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SAN ANTONIO -- Police say a homeowner on the city's northwest side shot a man in the head Wednesday morning for trying to steal a potted plant from his yard. The homeowner, in his 60s, grabbed his handgun around 8 a.m. and took several shots a man he claims was stealing a potted plant and other items from his yard at 708 Shadwell, said Sgt. Chris Benavides, a spokesman for the San Antonio Police Department. Officers caught up to the suspect at the Cabana Apartments, where he lives. He told officers that he had just finished dropping his kids off...

Rep. Charlie Gonzalez said Friday he will not seek re-election, a decision that will end the congressional tenure of a Democratic family whose name has been synonymous with the city of San Antonio for more than half a century. Gonzalez, who sued the state over a redistricting plan that carved downtown out of his central San Antonio congressional district, said it was not reapportionment, but the need to provide financial stability for his family that is forcing him to seek a new career. “I still find the job hugely rewarding, but the demands pull me somewhere else,” said Gonzalez, who...

It is unfortunate that the placement of small crosses on a tower at the Texas A&M University-San Antonio was met with such a backlash from those offended by the religious symbolism. The small crosses on the Torre de Esperanza, or Tower of Hope, located on the boulevard leading to the public university were meant to represent the Spanish missions, those historic gems located on the city's South Side. An adjunct criminology professor initially raised questions about the crosses on the tower, which was built on private land with city money. Then last week a Washington-based organization that promotes the separation...

After 60 years of waiting, worrying and wondering, the family of a young Army medic who died in the Korean War is preparing to give him a hometown military burial. The remains of Pfc. Jimmie Jimenez Gaitan arrived Wednesday at San Antonio International Airport. Relatives who've long sought to bring him home were on the Tarmac. SNIP Adams said his uncle was one of more than 4,000 U.S. and United Nations troops whose skeletal remains were returned in 1954 in exchange for repatriation of some 13,000 North Korean and Chinese troops in an initiative known as “Operation Glory.” Gaitan's remains...

Ward Churchill, a controversial activist for academic freedom, at a speech at Trinity University on Tuesday accused the university's president, Dennis Ahlburg, of a smear campaign against him some years ago in Colorado. He also invoked the Hitler salute of “Sieg Heil” to Ahlburg's wife, Penelope Harley, as she stormed out of the auditorium after defending her husband in front of the audience of students and faculty. “This personal vindictiveness in an institution that has welcomed you ... I find very, very hard to listen to. And quite frankly, pretty darn insulting,” said Harley, before leaving for her son's soccer...

Five foreign men were arrested during a courthouse break-in early on Wednesday and police said they found photographs of public buildings, water systems and malls from various U.S. cities in their van. The men, at least three of whom were in their 20s, will be questioned by a joint terrorism task force including the FBI and immigration authorities, officials said. Bexar County spokeswoman Laura Jesse said three men were found inside the 120-year-old Bexar County Courthouse, a landmark in downtown San Antonio and two in a large recreational vehicle parked in front of the building. She said all five were...

Five men in their twenties, described as French-Moroccan Muslims, are being questioned by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force and by officials of the Department of Homeland Security after they were arrested inside the 120 year old Bexar County Courthouse in downtown San Antonio shortly before 2 this morning, 1200 WOAI news reports. Officials say three of the men crawled through a window to get into the 120 year old Courthouse, which is a landmark in downtown San Antonio, and theother two were found in a van parked in front of the building.

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Five Moroccan nationals arrested Wednesday for breaking into a San Antonio courthouse were found to have pictures of public buildings, water systems and malls across the country, Reuters reports. While they were nabbed by local police, the suspects will be interrogated by a joint terrorism task force that includes the FBI and immigration enforcement authorities, the wire service reported.

River Ranch Fresh Foods, LLC of Salinas, CA is initiating a voluntary recall of 2,154 cases of various bagged salad products due to the potential of being contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.Giant Eagle has been informed by representatives of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the presence of listeria monocytogenes in a routine random sample test of Giant Eagle Farmer's Market eight ounce package of Shredded Iceberg Lettuce, produced by River Ranch Fresh Foods LLC Fruit Fresh Up, Inc. of Depew, New York is recalling approximately 4,800 individual packages of FRESH CUT CANTALOUPE AND CUT MIXED FRUIT CONTAINING CANTALOUPE because...

The following is summarized from San Antonio television news reports. At two o'clock this morning at least three men entered the Bexar County Courthouse in downtown San Antonio, Tx. They were apprehended by San Antonio police as they left the building. Three suspects were arrested. Two others are being questioned by police and FBI agents. Terror related concerns were raised when cameras, unspecified documents, and a travel itinerary were found in the Winnebago in which the men were traveling. KENS-TV reported the itinerary was extensive and included visits to a number of "sensitive" areas. The station reported the men are...

A panel conversation on the DREAM Act turned nasty when a public school teacher told the panel that they want him to act like an ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) Agent, and round up students who are in the country illegally. The teacher followed up by calling one of the panelists, a Hispanic Tea Party leader, a “Nazi.” Jonathan Bryant, a government teacher at a local high school in the area, took the microphone and quickly made sure to recognize the kids in attendance, to which he received boisterous applause. Bryant then responded to a comment made by one of...

Robert Rivard, who has received criticism by many as leading the San Antonio Express-News (EN) toward a liberal bias, resigned today as editor. According to sources inside the newspaper, Rivard’s resignation was announced to them at a surprise meeting this afternoon. Rumors ran rampant throughout the Alamo City while officially, publisher Tom Stephenson indicated Rivard was going to pursue other endeavors. Readership circulation for the EN has been declining for years during Rivard’s tenure. NEWSPAPER READERSHIP DECLINING Recent EN circulation counts for Monday-Thursday readership was 133,480. This is down from 225,233 in 2007 and 239,000 in 2000, according to the...

City Manager Sheryl Sculley calls herself an agent of social change. That is not her job, but she is using the budget to do it. Her budget proposes insurance benefits for same-sex domestic partners. The plan is bad on several counts. [. . .] . . . this proposal is an insult to 6,000 years of law codes, prevailing social traditions and the religious beliefs and moral code of most residents of San Antonio. It is one thing to tolerate or countenance the practice of homosexuality; it is quite another to give it tax support. It is not the role...

On the phone now with Beck. Hagee is not leaving. FBI is now involved.

Texas Sen. John Cornyn this morning laid out a long-term political blueprint for bipartisan, comprehensive tax reform, declaring that he could support eliminating some corporate “tax expenditures” as part of a “revenue neutral” deal that lowered overall tax rates. Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Cornyn said that a serious discussion of tax reform should follow any short-term deal to cut trillions of dollars in federal spending and increase the federal debt limit. “There is not enough time to get this (tax reform deal) done between now and Aug. 2,” he said. The San Antonio Republican said there is bipartisan support...

Aside from the murder and kidnapping charges hanging over her head, San Antonio resident Gloria Gamez, 46, might have looked like a bespectacled soccer mom Monday as her trial began. But Gamez, who also went by the alias “Lorna Mello,” could face up to life in prison if jurors in the 437th state District Court convict her. Through a Spanish interpreter, she pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors projected graphic images onto the courtroom wall of the charred remains of Herman Diaz III, 38, whose torture and death she is accused of having orchestrated. Gamez was a mid-level drug dealer who rented...

Remember the real Alamo Posted: April 8, 2004 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com "Remember the Alamo," was an American battle cry for generations. Now Disney is trying to get Americans to forget the real history of heroic fight. Disney's remake of "The Alamo" will be released tomorrow in theaters nationwide. Judging from a review of the script, the film will be a disgraceful deconstruction of Davy Crockett, Sam Houston, Jim Bowie and other American heroes who "died with their boots on." "The movie reads more like a Disney fairy tale and promotes a politically correct revisionist agenda aimed at...

<p>The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans.</p> <p>We hope to provide an ongoing source of information about issues and problems that are specific to Veterans and resources that are available to Veterans and their families.</p> <p>In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support.</p>

The siege and the final assault on the Alamo in 1836 constitute the most celebrated military engagement in Texas history. The battle was conspicuous for the large number of illustrious personalities among its combatants. These included Tennessee congressman David Crockett, entrepreneur-adventurer James Bowie, and Mexican president Antonio López de Santa Anna. Although not nationally famous at the time, William Barret Travis achieved lasting distinction as commander at the Alamo. For many Americans and most Texans, the battle has become a symbol of patriotic sacrifice. Traditional popular depictions, including novels, stage plays, and motion pictures, emphasize legendary aspects that often...

The Fall Of The Alamo by Captain R. M. Potter Date of Event: 1836 Written in 1860, Subsequently Revised by Author Captain R.M. Potter lived near the Alamo at the time it fell, and was in a good position to learn many of the details of what happened there. He wrote the first draft of this narrative for the San Antonio Herald in 1860, and later revised it, after communications with Colonel Juan Seguin, USA, who was an officer of the Alamo garrison up to within six days of the assault. Due to great interest in the subject of the...

The Mexicans,They Died for a Just and Honorable Cause. (Did They, Really?) I Seem to recall Americans saying the same thing about our men at the Alamo! But today I hear more talk about how damn brave the Mexicans are and how they are going to take this state and that state back. From everything I have been able to gather, we're going to let them have what the hell they want and the hell with the Alamo and it's Hero's. We have finally become the "Roll Over and Play Dead Nation" I don't feel like fighting if it does...

Just two days after Bexar County Sheriff's Sgt. Kenneth Vann was honored by thousands at his funeral, local and federal officials on Sunday raided a far South Side house and arrested a man they said was responsible for the ambush style slaying last month. Mark Anthony Gonzales, 41, was taken into custody without incident around 4 p.m., at his home in the 19700 block of Pleasanton Road, about one mile north of Loop 1604. He faces one charge of capital murder, officials said. He was in the home with his wife and one of their two children, whose names and...

A veteran Bexar County sheriff's deputy was fatally shot during an apparent ambush while waiting at a traffic light in his marked patrol vehicle early Saturday, according to the San Antonio Express. Forty-five-year-old Sgt. Kenneth Vann was waiting at an intersection just after 2 a.m. Saturday when a small white vehicle pulled up next to him on the right side and started shooting through the front passenger window. Witnesses called police, who discovered Vann dead in the driver's seat.

A 20-year veteran of the Bexar County Sheriff's Office was ordered Thursday to serve six years in prison for trying to smuggle heroin to inmates using barbacoa tacos. State District Judge Sid Harle immediately ordered Robert Falcon, 48, to be put on suicide watch after the former deputy said in court that he planned to kill himself if he was not given probation. “I hope you have enough guts to go do your time and come back because your family needs you,” Harle said, pointing out that as a veteran jailer, Falcon probably knows how to circumvent the facility's suicide...

California-based Google has renamed Durango Boulevard — even if San Antonio is prohibited by a court from doing so itself. Since at least Tuesday, a portion of Durango Boulevard appears on Google Maps as “César E. Chávez Boulevard” — something that “shocked” San Antonio Conservation Society President Rollette Schreckenghost “We're very disappointed,” she said. “I'm stunned.” The conservation society sued to stop the city from changing Durango to Chávez Boulevard in honor of the late labor leader. A district judge blocked the change Monday, pending a full hearing next month. Until then, the city can't proceed. Neither can outgoing Councilman...

SAN ANTONIO — A judge on Monday blocked the city of San Antonio from renaming a street after the late labor activist Cesar Chavez. The temporary restraining order from State District Judge Antonia Arteaga came just days after the City Council voted along ethnic lines to approve the name change. The proposal to rename Durango Street, one of the city's main streets, has divided a city where 61 percent of residents are Hispanic. "It is very important that we protect the integrity of our history, and that includes objecting to changing street names," said Bill Oliver, who represents the San...

SAN ANTONIO-It's been tried before over the years, but it never happened. Changing the name of Durango Boulevard to Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard. The change to honor the late civil rights leader would affect Durango from Interstate 37 here in downtown to 36th street to the west. It would cost the city roughly 100-thousand dollars to make the changes. The issue was put on the fast track by councilman Philip Cortez of district 4--one of four districts that would be affected. But the cost goes beyond just changing street signs. It's been called Durango since the 1880s. But this street...

In a vote that split down ethnic lines, the City Council on Thursday approved changing the name of Durango Boulevard in honor of civil rights activist and labor leader César Chávez. Though they all said Chávez should be honored in some meaningful way, none of the non-Latino council members — Ivy Taylor, Reed Williams, Elisa Chan and John Clamp — voted in favor of the proposal. The council's seven Hispanic members supported the initiative. Opposition vacillated from the pragmatic to the philosophical and included arguments that changing the street name would be too great a burden on residents and businesses,...

Smile, schoolchildren. You’re on calorie camera. Health officials trying to reduce obesity and improve eating habits at five San Antonio elementary schools unveiled a $2 million research project Wednesday that will photograph students’ lunch trays before they sit down to eat and later take a snapshot of the leftovers. A computer program then analyzes the photos to identify every piece of food on the plate — right down to how many ounces are left in that lump of mash potatoes — and calculates the number of calories each student scarfed down. The project, funded by a U.S. Department of Agriculture...

Smile, Texas schoolchildren. You’re on calorie camera. That’s the idea behind a $2 million project being unveiled Wednesday in the lunchroom of a San Antonio elementary school, where high-tech cameras installed in the cafeteria will begin photographing what foods children pile onto their trays — and later capture what they don’t finish eating. Digital imaging analysis of the snapshots will then calculate how many calories each student scarfed down. Local health officials said the program, funded by a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant, is the first of its kind in a U.S. school, and will be so precise that the...

A man is expected to survive after he was struck by a train on the Northeast Side early Monday, San Antonio police said. The man, 22, was struck by a southbound Burlington Northern Santa Fe locomotive near Wetmore Road and Wurzbach Parkway around 5 a.m. BNSF spokesman Joe Faust said the train's engineer and conductor saw the man lying on the tracks, apparently attempting suicide, near a bridge. The crew blew the train's horn and activated its emergency brakes, officials said, but couldn't avoid striking the man. Police Sgt. Donald Leonard said the man was then scooped up by the...

The Daughters of The Republic of Texas Library is part of the Alamo complex in San Antonio, Texas. The 175th anniversary of the Battle of the Alamo is upon us. Brave Texas patriots fought bravely and gallantly from February 23, 1836 to March 6, 1836 for freedom, liberty and independence. The vicious Mexican dictator General Antonio López de Santa Anna was ultimately humiliated by General Sam Houston at the Battle of San Jacinto, on April 21, 1836. Shortly thereafter the Texas Declaration of Independence was adopted on March 2, 1836.

After some disconnect from the the Tea Party Movement, the San Antonio Tea Party has a new leader: George Rodriguez. See his remarks here: George Rodriguez's Remark at the SATP

When Republicans take control of the House of Representatives next month, U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith of San Antonio will become the GOP point person on immigration as chairman of the powerful Judiciary Committee. Smith will shelve immigration reform proposals and scrutinize how the Obama administration has enforced laws. "I’m sure my name is taken in vain sometimes," the veteran congressman says.

Parents of a little girl who disappeared Wednesday are hoping you can help find her.

SAN ANTONIO - A real estate agent says she owes her life to five students who helped her escape a client who brutally attacked her. Janice Tisdale says she had just finished showing the man the upscale northwest side home and was reaching for the front door's lock when he struck her head with a pole from inside the house. She described it as a pole used to pull a staircase from the ceiling. Tisdale says the man demanded $4,000 and as she was bleeding on the front porch and still talking to him, a golf cart passed by, followed...

San Antonio police on Monday arrested a woman accused of assisting in an April killing. Richelle Vasquez, 34, is suspected in the murder of Mark A. Gabler, 33, whose remains were found in a Bexar County field on May 20. Vasquez became the third person arrested in the case. Kenneth Nelson, 40, was arrested on Dec. 5 and Shawn Phillips, 32, was arrested in October. All are charged with murder. The three conspired to kill Gabler, rather than turning to police, after he was accused of molesting a young relative of Phillips, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

The pair traveled to Monterrey to visit family. About a mile over the border at the busy intersection of Boulevard Luis Donaldo Colosi and Vincent Guerrero Avenue around dusk.The couple waited at a red light when all of a sudden a sedan blocked them."Two doors on one side opened and all I could see was four or five guys with guns," the husband said."I heard 'get out of the car or I'll kill you guys,'" the wife said.The couple got out of their four-door pickup truck. Before the thieves pulled off, they directed the couple to remove their two dogs...

It took jurors about 45 minutes of deliberation Friday to sentence an alleged crack cocaine dealer to four life sentences — one of which has no possibility of parole — for the kidnapping, rape and forced prostitution of a 13-year-old. Juan Moreno, 45, stood silently as state District Judge Ron Rangel read the sentences. Moreno had faced between 25 years and life in prison without parole for super aggravated sexual assault of a child and between 15 years and life in prison for aggravated kidnapping. The other two convictions, human trafficking and compelling prostitution, are generally second-degree felonies with maximum...

Eva Longoria and Tony Parker are getting divorced ... TMZ has learned. Parker filed for divorce yesterday in Texas. The "Desperate Housewives" actress and the San Antonio Spurs star married back in July of 2007. Eva has stated that she has Tony's initials tattooed on her body ... in a mystery spot. She also has Tony's jersey number -- "Nine" -- tattooed on the back of her neck.

For many San Antonians, it's a forgotten battle of the Texas Revolution. But historians say the Battle of Concepción resulted in the first Texian fatality in the war, and emboldened the rebel forces to mount a campaign to capture San Antonio, including a heavily fortified mission compound known as the Alamo. The battle near Mission Concepción on the morning of Oct. 28, 1835, began a siege that ended with a surrender by Mexican Gen. Martín Perfecto de Cos after the Battle of Bexar about six weeks later. That set the stage for the famous siege and March 6, 1836 Battle...

He entered the police academy a shy and respectful cadet whose lifelong ambition had been to become a police officer. Transformed by 33 weeks of intensive training, Sergio Antillon left a confident and assertive decision-maker, academy officials said, someone whose academic proficiency and high marks for customer service heralded a long and promising career. But less than two months into his career, the rookie officer was critically injured in a wreck, moments after stopping to help a stranded motorist. Surrounded by relatives, friends and co-workers, Antillon died Friday at University Hospital after being taken off life support. Sandra Briggs, 58,...

SAN ANTONIO -- San Antonio police said a northeast side woman shot and killed a man who broke into her home early Tuesday morning. Watch Simon Gutierrez's Report The shooting happened around 4 a.m. at the woman's home in the 4800 block of Castle Path, police said. According to San Antonio Police Capt. Cris Andersen, the suspect broke into the home through an unlocked screen door, then kicked in the bedroom door. The woman sleeping in the bedroom then retrieved a revolver she kept under her pillow and fired four shots at the suspect, said Andersen. The suspect tried to...

Former Bexar County Democratic Party Treasurer Dwayne Eugene Adams was indicted Wednesday on charges that he embezzled and misused about $202,000 of party funds. Adams, 55, could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of theft between $100,000 and $200,000 and misapplication by a fiduciary between $100,000 and $200,000. Each charge is a second-degree felony. The grand jury action came as little surprise, Democratic Party officials acknowledged. Prosecutors with the white-collar crimes division of the Bexar County district attorney's office had interviewed more than 20 people — including former party chair Carla Vela and numerous deputy chairs —...

The effort to ban smoking in all workplaces across the city appears to be going up in smoke, as prominent advertising executive Lionel Sosa tonight will brand the proposal as racist. "The proposed ordinance is economically discriminatory to members of the Hispanic community," Sosa will tell council, according to a text of his letter obtained by 1200 WOAI news. "When you look at the population of the small area bars, poll halls, and VFW halls that populate our community, you will see the overwhelming majority of those that will see their freedom of choice stripped from them by this ordinance...

Rosemary Benitez thought it was a joke at first. She was told her store was going to need a food permit in order to stay in business. But Benitez doesn't own a restaurant. She owns the Shades of Love lingerie store on West Bitters road. Shades of Love sells racy lingerie, high heel shoes, adult toys and items meant to enhance a couple's sex life. However, some of those items are edible. That's why the health department ruled the store needed a food permit. The permit costs about $230 a year. It also means the store is subject to regular...

San Antonio City Council will be asked today to create what are called ‘prostitution free corridors’ to crack down on the activity in areas where prostitutes are known to frequent. Southeast side Councilwoman Jennifer Ramos says the proposal, which will be floated before the council’s Governance Committee, would designate areas where police and law enforcement will focus on rooting out prostitution. “I want to see if there is a similar way we could attack prostitution, similar to the way we have attacked gang activity in certain parts of town,” Ramos said. Under the District Attorney’s successful gang injunction program, gang...

SAN ANTONIO -- San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro was recently profiled in the New York Times, which referenced him as the next national Hispanic leader and perhaps president. "It's been a very promising response," said Castro. "It's a very flattering article." But comments he didn't make could draw some strong opinions. His mother, Rosie Castro, had strong words when asked about her memories of the Alamo, a symbol of Texas independence. "They used to take us there when we were school children," Perez told the Times. "They told us how glorious that battle was. When I grew up, I learned...

A small Protestant church in Leon Valley, an enclave within the city of San Antonio, is challenging a zoning code that prohibits the church from holding Sunday worship services. The city code excludes religious assemblies from some zoning areas because they decrease the city’s tax revenue and interfere with commercial activity. In 2007, revisions to the city code excluded churches from most of the city to maximize tax revenues, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty reports. Auditoriums, convention centers, private clubs and schools are free to locate in the city’s retail zones, but churches are not. The Elijah Group, an...

SAN ANTONIO -- An 18-wheeler being loaded with fuel at a San Antonio refinery has exploded. Television stations showed footage Wednesday of an enormous black plume spewing from the AGE Refining Inc. unit on the city's southeast side. Refinery marketing director Jeff Morrow says the truck exploded late Wednesday morning at the facility that refines gas and jet fuel, but he had no other details. San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood told KENS-TV that the fire had spread to the refining facility, and authorities were trying to assess whether neighbors should be evacuated.