Special Projects

Aerial drone view above curved futuristic buildings - Modern Architecture of Solar Panel Renewable Rooftop of Futuristic San Antonio Texas

S.A. home value tracker: Most (and least) expensive ZIP codes

As housing values continue to climb, use our interactive map to see prices in neighborhoods that interest you.

Here's how much waste, recycling S.A. generates

San Antonio is throwing away more trash than ever. But it's not all bad news. Here's a breakdown of what residents toss out.

By Nick Shepherd

DATA PROJECTS

Iconic Texas photographs like this cowboy silhouetted in front of the neon Texas flag at the Insitute of Texan Cultures are Griff Smith's specialty. "Griff Smith's Texas" is on view at the Institute through March 2012.

DATA

What's the most Texas county in Texas?

So, which Texas county best reflects the statewide racial demographic makeup? For that matter, which Texas county is most reflective of California?

By Ryan Serpico

UVALDE

‘My heart will forever be broken’: Remembering the victims

A bubbly teacher who loved to hike. A 10-year-old who was often seen riding his bike down the street where his family lived. A 9-year-old who was her basketball team’s “hype girl.”

UVALDE IN FOCUS

South Texas regional director of Texas Department of Public Safety Victor Escalon talks during a press conference providing an update on the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School on Thursday, May 26, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. Escalon said law enforcement officers waited an hour from the time the gunman entered the school to make entry at the school to shoot and kill the suspect. Twenty-one people, including 19 children, died Tuesday morning.

TIMELINE

What Texas officials got wrong about the Robb Elementary School shooting

The narrative of the Uvalde mass shooting shifted continuously in the hours — and days — after 19 students and two teachers were killed at Robb Elementary. This timeline tracks the mistakes, errors and deviations from...

Texas Vista Medical Center is one of two hospitals with emergency services on the South Side. Formerly known as Southwest General Hospital, the facility recently rebranded as Texas Vista, adding new medical services and residency programs with University of Incarnate Word’s School of Ostheopathic Medicine.

ACCESS DENIED

S.A.'s wealthy, healthy areas have more hospitals — and there's little motivation to change that

Redlining and other forms of economic discrimination are long-lasting and contribute to uneven access to healthcare.

By Laura Garcia

ACCESS DENIED

A broken system got worse: How COVID ravaged S.A.'s South Side
Ex-nurse helps patients navigate medical system
Maria Lee, a nurse turned insurance broker, is used to saving her clients money on their...
Access Denied: How we analyzed the data
County seeks to fix health disparities raised in E-N series

Fabian Vasquez Jr., 8, embraces his grandfather, Enrique Rangel, after the burial of Fabian's grandmother and Enrique's wife, Leonor "Nora" Rangel, at Sunset Memorial Oaks Cemetery in Del Rio on Saturday, August 1, 2020. Family friend Claudia Martin, left, grieves as well.

CORONAVIRUS

‘What if we pull the plug too early?’

As the coronavirus burned through San Antonio, it upended delicate conversations about end-of-life medical care.

By Lauren Caruba

CORONAVIRUS

SPURS NATION

Here's your chance to build the ultimate Spurs dream team

You’ve got $15 to draft a Spurs dream team. The best players, priced from $5 to $1, on the court together. Build your team with our interactive game and see how our Spurs experts spent their $15.

By Ryan Serpico

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - DECEMBER 14: Gregg Popovich, head coach of the San Antonio Spurs looks on during a game between San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns at Arena Ciudad de Mexico on December 14, 2019 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)

SPURS NATION

Timeline: Gregg Popovich’s career in San Antonio

A look back at Pop’s greatest moments with the Spurs.

Manu Ginobili, shown at his retirement ceremony at the AT&T Center following the Spurs’ game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 28, 2019, will work in a wide-ranging role in his new job in the team’s front office.

SPURS NATION

Manu Ginobili: Highlights from a Hall of Fame career

The former San Antonio Spurs guard and four-time NBA champion now heads to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

A selection of spirits from Maverick Whiskey

MADE IN S.A.

S.A.'s Top 5 distilleries for excellent whiskeys, gin and tequila

It's been a wild ride for spirit producers since the last time we ranked the city's top distilleries in 2019. There have been some changes.

By Paul Stephen

THAT'S AMORE

San Antonio’s best pizza, pizzerias and specialty pies

Our Taste Team spent a year working its way through San Antonio's pizza scene.

INVESTIGATION

Nowhere to Hide

The Express-News conducted more than 75 interviews with police, prosecutors, judges and experts in the field. Reporters sought out survivors of abuse and listened to their stories. They scoured police reports, court...

INVESTIGATIONS

Kryslyn Stanley and her daughters were among the Seven Oaks tenants staying at a nearby Motel 6 because of substandard conditions at their apartment.

INVESTIGATIONS

Struggling S.A. residents deal with miserable living conditions

Seven Oaks Apartments is an extreme example of thousands of aging, deteriorating apartments occupied by working-class residents that pepper the San Antonio area.

By Madison Iszler

Aerial view of downtown, the Tower of the Americas, Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, and Grand Hyatt San Antonio Friday May 20, 2016.

INTERACTIVE

Database: San Antonio city employee salaries

From the SAPD chief to lifeguards, see how much employees make working for the city of San Antonio.

Migrant crossings in the Big Bend are just a blip compared with the lower Rio Grande Valley. But here is where many suffer and die in the desert.

DEATH IN THE DESERT

Smugglers are sending more migrants through the West Texas desert

The harsh West Texas desert is claiming more migrant bodies and smugglers send more of them through the remote terrain.

By Dudley Althaus

THE BORDER

A truck takes a small tour group into the Maderas Del Carmen in Reserva Del Carmen in Coahuila, Mx. on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019.

TRAVEL

Wilderness Revealed

Few outsiders have been allowed to explore the pristine wild lands of the Reserva El Carmen, a sprawling preserve across the Rio Grande from the Big Bend. That is about to change — slowly.

By John MacCormack