SAN ANTONIO – A lawsuit was filed Wednesday morning against the Wedgwood Senior Living Apartments in the aftermath of the fatal fire that killed six residents and injured many more.

The suit claims apartment management neglected to take basic fire safety precautions in order to keep tenants safe by failing to install or maintain certain safety measures.

The suit cites a list of issues, including the lack of fire sprinklers inside the 11-story building, failing to install or maintain smoke detectors, smoke alarms and fire extinguishers, and failing to adequately notify elderly residents of how to evacuate in the event of a fire.

“There was confusion, yes,” said 87-year-old Tony Escamilla. “This couple that was coming when I opened the door to my apartment, they asked me ‘Where do I go?’”

Escamilla is one of seven Wedgwood residents involved in the suit. They range in age from 59 to 87.

911 callers conveyed to dispatchers their own confusion about how to react during the emergency.

“Should I dress or what? I don’t know what to do,” one woman told a Castle Hills dispatcher.

“There’s so much smoke in the hallway that we can’t go out there,” said another caller. “What should we do?”

Others, some in wheelchairs, asked if they could use the elevator to evacuate.

“It’s fundamentally wrong to take a building that can be used for multiple purposes and use it to house seniors and fail to provide these safety…

“Because she took drugs and had an outstanding warrant for a probation violation, she was treated as a prisoner who deserved to be pushed out of the hospital as fast as possible, thrown into a cell and left to die,” says the lawsuit.

The lawsuit says a guard initially told hospital personnel that 17-year-old Gonzales was not checked for 2½ hours at the jail before she was found unresponsive with no pulse and not breathing. But the guard later changed his story on orders from a supervisor, saying Gonzales was checked every 15 minutes at the jail, including by waking her up, the lawsuit alleges.

The suit quotes medical records showing that hospital personnel reported that the purported every-15-minutes checks on Gonzales at the jail were “a change from his (the guard’s) original story” in the emergency room, the lawsuit says.

The alleged cover-up also “includes records made after the fact for…

A federal judge Tuesday refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by students in Iowa State University’s chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

The lawsuit claims the university has improperly barred the pro-marijuana group from using ISU logos on T-shirts. Cy the Cardinal was on shirts members displayed in a photo in The Des Moines Register in 2012.

Judge James E. Gritzner ruled Tuesday that the complaint by NORML leaders Paul Gerlich and Erin Furleigh “alleges sufficient facts to support claims” for free speech violations.

The university had argued the lawsuit should be dismissed because the case has to do with trademark protection issues and not constitutional violations and the students “failed to exhaust their administrative remedies.” The university also claimed its administrators have qualified immunity.

Gritzner said the administrators did not have qualified immunity because the students brought forward sufficient facts for a constitutional right violation. He also found the university’s claim that the students violated procedural due process was without merit.

Iowa State updated its trademark policy to prohibit any uses of the mascot’s image tied to “drugs and drug…

Winston’s accuser demanded a trial by jury and in damages from Florida State University for Title IX violations of a “clearly unreasonable response” and allowing a “hostile educational environment,” according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Orlando Wednesday and obtained by the Orlando Sentinel.

“After a year of selective news leaks and distorted coverage, Florida State looks forward to addressing these meritless allegations in court. Evidence will show that through its confidential Victim Advocate Program, FSU did everything the plaintiff asked for and that the assertions FSU shirked its Title IX obligations are false.”

The former FSU student listed as Jane Doe in the complaint was allegedly raped by Winston – FSU’s star quarterback who reportedly is leaving for the NFL – at his off-campus apartment in December 2012, but Winston has maintained that the sexual encounter was consensual.

The state attorney’s office did not charge Winston with a crime…

The southbound Barham Boulevard exit ramp is set to permanently close, probably in the coming year, as part of NBCUniversal’s $1.6-billion Evolution plan to expand its Universal Studios theme park.

The planned offramp closure has infuriated neighbors who say the area is already gridlocked and that closing the busy exit will only make it worse. A group of residents calling itself Keep the Barham Ramp Assn. filed suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court on New Year’s Eve.

The lawsuit, which seeks to halt the Barham closure until further study is done, names Universal City Studios and the California Department of Transportation, as well as the city and county of Los Angeles — both of which approved the plan.

As part of NBCUniversal’s expansion plan, a new southbound 101 Freeway onramp is to be built on Universal Studios Boulevard, allowing departing park guests to get directly onto the freeway, bypassing the neighborhood.

In an emailed statement, NBCUniversal said: “The new southbound 101 onramp was fully vetted in the public through a seven-year environmental review process. We are confident that the courts will stand by the city, county and Caltrans approvals.”

Caltrans determined last year that the…

She rattles off the history of Methodism in this city, as well as tidbits about William T. Sherman’s March to the Sea. She discusses the canopy of Spanish moss that hangs above Savannah’s streets, whether “Jingle Bells” was actually composed here, and just how haunted one of the country’s largest historic landmark districts might be.

But Ms. Freenor has also emerged in recent weeks in a new role: plaintiff in a federal lawsuit that could reshape Savannah’s lucrative and potent tourism industry. Backed by a nonprofit law firm with libertarian leanings, Ms. Freenor and three others, including her husband, are challenging the Savannah ordinance that requires tour guides to hold licenses and pass regular academic and medical examinations.

“It’s the free market that made us successful, not the City of Savannah,” said Ms. Freenor, 43. “You shouldn’t have to pass a test to be able to tell people where the best ice cream in Savannah is.” She said autoimmune disorders could make her need a wheelchair in the coming years and keep her from receiving a compulsory doctor’s certification.

The case here is the latest significant courtroom pushback to municipal regulations that govern tour guides in a…