by Sahar Chmais The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act has allotted $4.8 million to Hays County to spend on resident and staff COVID-19 safety. So far, the county has decided how 20% of the funds will be spent, and the rest is in the works. It is necessary that the county uses 75% of ...

By Anita Miller County Judge Ruben Becerra is trying again. Becerra has called a special meeting for 1 p.m. Friday concerning the vacancy created when Pct. 3 Constable Ray Helm on July 31 surrendered his peace officer certification for life in order to avoid prosecution for falsifying records and ot...

By Anita Miller The Hays County Commissioners Court covered a lot of ground in its weekly COVID-19 update. Emergency Management Coordinator Alex Villalobos gave a rundown on ongoing testing, including plans to open a location on Hwy. 123 east of Interstate 35 in San Marcos as well as one in Dripping...

By Anita Miller There’s a new avenue for pre-trial detainees – who make up the majority of those incarcerated in Hays County Jail – to be released from custody and returned to their families, without experiencing any financial impact. The community bond program was launched in the spring by the acti...

Staff Report Gov. Greg Abbott issued declarations this week regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the reopening of Texas public schools and the resumption of standardized testing. On Monday, Abbott extended the early voting period by nearly a week, beginning Oct. 13. Additionally, he said mail-in ballots...

As of 5 p.m. Monday, one person had filed to run for mayor of Buda and two people had filed for positions on the city council. Lee Urbanovsky, who currently holds the At-Large Position 1 on the council, filed paperwork to replace Mayor George Haehn, who is not running for re-election. Also up for el...

Staff Report A Family Science Night that was to be held back in March was the first COVID-19 casualty of the Buda Public Library. More and more plans were scrapped in an effort to slow the coronavirus spread. But there’s been some good news for Buda-area residents and public library patrons. The Tex...

By Megan Wehring Schools across the state of Texas, including Hays High School, have reconsidered their mascot amid controversial outcry. The Hays Rebels originated in 1968. The school didn’t start distancing itself from Confederacy associations until the 2000s. In light of recent events, mass atten...

By Anita Miller Whether it was “too early” or not, the reopening of the Texas economy in May has lead to healthy sales tax rebates for a number of Hays County communities — though that trend didn’t prevail throughout the state. Here’s the city by city breakdown (all annual percent increases are YTD ...

By Sahar Chmais Coronavirus relief funds have allocated about $1 million to the city of Buda under certain conditions. Buda City Council members agreed that the city should apply for the grant to help aid the city during the pandemic. The government will give the city 20% of the money upfront and wi...