There always seems to be a lot of hoopla over the Edwards Aquifer -- what is being added to it, what is already in it, is the filtration process good enough?

Now you can find out exactly what is in the water here in San Antonio, and if it is bad for you or not. The Environmental Working Group has published the findings of a stringent series of tests on all major municipalities' water supplies.

San Antonio ranked 29th on the list out of  100 cities studied. Being in the top 1/3 of all water in the US doesn't seem so bad, particularly since our water doesn't go through nearly as many treatments as other major cities.

If you are wondering exactly how San Antonio ranked 29th, there is a breakdown of the test results from each city. The San Antonio breakdown includes a list of the contaminents that were found.

Read the reports and decide for yourself if you are going with tap or filtered water from now on.

The SAWS board has agreed to an increase in your monthly water bill, and it is a result of a state fee. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has assessed new fees, and SAWS has decided to pass that cost on to the consumers by starting  a separate line item on your monthly bill to explain the increase in fees.

Luckily, the fee won't be much, as each household should only see an increase of less than .50. However, SAWS themselves plan on a small fee increase sometime in 2010 as well, meaning your bill could be raised twice next year.

Though both fee raises should be rather small even when combined, with CPS fees being raised as well, one has to wonder how much we will be paying for our utilities by the end of next year.

For the full breakdown of the fee increases and why they are needed, see the article in the San Antonio Business Journal.

It's that time again! Though a few places like Windcrest don't begin for a few more days, most of the big displays of holiday lights have begun here in the Alamo City!

My newest article has the rundown from the lights on the River Walk to drive-thru parks and displays across some of the nearby suburbs should you be in the mood for a short road trip.

If you have been to any of the displays or know of any others, let us know! Post a reply to this blog post below and have a happy holiday!

Have you ever thought of working in the hotel/resort industry? If so, one of the giants in that very arena will be holding a whopper of a job fair-- with 500-600 jobs expected to be up for grabs.

Even if you haven't thought of hotel/resorts as a career, if you are in need of a job like many who have been laid off, perhaps this is a way to start a new career or get at least a part-time job to tide you over until you find what you really want.

The JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa will open on January 22nd, but many positions are needed sooner than that. These include management, guest services, spa, engineering, housekeeping and more. With two golf courses, seven restaurant/lounges, and over 1,000 rooms, there are jobs related to many fields that need to be filled.

The job fair is a three-day event starting tomorrow (Thursday) December 10th and going on through December 12th. For more information about jobs available and the hours of the job fair, go to the official website for the resort at www. jwsanantonio.com.