2020 in Review: The Sentinel’s Most-Clicked Stories

December 30, 2020 - San Antonio

Complied by Jade Esteban Estrada, Staff Writer | San Antonio Sentinel

From a polarizing presidential election to the Covid-19 pandemic, it could go without saying that 2020 has been one of the most dramatic years in modern history. Have you blocked it out already? That's understandable. To help jog your memory, we’ve put together a list of the 20 most-read stories that graced our website this year. Grab a holiday beverage and enjoy our newsy trip down memory lane.

20. Bacteria Beware: San Antonio International Is First Airport to Deploy Xenex LightStrike Robot

In September, city officials announced that the San Antonio International Airport would be the first airport in the world to purchase and employ the Xenex LightStrike robot – the only ultraviolet (UV) room disinfection technology proven to deactivate SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes Covid-19. 

19. Results of Rapid Covid-19 Tests Are Not Being Counted in State Numbers

In August, we reported the exclusion of rapid Covid-19 test results that appeared to be providing an incomplete account of how the virus is affecting people across the state.

18. A Little Off the Top: Local Beauty Professionals Call for Exemption to Stay Home Order

In April, Luis Vazquez interviewed business owners who felt that it was time for local governments to refine their “non-essential business” policies with guidelines that would exempt barber shops and other similar outfits as beauty workers have more control over the sanitation of their environment - moreso than other businesses that were deemed non-essential. 

17. Young Man Reflects on State of the Gay Strip: ‘It’s Been a Ghost Town’

On March 23, Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff issued their joint Stay Home, Work Safe order, which allows restaurants to remain operational through take-out, drive-through and delivery service. Randy Cunniff, the owner of the four LGBTQ-friendly outfits that make up what is known as the “Gay Strip,” announced that he would be closing each “non-essential” business until further notice amid the pandemic. 

16. Republican Party of Texas Will Proceed With In-Person State Convention This Month

By a 40-20 vote, the State Republican Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Texas passed a resolution back in July in support of moving forward with the party’s in-person convention at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, which was scheduled to take place July 13-18. At the eleventh hour, the convention went virtual and experienced a myriad of technical issues.

15. Texas, Our Texas: President Trump Signs Republic of Texas Legation Memorial Act

This month, President Donald J. Trump signed The Republic of Texas Legation Memorial Act into law. Initiated by members of The Daughters of the Republic of Texas, the legislation will commemorate the diplomats sent to Washington, D.C. between 1836 and 1845 to represent the Republic of Texas.

14. Maskgate: Mayor Nirenberg and Judge Wolff Announce Continued Stay Home, Work Safe Orders

In April, Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Judge Nelson Wolff issued separate but joint updates to their Stay Home, Work Safe Orders to continue slowing the spread of the coronavirus. The mayor’s order went into effect at 11:59 p.m. on April 29 and was scheduled to last until May 19.

13. Republican Voters Against Trump Release New Ad

Over the summer, Republican Voters Against Trump, a project of the advocacy group Defending Democracy Together, released a new ad entitled Miles Taylor for Biden as part of a new campaign. It was an usual circumstance; a sitting U.S. president’s former staff member appeared in a television ad endorsing his opponent. 

12. Texas Democrats Endorse James Dickey for Re-election as Texas Republican Party Chair

In July, as the Texas Republican Convention got off to a rocky start because of both technical glitches and much infighting, Texas Democrats announced their endorsement of James Dickey for re-election as chair of the Republican Party of Texas. Spoiler alert: Dickey was not re-elected.

11. Cafecito with Judge Rosie Speedlin Gonzalez: Capturing a Moment in American History

On the day before Judge Amy Coney Barrett was expected to be voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on an unobstructed path to fill the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy left by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, I had a video chat with the Honorable Judge Rosie Speedlin Gonzalez to hear her expert take on this American moment. 

10. Texas Bar and Nightclub Alliance Suing State of Texas Over Gov. Abbott’s Order to Close Bars

In June, in response to the new surge of Covid-19 cases reported earlier that month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott once again shuttered bars across the state and lowered restaurant capacity to 50%. The following day, the Texas Bar and Nightclub Alliance announced its plans to file a lawsuit against the State of Texas over the governor’s latest directive and encouraged bars to stay open in defiance of the order. 

9. Bexar County Republicans Gather for Trump Watch Party

On the eve of Election Day 2019, about 40 people gathered for Stop the Madness, a counter-impeachment campaign event organized by Trump Victory, one of two joint fundraising committees, at The Lion & Rose British Restaurant & Pub on La Cantera Parkway. Honorable mention here: This story was published in November 2019, but was more widely read the following year. 

8. Local Tech Company Turns Innovation into Data Visualization

B.K. Richter spoke to the heads of the technology-based company Cityflag, an organization that continues to grow at a rapid pace. The outfit's new focus and innovation - dubbed Irys - provides a more clear-cut analysis of not only cities but micro-organizations, too. 

7. Latinos for Trump Conference Aims to Educate and Activate Hispanic Conservatives

While many Democrats hoped to see Texas turn blue last month, some members of the GOP were working just as hard to keep its crimson hue by reaching out to a new generation of Hispanic voters. Latinos for Trump, an organization that aims to engage and educate Hispanic conservatives, were set to hold their San Antonio Latinos for Trump Fiesta Conference in March, however, the coronavirus pandemic caused the cancellation of many public events like this one.

6. Drag Performer Sweet Savage Dead at 58

Freddie Cortez, known to fans across the state as drag entertainer Sweet Savage, died in January at the age of 58 after a prolonged illness that left him in a coma for many months.   

5. City of San Antonio Launches Covid-19 Recovery Grant Program for Small Businesses, Nonprofits

In partnership with the nonprofit organization LiftFund, the City of San Antonio announced in July that it would utilize funding provided from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, to provide monetary assistance in the form of grants to small businesses and nonprofit organizations that have been financially impacted by Covid-19.

4. Senator Cruz Criticizes San Antonio City Council's COVID-19 Anti-Hate Resolution

In May, San Antonio City Council unanimously passed an anti-hate resolution that denounces bigotry, antisemitism, Islamophobia and “hateful speech” amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Later that evening, the measure inspired sharp criticism from Republican U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who took to social media to call the resolution “nuts.” 

3. Texas Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Redus Family Over UIW

In May, the Texas Supreme Court would uphold the ruling of the appeals court and state in a landmark 8-1 decision that even though commissioned peace officers have official immunity under the Education Code which authorizes private universities to employ peace officers, “the code does not purport to extend sovereign immunity to the officers’ private university employers.” The ruling would further go on to state that UIW “does not act as an arm of the state in its overall operations.” In short, this means that the Redus’ case against the university can now progress and the discovery phase can begin after nearly seven years of delay after the death of Robert Cameron Redus.

2. Vanilla Ice Melts Under Pressure, Cancels Austin Gig: ‘I Didn’t Know that the Numbers Were So Crazy’

After stopping, collaborating and listening, rapper Vanilla Ice decided to cancel his holiday concert which was scheduled to take place in July at Emerald Point Bar and Grill in the Capitol City. “I didn’t know that the [coronavirus-case] numbers were so crazy in Austin,” he told his fans via Twitter.

1. Termination of SAPD Officer Who Served Feces Sandwich to Homeless Man Upheld

In June, an arbitrator upheld San Antonio Police Chief William McManus’ second termination of Matthew Luckhurst, the former SAPD officer who served a feces sandwich in a Styrofoam container to an individual who was experiencing homelessness in the downtown area. 

And that’s been the year 2020, folks. All of us at the San Antonio Sentinel wish you a safe and happy New Year’s Eve and a prosperous 2021.

Jade Esteban Estrada is a staff writer for the San Antonio Sentinel, where he covers public health and other citywide issues. jade@sasentinel.com | Twitter: @getjaded