How to research a property’s history using Bexar County’s free records search
You can also be your own title company and conduct your own research for any property.
Tools
How to listen to police scanners on the Web
The shootings at Fort Hood sparked a lot of traffic on Twitter. I came across some interesting tweets from Joe Ruiz and Jordan Ghawi in San Antonio: The link takes you to RadioReference.com, and it lets you listen to scanner traffic in jurisdictions all over the country — including police departments near Fort Hood. Very …
Six useful tips for shooting better video of anything
Cow poo pens from Angela Grant on Vimeo. Angela Grant, the first full-time video guru at the San Antonio Express-News, gave me some fantastic tips for anyone who wants to improve their skills in shooting and editing video. If you’re tired of uploading shaky cell phone clips to YouTube, these pointers are for you. Angela …
Fay Sinkin’s papers track Edwards Aquifer struggle
Environmentalist Fay Sinkin died last week at the age of 90. There’s a rich archival resource available to the public for anyone who wants to learn about her life and the decades-long battle she fought to protect the Edwards Aquifer, San Antonio’s main drinking supply. The University of Texas at San Antonio established an archive …
Is your apartment building safe? How to check Code Enforcement Records
A fire that engulfed the San Pedro Apartments on Tuesday was probably caused by an overloaded electrical outlet. But tenants complained the old building wasn’t well maintained, which raised questions about any past Code Compliance violations issued by city inspectors. San Antonio’s Code Compliance Department has a Web site where you can plug in the …
How to look up incident reports about plane crashes
Photo courtesy of eyewitness Janis Krums from TwitPic If you want to find official reports about plane crashes and other accidents, the National Transportation Safety Board has a searchable database of incident reports on its Web site. Related: Adrift: Hot-air balloon pilots face little scrutiny from FAA despite higher crash rates The nice thing about …
How to track a bill in the Texas Legislature
The Legislative session in Texas officially starts today, which means lawmakers will be filing thousands of bills dealing with topics ranging from the trivial to the profound. This year, bills have been filed that prohibit human cloning; expand the definition of college hazing; and encourage more “green” jobs in Texas, just to name a few …