Editors Note: This column was published in 2016 prior to the city council's vote for the SAPOA contract. The final vote of the City Council approved the contract (9-2) with the two dissenting votes cast by Ron Nirenberg (D8) and Rey Saldaña (D4). NOWCastSA was at the protest and rally that occurred a day before the vote and captured video and photos of the participants.

By Maria Gardner If a federal judge does not block the anti-immigration law, San Antonio police will have to write new rules in the manual and retrain the force in immigration law, Police Chief William McManus told members of COPS/Metro Alliance.  Senate Bill 4, the “sanctuary cities” ban, allows local and campus police to question a person’s legal status and makes it a crime for officials such as McManus to have policies that are inconsistent with the law.

By Teresa Shumaker Just weeks into his new job as Mayor of San Antonio, Ron Nirenberg spoke candidly about his priorities for the city, with an emphasis on equity for  at a town hall conversation at the University of Texas at San Antonio, July 27, 2017. The event was co-sponsored by UTSA and the San Antonio Express-News and moderated by Francine Romero, Associate Dean of the University of Texas at San Antonio College of Public Policy. Watch NOWCastSA video of the full event here or scroll down to read more about the discussion:

Editor's note: This story has been updated throughout. San Antonio organizations and elected representatives are responding to Gov. Greg Abbott’s withholding state grant money his office administers to Travis County due to the county jail’s policy regarding immigrants.

A local state legislator and San Antonio’s top cop feel the federal and state push to step up enforcement of immigration laws, locally, could do more harm than good. But a conservative think tank official and Bexar County’s GOP chairman say the federal and state governments are only wanting cooperation from police in local immigration enforcement to improve community safety.

At its first open public meeting, members of the Mayor's Council on Police-Community Relations listed goals including better two-way communication between police and neighborhoods, urging the San Antonio Police Department to hire more women and people of color and moving the council’s meetings into the community and away from government offices that could intimidate participants.

Inside the moment of one of America’s greatest tragedies, local, transgender comedian, Joan Riviera, had one piece of advice: “Don’t let fear overcome the day.” Just hours after the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, San Antonio community members, including civic leaders, LGBT leaders and their allies, organized a vigil in Crockett Park to mourn the 50 lives lost at an Orlando nightclub and stand in solidarity.

Mayor Ivy R. Taylor released this video statement regarding discipline in the case of San Antonio Officer John Lee who shot and killed an unarmed man – Antronie Scott. The statement also reiterates her support for ongoing police reforms:  Transcript:

Former San Antonio Police Chief William McManus is returning to lead the 3,000-member San Antonio Police Department after a 9-month stint as Senior Director of Security for CPS Energy, City Manager Sheryl Sculley announced Wednesday evening.

Students at the University of Texas San Antonio College of Public Policy got to meet and talk to local community leaders at the school's annual Conversation Starters event.