By Alvin Plexico, Navy Office of Community Outreach NORFOLK, Va. – Most Americans rely on weather forecasts to plan their daily routine. The U.S. Navy is no different. With numerous ships, submarines and airplanes deployed in the U.S. Atlantic Fleet’s area of operations, sailors stationed at the Fle...

By Kate McCarty Editor’s note: Kate McCarty is a longtime Hays County resident who recently took a trip to the Texas border to donate supplies collected by the Hays County Democrats.  The temperature in the parking lot near the Progreso Bridge in south Texas was 95 degrees, but it was much hotter at...

Fifty years ago this week, billions across the globe huddled around tube television sets to watch Neil Armstrong become the first person to step foot on the surface of the moon. Or at least that’s what the majority of people tend to believe (we won’t get into that debate today). Regardless, the mome...

by Donna Ellis My garden is my happy place. Sound familiar?  Never met a plant I didn’t find beautiful. Use is a matter of imagination.  My dooryard potager (kitchen garden) has 37 plants, and some are part of my tea habit.   Tea-making uses fresh or dried plants, individually or in mixtures. Clip t...

I n the second mass escape in two weeks from the same Texas prison farm, eight more convicts bolted from infamous Eastham on July 8, 1937. This was how the Associated Press reported the manhunt for the first bunch on June 23: “Nineteen ‘hard-boiled’ convicts who fled to freedom from Eastham prison f...

When he opened his Buda area salon last year, Anthonio Quach set out to differentiate his business from others. In order to do so, Quach opted to help nonprofits with his profits. So on June 21, 2018, Quach pledged a dollar from every manicure and pedicure service purchased at his salon toward an ar...

Diving headlong into the bushes to rescue a snake isn’t an ideal way most people prefer to spend an afternoon. Buda native Brent Ormand, however, relishes such an opportunity.  Handling rattlesnakes is a craft that takes years to perfect. Buda resident Brent Ormand said the snake was comfortable in ...

One of the giants of the Texas literary world – one with ties to Kyle and Hays County – died this week. Don Ballew Graham, a distinguished professor, author, critic and an authentic Texas character who the Dallas Morning News described as the premier scholar on Texas literature, was 79. He once live...

W ith the summer heat squarely upon us, this is the time to give a tall glass of iced tea to gardeners . . . and generous amounts of compost tea to our plants. This tea contains millions of beneficial organisms, and plants love it. All you have to do is fill an old pillowcase with some compost and a...

Open roads, sunshine, state parks and natural attractions comprise a winning formula that makes Texas one of the best states in the country to take a road trip.  According to a new WalletHub study, Texas is the 5th best state in which to take a road trip, largely because of the plethora of state and...