San Antonio
January 25, 2009 - Newspapers are facing challenging times
In an opinion piece in today's Express-News public editor Bob Richter talks about changes that are coming to the newspaper that will have effect on the amount of content to be delivered. Just as other businesses are facing challenging times due to the financial crisis so is the Express-News. Richter mentioned that buyouts have been offered to employees and a hiring and wage freeze is no in effect. But the most troubling of the changes is the reduction ... Read more »
January 30, 2009 - UTSA's Great Conversation
Each year UTSA hosts an incredible event in February called Great Conversation at the Institute of Texan Cultures benefiting the UTSA Honors College. The event is a night of good food and table conversation on a variety of interesting and engaging topics hosted by UTSA faculty and leaders in the San Antonio community. The event was started by Dr. Harriett Romo and is modeled after a similar event at the University of Memphis. Throughout the years ... Read more »
February 1, 2009 - San Antonio politics and parties
It's an odd numbered year and that can only mean one thing in San Antonio - city council elections. The season is just getting started and, as always, San Antonians get to enjoy having our parties crashed by the candidates. For anyone who has lived in San Antonio you know the festival and party march that eventually culiminates with the Texas Folklife Festival. Every one of these gatherings serves as a great venue for candidates to show their faces, ... Read more »
February 14, 2009 - Cisneros waffles on deal to sell Market Square
In a story in Saturday’s San Antonio Express-News details were released about a proposal to sell Market Square to the Cortez family. The proposal, along with others, was presented by Councilwoman Mary Alice Cisneros. The property is a historic landmark in San Antonio, a city that treasures its history and culture. The proposal was presented before the city council and was rejected in what was reported as a heated executive session on Thursday. Apparently ... Read more »
March 7, 2009 - Remember the Alamo but don't rebuild it
In Friday's Express-News Scott Huddleston writes about the re-emergence of debate over whether to restore the Alamo complext to its original state or not. The debate is being put forward by The Alamo Society, a group of historians founded in 1986. It would mean tearing down a lot of Alamo Plaza and reconstructing the original grounds to as close to original state as possible. However this concept has met with a lot of criticism, including that of ... Read more »
March 20, 2009 - Great day in KC, something San Antonio needs
After a full day of basketball in Kansas City and a busy morning touring around a little bit, we have finally settled into the room to watch some more basketball and relax. The games are wild, especially the Pitt-ETSU game. I have Pitt going all the way. What was I thinking? Later we enjoy great BBQ here just down the street at Gates. Yesterday we ran across a great experience in downtown KC across from the Sprint Center called the Power & Light ... Read more »
March 25, 2009 - San Antonio - a championship city
I recently returned from attending the 1st/2nd Round of the NCAA tournament in Kansas City. The games were great and I had a great time in Kansas City. This was the inaugural NCAA event in the newly built Sprint Center in the downtown across from the Power & Light District, an entertainment center designed for year-round events. The event was a great success for Kansas City and helped showcase both the hospitality and entertainment aspects of ... Read more »
March 27, 2009 - Fiesta is just around the corner
Today Fiesta Centralized Ticket Sales starts selling tickets to various Fiesta events at 10 a.m. Normally this would be just another opening event for Fiesta. What has always made this opening different is that this location and the box office will be the only places you can purchase Cornyation tickets until 11 a.m. when you buy them over the Internet. So people will line up at both locations well ahead of the opening to secure those prized seats ... Read more »
April 11, 2009 - San Antonio's urban core is finally taking shape
Today I dropped by the soft opening of the Pearl Brewery Farmers Market. It's located in the parking lot behind the brewery complex on Grayson Street overlooking the river. The grand opening is scheduled for May 16th with soft openings happening every Saturday between now and then. It's billed as a "producers only, rain or shine, year-round market." While down there I walked around the Pearl Brewery complex and was impressed with how it's come ... Read more »
April 16, 2009 - Fiesta kicks off today
Today starts the beginning of the annual festival called Fiesta San Antonio. This year the opening ceremonies is being held on the eve of the ten days to help mark the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Fiesta San Antonio Commission. A big celebration is planned in Alamo Plaza starting at 5:30 p.m. and ending with fireworks around 10 p.m. Starting Friday over 100 events will occur throughout the city celebrating the diverse culture that makes ... Read more »
April 17, 2009 - Fiesta and social media
We're trying a new approach in spreading Fiesta fun and information this year through social media. This year you can become a member of the Fiesta Facebook page or follow Fiesta on Twitter (@FiestaSA). We'll also be using the Twitter hash tag (#fiesta). Through these two channels Anne Cannon, PR director for the Commission, and I will be posting the latest information we have during the ten day festival. So far the results have been incredible. Last ... Read more »
April 17, 2009 - Fiesta Opening Ceremonies - a different viewpoint
In today's Express-News Ben Olivo provided his opinion of the Fiesta Fiesta opening ceremonies. While it did provide some good insight on things that probably need tweaking for next year it seems to have missed the overall intent of the event or buried it among some scandalous aspects to prompt the blog read. I have to say that after reading Ben's piece I am wondering if he attended the same event I did and saw the same people I saw walking around. ... Read more »
April 19, 2009 - Isn't it about time for a transportation plan?
As I was sorting through my mail this weekend I ran across a public notice from VIA for a series of public comment meetings on the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project being planned for the Fredericksburg corridor to be completed sometime in 2012. I'm all for public input on major projects. The trouble is last year Judge Nelson Wolff put light rail back on the table causing VIA to put BRT on hold for three months while they study that option according ... Read more »
May 6, 2009 - Parks, communities, neighborhoods, and sack races
Saturday I took a trip up to Austin to have lunch with a friend of mine and spend the afternoon in his 'hood just north of downtown around Lamar and Koenig. The neighborhood is full of World War II vintage bungaloos and is really a nice, quiet neighborhood. So what was the draw? The annual "Thing in the Park" festival (formerly known as the Violet Crown Festival). It was your typical neighborhood festival with food booths, art displays, community ... Read more »
May 9, 2009 - Virtual neighborhoods might help reconnect us
During the 2009 San Antonio mayoral campaign I was chatting with Julian Castro before our first virtual town hall about some of the things that might come up during the session. Of course we talked about the normal stuff like using Twitter to help connect with the people, Facebook and having more of the virtual town halls if he were elected. During the conversation he brought up a really cool idea I hadn't thought about regarding the development of ... Read more »
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