Concerned Citizens

Okay, that probably caught a LOT of my friends attention who are following me by RSS. But let’s be clear on another point. I’m not a Republican either. In fact, I’m in the midst of really figuring out what I am politically. It’s just that after I read some of the recent positions and statements of some Democratic “leaders” I just can’t find myself blindly following them. This, coupled with the recent issues associated with the local county organization, have led me to a point where I’m backing away from a party stance and more to what makes the most sense in my mind. Read more…

As I said yesterday, I’m going to try a new approach to my blog by writing on a different topic each day of the week. Wednesday I’m going to focus on sustainability and am toying with Wednesdays are for the World. I know it’s corny but I couldn’t find a good W word for Wednesday. Today I decided to look at a new trend in clothes regarding sustainability, especially on a concept of clothing made from recycled plastic. Yes, I’m talking about those recycled water and soda bottles. It’s possible and can help drive an important factor in the sustainability equation. So what does the market look like for sustainable clothes and how can we improve the situation? Read more…

Okay, I’m going to try to start a new trend in blogging by picking a topic a day and blogging in that area. Today I call Tech Tuesdays and I take a look at multi-touch interfaces. If you’re not familiar, multi-touch is what you’ve been using a lot lately if you have one of the more popular smart phones like an iPhone. The interface basically allows you to interact using your fingers and various gestures. What’s interesting is that it opens up an entire area of user experience many have never really realized, interfaces that are more natural to our daily lives. Read more…

This past weekend the Express-News wrote about the possible demise of the River North Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 27, the TIRZ set up to help fund infrastructure improvements within an area that straddles the recently developed Museum Reach of the San Antonio River. The purpose of the TIRZ was to channel any property tax increases resulting from redevelopment in the area back into the area to help improve streets, drainage, and other infrastructure elements. However, the management of the TIRZ and the lack of any redevelopment may have resulted in a situation that questions the effectiveness of it. So does this mean River North may be just a good idea without any chance of redevelopment? Read more…

Today I happened to notice on Ben Olivo’s Downtown Blog an entry with a video of the construction of The Vistana, a time lapse series of photos taken by the webcam perched on the roof of the Christus Santa Rosa Hospital. It’s a great view of how this building that has been lauded as a new start of urban core development came to be, sitting on a half block of property across from Milam Park. At this point the building is at about 96% occupancy and is growing into its own community of urban dwellers, a collection of doctors, lawyers, government employees, military personnel, downtown business owners, and just plain old folks looking to take advantage of living in the urban core. But it’s also a vision of what could be downtown. Read more…

Last week on Friday Apple Computer fixed a problem and, in doing so, garnered the attention of most of the technology media and even some of the mainstream media in the process. What is even more interesting is that prior to the press conference Apple had essentially been denying there was a problem to fix. However, when faced with proof positive from Consumer Reports of a potential reception problem while holding the iPhone a certain way Steve Jobs had to confront the issue. In doing so he made lemons out of lemonade by turning the conference into a marketing event. Only one other person comes to mind with that type of charisma – PT Barnum. Read more…

I’ve had a few comments on a recent blog entry I posted on the relevance of the tea party and feel I owe a little more explanation to my position. I started to post in the comments and, as is always the case with me, realized it was going to take a lot more space to respond, hence the entry of tea party – part deux. One of the commenters brought up the ideas of the tea party movement and I completely agree that the movement is sparking a revolution of ideas. Another talked about the influence the movement has, especially with regards to elections. I partially hold with that argument but have to counter that recently the movement seems to be distancing itself from one of its early victories – Scott Brown. So was I wrong on my position? Read more…

Lately there has been a lot of buzz about the tea party movement in America, the latest being a move by Rep. Michelle Bachman (R-MN) to formally bring them into the Republican Party. There has also been some back and forth between Sarah Palin’s camp and Mitt Romney’s camp as reported by Politico. If you ask tea party movement organizers it’s not as formal as many would like to think, hence my reference in lower case. Movement organizers say it’s more about common ideas espoused by a segment of the voter population than an organized political party. But is it relevant in the overall political landscape? Read more…

This weekend I took my annual trip to Houston for MLB and other things. The Astros were playing the St. Louis Cardinals and ended up splitting the two games I attended. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to enjoy it with my friend I always do the trip with. Work issues kept him in San Antonio so I made the trip by myself. With a hotel pre-purchased through Priceline and a presentation to the Texas Festivals and Events Convention I had to go. Read more…

I’m sure several of you have seen the latest viral videos of soldiers in various conflicts letting off steam by lip syncing to some of the most interesting songs, usually by female pop artists. They’re hilarious at times and present a different side we don’t see beyond the news reports. Remember, these soldiers are in harms way most of the time so as long as it doesn’t jeopardize the mission I don’t care what they do and hopefully they are having fun doing the videos. Unfortunately some people in command don’t see it that way. All I can say is let it go and let them have fun. Read more…

I’m in Houston this weekend enjoying my annual MLB weekend. Unfortunately my friend couldn’t join me due to work issues. But I’m still going to make the most of it. The weekend started with a presentation to the Texas Festivals and Events Association (TFEA) Conference on Fiesta Verde. After that, we’re at the Inn at the Ballpark (great deal through Priceline) which puts me literally across the street from the park. I’ll have to say the highlight was presenting what we learned during Fiesta Verde to about 15 people in the session. Read more…

Yesterday, at a rally at City Hall, LULAC president Rosa Rosales voiced her opposition to the proposed smoking ban by City Council. According to an article in the San Antonio Express-News Rosales said the proposal is racist and socioeconomically based. With all due respect to Mrs. Rosales that has to be the most outlandish claim I have ever heard on the proposal. What makes it even worse for LULAC is that it give credence to claims that LULAC is more focused on promoting racial division than promoting civil rights and justice by bringing race into a health and welfare argument. While Rosales made claims that such a ban would impact jobs and small businesses, that claim has been found to be shallow and unsubstantiated.
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We haven’t even gotten through the 2010 election cycle and candidates for the 2011 municipal election are already jockeying for position, especially in District 1. In 2011 Councilwoman Mary Alice Cisneros will be vacating her office due to term limits (she was not covered by the term limit extensions) and a field is already developing to run for her office. Greg Jefferson, columnist with the San Antonio Express-News, detailed some of the early political moves by District 1 candidates. It a good read and he’s a lot more cued in on the race than I am so I’ll leave any candidate analysis to him at this point. But a big question in mind is what would make a good District 1 candidate? Read more…

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White was in San Antonio today, stopping by the Fourth of July celebration at Woodlawn Lake. White had hoped to speak but the Parks Foundation apparently was unable to accommodate the request. Regardless, White spent time meeting with supporters and enjoying the family atmosphere at the park. White has been crossing the state, taking every opportunity he can to meet voters and get his message out before the November election. White is in a tie with Governor Rick Perry at 43% a piece according to a recent poll by Public Policy Polling. With the race so tight you would expect White and Perry to be squaring off mano a mano. But apparently Perry continues to be a no show. Read more…

If you’re in downtown San Antonio this weekend without fail you’re going to stumble across someone wearing a green lanyard and name badge attached to it. That’s what the attendees to the 2010 International Convention of Alcoholics Anonymous are wearing here in San Antonio. With over 50,000 attendees it’s probably the largest convention we’ve had in the Alamo City in a while. Some may claim it’s not the best convention to have since they won’t be drinking our bars on the Riverwalk dry. I counter that it’s probably the BEST convention we’ve had because of their attitudes. Read more…