Ashley Soriano
Multimedia Journalist
Laredo, Texas
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Ashley Soriano grew up in Georgia, but she always knew she would move to the Lone Star state one day since most of her family lives in the Austin area. After getting her start in newspapers, Ashley began her TV broadcast career in her last semester of college. She graduated from the University of Georgia in December 2019 and took a six-month position with Fox 5 Atlanta.
Since starting at KGNS in July 2020, Ashley already loves the Gateway City.
Forty-eight years and many emergency calls later, Zapata County Fire Chief Juan J. Meza will hang up his badge and pass his baton to the next hero.
The prevalence of food insecurity in Texas is above the national average according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and at Laredo ISD, more than 90% of students receive free or reduced lunch.
A building rich in Latin American history, La Posada Hotel in Laredo’s historic downtown district reflects Spanish and Mexican culture, this longtime local business always celebrating hispanic heritage.
Of the more than 300 positive COVID-19 cases in our neighboring county Zapata, three of those were first responders with the fire department.
Although Zapata County's COVID-19 numbers have remained low compared to Webb County, the virus has still hit their community pretty hard.
The fire department’s motto is “ready for duty," and from what we’ve seen during this pandemic, they are certainly are.
Firefighters are used to quickly evolving situations, that’s why they were able to jump into action as first responders once the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
None of the officials in the media briefing gave specific details on what reopening the gateway city will look like, but they’re waiting another week to gauge the full impact Labor Day gatherings had on the COVID numbers.
After trying to cover up her missing hair with makeup and taking hair growth injections, Susana finally decided to shave it off and spread the message that everyone is beautiful no matter what.
A “tarnished badge” is what CBP Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan called it when an agent commits a crime, such as Juan David Ortiz or Ronald Anthony Burgos.
CBP Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan visited Laredo to discusses how the pandemic has affected operations.
About 33% of our Laredo neighbors are food insecure, according to the South Texas Food Bank and given the COVID-19 pandemic, the number may dramatically increase by the end of this year.
Choosing between one’s house or health has been the reality for at least 27% of Laredoans under the age of 65 prior to 2020.
If a violation such as violating the city mask ordinance is found, the gym goer and the gym owner could get a citation, which can be between $1,000 and $2,000.
Out of those thousands of visits, code enforcement officers have issued more warnings than fines because they say their process starts with educating.
Police officers will be out in full force making sure everyone is following the COVID-19 protocols
According to the FBI, more than 421,000 minors under the age of 18 were reported missing last year and the state of Texas ranked second in the U.S. with the highest number of reported human trafficking cases last year.
Of the total number of local deaths, 59% had hypertension, 51% had diabetes, and 17% experienced obesity.
About 71 students arrived in person across all LISD campuses and there were 124 students at the UISD campuses.
It appears the number of active cases are starting to decline in the gateway city, but local officials warn against letting your guard down.
We heard from local activists on their opposing views about building physical barriers along the river, such as the concertina wire planned to separate the sister cities even more.
The cities seeing exponential increases in cases are Laredo, Brownsville-Harlingen, Eagle Pass, Rio Grande City and Corpus Christi. In July alone, Laredo surpassed 5,000 cases and as of August 18, the county has nearly doubled that number.
The number of students living on campus has decreased to allow for more social distancing and rooms with double beds will now only house one person.
Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz and Congressman Henry Cuellar are looking to host a web meeting to discuss immigration issues.
According to the Laredo Police Department says more than half of the vehicles that were broken into were left unlocked.
In a media briefing Wednesday, Laredo Health Authority Doctor Trevino made an important announcement: the families of nursing home residents who will likely lose their battle to COVID-19 will be able allowed to have a proper goodbye.
The local government voted to take $50 million out in loans so that they could fund up to six projects over many years.
Representative Henry Cuellar announced Monday that Laredo College and TAMIU will receive nearly $1.5 million each over the next five years to help first-generation, low income and disabled students.
Each day, 10 students are supervised as they make calls to individuals diagnosed with COVID-19.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality told us in an email that they received three formal complaints about the black smoke coming from the crematorium and conducted an investigation with assistance from the Laredo Health Department and Laredo fire marshal.
Government officials say drivers and stash house operators prioritize profit over human lives, on average charging $1,000 per person for human smuggling.
Interim Laredo Fire Chief Ramiro Elizondo confirmed that the crematorium kept deceased COVID-19 victims in body bags during cremation, calling it a “definite wrongdoing on their behalf.”