Before the Civil War, a quarter of Texas cowboys on cattle drives were Black. Like their white and Tejano counterparts, they had a singular perspective. It was on horseback, 7 feet up. Some of those Black cowboys were free; some were enslaved. Other Black ranch hands, including women and children, stayed home taming horses, tending livestock and repairing equipment. Read more from Elaine Ayala with San Antonio Express-News here.
Former railroad turned elevated park, the New York City High Line presents a prime example of creating new green spaces to beautify, ameliorate, and revitalize surrounding communities. Although certainly one of the city’s most popular parks, the High Line also serves as the culprit for a sharp 35% increase in adjacent housing values. Read more from Chelsea Chen with Environmental Law Institute here.
Longtime Fischer resident and San Antonio native Jensie Simms Madden, 74, a “founding sister” of the Comal County Conservation Alliance whose fierce advocacy extended to many other prominent environmental organizations in Comal County, died unexpectedly on Sept. 24 alongside husband Daniel Robert Madden, 75. The Maddens passed away in the straw-bale stucco home they built for themselves after retiring to Fischer in 2001. No cause of death has been reported. To hear more about Jensie's impact in our community…
Residents and community members will have the opportunity to get involved and voice their ideas regarding the Indigenous Cultures Institute’s plans to build an Indigenous Cultures Center for Hays County. On Oct. 11, the Indigenous Cultures Institute will hold a press conference to announce plans to build the center and host a prayer rally at the steps of the Hays County Historic Courthouse at 6 p.m. The institute will be joined by students from Texas State University in support of…
A 100-year flood, like a 100-year storm, is one so severe it has only a 1% chance of hitting in any given year. Unfortunately, many people believe that if they experienced a 100-year flood this year, they will not see another one like it for 99 years. It just doesn’t work that way. In reality, the chance of being flooded next year, and the year after that, is the same as it was when the house flooded the first time…
When some residents of Wimberley woke up early Sunday morning to flooding inside their homes, the fear and surprise were palpable: The Texas Hill Country had been going through a record, multiyear drought. But just three months earlier, local officials had voiced concerns about the rapidly growing region's vulnerability to devastating flooding. “The more we know, the safer we will be when flooding occurs,” Hays County Judge Bert Cobb said in a February news release after county commissioners voted to…