News Flash

City seeks volunteer applicants for Planning Commission

PHOTO: Information about a variance request is displayed as part of a presentation during the Planning Commission’s Jan. 20 meeting.

The City of Victoria is seeking a resident to serve on the Planning Commission for an unexpired term that will en...

City of Victoria names new economic development director

City of Victoria Main Street Program Executive Director Danielle Williams will apply her passion for supporting small businesses to a wider area in her new role as economic development director for the City of Victoria.

The City created this role last year...

Environmental Services names Community Appearance manager

Environmental Services employee Christy Youker has been promoted to manager of the Community Appearance Division. In this role, she will oversee the Community Appearance Division and coordinate beautification projects in Victoria’s public spaces...

Enchanted Gardens prepares to welcome residents this fall

PHOTO #1: City of Victoria leaders and Victoria Housing Finance Corporation representatives on Jan. 7 attended a site tour of the future Enchanted Gardens Apartments, 4601 N. Ben Jordan St. The Realtex Development Corporation project was mainly f...

Civilian Police Academy offers hands-on experience of police work

PHOTO #1: Residents participate in a simulated traffic stop during the 2020 Civilian Police Academy hosted by the Victoria Police Department.

PHOTO #2: Residents participate in a simulated building search at an abandoned building during the 2018 Civilian P...

Wienerschnitzel earns City beautification award

Keep Victoria Beautiful staff and Wienerschnitzel franchisee Mark Gschwind pose for a photo Jan. 4 at Wienerschnitzel, 3602 John Stockbauer Drive. The John Stockbauer Drive location received the Business Beautification award for the month of January. The ...

Municipal Court clerk completes certification

Municipal Court clerk David Baker recently earned his Level I clerk certification from the Texas Municipal Courts Association. To earn this certification, a student must complete 40 hours of education and pass an exam that covers topics such as charging/p...

Municipal Court streamlines document processing with new e-filing system

PHOTO: This screenshot demonstrates how attorneys can use the City of Victoria Municipal Court’s new e-filing system to submit case documents.

The City of Victoria Municipal Court is rolling out a new e-filing system that will simplify the process of uploa...

Municipal Court administrator completes higher education

City of Victoria Municipal Court Administrator Tiffany Totah recently earned her Global Master of Business Administration degree in management from the University of Houston-Victoria. The program provides management instruction with a global pers...

Victoria Police Department honors retirees with walkout ceremony

PHOTO #1: From left, Sgt. Julian Huerta and Lt. Michael Tatum are applauded by fellow officers as they take their final walkout during a retirement ceremony Dec. 16 in the 300 block of South Bridge Street.

PHOTO #2: Sgt. Julian Huerta greets his fellow off...

City of Victoria establishes tax increment reinvestment zone downtown

PHOTO #1: A conceptual rendering provided by consulting firm Freese & Nichols as part of the downtown master plan shows an enhanced streetscape and increased business activity on Main Street. The City is establishing a tax increment reinvestment zone ...

Communications employee completes higher education

Communications & Public Affairs communications specialist Sam Hankins recently earned her master’s degree in Spanish translation and interpreting from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. The program provides instruction in the translation of ge...

VPD officers graduate from National Honor Guard Academy

Victoria Police Department Lt. Ralph Buentello and Senior Police Officer Lainey Beaudoin recently graduated from the National Honor Guard Academy in Irving. The National Honor Guard Academy is dedicated to developing and elevating the ceremonial knowledge...

City Council adopts updates to storm drainage master plan

The City of Victoria is in a better position to pursue drainage solutions based on accurate data after the City Council on Dec. 7 adopted a series of updates to the storm drainage master plan.

The City of Victoria’s previous storm drainage master...

Municipal Court partners with Nazareth Academy to host mock trial

PHOTO #1: Municipal Court Judge Vanessa Heinold, right, assists with a field sobriety demonstration Nov. 19 in Mrs. Covington’s eighth-grade class. Students attempted to perform different tasks while wearing impairment goggles to learn about the...

Victoria Fire Department employees earn recognition

Fire Marshal Assistant Chief Tom Legler recently received his Fire Marshal accreditation from the Center for Public Safety Excellence. Legler initially received his Fire Marshal designation from the Commission on Public Safety Excellence in October of 201...

Municipal Court administrator earns state award for service, innovation

PHOTO: Municipal Court Administrator Tiffany Totah, right, accepts the Texas Court Clerks Association’s Extraordinary Achievement Award from TCCA President Landra Solansky on Nov. 16 during a conference in San Marcos.

Municipal Court Administrator Tiffany ...

Award winners announced for Christmas Parade of Lights

The City of Victoria is recognizing local organizations that went above and beyond to bring Christmas cheer to downtown Victoria during the Christmas Parade of Lights.

More than 100 organizations participated in the parade Dec. 4. Awards were given to the ...

City upgrades lighting at 2 neighborhood parks

PHOTO #1: A recently installed LED street light shines at Queen City Park.

PHOTO #2: The new LED street lights at Queen City Park and Pine Street Park are equipped with solar panels.

The future of Victoria’s parks is looking bright after Parks &am...

Public Works employee earns highest-level wastewater license

Tony Saenz, environmental compliance and customer service specialist with the City of Victoria Public Works, recently earned his Class A Wastewater License from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The Class A license is the highest-level wastew...

Parks & Recreation master plan paves the way for long-sought dog park

PHOTO #1: The City of Victoria will construct a dog park in Riverside Park.

PHOTO #2: This map shows the proposed location of a new dog park within Riverside Park according to the Parks & Recreation master plan.

The implementation of the newly approved ...

Victoria Police Department promotes 3 officers during ceremony

Victoria Police Department Sgt. Jon DeLaRosa recently was promoted from senior officer to sergeant and assigned to the Patrol Division. DeLaRosa has been serving the Victoria community for seven years, including five years on the department SWAT team, whe...

City Council adopts Parks & Recreation master plan

PHOTO #1: This image provided by consulting firm Halff Associates shows a potential design for Ethel Lee Tracy Park.

During the development of the Parks & Recreation master plan, the City of Victoria and consulting firm Halff Associates used public sur...

City, community reach out for Parkway neighborhood cleanup

City employees and community members pose for a group photo Nov. 13 before the Parkway neighborhood cleanup hosted by Keep Victoria Beautiful. About 130 volunteers helped residents to move brush and bulky trash to the curb at 79 locations in the neighborh...

City of Victoria Public Works employees earn certifications

City of Victoria Public Works utility equipment operators Joseph Brawner, Ernest Hernandez and Rodney Rodriquez and water meter technicians Alfred Cano and Adan Lopez earned their Class D water operator licenses from the Texas C...

Victoria Regional Airport celebrates one year of United Express service

Nov. 10 marks one year since United Express operated by SkyWest Airlines began serving the Victoria Regional Airport, and airport executive director Vinicio “Lenny” Llerena says residents have given “very positive feedback&am...

Victoria Fire Department swears in new employees, announces promotions

PHOTO #1: From left, Victoria Fire Department Chief Tracy Fox poses for a photo with Firefighter/EMTs John Rudd, Austin Muñoz and Enrique Cavazos. The new firefighter/EMTs were sworn in during a Nov. 5 ceremony at the Community Center annex. Th...

Keep Victoria Beautiful gets funding for local grants, butterfly garden

PHOTO: Keep Victoria Beautiful received a grant to help restore The Texas Zoo’s butterfly garden near the entrance of the zoo.

Keep Victoria Beautiful has received a $1950 Green Bag Grant from Keep Texas Beautiful to help restore the butterfly ga...

Sgt. Jason Martin graduates from law enforcement management program

Victoria Police Department Sgt. Jason Martin recently graduated from the Leadership Command College – Class 90 of the Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas. To complete the program, candidates must have a minimum of five years with a law...

City Council adopts downtown master plan

PHOTO: A conceptual rendering provided by consulting firm Freese & Nichols as part of the downtown master plan shows string lighting across Main Street, a potential solution for residents’ concerns about inadequate lighting downtown. String ...

City seeks feedback about information distribution

PHOTO: From left, City of Victoria Communications & Public Affairs Director Ashley Strevel talks with Environmental Services Director Darryl Lesak and beautification coordinator Christy Youker during the latest episode of TOWNtalk. The TV show airs on...

Public Works prepares for record-breaking year of street projects

PHOTO #1: The City of Victoria will begin reconstructing Nueces Street between Navarro Street and Laurent Street during fiscal year 2022.

PHOTO #2: The City of Victoria during fiscal year 2022 will select an engineering service to design a reconstruction p...

No-cost WaterWise monitoring service helps residents save water, money

City of Victoria utility customers can monitor their water usage and be notified of potential leaks by signing up for WaterWise, the City’s water monitoring service, at no additional cost.

The service connects with customers’ water mete...

Strategic economic development partnership will bring modern, affordable housing to Victoria

Press release from The NRP Group

With a population nearing 70,000, Victoria, Texas, is a growing community in need of additional low-cost workforce housing options for new and current residents. Victoria's community leaders, along with multi-family housing...

City’s fire department earns American Heart Association recognition

PHOTO: A cardiac monitor and electrocardiogram (EKG) defibrillator are displayed at Victoria Fire Department Station Two, 2708 Miori Lane. This equipment is used by firefighter/EMTs to provide first aid to patients with heart attack symptoms.

The City of V...

Community Appearance Division plants seeds of civic pride

Note: This article originally appeared in the August issue of Texas Town & City, published by the Texas Municipal League.

By Sam Hankins, City of Victoria communications specialist

PHOTO #1: From left, Joseph Vargas, Korey Parks and Jackie Yates, with t...

City to broadcast VISD school board meetings on cable channel

PHOTO #1: The Victoria Independent School District’s school board members gather for a meeting June 10 at the VISD administration building, 102 Profit Drive. Starting Friday, the meetings will be broadcast to the City’s cable channels ...

Victoria Public Library opens multipurpose meeting room

PHOTO #1: The Victoria Public Library’s new multipurpose meeting space, located in the former magazine room, features a 75-inch touchscreen monitor with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity.

PHOTO #2: The Victoria Public Library’s new multi...

City of Victoria attracts developer for workforce housing project

Realtex Development Corporation will begin construction Aug. 2 on Enchanted Gardens Apartments, a new affordable workforce housing development that will be built on land that was sold July 21 by the City of Victoria to expand housing options for working i...

City seeks input on how to spend federal COVID-19 aid

The City of Victoria has received millions in federal aid to help the Victoria community recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and protect itself against future disasters, and residents can have a say in how the money is spent.

The City will receive $14,508,2...

City receives $621,000 grant to repair duck pond

UPDATE: This story was updated Nov. 16 to reflect the updated schedule for the duck pond restoration. More information about the project is included in this Sept. 21 memo to City Council.

PHOTO #1: The Riverside Park duck pond is seen in this 2014 file pho...