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Failing Grades: Nearly 500,000 fewer Americans passed the GED in 2014
As he sits in a study room at Project Learn—a non-profit on Euclid Avenue that offers adult education programs—with sample questions for the General Education Diploma (GED) waiting on a computer screen, 29-year-old Derwin Williams explains why getting his diploma is so important. He wants to get into the construction trade, maybe as a roofer…
Where the Hell Are Our Jewish Delis?
Since San Antonio is a foodie destination with restaurants like Cured and Hot Joy garnering national attention and praise, I can’t help noticing the absolute lack of an authentic Jewish deli here in town. A great number of large, multicultural cities offer restaurants that satisfy the Jewish palate. Take Katz’s Deli in Houston, Ben’s Kosher…
Hot Joy Hosts Evil Twin, Prairie and Jester King for Sunday Dinner
Rare beers, new releases and Hot Joy bites collide this Sunday, January 18 at 6 p.m. Beer buffs will enjoy food pairings and a visit with three of craft brewing’s luminaries including Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø of Brooklyn’s Evil Twin Brewing, Chase Healy of Oklahoma’s Prairie Artisan Ales and Ron Extract of Austin’s Jester King Brewery. The…
10 Free Events Happening This Week
Wednesday, January 14 “Stuck on Nothing” Over the years, the Current has kept close tabs on local artist Albert Alvarez, whose obsessively rendered works depict disaster in myriad forms. A scan through our archives unearthed a blog describing his painting Codename Doomsday as an “apocalyptic retablo” and a review likening the haunting oddities of his…
Texas Republican Congressman Apologizes for Hitler Tweet
After referencing Adolf Hitler in a tweet responding to President Obama’s absence at an international rally in France honoring the deaths of Charlie Hebdo reporters, Congressman Randy Weber, a Republican representing Friendswood near Houston, is walking it back. Yesterday evening, Weber sent the following tweet to his social media followers: “Even Adolph [sic] Hitler thought it…
Do You Know the Pledge of Allegiance to the Texas Flag?
If you don’t, after 140 days of following the Texas Legislature that kicked off its 84th session today, you will. Every day after gaveling in and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, Texas House members say the pledge to the state flag before beginning legislative business: “Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas,…
Lawyer: Fired Victoria Police Officer Didn’t Break Law
A Texas Municipal Police Association lawyer says a fired Victoria police officer didn’t break the law or any department policies when he used a taser on an elderly man. “There’s nothing unreasonable at all about that level of force,” TMPA lawyer Greg Cagle told the The Victoria Advocate, explaining that 76-year-old Pete Vasquez, who was pulled…
Kate Frosting’s First Bakery Pop-Up Starts Thursday
After changing course this winter to focus solely on the event planning and larger orders, Kate’s Frosting will host its first bakery pop-up Thursday, January 15 through Saturday, January 17. The bakery will open 11 a.m. and continue to serve customers until they sell out for the day. Held inside the Alamo Heights location…
9 Food Suggestions for Your ‘Parks & Recreation’ Viewing Parties
Grab the tissue box, friends. NBC’s is airing Parks & Recreation the final episodes starting Tuesday, January 13. If you’re anything like us, you’re a bit obsessed with the amazing show that’s made its way into our hearts. To celebrate (and mourn) the end of one of our favorite shows, which launches into its last season…
San Antonio Named Third Proudest City in America
The city of San Antonio is guilty of committing one of the seven deadly sins, and believe it or not, it’s not gluttony. The novelty real estate blog Movato has named the Alamo City the third proudest city in the nation. So, yay for us, or whatever! Now the blog didn’t detail just how they…
San Antonio Spurs Visit Barack Obama at the White House
The San Antonio Spurs were honored at the White House today for their fifth NBA Championship win last year. The team presented President Barack Obama with a POTUS Spurs team jersey, and judging from the beaming smile, Obama just might make use of it during those White House pick up games with international dignitaries. Here’s…
10 Ways to Have a DreamWeek
Taking place from January 9 to January 20, DreamWeek is a twelve-day summit in San Antonio featuring speakers, mixers, workshops, and celebrations. All of the summit’s events are meant to foster discussions centered on issues in our multi-cultural community and to honor the teachings of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Visit dreamweek.org for…
Let’s Talk About Sex Ed: Lawmakers Propose Two Sexual Health Bills For Session
As the legislative session gets underway this week, two lawmakers—one Republican and one Democrat—have each filed bills related to sex education taught in Texas public schools. One bill limits the materials school districts can offer in their programs, while the other expands the scope of the curriculum. Can you guess which legislator filed which? Let’s…
5 Things You Have To Do This Week
Monday, January 12 When Harry Met Sally Have what she’s having when the Alamo Drafthouse hosts a Girlie Night screening of When Harry Met Sally, the one and only time women found Billy Crystal attractive. $10, 7pm Monday, Alamo Drafthouse Park North, 618 NW Loop 410, (210) 677-8500, drafthouse.com. Monday, January 12 Survival of the Kindest:…
Wrestling Legend Mick Foley Lays Smackdown On Comedy
“You sound surprised,” Mick Foley remarked after I told him that his hour long stand-up comedy set was good. The hardcore legend was right, his performance at the Rivercenter Comedy Club wasn’t what myself or anyone in attendance expected. The man formerly known as Mankind isn’t quite a comedian, not just yet. His show leans…
‘America’s Got Talent’ Auditions Coming to San Antonio on January 29
Can you do the Hustle like Tony Manero? Or can you moonwalk like Michael Jackson? Do you have moves like Jagger? If that’s not your thing, maybe you can whistle “Stairway to Heaven” while standing on your head? Or perhaps jam to Beethoven’s Fifth on your kazoo? Who knows? Maybe burping the “Star Spangled Banner”…
‘New York Times’ Picks San Antonio as a Place to Go in 2015
Is one of your New Year’s Resolutions to travel more? Well you can always go to San Antonio. The Alamo City was picked as one of the New York Times’ “52 Places to Go in 2015.” Here’s what the newspaper had to say about our fair city. San Antonio’s riverside promenade, River Walk, one of…
Aural Pleasure: Ants’ ‘Is That All It Takes to Make a Breakfast Cereal?’ and ‘Lazer Rifle Goat Hammer’
Without warning, local shit-fi shoegaze outfit Ants put out two wild and unruly projects late this week. Both efforts find the group pushing the sonic envelope much further than on its righteous 2014 debut Ant. The first of the two releases, the breakfast-based jam session Two Nouns And An Onomatopoeia Is That All It Takes…
UTSA Dunk Featured on SportsCenter’s Top Ten Countdown
About halfway through the second half of Thursday’s game, UTSA’s Keon Lewis tips the ball free from a driving Southern Mississippi guard, forwarding the ball up the court to freshman Christian Wilson. Catching the ball off the bounce, Wilson gathers his step, cocks back and abuses the Southern Mississippi defender at the rim. Two of…
This New Spurs Cartoon Rocks Our World
“You can borrow my fighting ability!” “My determination!” “And my keen sense of justice!” So chimes the Big Three, or rather an elite squad of crime fighters known only as Secret People Undercover (as) Rad Sportsplayers. This first episode of Spurs Special Forces pits Duncan, Parker and Ginobili against a mysterious kidnapper at large in…
Former Rabbi Banned From Six Flags Still Banned From Six Flags
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. A rabbi walks into Six Flags Fiesta Texas, and walks out—well, actually is escorted out—with a lifetime ban to all Six Flags theme parks. Such is the case of Jay Marc Harris, a former rabbi whose love for the Torah is perhaps rivaled by log rides and…
4 Ways To Get Your Drink/Grub On This Week
Saturday, January 10: The Chef Cooperative is back from its brief hiatus with an event benefitting Parr Vineyards. Held inside The Fig Tree’s Dashiell House, the dinner will showcase 30 local farms and vendors in a seven-course dinner cooked by 13 of SA’s top chefs and paired with spirits via Ranger Creek and Pedernales Cellars.…
5 Shows to See This Weekend
Friday, January 9 Baby Nelson and the Philistines The United States is far and away the world’s greatest exporter of garage rock (granted, with 250 million American passenger vehicles in operation, we’ve got a lot of garages to work with). But down in Jalisco, Baby Nelson and the Philistines look to challenge their northern neighbors’…
RIP Texas Trash: Tobin Hill Thrift to Close
San Antonio’s thrift and vintage game will lose a badass Tobin Hill player when Texas Trash closes at the end of January. The three-time winner of the Current’s voter-driven award for Best Thrift Store, Texas Trash offered a ridiculously cheap wardrobe of band tees, vintage patterns and costume wear (I can point to a few…
Alamo Gathering Planned to Show Solidarity for Charlie Hebdo Victims
Members of the San Antonio media will convene at the Alamo tonight at 6:30 p.m. to hold a demonstrate solidarity with Je Suis Charlie movement. The demonstrations are in response to this week’s terrorist attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical weekly newspaper in Paris, France. Three gunmen stormed the offices yesterday morning and…
10 Facts About Elvis in San Antonio
Today would’ve have been Elvis Presley’s 80th birthday. To celebrate we thought we’d give you some San Antonio-related trivia about The King. 1. The rock ‘n’ roll icon performed in San Antonio a total of nine times. His first stop in the Alamo City was on January 15, 1956, when he played two shows at…
SA to Vote on Renewing Edwards Aquifer, Linear Park Programs
For approximately 15 years, the Edwards Aquifer Protection Program has utilized sales tax revenue to purchase conservation easements over recharge and contributing zones of the Edwards Aquifer, protecting the land from future development. But those efforts aren’t possible without voter approval. And in May 2015, San Antonio voters will choose whether to renew the program,…
Liam Neeson Wants Texas Parents to Know That ‘Taken’ Wasn’t Real
A few years ago, numerous South Texas residents feared for their high school-aged children’s safety and pulled their offspring from a school-led trip to Europe because of the movie Taken and its fictional narrative, according to Texas Monthly. Liam Neeson told an Australian news outlet while doing press for the third installment of the franchise…
‘The Search for General Tso’ Premieres Friday at Alamo Drafthouse Westlakes
Have you ever pondered as you gnaw on a bite-sized ball of fried chicken drowned in hoisin sauce who this so-called General Tso was? Who was this genius who invented the perfect dish, and who was he commanding? An army of chefs armed with chickens, deep fryers and delicious seasonings? You can find out at…
After Federal Appeals Court Hearing, Texas’ Abortion Law Seems Headed for Supreme Court
After judges with the New Orleans-based Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals threw tough questions at state lawyers and attorneys representing abortion providers Wednesday in the second legal challenge to House Bill 2, the fate of women’s health care and abortion access in Texas remains in limbo and likely bound for the Supreme Court of the…
Listen to ‘Broken Promises,’ the New Single From BLK Sheep’s A1 Pusha
As a prolific rapper and member of the celebrated Blk Sheep Music Group family, A1 Pusha is worth his weight in gold. Spitting rhymes independently on his new single “Broken Promise,” A1 Pusha lets his talent take center stage in a multilayered collage of vocals backed by minimalist beats, letting his lyricism shine in crystalline…
‘Texas Monthly’ Includes SA’s Starfish in Yearly Where to Eat Now List
Southtown’s Starfish, opened this past June by father-son team Rene and Diego Fernandez, was named as the No. 9 restaurant on Texas Monthly’s “Where to Eat Now 2015” list. The eatery also made the Current’s list of hot restaurants to visit ASAP. Houston’s Caracol came in at No. 1, while Dallas, Fort Worth and Austin…
No New Trial for SA Teacher Convicted of Oppression
A former Judson Independent School District teacher won’t get a new trial after all, the Fourth Court of Appeals ruled. Cynthia Ambrose, who taught at Salinas Elementary, was convicted of official oppression in 2013 because she directed and allowed students in May 2012 to strike a a student who had hit a classmate in the…
2014: Texas Saw Big Changes in Adult Education
While data released by the Texas Education Agency shows a dramatic drop in GED test takers and passage rates in 2014, Education Service Center, Region 20, Coordinator Three Kimberly Vinton says it’s too soon to judge GED test changes. That’s because there is “no full year of program data,” Vinton said, explaining that the school…
Flavor File: An expanded Panadería and gearing up for next week’s SA Cocktail Conference
There are plenty of food happenings to keep track of in 2015. For starters, fans of La Panadería (8305 Broadway, (210) 375-6746) will be glad to know that they can now enjoy fresh-made breads inside their newly expanded location. More seating means more chances to load up on conchas, orejas and La Panadería’s bread cultura.…
A Bygone San Antonio Landmark Comes to Light in ‘Rosengren’s Books’
Some day in the not too distant future, when literary texts are all created, transmitted and consumed electronically, a child will ask: “Daddy, what was a bookstore?” A succinct explanation: “Rosengren’s.” From 1935 to 1987, Rosengren’s Books sat in the heart of San Antonio and nourished its soul. Texas Monthly named it the best bookshop…
Bob Shacochis on Love, Blood and the Siren Song of Takeout Pizza
Bob Shacochis is no stranger to achievement. His most recent novel, The Woman Who Lost Her Soul, received The Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Fiction and was a finalist for the Pulitzer. He’s also received a National Book Award for First Fiction, The Rome Prize in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters…
Greg G Captures ‘The Feelin’ on New Mixtape
After the critical success of 2011’s triumphant Gold Rush, the anticipation for Gregary Griffin’s new mixtape The Feelin burns hotter than liquid gold. During a three-year release gap, the SA rapper/singer/producer/poet has been performing, teaching and soul-searching in addition to his career in hip-hop as Greg G. On The Feelin, out on January 5, Griffin…
Meet DJ Quake, the Mix-maker for the San Antonio Spurs
Perched beneath five NBA championship banners and surrounded by the rowdy fans known as Baseline Bums, DJ Quake, aka David Gamez, is putting in work. Draped in a black and silver Tony Parker jersey with matching Nikes, the San Antonio native bumps the carnival-flavored “Global Intro” he has crafted for International Night at the AT&T…
Savage Love: Programming Notes
I have been wearing bras and panties with stockings for so long now, it’s become a part of me, and I was wondering if you have heard of this before. Sent From Samsung Mobile People wearing bras and panties and stockings—that is something I’ve heard of before. A quick programming note: Some weeks, half the…
WTF? These bills could actually become law in Texas
Have you recovered from the whirlwind November midterm elections? Good. Because the 2015 legislative session starts in a mere matter of days, and with our newly elected governor and lieutenant governor, and a solidly Republican Texas Legislature, expect nothing less than a proverbial shit show of meaty red legislation and epic debates. Despite the decades-long…
Korean Bites are Best Bets at Café Manhattan House
There are a few things I consider when visiting a new place. Is it local? Is it clean? Is the menu easy to navigate? Do they have an actual idea of what they’re doing? It took three visits to Café Manhattan House to answer these questions. I stopped in for my first visit to pick…
Brooklynite Owner’s Latest Concepts Goes Back to Where it All Started
We could wax poetic about the Decade of Downtown or how SA is a City on the Rise, but why not just see proof for yourself. By the time you read this, San Antonians and tourists alike will already have been enjoying ‘tails at Downtown’s newest bar concept by Jeret Peña, The Last Word (229…
Free Will Astrology, Week of January 5
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In his novel Breakfast of Champions, Kurt Vonnegut describes a character, Ned Lingamon, who “had a penis eight hundred miles long and two hundred and ten miles in diameter, but practically all of it was in the fourth dimension.” If there is any part of you that metaphorically resembles Lingamon, Aries,…
Year One: TEA data show fewer people taking the new GED test
Within one year of changes to the General Education Degree (GED) that reflect national Common Core standards, passage rates and the number of test takers have dropped dramatically in Texas. Data released by the Texas Education Agency paints two different pictures of 2014, both of which illustrate the drastic decrease. But before we get into…
Bottle & Tap: Beer resolutions for 2014
There is, no doubt, a nonzero percentage of Bottle & Tap’s readership perusing this column over a sensible wedge salad, preparing to take a few laps around the track or heave a few kettle bells around the gym. It’s even possible a few are gearing up to try and find the last case of Amstel…
Joaquin Phoenix Carries Paul Thomas Anderson’s Bizarre and Hazy ‘Inherent Vice’
There’s a moment in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice when two characters discuss whether a swastika is a wise choice for a head tattoo. Joaquin Phoenix’s Doc Sportello points out the obvious anti-Semitic issues. His foil counters that the swastika is actually Hindu, a sacred symbol of auspiciousness. That brief exchange encapsulates Anderson’s recent preoccupation…
6 Ways To Get Your Drink/Grub On This Week
Update: Wednesday, January 7, 2015, 11:04 a.m. The Branchline Brewing Co. second anniversary event has been postponed until January 16 and 17, due to anticipated inclement weather this weekend. The original post follows below. Thursday, January 8: Tacos and Tequila will host another rendition of Tequila Underground. Bartenders will whip up new agave-based concoctions using…
