Hays County is blessed with natural spaces, from cool, clear swimming holes to stunning mountaintop vistas. Not all of them are open to the public, however, and county government is aiming to fix that and is seeking public comment on how to do so.   The county’s Parks and Open Space Advisory Commiss...

Against the backdrop of a fifth COVID-19 fatality, the Hays County Health Department laid out an aggressive bilingual outreach program to the Commissioners Court during its Tuesday meeting. Clinic Manager Margie Rodriguez ran down the latest numbers on testing for the coronavirus at various sites an...

A radioactive camera box swept away in a flash flood along the Pedernales River in Gillespie County over the weekend has been safely recovered. The lead box, which contained a camera and a “mobile darkroom,” is owned by Toronto-based Shawcor, a pipeline inspection company that is a contractor for Ki...

Hays County has taken significant strides in reforming its criminal justice system but more needs to be done. That was the general consensus of the county’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee, which met for the first time in six months last week, albeit virtually. District Attorney Wes Mau said...

Since the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Hays County in mid-March, epidemiologist Eric Schneider has been conducting contact tracing — tracking where the individual had been and whom he or she might have had contact with during the prior 14 days. Now as the number of cases has risen along w...

Six months ago, pre COVID-19, no one thought of wearing a face mask. Even as awareness of the coronavirus began to spread, wearing one was a subject of debate. But now, covering one’s face as a way of preventing the spread is simply a matter of course. The small piece of cloth has come a new, albeit...

The San Marcos Police Department (SMPD) is investigating the fatal shooting of a woman that occurred early Saturday evening. It was the second shooting at a San Marcos Apartment complex to have occurred in recent days. On Wednesday, May 27, a suspect was wounded during an attempted burglary at a com...

Black Lives Matter. Why is it that so many people cannot understand those three simple words?.   Black Lives Matter. More puzzling is how such a simple, innocuous phrase stirs up so much vitriolic, internal hatred in people. Black Lives Matter. Maybe even worse is how some attempt to rationalize the...

Like most independent medical practice physicians struggling to stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic, Austin pediatrician Brian Temple, MD, had to make a critical choice: reduce salaries and work hours, or lose the staff and pediatric practice he and his partner had built over six years. “From t...

Adapting to the urgency of the coronavirus outbreak and its accompanying economic uncertainty, State Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo) and her staff continue to assist Senate District 21 residents using technology tools and working extended hours. This includes holding virtual meetings with constitue...