September Downing

Has the fourth special session of the Texas Legislature and the past week’s votes on vouchers and border security bills kept you from tracking news out of San Antonio? We’ve pulled together the stories that captured readers’ interest this past week to get you caught up. 1. Here’s the first look at the Thanksgiving forecast in Texas Whether you’re flying across the country or driving hours across Texas, the weather can cause big headaches and affect how long that travel can take. It also can affe…

Despite the damp and the cold, thousands bundled up headed to Boerne to take part in the city’s kickoff to the holiday season — Dickens on Main. Boerne will hold holiday festivals nearly every weekend through Christmas, but Dickens on Main is its biggest moneymaker. Here are five things to know about the two-day event and Boerne’s other holiday events. READ MORE: The holidays have become Boerne’s busiest tourist season What is Dickens on Main? It’s a two-day event that kicks off the holiday sea…

The holiday tourists have gone home and the Christmas decorations packed up so now city crews are tackling the biennial task of cleaning up the San Antonio River. First step — draining the river. Crews were working on that this weekend. Here’s what you need to know about the watery winter cleaning. CLEANUP: Sections of San Antonio River to be drained for cleaning Where: The river between Josephine and East Nueva streets and between South Alamo Street and Lone Star Boulevard are being drained. Th…

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the status of a separate closure of Loop 1604. The possibility of severe weather this weekend has canceled a planned closure of the Loop 1604 and Interstate 10 interchange, the Texas Department of Transportation confirmed Friday morning. This would have marked the fourth weekend in a row for the closure of the interchange at Loop 1604 and Interstate 10, which was set to begin Friday evening and run through Monday morning. WEATHER OUTLOOK: C…

Herds of longhorn, mounted infantry groups and old-fashioned wagons and buggies took over downtown San Antonio on Saturday morning to the delight of San Antonians lining Houston Street. It was all part of the Western Heritage Parade & Cattle Drive, the annual kickoff of the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, which will start Thursday and run through Feb. 25. The cattle drive is part of Western Heritage Weekend, which runs through Sunday. Other events included a rodeo wrangler breakfast Saturday mo…

The San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. Last year, about 1.5 million people visited the rodeo, fairgrounds and other events, about 21,000 exhibitors participated in the livestock and horse show and over $12 million was awarded to students through scholarships, grants, auctions and other avenues, according to the rodeo’s website. If you’re planning to go, here’s what you need to know. Rodeo performances Competitions take place in the Frost Bank Center nig…

North Side drivers using Loop 1604 will be traversing an obstacle course of closures this weekend, although only one of them will occur during the day and night. Work crews will continue with repaving work on a 4-mile stretch of Loop 1604 again this weekend. Eastbound main lanes from the Bitters Road exit ramp to the Blanco Road entrance ramp will be closed from 9 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Monday, weather permitting, the Texas Department of Transportation announced. The lanes are “expected to…

The Texas Department of Transportation limited Loop 1604 closures leading up to and for a couple of days after the total solar eclipse. But now that the celestial event is in our collective rearview mirror, the closures are back. In fact, starting 9 p.m. today, TxDOT will be shutting down lanes in two sections of Loop 1604 on the North Side. The closures are scheduled to last through 5 a.m. Monday, weather permitting. Loop 1604 and I-10 closure The most significant closure is tied to bridge cons…

Tens of thousands Fiesta revelers lined the confetti-decorated streets Friday morning despite the cloudy skies to catch sight of the floats, royalty, performers, officials and others making their way through downtown as this year’s iteration of the event that started it all — the Battle of Flowers Parade. Music from the marching bands and cries of “Show me your shoes!” were heard as the parade traversed the 2.6-mile-long route that started at Main Avenue and Locust Street, near the campus of San…

In a week that began with a hurricane hitting Texas and ending with former President Donald Trump being wounded when shots were fired at a campaign rally, you may have fallen behind on the local stories catching readers’ interest. Here’s a roundup for you to check out. 1. What caused the Spectrum internet outage in Texas? What we know. Spectrum, which provides internet, telephone and cable TV in San Antonio and across Texas, experienced a seven-hour, widespread outage of its services Tuesday. Th…