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The Laredo Drug and Alcohol Commission is tracking rising youth substance use and a spike in cocaine found in wastewater while fatal overdoses have decreased; officials invite community members to attend meetings every second Wednesday at 10 a.m. to learn about prevention resources.

A Laredo organization is raising awareness about teen alcohol risks during National Recovery Month and will host local events this month to help youth and families make safe choices.

Laredo College is offering a free online small business incubator workshop series on Zoom through Oct.

7 for community members, students, and alumni to learn marketing, finances, and artificial intelligence tools. The program will help aspiring entrepreneurs launch their ideas.

About 140 power outages were recorded in Laredo on Sept.

9 during heavy rainfall, and AEP said power was restored between 10 p.m. and midnight (rainfall continued until 9:05 p.m.).

During National Recovery Month, SCAN is offering resources on Saldana Avenue to help families address teen alcohol misuse + program director Veronica Jimenez urges parents to talk early about the risks of long-term dependence.

Laredo Animal Care Services needs a forever home for Tillie, a playful terrier-pit bull mix puppy aged 3 to 4 months + a $10 adoption promotion gives free adoptions to the first 10 adopters this Saturday, Sept.

12.

A Malakoff Elementary teacher was honored as Teacher of the Month early Wednesday, Sept.

9 by the Joey Tellez Law Firm for her strong parent engagement with pre-K students. Alexa Contreras, who has taught for 16 years, received $250, a gift basket, and a T-shirt.

Fire crews responded at 9 a.m. to a small fire at the Plaza Theatre under renovation and quickly put out the blaze — traffic on Farragut Street returned to normal by 10 a.m. No injuries were reported.