By Anita Miller With the exception of the county judge and commissioners, Hays County’s elected officials will be getting a pay raise of five percent according to the FY 2020 budget approved Tuesday by the commissioners court. The budget also brings the salaries of constables in precincts 2 and 5 in...

A plea of not guilty has been submitted by an area composting business at the center of an ongoing case involving violation of Buda’s odor nuisance ordinance. According to a city press release, the plea was submitted for the first and second round of code enforcement complaints, as well as various c...

In line with efforts to reform the criminal justice system in Hays County, County Commissioners July 30 approved submitting a $342,720 grant application for a pilot program for noncitizens. The grant application will fund a consultation project that will bring assistance to defense attorneys in Hays...

Authorities are searching for three people who fled the scene of a fatal single-vehicle rollover wreck along FM 2001 just outside of Buda early Sunday. The incident happened around 3 a.m. Feb. 24 in the 3100 block of FM 2001 near Windy Hill Road, according to a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS...

A Kyle teen and an Austin man were charged with capital murder Feb. 15 after authorities suspect they shot and killed a San Marcos man in an alleged drug-related robbery. James Lee Zapata, Jr., 19, of Kyle, and Martin Garcia, Jr., 23, of Austin, were both arrested Feb. 15 in Austin. Both men were bo...

A $1,750 fine and forfeiture of more than 170 animals was the ruling issued Nov. 8 to a Buda-area homeowner accused of holding cats and dogs in “unhealthy conditions.” Hays County Pct. 5 Justice of the Peace Scott Cary issued the ruling against Buda area resident Melissa Caffey in a signed agreement...

UPDATE – 1:00 a.m.  A pair of incumbent Democrats secured their spots on the bench in the Pct. 2 and 5 Justice of the Peace races Tuesday.   Beth Smith, who has served as the Pct. 2 Justice of the Peace for over 20 years, defeated Republican James Kohler by a wide 28 percent margin, according to uno...

I want to publicly express my full support of Scott Cary’s re-election to the Justice of the Peace Court here in Buda. I worked with Judge Cary during much of my time as District Attorney for Hays County. Judge Cary is clearly the most qualified candidate for this position. Prior to becoming Buda’s ...

A Guatemalan national was killed Monday when he was struck along southbound Interstate 35 in Buda while inspecting his vehicle following a collision.  Authorities have arrested a Kyle man whom they suspect was intoxicated at the time of the wreck and began the chain reaction of events. The incident,...

As the sitting Hays County Justice of the Peace in Pct. 5, Scott Cary regularly has a full plate to work with. But amid his duties as a JP, Cary, a former peace officer, also regularly volunteers his time as a basketball coach at Marbridge, a residential community that provides care for adults with ...