A conceptual rendering of what San Antonio sports district Project Marvel might look like in 15 years. Credit: Courtesy Image / City of San Antonio

Fast-growing San Antonio grappled with plenty of big-city problems during the 2024 news year, from affordable housing to stray animals. Meanwhile, Texas’ topsy-turvy politics made plenty of other headlines that had an impact on the Alamo City.

Here’s a look at the 10 biggest news stories of 2024, as chosen by the San Antonio Current. They’re presented in no particular order.

1. Project Marvel and the Missions ball park. San Antonio’s leadership once again showed its proclivity for investing in big projects over improving the city’s longstanding shortcomings. Council gave a green light to the development of a downtown ball park for the minor-league San Antonio Missions, and city staffers showed off vague details on Project Marvel, a costly downtown sports district that would include a new Spurs arena.

2. Continued failures on affordable housing. Despite Mayor Ron Nirenberg’s repeated promises to wrangle San Antonio’s affordable-housing problem, he and other city leaders didn’t deliver much on the issue. The new Missions ball park, for example, will raze one of downtown’s few low-cost apartment complexes, while City Council left $20 million in state tax credits on the table when it rejected plans for a new affordable apartment complex opposed by District 10 residents.

3. Charter Amendments Pass. San Antonio voters approved all six charter amendments on the November ballot, which granted raises for City Council and longer council and mayoral terms while removing a salary cap and tenure for the city manager. While most passed easily, the amendments removing the city manager salary cap and lengthening council terms were close, suggesting SA voters aren’t willing to rubber-stamp every proposal coming out of City Hall.

4. The city’s stray and dangerous dog problem. After letting its stray and dangerous dog problem fester for years, San Antonio spent last year dealing with the aftermath. The city finally concluded a lengthy search for a new head of its beleaguered Animal Care Services department, and council voted in December to approve stiffer fines and harsher penalties — including the forced sterilization of roaming dogs — for irresponsible pet owners.

5. Small business closures. Twenty-twenty-four marked another tough year for restaurants and traditional brick-and-mortar retailers in San Antonio. Higher prices and dwindling sales led to the demise of a number of favorite dining spots, including some longtime local institutions. This year promises to be bring a sequel as economists warn that tariffs and mass deportations proposed by President-elect Donald Trump will send prices shooting back up.

6. The governor’s refusal to give up on school vouchers. After the Democrats and rural Republicans killed off school vouchers in the Texas Legislature in 2023, Gov. Greg Abbott made good on his promise to back primary challenges for GOP members who refused to get behind his push for vouchers. Stay tuned to this year’s session to see what happens next.

7. Texas’ bungled Medicaid rolls. Texas is already the most under-insured U.S. state, and things got worse in 2024.The Lone Star State continued shedding people from the Medicaid rolls because the federal government ended a pandemic-era policy that automatically renewed federal benefits. Critics argue the Texas Department of Health and Human Services Department didn’t do enough to warn people. What’s more, the department’s systems are so broken and outdated, many who tried to re-enroll were unable to do so in time.

8. Continued population growth. Thanks to an influx of 22,000 people in 2023, the U.S. Census Bureau named San Antonio the city with the biggest population boom that year. We’ll see what the 2024 stats show, but there’s every reason to predict people will continue moving here, exacerbating big-city problems such as housing affordability and traffic congestion.

9. Uncertain state of cannabis in Texas. Shops selling hemp products designed to get people high proliferated this year thanks to a loophole in Texas law. The end result is an open and unregulated market for THC, which Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has pledged to shut down in the upcoming legislative session. Meanwhile, the state continues to operate one of the nation’s most-restrictive medical pot programs.

10. Wide-open mayoral race. With term limits preventing Mayor Ron Nirenberg from running again, the race for the city’s top elected office became a wild and wide-open affair. Nearly 20 people have signaled interest in the race by filing a treasurer’s report, and one has already dropped out. Those who remain include four present and former members of council, a tech entrepreneur, a former Under Secretary of the Air Force, an ex-Texas Secretary of State and more.

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This article appears in Jan 8-21, 2025.

Sanford Nowlin is editor-in-chief of the San Antonio Current. He holds degrees from Trinity University and the University of Texas at San Antonio, and his work has been featured in Salon, Alternet, Creative...