STATE PANEL SPARES BEXAR JAIL SANCTIONS, FOR NOW

AUSTIN - Two months after failing its annual state jail inspection
because of overcrowding, Bexar County got a reprieve today when the
Texas Commission on Jail Standards voted not to consider any sanctions
for now.

Bexar County commissioners and Sheriff Ralph Lopez have until the next
meeting of the Commissioners Court, Oct. 17, to reduce the jail's
population to its authorized level and bring more detention guards on
staff.

Those were the two most serious violations uncovered in an inspection
of the jail June 18 to 20.

"That was a little trial by fire," Commissioner Robert Tejeda said
after the vote, explaining this was his first time to represent the
county before the state commission.

Noting that members of the commission earlier in the meeting had voted
to shut down the Calhoun County Jail in Port Lavaca, Ed Schweninger, a
Bexar County assistant district attorney, said the decision was
significant.

"What we always have going for us is that since 1993 we have
invested a lot of money in jail expansion," Schweninger said.

But the delay in imposing sanctions does not mean the county is off
the hook.