officer noticed a man leaving the bar so apparently intoxicated that he could barely walk.

The man stumbled around the parking lot for a few minutes, with the officer quietly observing. After what seemed an eternity in which he tried his keys on five different vehicles, the man managed to find his car and fall into it.

He sat there for a few minutes as a number of other patrons left the bar and drove off.

Finally he started the car, switched the wipers on and off–it was a fine, dry summer night–, flicked the blinkers on and off a couple of times, honked the horn and then switched on the lights.

He moved the vehicle forward a few inches, reversed a little and then remained still for a few more minutes
as some more of the other patrons’ vehicles left.

At last, when his was the only car left in the parking lot, he pulled out and drove slowly down the road.

The police officer, having waited patiently all this time, now started up his patrol car, put on the flashing lights, promptly pulled the man over and administered a breathalyzer test.

To his amazement, the breathalyzer indicated no evidence that the man had consumed any alcohol at all!

Dumbfounded, the officer said, I’ll have to ask you to accompany me to the police station.

This breathalyzer equipment must be broken.”

“I doubt it,” said the truly proud Redneck. “Tonight I’m the designated decoy.”

Texas Comptroller Susan Combs is releasing $20 million from the state’s coffers to help public and charter schools fight childhood obesity.

The new Texas Fitness Now grant program will support in-school physical education, nutrition and fitness programs for students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades.

The grant program will be available over the next two years. The program will be open to schools with a student enrollment that is at least 75 percent economically disadvantaged. Some 700 schools throughout the state will be eligible to apply for grants.

“Texas Fitness Now will provide crisis money for our schools,” Combs says. “Childhood obesity and Type 2 diabetes among children is an epidemic that we, as a state, must address now. Obesity cost Texas businesses an estimated $3.3 billion in 2005 and could cost employers $15.8 billion annually by 2025 if the trend continues.”

The U.S. Surgeon General’s office indicates that overweight children have a 70 percent chance of becoming overweight or obese as adults.

The minimum grant is $1,500 and schools can receive more, based on their enrollment. An estimated 270,000 middle school students in Texas could benefit from the grants.

The deadline for schools to apply for a Texas Fitness Now grant is Oct. 1.

Web site: www.window.state.tx.us

San Antonio, Texas, Child obesity

13 facts about San Antonio

1.) San Antonio is the second largest city in Texas

2.) San Antonio is the seventh most populous city in the United States

3.) San Antonio is the 29th-largest metropolitan area in the USA.

4.) San Antonio has influences of both the American South and Southwest.

5.) San Antonio was named for the Portuguese Saint Anthony of Padua, whose feast day it was (June 13) when a Spanish expedition stopped in the area in 1691.

6.) The city has a strong military presence—it is home to Fort Sam Houston, Lackland Air Force Base, Randolph Air Force Base, and Brooks City-Base, with Camp Bullis and Camp Stanley right outside the city.

7.) San Antonio is home to the South Texas Medical Center, the largest and only medical research and care provider in the South Texas region.

8.) San Antonio is famous for its River Walk, the Alamo, Tejano culture, and being home to SeaWorld and Six Flags Fiesta Texas theme parks.

9.) The city is visited by 20 million tourists per year.

10.) San Antonio claims the most successful National Basketball Association teams in league history, the San Antonio Spurs.

11.) The San Antonio Convention Center hosts more than 300 events each year with over 750,000 convention delegates from around the world.

12.) The jewel of the city is the River Walk, which meanders through the downtown area.

13.) The Fairmont Hotel, built in 1906, is in the Guinness Book of World Records as one of the heaviest buildings ever moved intact. It was placed in its new location, three blocks south of the Alamo, over four days in 1985, and cost $650,000 to move. The Fairmont houses the “Sage Ristorante e Bar.”

More Thursday Thirteen

Thursday Thirteen, San Antonio

The following has been paraphrase from Melody’s blog, Slurping Life. Melody is having a fundraiser for a special little man named Parker, please take a few moments and go see how you can help.

Those of you who landed here yet somehow missed the blogosphere buzz about Love For Parker may not know him…let me introduce Parker. TopBlogMag has graciously published my interview with Parker’s mommy, Tammy, and reading it is the best way to get to know him. Parker is an adorable, but medically fragile child who requires an extraordinary amount of care. His care is extremely expensive, and his parents’ insurance company leaves a huge portion of the financial burden on the family. His parents have been unable to qualify Parker for other forms of assistance.