What if November’s expected blue wave doesn’t reach the Lone Star State? Recent registration data for young voters suggest that could be the case. Even as registrations of new voters ages 18-29 boomed elsewhere during the past six months, Texas eked out a 0.12 percent increase, according to TargetSmart, a provider of political data. That…
A political action committee has sued the San Antonio Professional Fire Fighters Association to block the union’s three proposed city charter amendments from going before voters this fall. The suit, filed Tuesday by Secure San Antonio’s Future, alleges the fire union, its political action committee and Texas Petition Strategies, the company that managed the signature-collection…
Texas has the most uninsured adults and the third most uninsured number of children in the country, according to a study by Wallethub. To calculate this, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across three key dimensions: cost, access and outcomes. These dimensions scored states in areas such as overall cost of…
Who hasn’t done it once or twice? Accidentally shared something on social media that’s total bullshit. The difference, though, is we’re not the governor of Texas. Early this morning, Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted a meme showing Winston Churchill’s dour mug and reading, “CHURCHILL ON THE LEFTWING: The fascists of the future will call themselves anti-fascists.”…
Oh shit. The Breeders are coming to San Antonio andddddd that’s pretty fucking cool. Because: They haven’t toured in like 25 years, and they’re one of the major players that contributed to now-nostalgic, dreamy, ’90s alt-rock sound. Comprised of Ex-Pixies singer-bassist Kim Deal, along with twin sister Kelley, bassist Josephine Wiggs and drummer Jim Macpherson…
San Antonio’s Occupy ICE encampment, which has been settled outside the city’s ICE facility since July 17, received orders Tuesday morning from police to vacate the premises by 1:30 p.m. The group is part a larger national sweep of Occupy ICE protestors calling for the dissolution of the immigration enforcement group. In a statement made on the camp’s…
In a Tuesday morning press statement, the San Antonio Zoo announced plans to expand and convert its rhino facility into a new large scale “Savanna” which will connect to the existing giraffe habitat to create a more natural roaming space. With the full expansion, the rhinos and giraffes will share a watering hole with zebras,…
This story was originally published by the Texas Tribune. WASHINGTON — It’s the most backhanded of compliments. U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s campaign for U.S. Senate has caught so much fire throughout the state that the new favorite betting game in Texas politics is “How close can he get to Ted Cruz in November?” The implication…
In hip-hop, the East Coast, West Coast, and the South all have their distinctive sounds. From the East Coast’s complex lyricism, to the South’s slowed-down chopped-and-screwed style, each area has a separate identity and contribution to the genre. So what did the Midwest bring to the table? Hip-hop heads will argue it’s the rapid fire…
Former San Antonio Spur Alvin Robertson was arrested early Monday morning – the latest in numerous arrests since the early 1990s. Robertson, 56, was arrested on an outstanding warrant for violating a protective order. San Antonio police told local news stations that they arrested Robertson at a home on the Northwest Side. Police said they…
Netflix, known for its true-crime documentaries, has a new series titled “I Am a Killer” that follows death row inmates convicted of capital murder. The murder of Michael LaHood Jr., brother of current District Attorney Nico LaHood, is spotlighted in the second episode of the series. San Antonio’s DA even makes an appearance in the…
The Rim is getting ready to host the opening of the city’s second Torchy’s Tacos later this month. Set for an August 21 opening date, Torchy’s at the Rim (17627 La Cantera Parkway, Suite 105), will feature the same menu of “untraditional” tacos as the other locations. The hours of operation for The Rim Torchy’s…
Fans of the best burger in Texas have until August 12 to eat it for the foreseeable future. The news was shared via press release by Bexar Pub owners Daniel Eisenhauer and chef Luis Colon this afternoon. “We will be upgrading the facilities, add better A/C, upgrade beer cooler, construct more shade and more seating,…
A Texas A&M graduate is going viral for her graduation photos in the most appropriate way for an Aggie. Makenzie Alexis Noland, who is originally from Abilene, is the latest Texas graduate to make headlines for her graduation photoshoot. Instead of going to her favorite Whataburger or something just as Texan, she decided to pose…
El Paso (D) representative Beto O’Rourke is currently campaigning in San Antonio and will host a town hall on education at the Carver Community Cultural Center at 6:30pm on Tuesday. In addition, O’Rourke will also host a town hall on veteran issues Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the Scottish Right Library and Museum. In light of recent…
Anthony Green is the nicest weirdo you could ever meet. In 2010 I got lucky enough to open for his band Circa Survive at The White Rabbit two days in a row. During those days, I briefly got to kick it with him and chat about music and life and watch fans freak out during…
This story was originally published by our sister publication Out in SA. When the the Supreme Court of the United States ruled on June 26, 2015 that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples, there was push-back across the country from scores of local authorities who vowed not to issue marriage licenses…
Over the past few months, scientists and immigrant-rights groups have fired one salvo after another at President Trump’s pinche border wall. Now it’s the Government Accounting Office’s turn. The federal government’s budget watchdog today released a report warning the Trump administration risks wasting billions of dollars to keep up its Quixotic effort to physically partition…
San Antonio may not be the Bermuda Triangle or Loch Ness, but the city’s had it’s share of bizarre and unexplained phenomena — especially in the night skies. Whitley Strieber, the best-selling author of Communion, claims he encountered E.T.s in the Olmos Basin, and S.A. last year topped the nation in submitting sightings to the National…
On the morning of July 20, 2017, Chester Bennington was found dead and it shook the world. Even if you weren’t a fan of the music, it’s hard to deny the impact Bennington and Linkin Park made in the very early 2000s, perfecting the close-to-becoming-trite genre of rap/rock or numetal. What was crazier was they…
It’s been exactly a month since longtime Spurs point guard Tony Parker was traded to the Charlotte Hornets, and he’s finally said his goodbye to San Antonio. Get the tissues, because you’re about to be all up in your feelings. Although Parker had previously said he was open to not finishing his NBA career with…
This past week marked the 16th year that the Tales of the Cocktail was put on inside of the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans, Louisiana. The conference, which is one of the largest of its kind, celebrates cocktails, spirits, bartenders, bars, writers and more, all of which are involved and leading the spirit industry. There…
Well damn Mala Luna, y’all stepped up your game pretty high. Y’all have been holding it down for a few years, bringing in acts like Travis Scott and Steve Aoki in 2016, then Lil Wayne and Future in 2017. So, it’s not like super duper surprising that y’all continue to bring in higher caliber acts…
The San Antonio Music Showcase lineup, as well as venue details, came out yesterday. For the sixth straight year, the event, put together by a group of sponsors including the Current, offers up a one-night glut of local music talent in an impressive variety of genres — from hip-hop to conjunto, from indie rock to…
Two bartenders will take over The Brooklynite this Sunday, August 5 from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. and the drinks are taking on a savory approach — all are made using everyone’s favorite condiments. After being approached to develop a foraged menu, bartender Denise De Glopper (Lowcountry) decided to take a different approach. “The conversation…
Jumping into the tail-end of the nu-metal scene, L.A.’s Otep (named after lead vocalist’s Otep Shamaya’s stage name) was one of the only bands in the genre with a female lead vocalist leading the charge. Alongside the likes of Kittie, Shamaya’s vocals were a breath of fresh air amid the sausage-fest that was most of…
On Thursday, August 2, fathers detained at Karnes Detention Center, 52 miles outside of San Antonio, staged a hunger strike and protest to demand their release, according to a RAICES press statement. The group said immigrants were being held at the detention facility without receiving any information on their immigration status from ICE officials. Reports…
Author Vianney Rodriguez (Latin Twist, The Tex-Mex Slow Cooker) chats with us before a book-signing in San Antonio about her upcoming move to the Alamo City, how she launched her blogging career and her Raised on Selena dinner. Listen to the Big Spoon on iTunes or Soundcloud below. So many restaurants, so little time. Find…
What will we do with our parents? Or to put it another way: what will become of us? This question is at the heart of Yasujiro Ozu’s Tokyo Story (1953), as an aging couple pay a round of visits to their adult children and realize everyone is too occupied with their own cares and worries…
When 2009’s Fantastic Mr. Fox was first announced, Wes Anderson fans were eager, but cautiously so. Stop-motion animation? A Roald Dahl adaptation? Some worried this might be the beloved director’s tipping point in terms of preciousness. It was not. The film, easily one of Anderson’s finest, is tender, witty, emotionally wrenching and full of levity.…
Listening to Emby Alexander, I hear an array of influences. On Sunlight (In the Back of Your Head), released in July, I hear an amalgamation of the Beatles, Elliott Smith, Broken Social Scene and Belle & Sebastian. It’s pretty great stuff, and well-mixed for how much shit is going on in the song. It’s poppy…
For the 99.9 percent of San Antonio’s population that didn’t attend Thursday morning’s City Council meeting, things got a little heated between Mayor Ron Nirenberg and District 6 Councilman Greg Brockhouse. On the agenda was whether to allow voters to decide whether the city should annex land around Lackland and Camp Bullis, meaning if approved…
With all the classic rock acts announcing tour dates, we were bound to get an ‘80s electronic group in the mix. That’s sort of what happened. Earlier this year, English synthpop duo Erasure announced North American tour with a stop in San Antonio. The twosome returns to the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts this…
While he will forever be known as the vocal half of Jay and Silent Bob, the indie cult duo made famous in a handful of filmmaker Kevin Smith’s movies in the ’90s like Clerks, Mallrats and Chasing Amy, actor and comedian Jason Mewes is getting more attention these days for the live, on-location podcast he…
This story was originally published by the Texas Tribune. The top-of-the-ticket U.S. Senate race in Texas has already drawn statewide and national attention. And polls seem to agree on one thing: U.S. Sen Ted Cruz has a lead over his opponent U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke of El Paso. But by how much Cruz leads depends…
Listen up, wing lovers: Hooters is letting you feast on all the wings you could possibly ever want. Now through Monday, August 20, participating Hooters locations throughout Texas will let guests enjoy all-you-can-eat wings. The promotion is in celebration of the return of the football season. Be sure to call ahead to make sure your…
Lonnie Walker IV has chronicled his rookie adventures in San Antonio thus far, and things are really heating up. Walker, the newbie that the San Antonio Spurs selected in the first round of the 2018 draft, shared some exciting updates on his Instagram story Friday morning. He posted a quick video of his cubby in…
Avocado toast is getting an Italian twist at Tre Trattoria at the San Antonio Museum of Art. Chef Jason Dady’s regional Italian restaurant, which recently relocated to the Hops Building at SAMA after 10 years at the Boardwalk on Broadway, has added breakfast to this menu as of this week. Served from 8 to 10…
For their third date, Texas Cultures Laboratories founders Mara and Rob Green spent a week camping in Colorado Bend. Last month, they got married there. Such excursions have become a centerpiece of their relationship and the engine of their professional passion: hunting down the microorganisms that will fuel the future of Texas craft beer. Trained…
Chef Francois Maeder is closing Crumpets Restaurant and Bakery on Harry Wurzbach on September 1. According to a press release, the chef will retire after a 40-year career with 38 of those years at the helm of Crumpets, which serves European fare. Citing a desire to travel in his retirement, Maeder bid adieu via press…
“We hope to come back with a gold medal,” realtor and fitness instructor John Barrera tells me on the Brackenridge High School tennis courts. “They’re very nice,” chimes in Barrera’s doubles partner, Pablo Cruz, who’s worked as an AT&T project manager for 25 years and counting. Rightfully giddy with excitement, the two University of Texas…
Spurs Sports and Entertainment will hold the last audition for their brand new, co-ed Hype Team Sunday, August 5. Hype Team hopefuls can head to the UIW McDermott Convocation Center to show off their talents. Judges will be looking for talented performers experienced in athletics and entertainment. To qualify for the team, auditionees must be…
Bahama Bucks’ Broadway location at 4130 Broadway, Suite 2 has closed its doors as of this week. The location, which opened in early 2016, shared the news via Facebook. The remaining San Antonio stores are still open for you snow cone needs. Bahama Bucks started in 1990 when original owner Blake Buchanan decided he wanted to do…
Starting today, San Antonians will need to play it cool for their pets’ sake. City council unanimously approved a revision to the animal-care code that requires pet owners to provide a shady place for their animals to escape the heat. In the past the city required only tethered animals to be provided with shade. The new…
The “dog days” of summer technically refer to the position of Sirius (the “dog star”) in the night sky and, as National Geographic pointed out in 2015, they “don’t correspond neatly with the heat” since they can occur at different times based on latitude. Yet the phrase has been firmly redefined over the years to…
Billed as “San Antonio’s newest monthly alternative drag show,” Shawn Benét’s MadHouse returns to Web House for a Retro Bloodbath — a gory affair headlined by James Majesty, the controversial runner-up on season two of The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula: Search for the World’s Next Drag Supermonster (a series that’s been likened to a “rowdy, filthy alternative…
This pair of bands are exactly the sound of summer in South Texas: swampy, scuzzy, sweaty, (somehow also) sexy and vacillating between angst and agony. Veteran ATX cow-punk crew Hickoids, for starters, is a high-octane, full-throttle garage rock band that splits the difference between a messy punk sound and a heady psych sound. Houston’s The…
Dogs may be man’s best friend, but this Corpus Christi dog is treated like a daughter. Miranda Sanchez wanted to do her dog Lupita Conchita’s 15 birthday right. In true celebration of the milestone, Sanchez went all out and threw her pup a quinceñera. Sanchez’s cousin Megan chronicled the party on Twitter, which has since…
City officials have verified that labor and community groups collected enough signatures for voters to decide whether businesses should be required to provide paid sick time for workers. The Working Texans for Paid Sick Time coalition collected 145,000 signatures, more than double the roughly 70,000 required to put the measure on the ballot, City Clerk…
Billing itself as the “baddest lil show on earth,” Fort Worth-based promotion Extreme Midget Wrestling (or, as we’re significantly more comfortable calling it, EMW) obviously isn’t looking to score any points for political correctness. But “professional” wrestling at its best has always been about taking the worst aspects of human nature (bloodlust, xenophobia, spandex, etc.)…
Doug Horn feels it will take a little while longer to tame the Southtown spores that have historically colonized the corner of Hemisfair Park that now hosts Dough Downtown. Yoda of Yeast that he is, Horn has long since come to a working accommodation with the leavening agents that inhabit his and his wife Lori’s…
San Antonio, prepare to get cheesy. The inaugural SA Grilled Cheese Fest is scheduled to take over the Alamo City on Saturday, November 10, from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Historic St. Paul Square. Party hosts EgCollaborations are inviting San Antonians to enjoy “warm, gooey grilled cheese sandwiches” from local restaurants. Cheesiness aside, this…
Editor’s Note: Jade Esteban Estrada is the writer of Glitter Political, a series of articles detailing San Antonio’s elections. State Rep. Ina Minjarez hesitates before posting a photo on social media of the taco she’s about to eat. Though her Facebook page is personable, and the essence of her personality comes across in her posts,…
Less than two years after their singer was released from prison, As I Lay Dying is headed to San Antonio. Frontman Tim Lambesis was arrested in 2013 for attempting to hire a hitman to kill his estranged wife. What’s even more dramatic about it all is that they came up in the whole “Christian” metalcore…
The days when you can go zipping that dockless electric scooter up and down the sidewalk may be numbered, young whippersnappers. The City of San Antonio has set a September timeframe for regulating the rentable electric scooters that have been zooming all over downtown — and occasionally blocking sidewalks and storefronts. On Tuesday, the City…
Last week, Eater dubbed Carnitas Lonja one of the 18 best new restaurants in the nation. This week, Bon Appetit seems to also have fallen for the tiny restaurant off Roosevelt Ave. as well. Andrew Knowlton, the publication’s Editor-at-Large, listed the carnitas restaurant as one of the magazine’s top 50 nominees for Best New Restaurant…
The 1998 cult classic Rushmore was not Wes Anderson’s feature directorial debut – that distinction goes to 1996’s Bottle Rocket – but it was, unquestionably, his arrival proper. To date, the quirky dramedy remains one of the director’s most adored films and perhaps the best known among casual viewers unfamiliar with Anderson’s entire body of…
San Francisco’s Deafheaven will ride into town this fall on a squall of feedback. The band whose music draws comparisons to black metal, shoegaze and post-rock — yet somehow manages to sound distinct from all three — is touring behind a new album that may rank as its most ambitious yet. Ordinary Corrupt Human Love,…
According to a recent report by the Texas Civil Rights Project, only 34 percent of Texas high schools requested voter registration forms from the Secretary of State from October 2016 to February 2018 — meaning the other 66 percent failed to assist their students in the first step in registering to vote under the process mandated…
Mari Hernandez is a multidisciplinary artist whose recent Southwest School of Art photography installation “What Remains” was a knockout exploration of identity and construction of the self. A San Antonio native, Hernandez received a BA in English Literature from UTSA, but began to use art as a means of exploring her Chicana aesthetic. She and…
“I’m African,” says comedian Godfrey, the child of Nigerian immigrants. “I know you don’t believe me ’cause I have clothes on and shit.” The perception problem — says the Chicago-raised stand-up and actor who can be seen in Zoolander, Soul Plane, 30 Rock and Louie — comes from news reports and documentaries that exploit underdeveloped…
It seems impossible that cloud rapper, producer, new-age guru, pop gadfly, oddball outsider and all-around postmodern renaissance man Lil B the BasedGod is only 28 years old. Maybe it’s because the dude has dropped a literal metric shit ton of music. Maybe it’s his ubiquity in indie internet consciousness, or maybe it’s his radiant playfulness…
Actor Jesse Borrego (Blood In Blood Out, Lone Star, Con Air) will be presented with the Legacy Award on August 4 at 6 p.m. at SAFILM. His new film Closer to Bottom, which he directed and stars in, screens August 5 at 6 p.m. Along with Closer to Bottom, four of Borrego’s other films will…
Editor’s Note: The following is The Big Spoon, an opinion column on San Antonio’s food and drink scene. Over the past five years, I’ve watched several hundred restaurants open, and probably as many restaurants close. It’s not a pretty picture, but here’s the usual story arc: A person with little-to-no restaurant knowledge decides to take…
This story originally appeared in the Texas Tribune. Republican Pete Flores and Democrat Pete Gallego are headed to a runoff in the special election to replace convicted former state Sen. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio. With all precincts reporting Tuesday night, Flores led Gallego by 5 percentage points, 34 percent to 29 percent, according to unofficial…
San Antonio filmmakers will be well-represented at this year’s SAFILM, but with more than 150 feature and short films on the schedule, local filmmakers aren’t the only game in town. Here’s a quick look at a few of the feature films screening at the Tobin from August 1-5. For the full lineup, visit safilm.com. They…
Sooner or later, San Antonio Film Festival (SAFILM) director and founder Adam Rocha thinks a hometown filmmaker will emerge to tell stories about the Alamo City, much like Spike Lee does with Brooklyn, New York, and Kevin Smith with Red Bank, New Jersey. “We want to give birth to a filmmaker from San Antonio who…
As Bexar County teetered on the brink of violating federal air quality standards for almost two decades, community leaders and chambers of commerce warned that slipping into so-called “non-attainment” status would trigger economic calamity. After all, Environmental Protection Agency rules restrict new highway construction and some factory expansions in non-attainment areas. Plus, consumers can expect…
Q: I’m gay and have been dating a guy for 10 months. He’s great overall, and I would say for the most part we both want it to work out. But I am having a problem with his friends and other lifestyle choices. All of his friends are straight, and almost all of them are…
ARIES (March 21-April 19): I predict that August will be a Golden Age for you. That’s mostly very good. Golden opportunities will arise, and you’ll come into possession of lead that can be transmuted into gold. But it’s also important to be prudent about your dealings with gold. Consider the fable of the golden goose.…
After a strong couple of years of dropping singles and producing a tight debut LP, Sales’ latest endeavor Forever & Ever, released earlier this month, offers pretty and precise percussive indie pop songs that don’t stray from the butterfly-in-your-stomach atmosphere that the band built its foundations on. The Orlando-based duo’s commitment to creating songs without…
Evidenced by such ancient curiosities as the 29,000-year-old Venus of Dolní Věstonice figurine, ceramics boast a fascinating history as one of the oldest forms of artistic expression. But with that nearly unparalleled history comes a fairly nebulous identity due in part to its flexibility as a medium for both functional and decorative objects. Clouding the…
If you’re still crying your eyes out about how Avengers: Infinity War ended, this live-action extravaganza on the Alamodome’s arena floor is sure to keep your mind off the fact that your favorite superhero was disintegrated only a few months ago. While all the superheroes might not be resurrected in the Marvel cinematic world in…
Omar Apollo’s forlorn crooning and seductive falsetto have him slated for success and as much fan adoration as he gives the subjects of his music. The Indiana native infuses his bedroom pop with a mixture of old-school soul, funk and R&B grooves on his debut EP Stereo, released earlier this summer. He keeps his love…
Editor’s Note: The following is Their Town, a column of opinion and analysis. Last week, the electronic billboard peeking over I-10 East near Northwest Loop 410 read: “IBC Supports NAFTA.” Which is true. The Laredo-based bank’s CEO and chairman, Dennis Nixon, fought for passage of the sweeping trade agreement with Mexico and Canada in the…
It seems like something musicians would like the sound of — a city program dreamed up by Mayor Ron Nirenberg that promotes local artists by playing snippets of their songs at each Council meeting. But the newly launched Local Music Spotlight program hasn’t grabbed a fan following. At least not yet. Local musicians say they…
