Government

The Hwy. 151 and Loop 1604 project is supposed to alleviate current and projected traffic congestion on the interchange by turning 151 into an underpass connecting to Alamo Ranch Parkway, but now the project’s completion date is in limbo.

Texas Department of Transportation spokesman Josh Donat said the agency will have to work with the Federal Highway Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to redesign the roadway.

More than 15 people were killed in Nuevo Laredo over the last weekend. According to Mexican authorities, 13 died in gun battles between rival criminal organizations and two more were killed in a run-in with the Mexican Army.

Nuevo Laredo is across the Rio Grande from Laredo Texas and is 150 miles South of San Antonio.

Officials said they found seven dismembered bodies Sunday morning at a parking lot in Nuevo Laredo’s central business district. On the bodies was a message, but its contents were not released.

The Justice of the Peace in Precinct 3 has been a part-time position for 30 years, through all of Judge Keith Baker’s tenure while he maintained a separate law practice. After a recent audit showed 10,000 warrants have been in limbo in his court since January, Judge Baker announced he will retire at the end of this year.

First, District Attorney Susan Reed got the word out that all of those warrants will be served within the next two weeks.

San Antonio Deputy City Manager Pat DiGiovanni has opened an investigation into his own conduct after concerns were raised about a potential conflict of interest.

The city's ethics review board will look at the case, which stems from DiGiovanni's new employment with the non-profit Centro Partnership, whose goal is to revitalize the downtown San Antonio area, and his role at the city.

He fears being identified will put his kidnapped girlfriend in even more danger, and it may also get him killed. The veteran labor activist in Tamaulipas State in Mexico said that for the last two years, he and many colleagues have had to go in hiding.

"Pues la lucha por la justicia amenaza cualquier interés."

One-year-old Wesley and three-year-old Walter Maspero were killed after a suspected drug dealer that police were staking-out fled; David Rodriguez hit the vehicle that the youngsters were in at 80 mph.

Days later, 55-year-old Pedro Tenorio was killed when suspected burglars making a getaway crashed into his motorcycle.

"In both those instances, the officers had completely disengaged from the chase," said Police Chief William McManus.

From his stance that big banks are his opponent's focus and not small business, State Representative Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, said U.S. Congressman Francisco "Quico" Canseco, R-Texas, went to Washington, D.C. and became a part of the problem. Canseco said he wants growth in the private sector, where his opponent would destroy the country's economic force.

Each of the candidates argued back and forth on a stage at Palo Alto College Tuesday night. The debate was hosted by Univision and AARP, and conducted entirely in Spanish.

Congressman Charlie Gonzalez is retiring from the seat that represents central San Antonio – and now there’s a race to determine who will claim the post. Republican small businessman David Rosa is facing off against Democrat State Rep. Joaquín Castro.

This race is being called a David and Goliath match up, as GOP delegate and political behind-the-scenes man Rosa goes up against the Castro camp, but the voters will decide who will win the open seat.

Just in time for National Voter Registration Day, local university students came together to encourage fellow students to register and to vote while they are residing in Bexar County.

UTSA Professor Patricia Jaramillo said the first step was training, and the students took the lead in the project:

The Pre-K 4 SA campaign is launching a video showing preschoolers at San Antonio College’s Early Childhood Development Center talking about their school experience and asking voters for support.

The Pre-K initiative would add one-eighth of a cent to the sales tax generating $31 million per year to fund pre-K for 22,000 4-year-olds in the city. Mayor Julián Castro said Pre-K 4 SA would be the first of its kind in the state.