Joey Palacios

Hwy 281 North and Loop 1604 are finally connecting this afternoon evening and will finally be open after months of construction.

Anyone who travels the 281/1604 corridor knows the extended commute they face during rush hour, but with the completion of one of the connectors, drivers on 281 North can access 1604 East & West without having to exit the freeway.

Republican incumbent John Garza was elected during the Republican sweep in the 2010 mid-term elections, but this year former San Antonio City Councilman Philip Cortez ended election night with 53 percent of voter support to win the seat.

Cortez said he pledges to fight any additional cuts to the Texas education system when he takes office in January.

“I will fight them tooth and nail because those dollars are for our children and for the resources that teachers need to ensure we are properly educating the future leaders of this great state of Texas,” Cortez said.

Bexar County will have a new sheriff after the Republican challenger unseated Democratic incumbent Amadeo Ortiz.  

Bexar County Sheriff-Elect Susan Pamerleau had a smile from ear to ear with an early vote lead of nine percent when the polls closed on election night. In the end, Pamerleau had won by a slim margin with 51 percent.

At the Republican watch party, Pamerleau dropped hints that she is intent on changing some of the inner workings of the sheriff’s department.

San Antonio is one the few major cities in the country without a dedicated LGBTQ community center. While there were several attempts in the past, a collective of community members is laying the ground work to establish a new one.

The Pride Center San Antonio doesn’t have a dedicated space yet, but the people behind its creation want it to be a connector for the gay community.

Millions of people on the East Coast remain without power today as Superstorm Sandy barrels into the United States. To help restore electricity, CPS Energy is sending some of its own emergency response crews.

For the next three days, 6 of CPS Energy’s utility trucks will be traveling to help Dominion Virginia Power, who sent CPS a request for assistance on Sunday Morning.

As the first five days of early voting came to a close, Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade visited election sites across the state to praise the high turnout during early voting.  Andrade stopped in Bexar County on Friday as election monitors from Europe are being threatened by the state's attorney general.

The two election observers visiting the state are from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

It’s still nearly a year before the Mission Reach is completed, but a new stretch is now open to the public. The San Antonio River Authority and Bexar County have added an additional 1.5 mile loop near Theo Avenue and a hike and bike bridge over Concepciόn Creek.

SARA General Manager Suzanne Scott said the $3.5 million restoration of this section of the river will include the planting of new trees.