Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the state to slow down the reopening process for bars and other venues as coronavirus-related infections, hospitalizations and deaths continued to increase in Texas last week. “As I said from the start, if the positivity rate rose above 10%, the State of Texas would take fur...

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Central Texas is enrolling now for the upcoming volunteer training session, and more volunteers are needed for the program to keep up with the number of child abuse victims in the area. CASA of Central Texas advocates for abused and neglected children in t...

The largest age-group that has contracted COVID-19 in Hays County is 20-29 year olds, making up more than half of the county’s case load. Young people have received some blame for being callous, but not all those who got the illness were ignoring social distancing rules. While cases have been on the...

COVID-19 testing for the general public administered by the Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM) and the National Guard has been a huge success in Hays County but will soon be phased out. The line outside the Hays CISD’s Performing Arts Center (PAC) on Saturday as people lined up for free...

Energy giant Kinder Morgan called a federal lawsuit filed by two Hays County groups last week “unfounded and without merit.” The lawsuit accuses the company of violating the Safe Drinking Water Act during construction of its Permian Highway Pipeline (PHP), a 430-mile natural gas pipeline that is car...

An official Alumni Association has been created for Dripping Springs High School to promote a sense of unity among graduates.  Membership is free and can be completed online. In addition to graduation year, members will be able to share information about organizations they were involved in at DSHS a...

Dripping Springs ISD held a socially distanced, mask-wearing groundbreaking for Elementary #5 on Darden Hill Road. Left to right:  County Commissioner Walt Smith, State Representative Erin Zwiener, Board member Ron Jones, Board Vice President Dr. Mary Jane Hetrick, Board member Barbara Stroud, Board...

COVID-19 has reached Hays County Jail and, if unchecked, could jeopardize the county’s attempts to control jail overcrowding by outsourcing inmates to other facilities. Jail Administrator Capt. Julie Villalpando “is holding a very hot potato,” Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra said during the commissi...

by Megan Wehring Face coverings have become the new accessory before walking out the door. With rising numbers of the coronavirus, Hays County issued an executive order requiring residents to wear face masks when out in public. Dr. Tyler Hollmig, director of dermatologic surgery at Ascension Texas, ...

Rio Vista Park in San Marcos was crowded on Sunday, June 21. The city is again closing all river parks, effective Thursday, June 25. Five Mile Dam park will close at the same time. Nothing takes the edge off the Texas summer sun like a float on a cool, spring-fed river. As it turns out, the coronavi...