Paul and Carol Villarreal survived Hurricane Claudette in 2003, and they’re going to do it again for Hurricane Ike. Especially since they won’t get a direct hit in Port Lavaca.
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All is calm in Port Lavaca Friday morning, with the majority of residents evacuated and nearly all businesses boarded up and closed. The town will probably miss the brunt of Hurricane Ike.
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Richard Everett, an area coordinator with the National Weather Service who is stationed in Port Lavaca, predicts that the area will still see extensive damage even though Hurricane Ike will probably hit further north.
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Although Hurricane Ike looks to be turning further north, people on Padre Island in Corpus Christi weren’t taking any chances. They boarded up their homes and businesses, and some hit the road to safer ground.
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People stood in lines for one to two hours at a Corpus Christi Home Depot store to purchase supplies and plywood to protect their homes from Hurricane Ike.
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Corpus Christi residents with special needs evacuated the city today on buses headed to San Antonio. They included the elderly, people in wheelchairs, and others with medical needs.
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The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office SWAT Team hosted a week of basic SWAT training for officers from surrounding law enforcement agencies.

A group of Republican party leaders and activists gathered to cheer John McCain as he gave his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention.

Nine endangered birds — Attwater’s Prairie Chickens — found new homes on a private ranch near Goliad, thanks to bird specialists from SeaWorld San Antonio and the San Antonio Zoo, who raised the birds from eggs.

A three-alarm fire Monday afternoon at the Atlas Pallet Company in downtown San Antonio sent plumes of black smoke hundreds of feet into the air, drawing onlookers who heard multiple loud explosions as propane tanks ignited.