Reflecting on safety inside the Bexar County Adult Detention Center following three deaths in 15 days.

After 15 years as president and CEO of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, Richard Perez announced Thursday that he will step down at the end of the year.

We are seeing inflation at the grocery store, the gas station, and the car dealership, so what has that meant for local families and local businesses?

For more than 40 years, economical leaders of San Antonio have taken an annual trip to Washington DC to advocate on behalf of the Alamo City.

SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Chamber of Commerce issued the following statement regarding Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision Tuesday to allow all businesses to reopen at 100%. “We have seen improving COVID-19 numbers in the San Antonio region, and we are confident that our business community will continue to do everything possible to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all. With the availability of vaccines increasing, we are certain that Texas will be well positioned to be the economic powerhouse we have always been.”While Perez agreed with Abbott’s decision, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg did not. Ad“Opening everything to 100 percent while simultaneously nixing our mask mandate is a huge mistake,” Nirenberg said in a statement.

SAN ANTONIO – Families, businesses and communities are still dealing with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. To break down the state of the Alamo City’s economy, Richard Perez, president and CEO of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, joined Leading SA on Sunday to discuss the community’s unique set of circumstances. It’s stable, and it seems to be showing some very, very strong signs, particularly in the tourism and hospitality area,” Perez said. RELATED: San Antonio area gets entire NCAA women’s basketball tourney“It’s going to be a fantastic shot in the arm. We have been working so hard to really bring confidence to not only our own citizens, but to the rest of the country that San Antonio is still open for business,” Perez said.

SAN ANTONIO – Although San Antonio and Bexar County have seen a downward trend in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations over the past few months, the pandemic has taken a significant toll on the local economy. President and CEO of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce Richard Perez joined Leading SA on Sunday to discuss the current economic situation and what comes next. There’s opportunities for retraining and opportunities to do other jobs," Perez said. “There are jobs available right now... particularly in the aerospace industry, health care and biosciences industry and, of course, the cybersecurity industry. They’ve got money, they’ve got the ability for people that are interested in getting retrained to teach you something different, something new...

Academic improvements and campus building challenges were the focus Wednesday of the annual San Antonio Independent School District’s state of the district by Superintendent Pedro Martinez. “I’m seeing the instruction. I’m seeing the results. I’m seeing the aspirations being met. “When it sounds like a lot, it’s what we need,” Perez said.

San Antonio – City leaders from the private and public sectors will head to the nation's capital next week with hopes of bringing some federal dollars back with them. The San Antonio Chamber of Commerce has organized an “SA to DC” trip for 42 years, and next week’s trip - from Sunday to Thursday - will have the largest-ever delegation with more than 200 members. Business leaders, city council members, and representatives from agencies like SAWS and VIA will promote San Antonio’s interests to elected leaders and federal agencies alike. Jeff Coyle, the city’s director of government and public affairs, describes the lobbying effort for federal money as a “two-step dance” of sorts. “That was on our federal agenda for like nine years for it until we finally got it added into the appropriation and then get it funded,” Perez said.