The Grand Bargaining Chip
After a two-decade drought, the NFL is returning to the City of Angels.
Last week, NFL owners approved a deal that will bring the Rams back to Los Angeles from St. Louis, where the team moved to in 1995.
What could this possibly mean for San Antonio?
Well, if you've lived here for even a short amount of time and have paid any attention to Alamo City news media, you've probably heard that Mark Davis, owner of the Oakland Raiders, might move the team to San Antonio.
That talk sort of died down when Davis submitted a plan to move the Raiders to LA, which didn't work out as the Rams got the ball and a first down in the nation's second-largest TV market.
Even before the vote last Tuesday, the Raiders-might-move-to-San Antonio talk was heating up with a video story by Bleacher Report staffer Jason Cole. Cole said three sources told him that Davis bought a parcel of land between San Antonio and Austin where he can build a stadium if the Raiders don't move to LA, or if Oakland doesn't give him what he wants, which is a new stadium.
Well, guess, what? Davis likely won't move to any city that doesn't provide taxpayer subsidies to build a new stadium. However, when you're trying to convince someone to do that, it's good to have a bargaining chip like the Alamo City to use as leverage in negotiations.
Preying on a Prisoner
While the Bexar County Sheriff's Office punishes offenders by locking them up in the county jail, it also must ensure that those prisoners are kept safe while doing time.
Soon-to-be former deputy Erick Montez is accused of violating that responsibility in a despicable fashion.
He is accused of forcing a female inmate to have sex with him on December 27 in a transport van at the Bexar County Adult Detention Center parking lot.
He is charged with two felonies: sexual assault and violating the civil rights of an inmate.
Sheriff Susan Pamerleau called his alleged actions disgraceful.
"We have a responsibility to protect an estimated 4,000 inmates who are housed in the Bexar County Adult Detention Center," she said in a statement. "What Montez is accused of doing is a disgrace. He didn't just violate this woman, he violated the public's trust and the badge that hundreds of our deputies wear with pride every day. We will not tolerate this sort of behavior."
This is not the first time a law enforcement official has been accused of raping someone.
There's former San Antonio Police Department officer Jackie Neal, who was accused of handcuffing and raping a woman in the back of his squad car. Neal avoided an aggravated sexual assault conviction last November by pleading no contest to improper sexual activity with a person in custody.
Then there are SAPD officers Alejandro Chapa and Emmanuel Galindo, who were arrested by Live Oak police last September. They are accused of official oppression, compelling prostitution and aggravated sexual assault. Live Oak Police Department investigators accuse the men of conning four women into joining "investigations" and requiring that they sign a contract saying they would do anything, including have sex and be paid for their work. There were no investigations.
As for Montez, the sheriff's department is asking "anyone who may have been victimized by Montez ... to come forward by calling our tip line at 210-335-TIPS (8477)."
Texas Transitions to Equality
Ripple effects from the historic Supreme Court ruling striking down Texas' draconian same-sex marriage ban continue to make positive waves in the Lone Star State.
The Dallas Voice reports that the state is issuing amended birth certificates for transgender residents in the state, and allowing them to seal their old birth certificates.
Dallas attorney Katie Sprinkle told the paper the state started issuing the corrected documents two weeks ago.
When San Antonio-based U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia ordered Attorney General Ken Paxton and the Texas Bureau of Vital Statistics to issue corrected death certificates for same-sex couples, his ruling also required the state to update its policy for reissuing amended birth certificates to trans men and women, the Dallas Voice reported.
