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Downtown San Antonio and the River Walk now can add another title: Federal Historic District. Preservation experts say the new designation means protections and incentives to ensure a future for downtown’s venerable buildings and gathering spaces. It also may prompt more restoration projects, they say. The National Park Service’s decision to add the district to the National Register of Historic Places comes as the city is celebrating its 300th birthday. It also adds to San Antonio’s reputation for historic significance, most notably the designation of its five Spanish Colonial missions as a World Heritage Site in 2015. https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Most-of-downtown-now-in-federal-historic-district-12765472.php
Downtown developer GrayStreet Partners has proposed a 20-story hotel and office tower on Broadway that would exceed zoning regulations intended to protect the San Antonio River and would tower over nearby buildings at the Pearl. It would be the tallest building along the booming lower Broadway corridor. Developers are planning to build several large-scale projects as the city rehabilitates the thoroughfare with $42 million from a city $850 million bond program that voters approved last year. The GrayStreet project still needs to be approved by the city’s Historic and Design Review Commission, which will review it Wednesday. https://www.expressnews.com/real-estate/article/GrayStreet-proposes-20-story-hotel-and-office-12764249.php
A San Antonio woman convicted with her husband in January of a dangerous dog attack that resulted in an elderly woman losing an arm in 2017 was formally sentenced Monday to 10 years of probation. On Monday, Judge Joey Contreras told Stanyelle Miles-McCloud, who was convicted in January along with her husband, that, “You’re never to own a four-legged animal again.” He also ordered that she spend 90 days in Bexar County Jail, which he said would be served on the weekends. https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/San-Antonio-woman-convicted-in-pit-bull-attack-12765519.php
The Fiesta Flambeau Parade may be more than a month away, but members of the Kazamba Dance & Drum Group are working to fine-tune their act for 70th anniversary of what’s billed as America’s largest illuminated night parade. https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Dance-and-drum-group-KaZamba-ready-to-thrill-12765455.php
Tensions are rising in Austin, where authorities on Monday linked a Sunday bombing to three other bomb attacks this month in Texas’ bustling, trendy capital city. “We are clearly dealing with what we expect to be a serial bomber at this point,” says Austin Chief of Police Brian Manley. Police have found similarities between the bombing Sunday night, which used a tripwire, and the previous bombs that went off in areas of East Austin. The San Antonio Police Department is sending two bomb technicians and a canine to help respond to suspicious package calls, Chief William McManus said Monday. https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Austin-serial-bomber-asked-to-contact-police-12764240.php
Top stories we’re working on:
Comptroller Glenn Hegar is expected to warn Tuesday that the state's credit rating is at risk, laying the groundwork for a fresh push for his proposal to allow him to invest the rainy day fund in items that are a bit riskier but have better returns than the current investment plan. Currently, most of the fund is kept in a way that preserves liquidity but doesn't keep up with inflation.
The city’s audit committee is meeting Tuesday morning to discuss its review of Centro San Antonio, the troubled downtown-focused nonprofit that’s being overhauled after its staff accountant was tied to the embezzlement of $291,000 and that has spent thousands of tax dollars on lobbying and entertainment.
UTSA will be celebrating its newest and sixth president Tuesday at the official inauguration ceremony for Taylor Eighmy. Eighmy, who actually started in September, has been pushing the idea of "urbanomics," or a university's critical role in the economic and "metabolic" processes of the city. He has plans to build up the university's downtown campus and restructure university leadership to include a team dedicated to issues of diversity. The inauguration starts at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday and will feature speakers Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales, UT System Chancellor William McRaven and UTSA’s first student regent, Jaciel Castro. The ceremony also will feature a reading by Carmen Tafolla, a former Texas poet laureate and current UTSA professor.
