Investigative Journalist in Houston, Texas
If you’re wondering how your neighborhood voted in the November 2018 election and want to see hard numbers in San Antonio, the wait is over. Every voter is assigned to a voting precinct. And after every election, the Bexar County Elections Department releases voting results for every precinct in the county. When you plug those … Read more
Before REO Speedwagon headlined San Antonio’s Tricentennial celebration on New Year’s Eve, the poofy-haired pop band tried to keep its entertainment contract from being released to the public, arguing it would “cause substantial harm.” But in a victory for open-records advocates, the Texas Attorney General ruled last week that the contract is a public record. … Read more
The latest investigative stories in Texas that uncovered hidden facts and held officials accountable:
How renting furniture in Texas can land you in jail | The Texas Tribune
“Rental companies can avail themselves of a little-known law written decades ago by the rental industry lobby — in Texas and in many other states — that can turn a dispute over a love seat or big screen TV into a criminal offense report, a trip to jail and even felony theft charges.” Read more …
The latest investigative stories in Texas that uncovered hidden facts and held officials accountable:
Investigators: Gym owner started deadly blaze that killed firefighter Scott Deem | The San Antonio Express-News
Local officials have released few details about a deadly blaze that killed San Antonio firefighter Scott Deem. But an arrest affidavit obtained by the Express-News reveals that arson suspect Emond Javor Johnson was plagued by financial problems and confessed to starting the fire to get out of a monthly $2,500 lease at the Spartan Gym. Authorities arrested Johnson Wednesday. Read more …
After Hurricane Harvey made landfall and motorists in San Antonio besieged gas stations like frantic bank customers in “Mary Poppins,” there’s probably never been a better time to try something that lets you avoid gas stations altogether — commuting by bicycle. I’m here to help. We can all come up with excuses to avoid riding … Read more
Texas weather can be wild and dangerous, as Hurricane Harvey is showing us this week, so here are some techniques that have helped me track the impact of storms, floods and other natural disasters in San Antonio and other parts of the state: Weather forecasts and warnings The National Weather Service provides so much useful … Read more
Investigative stories across Texas that uncovered hidden facts and held officials accountable.
San Antonio police cut pricey gunshot detection system | San Antonio Express-News
San Antonio police officers have made only four arrests and confiscated seven weapons that can be attributed to an expensive, highly touted gunshot detection system called ShotSpotter. That’s $136,500 per arrest. Read more …
If you read weather updates on Facebook from the San Antonio Express-News, then you’re keenly aware that it’s summer and the forecaster is not happy about it. “There is no weather,” a typical forecast reads. “There is only this. Always this. Unchanging. Eternal. Forever. This.” Then there was this gem: “It’s mostly sunny and almost … Read more
Investigative stories across Texas that uncovered hidden facts and held officials accountable.
Decision to ‘end this’ after 12-minute standoff left Gilbert Flores dead | San Antonio Express-News
After a 12-minute confrontation with a belligerent, knife-wielding man who said he wanted to die, two Bexar County sheriff’s deputies turned to each other and agreed on “ending this,” according to their sworn civil depositions obtained by the San Antonio Express-News. But the deputies decided to open fire moments after the man, Gilbert Flores, raised his arms in apparent surrender. Read more …
The Texas Highway Patrol Museum was a weird place. It used to sit on a busy street corner near downtown San Antonio. Yet whenever I drove by, I hardly ever saw anyone inside. More than once I wondered, what’s the deal? I found the answers in the IRS Form 990 — the publicly available tax … Read more