2011

All major U.S. cities, and many minor ones, have at least one downtown post office. Part of what makes any downtown area a vital place to work, shop and even live is a post office where businesses and individuals can send and receive mail.

If the U.S. Postal Service has its way, however, San Antonio will be a glaring exception to this rule. The Postal Service has placed the downtown post office in the historic Hipolito F. Garcia Federal Building on Alamo Plaza on its list of sites to be considered for closure.

The City of San Antonio is using retired parking meters to help the homeless.

The coins collected will support homeless programs at San Antonio's Haven for Hope, which houses about 2,500 people every night. “This is an innovative way to reuse materials that still maintain functionality but have been replaced with technology,” said Paula Stallcup, director of the Downtown Operations Department. “We hope the new donation stations will be a convenient way to help support homeless programs in San Antonio.” Watch the video here>

Using state-of-the-art technology that makes history accessible, Downtown Alliance and the City of San Antonio have developed the Hugman River Walk Tour – the only free interactive self-guided tour of the San Antonio River Walk. With a smart phone or pad device, visitors access the tour by scanning a quick response (QR) code to navigate along the internationally-recognized tourist attraction. The tour’s QR codes are found on the River Walk’s wayfinding and interpretive signs.

In May 2011, Centro San Antonio published the first issue of a new bi-annual electronic newsletter to provide specific updates on the public improvement district. View the issue online.

KSAT reporter David Sears tries his hand at gumbusting. Watch the video online at: http://www.ksat.com/news/27725382/detail.html

Kens 5's Great Day SA reporter Eileen Teves is an Amigo for the Day in this special report that goes behind the scenes of the Maintenance Amgios. http://www.kens5.com/great-day-sa/Eileen-is-an-amigo-for-the-day-115195304.html

Centro San Antonio, the Public Improvement District, is hiring! A number of job positions are open through the management company, Block by Block. For the most up to date openings, visit their website: http://www.mycareernetwork.com/clientResumeMgr/?cid=2039

Centro San Antonio's landscaping partner, ISS Grounds Control, is also hiring. For positions available, please email myfuture@groundscontrol.com

In 2010, if the installation of 32 bike racks, the announcement of a bike rental system, and the replacement of some parking meters with the solar-powered stations weren’t indicators enough of the city’s commitment to make downtown a greener place, last week the city placed 25 recycle cans throughout the central business district. Read full article>

The Centro San Antonio Amigos help over 750,000 people a year in downtown San Antonio, and with the introduction of their new mobile information kiosk this week, they plan to help even more. The new Centro Mobile Information Kiosk trailer will be taken out daily between 9:30am and 8:30pm to various high traffic areas within the Public Improvement District including the Street Car Station on Alamo, Market Square, and La Villita. Additionally, the Centro Mobile Information Kiosk will provide support for the City of San Antonio Convention and Visitor Bureau during the construction and renovation of the Visitor Center on Alamo between January 17 and early March.