News Flash

Lighted Christmas Parade will return in-person to downtown

PHOTO #1: Santa waves to spectators during the Lighted Christmas Parade hosted by Victoria Parks & Recreation in 2015 in downtown Victoria.

PHOTO #2: Victoria Fire Department employees wave to residents during the Lighted Christmas Parade hosted by Vic...

Parks & Recreation to host overnight youth hunting program

PHOTO: A doe roams Riverside Park. The Texas Parks & Wildlife department recommends that participants in an upcoming youth hunting program each be allowed to harvest three does and one buck based on current population management needs.

The application ...

Keep Victoria Beautiful to host 2nd neighborhood cleanup

PHOTO #1: Volunteers pile bulky debris along a fence for pickup Nov. 14, 2020, during the Southside neighborhood cleanup hosted by the City of Victoria.

PHOTO #2: Volunteers carry bulky trash from a residence to the street for pickup Nov. 14, 2020, during ...

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 lighting w...

Riverside Park, Riverside Golf Course remain closed

PHOTO: Parts of Riverside Park are flooded or dirty Oct. 20 after the flooding of the Guadalupe River.

Riverside Park and Riverside Golf Course remain closed after the recent flooding of the Guadalupe River. 

The golf course is expected to reopen O...

Parks & Recreation to present draft master plan at open house

PHOTO: This image provided by consulting firm Halff Associates shows a potential design for Martin Luther King Jr. Park. The new Parks & Recreation master plan includes conceptual renderings for Ethel Lee Tracy Park, Martin Luther King Jr. Park and Ri...

Application period opens for 2022 Citizens Academy

PHOTO #1: City Manager Jesús A. Garza provides an overview of city government and the 2035 Comprehensive Plan during the first session of the 2021 Citizens Academy on Jan. 14 at the Community Center annex.

PHOTO #2: Citizens Academy participant Justin Urba...

Friends of the Library to host 50th anniversary celebration

PHOTO: Library visitors browse the shelves during a Friends of the Library book sale hosted in May. Proceeds from the book sales support library event programming for children and adults.

This week, the Friends of the Library will celebrate 50 years of adv...

Victoria Fire Department, State Farm partner for Fire Prevention Week

PHOTO #1: Victoria Fire Department employees and State Farm representatives pose for a photo during a ceremony held Oct. 4 at Fire Station 6 in honor of Fire Prevention Week. The fire department received fire prevention kits, educator kits and smoke alarm...

Municipal Court adds live chat, texting services

Residents now have two new options for contacting Municipal Court staff to ask questions and get help with accessing court services.

The court has added a new chat box to its webpage, www.victoriatx.gov/municipalcourt. Residents can type their que...

City uses feedback to craft new proposed animal code

UPDATE 10/11/2021: The proposed animal code passed first reading with additional changes. View the updated code here (changes shown in red).

The City of Victoria has drafted a new proposed animal code based on residents’ feedback.

After proposing ...

City of Victoria seeks economic development director

Residents can vote to help Victoria Main Street Program win $25K

The Victoria Main Street Program is asking for residents’ help to win $25,000 or other prizes that will help make Victoria’s vision for downtown a reality.

The Victoria Main Street Program is a nominee in the America’s Main St...

Tokyo Grill & Sushi Lounge earns City beautification award

PHOTO #1: Tokyo Grill & Sushi Lounge, 5006 N. Navarro St., received the Keep Victoria Beautiful Business Beautification Award for the month of October. Tokyo Grill received a traveling sign to display during October. Shown with the sign, from left, ar...

Victoria Fire Department to celebrate 150 years of dedicated service

If you’ve ever caught a glimpse of the back of the Victoria Fire Department T-shirts, just under the word “Victoria,” you might have noticed that they proudly state “EST. 1871.” 

The Victoria Fire Department will celebrate its 150th anniversary wi...

New library streaming service offers music, movies, graphic novels and more

The Victoria Public Library is expanding its digital offerings with Hoopla, a new streaming service that will provide adult library card holders with access to audio books, e-books, movies, music, TV shows and graphic novels.

Residents can sign up at&n...

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...

Regional Infusion Center to open in Victoria County for COVID-19 patients

A Regional Infusion Center to help treat COVID-19 patients in Golden Crescent Region of Texas will open to the public this week in Victoria. 

The State of Texas through the Texas Division of Emergency Management, in partnership with Victoria Count...

Keep Victoria Beautiful assists with Texas Zoo beautification project

Larry and Cheryl Clark, volunteers with the Victoria County Master Gardeners Association, help to replant a flowerbed during a Sept. 11 beautification project at The Texas Zoo. Volunteers with Keep Victoria Beautiful, the Victoria County Master Gardeners ...

Parks & Recreation invites residents to hunt for painted rocks

PHOTO #1: Children paint rocks provided by Parks & Recreation during an after-school program hosted by the YMCA of the Golden Crescent at Aloe Elementary School.

PHOTO #2: Residents can visit the Parks & Recreation office, 532 McCright Drive, to pa...

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...

City Manager Jesús A. Garza earns professional development designation

Victoria City Manager Jesús A. Garza recently earned his Credentialed Manager designation from the International City/County Management Association. He is one of about 1,400 local government management professionals worldwide who are c...

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...

Victoria Main Street Program invites public to review master plan draft

PHOTO #1: This concept rendering provided by consulting firm Freese & Nichols shows what DeLeon Plaza may look like as the City begins to implement the community-driven downtown master plan.

PHOTO #2: This concept rendering provided by consulting firm ...

Story Trail Walk brings storytime to Riverside Park

PHOTO #1: A sign at the entrance to the Riverside Park nature trail welcomes residents to the Story Trail Walk.

PHOTO #2: Pages from the book “Hoot Owl: Master of Disguise” are spaced along the Riverside Park nature trail.

PHOTO #3: Resi...

Keep Victoria Beautiful receives grant for restoration of public flowerbeds

PHOTO #1: Keep Victoria Beautiful received a $3,000 grant from Keep Texas Beautiful to fund the replanting of flowerbeds at 700 Main Center.

PHOTO #2: This traffic island near the Utility Billing Office at 700 Main Center is barren after Winter Storm Uri.

P...

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...

Riverside Golf Course adds carts to meet rising demand

PHOTO: Riverside Golf Course recently added 20 golf carts to its fleet to meet an increase in demand. This brings the course’s total to 70 golf carts.

Riverside Golf Course has become an increasingly popular destination during the past year, and ...

City partnership with The Retail Coach brings new dining options to Victoria

Residents soon will be able to enjoy five new food options on North Navarro Street near Primrose Street.

The new development is a result of the City of Victoria’s partnership with the Victoria Sales Tax Development Corporation and The Retail Coach to bring...

City, developer host groundbreaking for new affordable apartments

PHOTO: City of Victoria staff, City Council members and Realtex Development Corporation staff participate in a groundbreaking ceremony Aug. 11 to celebrate the start of the construction of Enchanted Gardens Apartments, 4601 N. Ben Jordan St. The new affor...

City of Victoria updates building code to meet international standards

PHOTO: New homes are under construction Aug. 6 on Silver Spur in the Terra Vista subdivision.

The City of Victoria will maintain its International Organization for Standardization rating, which is used by insurance companies to set rates within city limits...

Communications & Public Affairs adds closed captioning to public meetings

PHOTO: Audio captions are displayed on a TV screen Aug. 3 during the live broadcast of a City Council meeting on Vtv15, a cable channel operated by the City of Victoria Communications & Public Affairs.

Residents now have the option to view closed capti...

Metropolitan designation to help City keep federal funding

The City of Victoria is in a better position to keep millions of dollars in federal funding after the federal Office of Management and Budget on July 13 elected not to change the Metropolitan Statistical Area population threshold.

The OMB defines a Metropo...

City’s Victoria Broadband Commission seeks to expand broadband options with Sparklight partnership

City officials are pleased to announce Sparklight, a nationally recognized internet provider, will build a state-of-the-art fiber optic network in Victoria that will provide another option for fast and reliable high-speed internet.

The multimillio...

Applications open for hotel occupancy tax funds

Local organizations that help to bring tourism to Victoria can begin applying for hotel occupancy tax (HOT) funds for 2022.

Under Texas law, the City of Victoria collects a hotel occupancy tax from hotels, bed-and-breakfasts and other lodging facilities. T...

City seeks residents’ feedback on forthcoming internet initiative

Residents can submit information about their broadband internet needs by July 28 to help with a new study to improve internet accessibility, reliability and affordability in the Victoria community.

Civil engineering company CobbFendley is launching a feasi...

City of Victoria extends hours for splash pads

PHOTO: Children play at the Ethel Lee Tracy Park Splash Pad during the facility’s 2018 grand opening.

The days are getting longer, and now Victoria kids can spend even more sunlight hours splashing at the City of Victoria Parks & Recreation splash pads...

Victoria Police Department policies earn gold-standard recognition

PHOTO: The Victoria Police Department was recently recognized again under the Texas Police Chiefs Association Foundation’s Law Enforcement Agency Best Practices Recognition Program. Shown, from left, are Officer Jeffrey Lehnert, Police Chief Roberto Arred...

City of Victoria adds birding deck near Riverside Park

PHOTO #1: The City of Victoria Convention & Visitors Bureau on June 15 unveiled the Athey Nature Sanctuary Birding Deck at the historic Hiller house, 3003 Vine St., home to the headquarters of Keep Victoria Beautiful. The observation area features fee...

Municipal Court moves to hybrid model for scheduled hearings

PHOTO: A Zoom video feed is displayed on the projector screens at the Municipal Court courtroom, 107 W. Juan Linn St., allowing defendants to appear remotely during an in-person court session.

The City of Victoria Municipal Court will host its first hybrid...

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

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

PHOTO #2: This preliminary new design for the Riverside Park duck pond was approved by the Victoria City Council on March 3. The final design will include a sidewalk that ext...