Sep 8-21, 2021
Don’t Miss a Moment. Join 30,000 locals who stay current on San Antonio news, culture, and events. Get our free newsletters in your inbox three times a week. Sign up Sign up
Cover Story
Cosmic Road Trip: Located west of San Antonio, the White Shaman is an overlooked Texas marvel
About 200 miles west of San Antonio, a stone’s throw from the Pecos River bridge over U.S. Highway 90, lies the White Shaman preserve. The site’s centerpiece, a rock art mural dating back some 3,000 years, lays out a cosmology so sophisticated that some consider it to be North America’s first “book.” Owned and maintained…
San Antonio’s Cooper Greenberg effectively blends country, psych and more on new LP Silverbelly
Don’t call San Antonio singer-songwriter Cooper Greenberg latest album Silverbelly a country record. More accurately, Silverbelly, which dropped this summer, is a well-produced, confident indie-rock LP with a dominant strain of country DNA, and the whole package is accompanied and enhanced by Greenberg’s solid guitar playing. Not sure ’bout that “not strictly country” take? Consider…
San Antonio entrepreneurs behind Bexar Tonics release small-batch prickly pear simple syrup
The minds behind San Antonio mixer brand Bexar Tonics have expanded their culinary repertoire once more with the release of South Tex Prickly Pear Syrup, a simple syrup made with locally harvested fruit. The new product’s label boasts just five ingredients — filtered water, citric acid, kosher salt, cane sugar and prickly pear tuna, prized…
After delays, work to turn San Antonio’s historic La Villita into culinary destination now underway
After years of planning, a rehabilitation of Maverick Plaza in La Villita is finally underway, marking the first physical steps in turning the downtown space into a culinary destination, according to the San Antonio Report. The city began seeking bids in 2016 for upgrades to the historic site, among them improved utilities, a new fountain,…
San Antonio Rep. Tony Gonzales says agents filmed whipping reins at migrants ‘doing God’s work’
U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, whose district includes San Antonio, defended U.S. Border Patrol agents shown in a viral video appearing to whip the reins of the horses they were riding at Haitian migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border. In a Tuesday interview with CNN, the Republican said the agents were “doing God’s work” as they tried to…
San Antonio boutique grocer Wong’s Bodega closing Southtown location, says it’s relocating
Boutique grocer Wong’s Bodega will close its doors in Southtown next week ahead of a pending relocation. Shop owner Raul Martinez-Salinas III revealed the plans Monday via Instagram, saying the business is moving and restructuring. He offered no details on its new location or how soon that might open. “I wanted to let everyone know…
Report: Beto O’Rourke talking to potential staffers for run against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott
After a weekend Axios story suggesting Beto O’Rourke is ready to challenge Gov. Greg Abbott, the New York Times is now reporting that the former El Paso congressman is already rounding up campaign staff for the run. O’Rourke became a Democratic rockstar after a close and energetic race against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018.…
Houston-based BB’s Tex-Orleans now open in San Antonio’s Alamo Ranch neighborhood
San Antonians wanting to laissez les bon temps rouler at BB’s Tex-Orleans need wait no longer. The Houston-based chain opened its first Alamo City location Monday, serving up crawfish and seafood boils, po’boys and other Louisiana fare — some delivered with with a Tex-Mex twist. The Alamo Ranch-area dining spot is located at 5423 W. Loop…
San Antonio Public Library branches will open on Sundays starting September 26
The San Antonio Public Library (SAPL) will soon open its doors to the public on Sundays again. Starting September 26, library hours will be Monday-Tuesday from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Wednesday-Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Contact-free pickup is still available to library patrons. “Returning to daily service is an important milestone…
Two separate suits filed against San Antonio doctor who performed abortion in violation of Texas law
The San Antonio physician who performed an abortion in violation of Texas’ near-total ban on the procedure to force a legal challenge to the law has at least two takers. A felon serving a federal sentence at home in Arkansas and a disbarred Chicago attorney have separately sued Dr. Alan Braid, the OB/GYN who performed the procedure, according…
Stacey Abrams rips Texas’ new voting law as ‘anti-patriotic’ during San Antonio speaking appearance
Democratic superstar Stacey Abrams lashed out at Texas’ new voting law during a Monday appearance in San Antonio, calling the restrictive measure “fundamentally anti-patriotic.” “Much like its predecessor, the Georgia law, it makes voting harder, and it solves not a single problem,” said Abrams, 47, addressing a sell-out crowd at the Tobin Center for the…
New study ranks San Antonio as fourth-worst city in the U.S. for drunk driving
It may not be a surprise to hear that San Antonio, known for its fishbowl-sized margaritas and annual weeklong party, landed on a list of the worst cities for drunk driving. But we didn’t just land on that list, fam, we landed damn near the top. At No. 4 in the nation, to be exact.…
Analysis: Texas’ foster care problems are clear. The response from state leaders isn’t.
A Texas governor’s power to call a special legislative session includes setting its agenda. That list of issues tells legislators and the rest of us what the governor thinks is important enough to demand extra time from lawmakers. The state’s troubled foster care system (and the well-documented dangers it poses for foster children in Texas) isn’t…
Food delivery app DoorDash expands alcohol delivery services to Texas residents
Food delivery giant DoorDash today announced expanded beer, wine and spirit delivery services across 20 states, including Texas. Customers can now toggle to a new alcohol tab of the DoorDash app to order boozy drinks from restaurants, grocery stores, local retailers and convenience stores. The expansion comes after a successful run of the alcohol delivery…
New haunted attraction will debut at San Antonio’s Rolling Oaks Mall in October
A new haunted attraction in San Antonio is capitalizing on the inherent creepiness of that cornerstone of American consumerism: the shopping mall. Haunted Oaks, a 6,000-square-foot haunted house maze, will debut Friday, October 1 at Rolling Oaks Mall on the Northeast Side. With mall-set fright flicks such as Dawn of the Dead and Chopping Mall to…
Man indicted for June stabbing at San Antonio’s Palladium theater, faces 20 years in prison
Andrew Alexander Pantaleon, 24, was indicted Friday by a Bexar County grand jury in connection with a June 5 stabbing at the Palladium movie theater, TV station KSAT reports. Pantaleon fled the theater and evaded arrest for over a week before turning himself in on June 16, according to KSAT. The San Antonio Police Department told…
Texas chef Fermín Núñez among Food & Wine Magazine’s Best New Chefs of 2021
Suerte may mean “luck” in Spanish, but Fermín Núñez — the chef at the helm of the whimsically-named Austin eatery — certainly has more than luck to thank for his recent accolade as a Food & Wine Magazine Best New Chef of 2021. The chef and Mexican immigrant took to social media to dedicate his…
San Antonio doctor says he violated Texas’ near-total abortion ban to challenge its legality
Over the weekend, a San Antonio doctor revealed in the Washington Post that he’d performed an abortion considered illegal under the state’s restrictive new law to force a court test of its constitutionality. “I understand that by providing an abortion beyond the new legal limit, I am taking a personal risk, but it’s something I…
Echo Bridge shows under San Antonio’s Roosevelt Ave. are now legal; that’s fine with the organizers
In most cities, what happened on July 25 under the Roosevelt Avenue Bridge would have been the end of an ad hoc, unlicensed project like the Echo Bridge Appreciation Society. Grupo Tan Tan, a spinoff project of Tex-Mex punk band Piñata Protest, was booked to play. They play slower, stripped-down dancing tunes with a quartet…
Federal government announces funding for emergency contraception for Texans impacted by near-total abortion ban
The federal government announced Friday it is providing additional funding to Austin nonprofit Every Body Texas to address a potential increase in clients’ need for emergency contraception and family planning services now that Texas prohibits abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a release Friday…
Thousands of Haitian migrants fleeing disaster and unrest seek asylum at Del Rio bridge
DEL RIO — Five days after Haitian President Jovenel Moise was assassinated by a group of foreign mercenaries on July 7, 29-year-old Stelin Jean decided to flee the country with his wife and two children — traveling to Bolivia, where many Haitians have arrived recently before starting an arduous overland trek to the United States.…
The NYT still doesn’t understand the difference between vaping black-market weed and regular e-cigs
Apparently, the mainstream media has learned nothing from the big vaping scare from a couple of years ago, with even outlets like The New York Times still getting basic facts about it wrong. To recap: Back in 2019, hundreds of people began to get sick with a mysterious respiratory illness that was sending otherwise healthy…
West Texas spot touted as one of the state’s first brewpubs will sell its beer in San Antonio, other cities
San Angelo’s Eola School Restaurant and Brewery, which closed last year amid the COVID-19 crisis, will reopen Saturday, October 9 with new ownership, a new name and its beers available in San Antonio and other Texas markets. Renamed Farm Ale Brewing Co., the operation has begun offering its beer in cans for the first time…
Longtime San Antonio eatery Tomatillos Cafe y Cantina leaving Broadway for Loop 1604
For more than 25 years, Tomatillos Cafe y Cantina has served up generous portions of Tex-Mex fare with a side of festive atmosphere on Broadway just north of downtown. But the fiesta is coming to an end — at least in its current location. The SA staple’s last day of business in its current spot…
Golden Wok Lawsuit, Haunted Tavern Pop-up: San Antonio’s biggest food stories of the week
When it comes to food news this week, San Antonio was all about the chisme. Looking at the numbers, readers were intrigued by news that the owners — and alleged longtime romantic partners — behind San Antonio’s Golden Wok restaurants are reportedly embroiled in a $2 million lawsuit. Folks also read up on emerging details on…
Greg Abbott, Anonymous Hacks Texas GOP: The top 10 headlines in San Antonio this week
Many of the Current’s most-read news stories for the week center around politicos’ online mishaps. Shortly after signing Texas’ near-total abortion ban into law, Gov. Greg Abbott co-opted “right to choose” rhetoric in a tweet opposing COVID-19 vaccination mandates. Elsewhere in the Twittersphere, Sen. Ted Cruz picked an ill-advised fight with Patton Oswalt over the…
San Antonio-based Bill Miller Bar-B-Q to bring pumpkin pie back to dining rooms October 4
Cooler weather is (hopefully) just on the horizon, and San Antonio-based Bill Miller Bar-B-Q is ushering autumn in with the return of its seasonal pumpkin pie October 4. The Texas-based chain took to social media Sunday, September 12 to share the news. “No words..Just happy tears,” the chain’s Instagram post read. “October 4th can’t come…
San Antonio ranks as sixth-best U.S. city for farmers markets, according to study
San Antonio landed at sixth place in online tip site Gardens Alive’s new study ranking the 50 largest U.S. cities on which has the best farmers markets. Researchers compared the metros on factors including their overall number of markets, number of organic markets and their walkability. After assigning “weights” to each factor, they gave each city a…
The Lincoln Project buys TV ad during UT-Rice game to blast Gov. Greg Abbott’s COVID-19 record
After trolling Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in an online ad this week, the Lincoln Project is stepping up its game. The group of current and former GOP political strategists has purchased a minute-long TV spot during Saturday’s football game between the University of Texas and Rice University to blast the governor’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis. Abbott, a…
San Antonio Torchy’s Tacos locations to offer free delivery September 20-26
To celebrate National Queso Day — Monday, September 20, for those penciling it on your calendars — Torchy’s Tacos’ San Antonio locations are offering free deliveries from September 20-26. The delivery freebie isn’t just a celebration of the cheesy food holiday, however. According to an announcement from the Austin-based chain, the giveaway also marks the…
Storied San Antonio concert venue Sunken Garden Theater poised for $62 million makeover
Sunken Garden Theater, the storied outdoor venue that helped define San Antonio as the “Heavy Metal Capital of the World,” is about to get a $62 million facelift. Brackenridge Park Conservancy, the City of San Antonio and Bexar County are partnering on renovations to the deteriorating site, built in 1930. Those upgrades will include a timber-frame roof,…
Days after attack by hacking group Anonymous, the Texas Republican Party’s website is still down
Six days after being hacked in protest for the Lone Star State’s near-total abortion ban, the Texas Republican Party’s website is still redirecting people to a hastily put together fundraising site. The fundraising site, set up in a rush after Saturday’s hack, acknowledges the attack but adds that the Texas GOP has since been able…
First touring Broadway musical coming back to San Antonio is classic hit My Fair Lady
This fall, touring Broadway productions return to San Antonio’s Majestic Theatre with the Lincoln Center Theater’s acclaimed production of Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady. This revival of the classic musical was nominated for multiple Tonys and won five Outer Critics Circle Awards. Since we’ve all been in various states of isolation and awkwardness during…
State agency awards $11 million contract to oversee construction of Gov. Greg Abbott’s Texas-Mexico border wall
State officials awarded a contract on Thursday to oversee construction of a barrier along the Texas-Mexico border to a joint venture between a design firm and an engineering firm. The Texas Facilities Commission voted to approve the contract, worth up to $11 million, for Michael Baker International Inc. and Huitt-Zollars to manage budgets, identify state…
San Antonio’s Central Market to highlight Latinx-owned products during Hispanic Heritage Month
The San Antonio location of gourmet grocer Central Market is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, which kicked off this week, by highlighting products from Latinx-owned companies from around the world. Now through October 15, the H-E-B-operated retailer will feature Hispanic-owned wines and coffee, gourmet chocolates, salsas and more. Featured brands include Wrath Wines — founded by Winemaker Miguel…
Owner of San Antonio’s Dakota East Side Ice House to open second kitchen later this fall
Dakota East Side Ice House will introduce a new a to-go food extension at a location it’s renovating on the same east-of-downtown block where it operates, MySA reports. While the ice house already serves up items such as Wagyu chili Frito pie and carnitas tacos, a second kitchen will allow it to prepare other items…
San Antonio-based Whataburger lands on lists of most- and least-caloric burgers in the U.S.
It’s safe to say most folks aren’t counting calories when they order a juicy burger. Even so, the food sensitivity specialists at YorkTest compared nutritional information for hundreds of burgers offered by U.S. fast food chains in honor of National Cheeseburger Day, which takes place Saturday. Turns out, San Antonio-based Whataburger had offerings that landed on the…
Owners of San Antonio’s Golden Wok restaurants embroiled in $2 million lawsuit
Constance “Connie” Andrews, founder of San Antonio’s Golden Wok chain, has sued her longtime business partner and alleged common-law spouse Wai Hung “Kenneth” Lau for more than $2 million, the San Antonio Express-News reports. Andrews, 82, alleges that Lau, 69, misappropriated assets by using her share of their partnership to buy real estate solely in…
Houston developer Urban Genesis adding 160 apartments around San Antonio’s St. Mary’s Strip
A development firm from Houston that specializes in high-end residential projects plans to build 160 apartments on land it’s purchasing around the St. Mary’s Strip in Tobin Hill. Urban Genesis, which has built numerous apartment projects in the urban cores of Austin, Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth, plans to begin construction in mid-2022 on the…
Comic and COVID misinfo peddler Rob Schneider bringing his schtick to San Antonio’s AT&T Center
From Cedric the bellman in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York to the “You can do it!” townie in The Waterboy, comedian Rob Schneider has made a career out of playing dumbasses. Unfortunately, he also fills that role in real life, too. This past summer, the Razzie Award winner went on Twitter to spread…
Ballet San Antonio will give a taste of its 2021-2022 season in free event at Travis Park this weekend
Audiences will have a chance to gather under the stars for Ballet San Antonio’s free preview of its 2021-2022 season. The upcoming season will feature classics such as a variety show including excerpts from Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty (October 22-24), a holiday run of The Nutcracker (December 3-5 and 10-12) and Don Quixote…
Free outdoor screening in San Antonio marks 60th anniversary of classic film West Side Story
The last time the Current spoke to actress Rita Moreno, who won an Academy Award for her supporting role as Anita in the 1961 film West Side Story, it was 2019 and the Puerto Rican legend was speaking from the set of Steven Spielberg’s remake of the classic film, which hits theaters this December. During…
Baltimore’s ‘success story’ should offer warnings for San Antonio as it attempts urban renewal projects
The following is CityScrapes, a column of opinion and analysis. In the annals of urban revitalization success stories, few places are as regularly recognized and touted as Baltimore. From the rebuilding of its downtown core with the Charles Center renewal project to the refashioning of its decaying Inner Harbor into a collection of visitor magnets…
Stacey Abrams will share her progressive perspective in talk at San Antonio’s Tobin Center
Democratic political leader Stacey Abrams will speak candidly about politics, social justice and everything in between during this interactive talk in San Antonio. Abrams entered the national spotlight in 2018 when she ran for governor of Georgia after serving in the state’s House of Representatives for a decade. Though she came up short in that…
Coffee shop-meets-bank Capital One Café will open next spring at La Cantera
San Antonians who prefer to sip an Americano while checking their bank balance will be able to do just that in the city’s first Capital One Café, slated to open next May, MySA reports. Capital One Café, a service-industry venture from the financial conglomerate that dates back to 2016, will take over the old Microsoft…
San Antonio’s LOL Comedy Club hosts King of Comedy D.L. Hughley for weekend of standup
After bursting onto the scene in the ’90s with Original Kings of Comedy and The Hughleys, D. L. Hughley has maintained a solid, decades-long career as one of the most successful standups out there. An impressive achievement for a young man who survived tough formative experiences, including involvement in LA’s notorious Bloods street gang. Following…
San Antonio ISD Superintendent Pedro Martinez will leave to take job in Chicago
Pedro Martinez, who led a significant transformation of San Antonio ISD as its superintendent, has been hired as CEO of Chicago Public Schools, the Express-News reports. Martinez’s pending departure was confirmed Wednesday by the mayor of Chicago, the daily reported, citing an SAISD statement. Reports swirled for weeks that Martinez, who grew up in Chicago…
San Antonio-based vegan chain Project Pollo will hold first-anniversary event this weekend
Fast-growing vegan chain Project Pollo will celebrate one year of ruffling fast-food feathers at Roadmap Brewing — its original roost — on Saturday, September 18. The San Antonio-based business will sling free sandwiches made with house breaded crispy Chikn’ topped with house-made aioli and dill pickles from noon to 3 p.m. As part of the…
Smoothie and healthy-eating concept Kineapple coming to the food hall at San Antonio’s Pearl
Smoothie aficionados will soon be able snag those and more from Kineapple, a venture from the couple behind Local Coffee Founders scheduled to open this month in the Pearl’s Bottling Department food hall. Married entrepreneurs Robby and Neesha Grubbs will serve up an ingredient-driven menu that aims to make healthy eating accessible. Not a typo, the eatery’s name…
Spooky season is here: San Antonio’s 13th Floor Haunted House opens on Friday
Halloween is already creeping up on us. Anyone looking for a way to mark the occasion can make their way to the 13th Floor Haunted House San Antonio, which opens this week. The downtown haunted attraction launches its 2021 season at 7:30 p.m. Friday, September 17, with new scares including “The Dollmaker” and “Bad Blood.”…
San Antonio’s Travis Park Church to unveil design for ‘All Are Welcome, Love Conquers Hate’ mural
Downtown San Antonio’s Travis Park Church on Tuesday, September 21 will unveil the design for a massive mural by local artists celebrating the theme “All Are Welcome, Love Conquers Hate.” Travis Park Church received authorization last month from the Office of Historic Preservation to move forward with project. The mural will celebrate the house of worship’s 175th…
San Antonio Freebirds will offer freebies this Thursday and Monday for National Guacamole, Queso Days
We’ve never needed a reason to order extra guac or queso, but San Antonio locations of Freebirds World Burrito are using the condiments’ national holidays as an excuse to give them away. On National Guacamole Day — Thursday, September 16 — guests can redeem a free side of guac with any in-store entree purchase. Guests…
Justice Department asks court for emergency order to block Texas’ abortion ban
The Justice Department asked a federal judge late Tuesday to issue an order blocking enforcement of Texas’ near-complete ban on abortions in the state. The move intensifies a legal showdown between the Biden White House and Texas’ Republican leadership, which championed controversial Senate Bill 8. That law, which went into effect two weeks ago, bans…
Proposed contract would reduce 26 San Antonio Symphony members to part-time, eliminate 4 positions
Contract negotiations between the San Antonio Symphony and its musicians remain contentious, with the orchestra’s managing body suggesting deep payroll cuts and the union arguing for the need for additional fundraising. Under a new proposal from the symphony’s leadership for the 2021-2022 season, the orchestra’s 72 full-time musicians would be reduced to 42, with 26…
New spot on San Antonio’s Broadway corridor will serve coffee and tea with Indian twist
Caffeine fiends will soon have one more shop to try along the Broadway corridor. Amaretti Coffee — a new java joint with an international twist — is set to open in the space that once housed Brown Coffee. Amaretti founder Nirav Amarnath, a UTSA graduate, will helm the venture, armed with recipes for Indian masala chai tea,…
Popular Austin spot Carnitas el Güero opening first San Antonio location
Folks who just can’t get enough slow-simmered pork, rejoice: popular Austin outfit Carnitas El Güero is opening a San Antonio location. The eatery, known for carnitas-loaded tacos and tortas, is poised to open an outpost at 10151 Culebra Road on Wednesday, according to an Instagram post from its owners. In July, Carnitas El Güero chef Gustavo…
San Antonio’s Burger Boy chain will locate new restaurant in Live Oak near IKEA store
Fast-growing San Antonio chain Burger Boy will open a sixth restaurant, this one in Live Oak near the city’s only IKEA location. The purveyor of award-winning burgers, milkshakes and crinkle-cut fries announced plans in May to expand into Northeast San Antonio, but has remained mum on the new location. That is, until it planted a sign…
5 candidates file for special election in San Antonio to replace former state Rep. Leo Pacheco
Five candidates have filed for the September 28 special election to fill the seat of former state Rep. Leo Pacheco, D-San Antonio, according to the secretary of state’s office. The deadline was 5 p.m. Monday. Pacheco gave up his seat in House District 118 last month to take a job at San Antonio College. The…
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sues San Antonio ISD a second time over vaccine mandate
Texas Attorney General Paxton has sued San Antonio Independent School District and its superintendent a second time for requiring all district employees get vaccinated against COVID-19 by October 15. The suit, filed Monday in Bexar County District Court, argues that the rule handed down August 16 by SAISD Superintendent Pedro Martinez violates an order by…
Anti-LGBTQ former San Antonio councilwoman Elisa Chan shows interest in running for Texas House
Elisa Chan, who expressed anti-LGBTQ views while she served on San Antonio City Council, says she wants to run for the Texas House District 122 seat currently held by Lyle Larson, Express-News columnist Gilbert Garcia reports. “Chan, 55, says she’s definitely running if Larson steps aside,” Garcia wrote in his September 11 column. At least two…
Study: College students drank less during the pandemic but used pot and psychedelics at record highs
If you tried to escape the horrors of the last year by doing your best “guy on the couch” cosplay, then you’re not alone. A recent study published by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) found that half of U.S. college students ages 19-60 admitted to using weed in 2020. While that may not exactly seem…
Camille Rosengren, owner of San Antonio’s revered Rosengren’s Bookstore, has died at age 94
Camille Duane Rosengren, the final owner of storied Rosengren’s Bookstore, died peacefully at her River Road neighborhood home on Saturday, September 11, two weeks shy of her 95th birthday. Her daughter Emily Katherine Ferry was by her side. Rosengren was born Emily Camille Sweeney in San Antonio, Texas, on September 28, 1926, daughter of Emmett Thomas Sweeney and…
Live Music in San Antonio This Week: Cold War Kids, Herbie Hancock and more
Usually the top acts hit town on the weekend, but this week’s shows are frontloaded. Jazz legend Herbie Hancock sweeps in on Tuesday, followed by R&B hitmakers Earth, Wind & Fire on Wednesday and indie darlings the Cold War Kids on Thursday. And that’s just a taste of what’s on offer. Read on for this…
San Antonio couple behind Little Em’s provides update on new Southtown eatery Up Scale
Husband-and-wife restaurateurs Emily and Houston Carpenter have shared more details about their new Southtown venture Up Scale, telling MySA they expect it to start serving seafood, steaks and craft cocktails by “early fall.” The duo told the news site that COVID-19 surges and industrywide staff shortages kept them from solidifying an opening date for their “posh”…
Northwest San Antonio spot the Study Space will relaunch brunch after three-month hiatus
After a three-months hiatus, UTSA-area bar, grill and coffee shop the Study Space will get back into the brunch game on Saturday, September 25. The Study Space took brunch off the menu in June, citing a lack of staff, but announced its revival last weekend via social media. An Instagram post featured a shot of…
Padre Island beaches close ahead of Tropical Storm Nicholas’ arrival on Texas Coast
The Padre Island National Seashore has closed temporarily ahead of Tropical Storm Nicholas hitting the Texas coast. Officials took to social media Sunday afternoon to alert potential beachgoers to the closure. The storm is expected to approach the middle Texas coast Tuesday. San Antonio TV station KSAT reports that Tropical Storm Warnings are in effect…
New Lincoln Project ad mocks Texas Gov. Greg Abbott over pledge to ‘eliminate’ all rapists
The Lincoln Project PAC, known for funding a barrage of Trump-trolling ads last election cycle, has turned its sights on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. In an internet ad shared Monday, the group seized on Abbott’s floundering defense last week of Texas’ near-total abortion ban. The GOP governor made headlines by trying to play down a…
San Antonio’s Lambermont Castle to host ghost-themed pop-up cocktail events in October
Those looking to mingle with spirits this Halloween season can do so in more than one way via a haunted pop-up bar experience set to take place at San Antonio wedding venue Lambermont Castle. The Haunted Tavern event will take place the weekend of October 15-17 and is part of Rock Star Beer Festivals’ Be Afraid of…
Bad Takes: Stop blaming Jill Stein. She saved Obamacare and Joe Biden’s ass
Bad Takes is a periodic column of opinion and political analysis. You might be surprised to learn that a minor presidential candidate who received 1.07% of the popular vote five years ago is personally responsible for Texas’ recent abortion ban. At least that’s what passes for conventional wisdom if you gobble up the garbage trending…
Anonymous hacks Texas Republican Party website in retaliation for state’s abortion ban
Anonymous, the loose-knit group of activist hackers, commandeered the webpage of the Texas Republican Party Saturday to protest the state’s near-total ban on abortions. Internet Achieve captures shows that for several hours, the Texas GOP’s site displayed a banner featuring an image of a crowd of the Pokémon Mudkip, which linked to Operation Jane, a…
All in the Details: A peek inside the Pearl’s new home and kitchen store Rancho Diaz
Diving even deeper into the realm of brick-and-mortar retail may sound like a risky game plan in the midst of a pandemic that’s seen iconic American companies file for bankruptcy and independent businesses shutter permanently. Yet that’s precisely what Ginger and Mario Diaz have bravely done by opening Rancho Diaz — a sizable new Pearl outpost…
Queer San Antonio rapper Chris Conde drops new video from Engulfed in the Marvelous Decay album
San Antonio queer rapper Chris Conde (them, they) has released a new video from their latest album, Engulfed In The Marvelous Decay. Conde, who now lives in Austin, was previously a staff music writer for the San Antonio Current and a regular performer at local clubs. The new video of the single, “Summertime Heat,” premiered nationally…
How the quorum break got broken: Texas Democrats splintered during second session break
Texas House Democrats had essentially moved in lockstep — fleeing for Washington, D.C., in July and staying there for weeks to prevent a quorum needed by Republicans to pass their priority elections bill during the first special session. The group of over 50 lawmakers maintained a united front in TV interviews and on social media,…
Texas’ abortion ban, Satanic Temple: The top 10 headlines in San Antonio this week
It’s hard to imagine a news story more alarming than the passage of Texas’ new abortion law, which amounts to an almost complete ban on the procedure many thought safe under Roe v. Wade. Compounding the concern, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a suit seeking to block the law while its legality is…
Fideo Loco Festival, U.S. Open Beer Championship: San Antonio’s biggest food stories of the week
San Antonio food lovers had lots to celebrate this week — from two local craft breweries placing at a national competition to the return of the Fideo Loco Festival. Folks were also curious about how a recent transplant to the city could eat their way through its food culture, and they rejoiced when the city’s…
San Antonio influencer Donovan Thomson to open new Big Hops location in New Braunfels this fall
Donovan Thomson, the influencer and military veteran behind local social media marketing presence SATXRated, is getting into the beer biz. The New York native is partnering with fellow vet Audi Paredes on a new Big Hops taproom franchise in New Braunfels, the chain’s first location outside of San Antonio proper. The pair’s venture will open…
Comic Patton Oswalt turns Ted Cruz into punching bag after the GOP senator picks an online fight
Armchair insurrectionist and full-time Internet troll Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, sure does like picking online fights with celebrities. Even though they seldom go well for him. In the latest of Teddy Boy’s online misadventures, he took a virtual beating about his mulleted head and neck from comedian Patton Oswalt after taking a swipe at the…
San Antonio snack shop Chamoy City Limits launches online store for its new line of CBD sweets
Mexican Candy Edibles, the new line of CBD-infused sweets from snack shop Chamoy City Limits, has launched an online store to sell its handmade delta-8 popsicles, CBD-infused dreamsicles and CBD pecan pralines. The treats are just the beginning for San Antonio-based Mexican Candy Edibles, owner Ana Fernandez told the Current. The line will eventually include…
Blanco-based distiller Andalusia releases groundbreaking new single-malt Texas whiskey
Blanco-based Andalusia Whiskey Co. has achieved a milestone for the booming Texas whiskey industry in the release of what it’s billing as the Lone Star State’s first bottled-in-bond, single-malt whiskey. You may be asking, “So, why is this a big deal?” Simply put, the U.S. Bottled in Bond Act of 1897, created to guarantee the…
Reggaeton star J Balvin to play San Antonio’s AT&T Center in April; tickets go on sale next week
Reggaeton icon J Balvin will kick off his spring concert tour with an April 19 show at San Antonio’s AT&T Center. The five-time Latin Grammy winner’s José Tour 2022 will cover 25 cities in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. The jaunt is in support of his latest album, Jose. The Colombian superstar’s latest single “In…
San Antonio deli-inspired eatery The Hayden launching Wednesday breakfast-for-dinner menu
Jewish deli-inspired restaurant The Hayden will debut a “brinner” menu — that’s shorthand for breakfast-for-dinner — later this month. The Alamo Heights-area eatery introduced breakfast back in July. Impressed with the customer response, owner Adam Lampinstein and Executive Chef Bill Corbett decided to offer those same items for dinner every Wednesday from 5-9 p.m., starting…
After crushing women’s right to choose, Greg Abbott says Texans have ‘right to choose’ not to get vaxxed
Apparently, rhetorical consistency is about as high on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s agenda as ensuring his constituents have a working power grid, are safe in their schools and can easily vote. On Thursday, the Republican governor fired off a tweet blasting President Joe Biden’s announcement of new requirements for large employers to ensure workers either get…
San Antonio author’s debut horror film We Need to Do Something hits TV and movie screens
There was no room for screenwriter and executive producer Max Booth III to hang out in the bathroom during the filming of We Need to Do Something. What we mean by that is a bathroom happens to be the primary setting of Booth’s debut horror feature, which is based on his novella of the same…
Travel + Leisure readers name San Antonio as the sixth-best U.S. destination city
San Antonio was voted the sixth-best destination city in the United States by readers of Travel + Leisure magazine. The mag’s annual World’s Best Awards survey asks readers for their insights on destination cities, rating sights and landmarks, culture, cuisine, friendliness, shopping and overall value. This year, San Antonio is nestled between metro heavyweights Chicago…
San Antonio comes in dead last on a new ranking of Texas’ most sober big cities
It should come as little surprise that party-ready San Antonio didn’t top a new list of Texas’ soberest big cities. What may be a jolt though is that we landed squarely at the bottom. Austin residents, followed respectively by those of Houston and Dallas, conducted the most per-capita online searches for mocktails and non-alcoholic beer…
U.S. Justice Department sues Texas over its abortion ban, saying new law is unconstitutional
The Justice Department sued Texas on Thursday over its new law restricting abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, initiating the first federal challenge to the ban. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Austin, argues that the law violates the U.S. Constitution. “It is settled constitutional law that ‘a state may not prohibit…
Ship Shape: Former Coast Guard looks to build community with Gather Brewing
Coast Guard veteran Mike Voeller loves beer. So much so that while working as a cook on a polar icebreaker, the thing he missed most — other than spending time with his wife Rachel — was checking on his fermenting homebrews and sharing his homemade suds with other Coasties. Now, with his military retirement four years…
Abbott’s rape quote is par for the course: 10 more stupid, offensive statements from Texas’ governor
Gov. Greg Abbott made national headlines this week when he tried to dismiss a reporter’s question about Texas’ new abortion ban making no exception for rape and incest by saying the state will “elminate all rapists from the streets.” Commentators and Democratic politicians ripped Abbott for avoiding the question, showing insensitivity to sexual assault victims and…
New Tia’s Taco Hut now open for breakfast and lunch near downtown San Antonio
Alamo City-based chain Tia’s Taco Hut has opened a new location near downtown, slinging tacos, tortas and burritos from a long-vacant building at the corner of Brooklyn Avenue and North St. Mary’s Street. The spot is the sixth Tia’s Taco Hut location for San Antonio restaurateurs Benny and Lisa Costello. Their other holdings include Hometown Burger, Tio’s…
San Antonio’s 4th Annual Fideo Loco Festival will celebrate the South Texas favorite November 6
Just in time for sweater weather, San Antonio’s Fideo Loco Festival will warm up local foodies with a Saturday, November 6 celebration of the beloved South Texas dish. This year’s event will take place at Southside venue Brooster’s Backyard Icehouse from noon to 4 p.m. Along with samples of the comforting conglomeration of pasta, beans…
Special Texas House election set for late September to replace San Antonio Rep. Leo Pacheco
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has set a Tuesday, September 28 special election to fill the seat of State Rep. Leo Pacheco, D-San Antonio, who resigned last month. Early voting will begin Monday, September 20 to fill Pacheco’s House District 118 seat, which represents southern and eastern stretches of Bexar County — typically a Democratic-leaning area.…
Assclown Alert: Replaying the 2020 election with Texas State Sen. Paul Bettencourt
Assclown Alert is a column of opinion, analysis and snark. Apparently, rewriting Texas voting laws to make it harder for people of color to cast ballots wasn’t enough for State Sen. Paul Bettencourt. With the special session of the Texas Legislature winding down, the Houston Republican last week introduced Senate Bill 97, which proposed setting…
Cannabis use linked to higher risk of heart attacks in young adults, according to study
Cannabis is used by many due to its medicinal properties, but a new study warns that it could increase the risk of a heart attack in young people. According to research published Tuesday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, adults under age 45 who consumed cannabis within the past 30 days had nearly double the…
San Antonio author David Liss holding online talk Thursday about new novel The Peculiarities
San Antonio author David Liss, whose repertoire ranges from historical thrillers to superhero comics, will take part in an online conversation Thursday evening about his latest novel The Peculiarities. The hour-long event, a conversation between Liss and San Antonio Report founder Robert Rivard is hosted by Nowhere Bookshop and will take place at 6 p.m. Tickets…
Minds behind San Antonio’s Bexar Tonics launching sandwich pop-up Dang!wich next month
Matt McLaughlin and Maray McChesney — the couple behind San Antonio-based mixer brand Bexar Tonics — will soon add Philly-style sandwiches to their culinary repertoire. The pair will debut their Dang!wich pop-up Saturday, October 9 at Vista Brewing, one of the tenants in downtown maker space Warehouse 5. McLaughlin hails from Philadelphia, and the Dang!wich menu includes homages to the…
San Antonio’s Public Theater debuts rock musical tick, tick… BOOM!
The Public’s 2021-2022 season opener is bound to be explosive as the company debuts Jonathan Larson’s hit autobiographical rock musical tick, tick… BOOM! If that name sounds familiar, it might be because of another Larson opus — a little musical called RENT. Set in 1990, tick, tick… BOOM! tells a tale as old as time:…
San Antonio’s Tobin Center hosts free screening of Julie Taymor’s A Miidsummer Night’s Dream
This isn’t your average movie night. The Tobin Center’s latest free film screening features Julie Taymor’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a live recording of the director’s sold-out 2013 London production of the beloved Shakespearean comedy. Known for her groundbreaking 1997 Broadway production of Disney’s The Lion King, as well as the films Frida and Across…
Two San Antonio breweries landed medals last weekend at the U.S. Open Beer Championship
A pair of San Antonio brewers grabbed medals last weekend at the 2021 U.S. Open Beer Championship. Second Pitch Beer Co. landed a gold medal in the California Common category for its malty, amber-hued Hometown Lager, while Roadmap Brewing received bronze in the Scottish Ale category for its Craven Cottage Scottish Ale. Alamo City-based Second Pitch was…
San Antonio Beer Festival returning October 16, featuring more than 400 brews, food, live music
The San Antonio Beer Festival will return Saturday, October 16 for its fifteenth year, bringing 400 craft and premium beers, live music, DJs and chef-prepared bites to downtown’s Crockett Park. Sponsored by H-E-B, the annual gathering benefits the San Antonio Food Bank in its mission to fight hunger in and around the Alamo City. As Texas’…
San Antonio’s Mochinut will reopen this Friday after closure to deal with equipment issues
California-based Mochinut opened its first San Antonio location in late August but announced a temporary closure days later, citing a lack of “crucial equipment.” Now, in a Tuesday social media post, the purveyor of fluffy, Korean-style doughnuts said the gear issue is behind it and the SA store will reopen Friday. “Maintenance has been finished! We’ll reopen this…
Fearing lawsuits, Planned Parenthood’s three San Antonio abortion sites halt the procedure
Three out of San Antonio’s four abortion facilities have temporarily stopped offering the procedure in the wake of Texas’ new abortion law, one of the most restrictive in the country, the Texas Tribune reports. Planned Parenthood’s two clinics and one surgical center in the Alamo City suspended abortion services September 1, the date the law…
Classic Theatre opens its new season with Shakespeare in the San Antonio Botanical Garden
A Midsummer Night’s Dream isn’t Shakespeare’s only work featuring lovelorn youths prancing around a forest. As You Like It may lack fairies and magic flowers, but the play makes up for it with other follies. After being expelled from court, Rosalind disguises herself as a man called Ganymede and flees to the Forest of Arden…
Notorious comedian Carlos Mencia comes to San Antonio for four nights of stand-up
There’s no shortage of stand-up comics working the circuit right now, but few have reached Carlos Mencia’s level of name recognition. Maybe Mencia’s just used to vying for attention, since he grew up in Honduras as the 17th of 18 children. Maybe it’s his pedigree, having gotten his start at the legendary Laugh Factory. Maybe…
Blue Star Contemporary hosts two screenings of films by San Antonio and German artists this week
Blue Star Contemporary collaborated with Germany’s Darmstädter Sezession to curate Projection/Projektion, an exhibition of short films that will debut in two screenings held at the Mission Marquee Plaza as part of this year’s 6th Annual World Heritage Festival. The program will feature a shortlist of films by 12 San Antonio artists, including Barbara Felix’s “Liminality…
AT&T and other corporations funneled millions to lawmakers behind Texas’ abortion ban
As Texas enacts its radical ban on nearly all abortions, a women’s advocacy group is recommending that consumers direct some of their anger at corporations that bankrolled the controversial law’s backers. From 2020 to 2021, dozens of companies in the top tier of the Fortune 500 funneled $5.9 million into the campaigns of Texas lawmakers…
Live Music in San Antonio This Week: Harry Styles, Garrett T. Capps and more
Garrett T. Capps, one of the beacons of San Antonio’s alt-country scene, is holding a star-studded release party this weekend for a brand new album. While there’s much to love about that, we recognize that Capps’ sideways take on twang may not be everyone’s can of Lone Star. Good thing live music this week also includes…
