SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio city leaders including Mayor Ron Nirenberg will join Texas Congressmen at the San Antonio International Airport on Friday to talk about the next steps in getting direct flights to Washington D.C.

A press conference is scheduled to take place starting at 1:30 p.m.

The event will be livestreamed in this article and on KSAT’s YouTube page. Delays are possible; if there is not a livestream in this article, check back at a later time.

The focus will be on getting direct flights to Reagan International Airport. Based on the number of daily passengers currently traveling each way between the two airports, DCA is one of the largest unserved markets from the San Antonio International Airport.

Last week, the US House House voted to pass this year’s Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act, which opens five new slots for airports across the U.S.

A press release said city leaders and others have been trying for more than a decade to secure a nonstop flight from San Antonio, which is officially recognized as Military City USA, to our nation’s capital.

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, U.S. Representative Chip Roy and U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro will join Stephen Neuman, the vice president of global government affairs for American Airlines and Jesus Saenz, director of airports, for the city of San Antonio Aviation Department.

WASHINGTON (7News) — Connecticut Avenue is considered one of the busiest channels to get through D.C.

“It is dangerous, it’s fast, and it’s deadly,” said Elizabeth Kiker, the Executive Director of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA).

The future of the thoroughfare is up for debate with the possibility of adding bike lanes back on the table.

Last year, the mayor reversed course, and the plan was postponed by the D.C. Department of Transportation.

The move stunned WABA members.

READ MORE | DC pauses proposal to put bicycle lanes on Connecticut Ave. after major pushback

“This process happened,” Kiker said. “This process included ANCs. It included community members. It included businesses, and it was voted on and it was done, and it was budgeted, and then it was stopped. That’s not fair. That’s not how you run a city.”

However, the chance for barrier-protected bike lanes going in on Connecticut Avenue was given a new life when new language was approved by the Committee on Transportation and the Environment.

“The chairman of the transportation committee, Charles Allen, and Matt Frumin slipped in language in the budget recommendation report that requires any safety improvement on not just Connecticut Ave. but any road to have protected bike lanes or else they withhold all the funds for safety improvements,” said Lee Mayer, President of Save Connecticut Avenue.

He said this could mean that the D.C. Council’s transportation committee could block all capital improvements to Connecticut Avenue and any street if bike lanes are not included.

7News reached out to Committee Chair Allen’s office.

They said the language has been misinterpreted.

In a statement, Allen’s office wrote:

“The language approved by the Committee on Transportation and the Environment preserves full funding for the project, including 5% to create an alternative design. It does restrict construction from advancing on Conn Ave that does not include protected bike lanes (option C from the many years of discussion includes protected bike lanes). The clause “or any other capital project for the same or similar purpose” was inserted to prevent DDOT from simply renaming or attempting to skirt the law and advance construction. This language clearly applies only to the Conn Ave Street Safety Project and does not apply to other safe streets projects around the District.”

Still, both sides of the debate remain uncertain of the future and tell 7News they’ll work to plead their case with councilmembers ahead of the vote.

“This is going to hurt the mayor’s plan for revitalization for downtown,” said Mayer.

“It’s going to be massive congestion up and down Connecticut Ave. and people are not going to want to go there,” he added.

“We don’t know what they’re going to say, but we hope they say this is back on the way they said it would be,” said Kiker.

The DC Council will vote on the matter twice. The first vote is set for Wednesday, May 29. The second vote will happen on July 12.

Between those votes, the public can ask questions during a virtual meeting on June 3.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02), the lead Democrat on the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, announced a total of $24.2 million in recommended funding for three Tribal projects to remove and replace fish barrier culverts and restore access to healthy habitat for migratory fish, including endangered salmon populations, in Northwest Washington.

“Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, the Tulalip, Swinomish and Sauk-Suiattle Tribes and their partners have the critical funding they need to improve fish passage and foster salmon recovery in Northwest Washington,” said Larsen. “I will continue to champion robust federal funding to improve salmon habitat connectivity and boost resiliency to ensure Washington meets its treaty obligations to Indian Tribes.”

The awards are recommended under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Restoring Fish Passage through Barrier Removal Grant and Restoring Tribal Priority Fish Passage through Barrier Removal Grant initiatives, which are funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act.

Three WA-02 Fish Passage Projects Recommended for Funding

NOAA recommended a total of $24.2 million in grant funding for three projects in Washington’s Second District:

One grant under the Restoring Fish Passage through Barrier Removal Grant initiative:

• $11.7 million for the Tulalip Fish Passage Collaborative I
• The Tulalip Tribes will work with partners to plan and construct multiple barrier removals in several watersheds in the Stillaguamish and Snohomish Basins, part of the South Whidbey Basin in Puget Sound.
• This work will support several salmon and steelhead species that are of economic, recreational, and cultural importance to the Tulalip Tribes and other members of the local community.
• By removing or replacing undersized and aging culverts with structures designed to withstand climate change, these efforts will also help protect the community from flooding.

Two grants under the Restoring Tribal Priority Fish Passage through Barrier Removal Grant initiative:

• $9.2 million for Tulalip Fish Passage Collaborative II
• The Tulalip Tribes will work with partners to remove multiple fish passage barriers at priority streams in the Stillaguamish and Snohomish Basins, part of the South Whidbey Basin in Puget Sound.
• This effort will open significant habitat to access by threatened Puget Sound Chinook and steelhead, as well as Puget Sound coho. It will also benefit Southern Resident killer whales, a NOAA Species in the Spotlight, by supporting their prey.
• Climate change considerations will be incorporated into the barrier replacements, to help prevent flooding and increase community resilience.
• $3.3 million for Skagit Basin Tribal Priority Fish Passage Implementation
• The Skagit River System Cooperative, which provides natural resource management services for the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe, will remove or replace seven culverts that block fish passage in the Skagit and Samish watersheds. They will also assess the feasibility of one additional fish passage project.
• This project will support tribal capacity to develop and engage in fish passage projects and provide a hands-on opportunity for tribal members and youth to participate in habitat restoration.

Additional Information

NOAA is recommending nearly $240 million in funding for 46 fish passage projects this year, as well as an additional $38 million in funding in future years. Total demand from all four of the NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation Round 2 competitions is $3.5 billion, more than 6 times the amount of funding available.

For more information on NOAA’s announcement and fish passage initiatives, click here.

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