The Edge: Helping you catch up and get ahead on local news.
Move to change Robert E. Lee High School’s name
After seeing the suggestion on former Mayor Julián Castro’s Facebook page, Kayla Wilson started a petition link: to change the name of Robert E. Lee High School, where she’ll be a senior in the fall.
Kayla says the school should not celebrate the man who commanded the Confederate Army but should be renamed after civil rights leader George W. Lee, who was assassinated after becoming the first black person registered to vote in Mississippi. Go here to see text of the petition and for links to more information.
Re-examining Confederate monuments after Charleston
More people are re-examining Confederate monuments and symbols of slavery after a white supremacist killed nine black parishioners in Charleston. (Here are statements from local officials.)Watch a thoughtful conversation between Kayla and City Councilman Roberto Treviño, whose district includes Lee High School and the Alamo. Play and share the two videos right here:
Rebirth of a symbol of segregation
Speaking of history, did you know a woman once stood in front of a bulldozer to protect a San Antonio building that epitomized segregation? Watch history of the place built as the “Colored Branch of the San Antonio Library,” and now celebrated as the Carver Community Cultural Center. And share it!
Body cameras are coming to San Antonio police
During a recent City Council Budget Policy session, city staff presented a plan to equip San Antonio police with nearly 2,200 body cameras in three phases over the next three years.
It turns out the biggest expense is not the cameras, but the storage and management of the data that the cameras will produce. Phase 1 - for foot patrol, bike patrol and park police - could begin in fiscal 2016 and cost up to $1 million.
Watch the council’s briefing on body cameras here.
Keep cool this summer and help a neighbor
San Antonio summers are hot and seniors living without air conditioning face a greater risk of suffering heat-related injuries or even death. Project Cool provides free box fans to anyone over 60.
You can request a fan by calling 211 or, you can help by donating any new, 20-inch box fan to your nearest San Antonio fire station. Here’s a map of drop off stations.
Keep cool in the pool with our map of 25 free pools across San Antonio. Go to our map here and pick a pool site nearest you, then click through the address to get a map with transportation options. City pools are open until August 16.
Here's the part where you get to be a good citizen: Find someone who needs it, then share this map with drop off locations for fans and share this map of outdoor pools It will make your day!