Tagged: local news

Texas lawmakers approved a bill that replaces funds taken from public education and mental health providers but changes the structure of the state’s Medicaid.

The senate voted 29 to 2 in favor of the budget, with Senators Silvia Garcia, D-Houston, and Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, voting against the bill.

A set of bills in both the Texas House and Senate are there to ensure that the state’s veterans are able to use military training to obtain jobs. 

Sen. Leticia Van de Putte authored the bill that ensures training and certifications obtained by veterans and their spouses while serving in the military immediately transfer with them into civilian life. 

The San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau is kicking off a new campaign to increase occupancy at area hotels during Fiesta week.

Krystal Jones, senior brand manager for the bureau, said locals often don’t try to book hotels, thinking they’re booked up long in advance.

"Fiesta, of course, is a busy time, and a lot of locals come and enjoy Fiesta. And automatically you think there might not be room at the hotels but we do have availability. We sit at about 70 percent," she said.

The Texas Institute for Educational Robotics (TIER) at Northwest Vista College has been awarded a grant from the Google Computer Sciences for High School program.

TIER is an outreach program at Northwest Vista College to get younger students interested in pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering and math and was awarded the money to give middle school teachers a gaming-type tool to use in teaching their regular classes.

San Antonio economists told members of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce that San Antonio recovered from the recession faster because it didn’t suffer as great an impact as the rest of the nation, or even Texas.

Keith Phillips with the local branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said metropolitan statistical area's in Texas have recovered all of the jobs lost in the recession, and San Antonio suffered the least: