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in this issue
08
07 News
The Opener News in Brief
Check the Mirror, Peter
Spurs Chairman Peter Holt says team has NBA’s worst fan experience. Whose fault is that?
Hazardous Conditions
Flurry of 911 calls has been coming from ICE detention site near San Antonio
Questions
and Conjecture
Early information suggests much blame to go around in tragic Texas flooding
Bad Takes
Passage of ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ shows why we don’t need a Republican Party 18
Our picks of things to do
25 Arts
Marvel Man
Legendary comic book inker Josef “Joe” Rubinstein to appear at San Antonio’s Nelco Comics
29 Screens
Here’s Johnny!
Co-director Adrian Arredondo celebrates legacy of Latino TV trailblazer in TakeItAway
31 Food Más Mariscos Por Favor
Costa Pacifica Margarita Garden delivers fresh, sophisticated seafood flavors
Cooking Up
Conversation: Bar Gimme Gimme’s and Amor Eterno’s Aaron Peña
As he battles cancer, the bar owner discusses his shifting priorities and how he wants to give back to others
35 Music Outlaw Original
Americana stalwart Steve Earle talks about his trailblazing career ahead of San Antonio performance
Critics’ Picks
On the Cover: This issue’s cover story looks at the political calculus behind Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s push to shut down Texas’ multi-billion-dollar hemp industry. Design: David Loyola.
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SELLBUY TRADE
That Rocks/That Sucks
HPresident Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which narrowly passed in the U.S. House last week, could have a devastating impact on Texas. The bill features massive tax cuts for corporations and the rich while slashing funding for Medicaid by nearly $1 trillion — a cut that would cost 1.6 million Texans their insurance coverage, according to one analysis. If the bill is signed into law, 17 million Americans are expected to lose coverage by 2034.
San Antonio’s Muertos Fest, one of the nation’s largest Día de los Muertos celebrations, is sticking around at Hemisfair for the next 10 years. Event organizers and the city last week said they’d reached an agreement on a deal to keep the event at its current downtown home. The celebration, which lasts two days and features multiple performances and processions, drew 135,000 attendees last year.
Migrants held at privately run Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers south of San Antonio are fighting over clean water and being denied access to critical medical care, the Associated Press reported last week. Those details came from testimony collected from immigrant-rights group RAICES, which interviewed detainees at facilities in Dilley and Karnes City, both closed by the Biden administration but reopened by the Trump administration as part of its internment and deportation program.
Alamo Beer is getting a new owner. Australia-based SKJ Capital won a bid in U.S. Bankruptcy Court last Wednesday to take control of the city’s largest craft brewer, which will continue operations and remain in its current location east of downtown. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in February, at which point it estimated that it owed between $1 million and $10 million to as many as 99 creditors. — Abe Asher
Chip Roy high-fives colleagues
after passing the budget
bill he called ‘garbage’
Assclown Alert is a column of opinion, analysis and snark.
Few creatures love garbage more than Oscar the Grouch. Except maybe Austin-San Antonio U.S. Rep. Chip Roy.
U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-New Mexico, said in an Instagram video that she observed Roy, a Republican, high-fiving colleagues after voting yes on President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill,” a measure he had called “garbage” just two days prior.
This celebratory outburst is a far cry from the Chip we saw just two days ago, who had some of the harshest words in his own party for the version of the budget bill that had just passed the Senate. During a Tuesday hearing of the House Rules Committee, Roy was one of two Republican holdouts on the legislation. The other was U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina.
In a Politico interview afterward, Roy called the proposal “garbage” and said its chances of passing before Trump’s arbitrary July 4 deadline are “a hell of a lot lower than they were even 48 hours ago.” “My colleagues in the Senate failed us,” Roy said. In an interview with FOX News program The Faulkner Focus, he called the measure a “travesty.”
“I think this is a travesty that the Senate is going to risk the ability of us to deliver for the American people,” he said.
Like his usual tough talk, though, it ended up being sound and fury, signifying nothing.
By Wednesday, the Big, Bad Baldie was already signaling that he’d changed his mind.
“I will note that I have now gotten a little bit more information on some of the Medicaid stuff that I feel like it’s a little bit better than I originally anticipated,
but I still have concerns,” Roy said during his Wednesday appearance on Fox News’s The Will Cain Show.
By Thursday, Roy had completed his transformation into simpering eunuch, falling in line with all but two Republican colleagues to vote yes for the devastating bill.
Despite being an initial holdout, neither Roy nor Norman ended up being a “no” in the final vote. The only two Republicans who broke rank were Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.
If Roy and Norman had retained their spines, the measure would have been back to square one in the House.
Can you really call someone like Roy a “hardliner” when they just end up being a soft simp for Trump, capitulating on something they’d previously called “garbage”? Of course, it’s possible Roy got some other backroom deal, but he ended up passing the “garbage” Senate bill as-is, including the provisions he had taken issue with just two days earlier.
Despite calling for a budget that reduces the deficit, Roy voted for a package that would add $3.3 trillion, requiring the United States to raise the debt ceiling by $5 trillion.
So much for being “fiscally conservative.”
Adding to the steaming pile of rotten detritus, Roy said the Senate version of the bill violates the House’s budget framework, which requires it to pay for its tax cuts and spending on national security with cuts on social safety nets like Medicaid and SNAP, or “food stamps.” An estimated 1.6 million Texans will now lose healthcare coverage thanks to Oscar the Grouch’s hairless cousin, Roy.
Bow down to the Garbage King. — Stephanie Koithan
YOU SAID IT!
“In my career, this is our worst-case scenario that we brief all of our new forecasters on.”
GregWaller,servicecoordination hydrologistwiththeNWSWest GulfRiverForecast Center, onlastweekend’sHillCountryflooding
First responders in the Texas Hill Country are continuing their search for bodies following a deadly Fourth of July flood, even as hopes of finding survivors grows ever more slim. As of press time Tuesday afternoon, at least 87 people have died in Kerr County, including 56 adults and 30 children. So far, another 19 people in surrounding counties perished from the disaster.
The former chair of the Bexar County Democratic Party and a former Texas House candidate are among nine people indicted last week for alleged vote harvesting in South Texas. Manuel Medina and Cecilia Castellano’s indictments come as part of a larger case being brought by Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office for alleged misconduct
by a number of Latino Democrats. Paxton’s office unveiled an initial round of indictments in the spring.
The San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) last week assisted Immigration and Customs Enforcement in conducting a raid at the operations of a city seafood retailer that resulted in the detention of 12 migrants. According to a memo from City Attorney Andy Segovia, three SAPD officers provided “perimeter support” to federal agents as they conducted the raid. Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, just elected after promising to stand up to the Trump administration, wasn’t available for immediate comment on the collaboration. — Abe Asher
Reefer Madness
What Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick hopes to get out of his THC meltdown
BY SANFORD NOWLIN
Lt.
Gov. Dan Patrick’s political career is steeped in theatrics.
From telling grandparents they should be willing to risk dying from COVID-19 to keep the economy healthy to offering a $1 million bounty to bolster Donald Trump’s phony claims of a stolen election, Patrick regularly displays an appetite for over-the-top rhetoric.
And the Republican state leader and former right-wing talk radio jock has certainly ratcheted up the spectacle to new heights as he wages a one-man war to shut down Texas’ growing, and largely unregulated, hemp industry.
After Patrick championed passage of Senate Bill 3, an outright ban on sales and possession of THC-containing hemp statewide, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed the measure and called lawmakers back for a special session. The session’s top priority? Creating regulations for the hemp industry, which now generates $8 billion in annual tax revenue and employs 50,000 people, according to one estimate.
Patrick staged a near meltdown over Abbott’s “late-night veto,” calling the governor’s move a slap in the face to police and to families harmed by the wide availability of hemp products such as delta-8 and delta-9.
“Throughout the legislative session, @GregAbbott_TX remained totally silent on Senate Bill 3, the bill that would have banned dangerous THC products in Texas,” Patrick said. “I feel especially bad for those who testified and poured their hearts out on their tragic losses.”
Patrick flung off the gloves in a subsequent press conference. He accused Abbott of wanting to legalize recreational marijuana, something the governor has never called for.
Further, Patrick told reporters he’d
never allow Texas to become a recreational cannabis state, a statement that — on its surface, anyway — seemed to put him on a collision path with Abbott, a key conservative ally.
“If people want to vote me out of office for that, so be it,” Patrick declared, appearing to draw a line in the sand.
“Not going to do it.”
Digging in further, Patrick even argued the continued sales of delta-8 and delta-9, which have been legal in the state since Texas legalized hemp in 2019, would crater the state’s economy.
“We think we’re going to attract business here if we got a bunch of people high on marijuana at very high levels?”
Patrick asked reporters. “Is that who wants to come here and build their plant here, open up a business, move their family here? We’re not Colorado, we’re not Oregon and we’re not Washington State.”
Saving face
While Patrick’s latest bout of theatrics sure make it sound like shutting down THC sales is a hill he’s willing
to die on, observers said the claim amounts of a bongload of hot air.
For one, his statement about being willing to be voted out of office is about recreational legalization of cannabis, not regulating the hemp industry.
Even if the lieutenant governor legitimately believes the hemp industry is destroying Texas from the inside, political observers said this summer’s special session is most likely to end with Patrick’s Texas Senate approving new regulations in accordance with Abbott’s wishes.
“I think Patrick feels strongly like he’d like to see a ban,” said Southern Methodist University political scientist Cal Jillson. “But I don’t think he feels strongly enough about it that he’d go to the mat with Abbott. Ultimately, I don’t think he’s going to stand in the way of the Legislature approving some kind of roadmap for how to regulate this industry.”
To be sure, the hemp industry itself has called for regulatory certainty, seeing it both as a way to weed out bad actors and its best alternative to an outright ban.
After signing the veto, Abbott said he wants hemp regulated similarly to the alcohol industry, including age limits to purchase, rules around its potency, testing requirements and prohibitions on opening shops near schools and churches.
Since Patrick has complete control over the Texas Senate’s agenda, he has the power to kill any regulatory bill that calls for anything other than a complete ban on THC, the compound in cannabis that results in a high.
However, Jillson and others said there’s almost zero chance he’ll risk imploding his relationship with the governor by doing so.
Instead, count on Patrick trying to save face by claiming that had he not pushed through SB 3 the industry would have remained unregulated and the Lege would have taken no formal action to rein it in. He’ll likely grouse that the final regulations don’t go far enough but claim victory just the same.
Calculating the risks
Even in the likelihood Patrick ultimately caves on his demand for an outright
X Office of the Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick
ban, his game of rhetorical brinksmanship carries some political risk.
After all, Patrick, Abbott and Republican Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows worked in lockstep during the most recent session to get most of the right-wing priorities they wanted. It was a change from prior sessions, when infighting cut those goals short.
Patrick is well aware that becoming too combative with Abbott over hemp regulations could jeopardize the trio’s collaboration moving forward, according to political experts.
Adding to the lieutenant governor’s political risks, his call for a complete ban on THC-containing hemp products such as delta-8 and delta-9 is unpopular, even with many Republicans.
A survey conducted earlier this summer by Trump pollsters Fabrizio, Lee & Associates found that 61% of all registered Texas voters opposed Senate Bill 3. Registered GOP voters opposed the measure by a 44%-31% margin.
Indeed, as SB 3 sat on Abbott’s desk, the governor reportedly received 120,000 letters and signed petitions from veterans, farmers and others asking him to reject the ban and call for legislators to create a new regulatory framework for the industry.
Veterans have said they rely on THC-containing hemp products to combat PTSD and avoid addictive opiates. Meanwhile, some Texas farmers staked their livelihoods on making hemp their primary cash crop after the state voted to deregulate.
Both groups skew Republican.
Patrick began his anti-THC crusade months ago and likely baked those risks into his calculations, observers said. In a clear show of his intentionality, the lieutenant early this spring began staging amateur investigative-style videos of his visits to hemp shops to gin up alarm over the industry.
It seems likely Patrick knew an outright THC ban would be broadly unpopular.
To be sure, recent polling suggests that cannabis reform legislation has more bipartisan support from Texans than ever.
In the end, Patrick wagered that any serious challenge to his job in deep-red Texas will come during a Republican primary, not from a Democrat. Primaries tend to attract voters on parties’ most extreme fringe, many of whom the lieutenant governor bet were on his side in the battle to shut down THC and all forms of the demon weed.
Amid all the wild claims Patrick’s made about the evils of hemp — including an unsubstantiated allegation that foreign terrorist organizations and drug cartels may running the state’s dispensaries — one telling statement did sneak into the press conference where he railed against Abbott’s veto.
“We will work through it, hopefully,” Patrick said. “But it’s not the state I want. I don’t want my kids, my grandkids, growing up in a state where everybody’s high.”
Just the same, don’t count out more theatrics from the lieutenant governor along the way.
Shutterstock BenLJohnson
Check the Mirror, Peter
Spurs Chairman Peter Holt says team has NBA’s worst fan experience. Whose fault is that?
MICHAEL KARLIS
The following story is a piece of opinion and analysis.
Late last month, Spurs Sports & Entertainment Chairman Peter J. Holt told the Express-News his team ranks “dead last” in the NBA for “overall fan experience.”
“What that means … is, what else is there to provide?” Holt told the daily. “What can you do pre-game? What can you do post-game? Can you make a day of your event, whether that’s a concert or a game, etc.”
Holt, who’s in what the Express-News described as “campaign mode” to drum up public support for a new downtown Spurs arena, also said the area around the team’s current home, the Frost Bank Center, lacks amenities that make people want to arrive early and stick around after games.
Holt’s comments beg the question: Whose fault is that, exactly?
When Bexar County approved funding for the construction of the Frost Bank Center in 1999, officials said the $175 million-plus arena would stimulate growth on the economically stagnant East Side. However, it’s hard for fans attending a Spurs game to see much of that promised development, other than a few nearby residents charging $20 or more for parking.
Precinct 4 County Commissioner Tommy Calvert, who represents the area where the Frost Bank Center stands, has long blamed the orange traffic cones that made it difficult for sports fans and concertgoers to break away from a direct line to the arena for the lack of economic development.
In conversations with the Current, Calvert said he’s received complaints from business owners near the arena who are frustrated that the cones make it difficult, if not impossible, for potential customers to stop for a bite or a drink on their way to games.
To Calvert’s point, it’s hard to imagine any meaningful economic development resulting if Spurs fans aren’t able to break away from the traffic flow to spend their
dollars.
It’s not like there’s a shortage of land that could be used to develop dining and entertainment options around the Frost Bank Center. The city also owns the Willow Springs Golf Course, a 187-acre, 18-hole course located directly east of the arena.
So, whose fault is it for not facilitating economic development around the existing arena?
Spurs Sports & Entertainment contributed just $28.5 million — or approximately 16% — of the Frost Bank Center’s total cost and has never made any meaningful effort to develop the land around the site, according to Calvert.
That means the franchise shoulders some of the blame, the commissioner said.
Development of the Frost Bank Center came at the tail end of an era when teams and municipalities focused on developing sports facilities in suburban arenas and surrounding them by massive parking lots.
Since that time, developers and sports teams have seized on a new idea: the sports entertainment district.
These artificial neighborhoods are usually anchored by a stadium with retail, restaurants and other entertainment facilities within walking distance. Some recently built examples include Sacramento’s Downtown Commons, Los Angeles’ L.A. Live and Milwaukee’s Deer District.
While backers maintain these districts serve as engines of economic growth and development, economists including Jake Wegmann, an associate professor of community and regional planning at the University of Texas, question that.
“Most economists think it’s a pretty dubious claim that by building a sports stadium, you’re growing the overall economy, as opposed to just sort of shuffling spending from one part of downtown to another,” Wegmann told the Current in an earlier interview.
Economist Andrew Zimbalist, one of the nation’s leading experts in the study of sports entertainment districts, agrees.
“Sometimes the investment you get near this new facility is an investment that is already in town,” Zimbalist previously told the Current. “What happens
is a restaurant or whatever moves from location A to location B to try to take advantage of the activity around the sports stadium to get more business.”
Typically, sports and entertainment districts provide meaningful economic growth if they’re built in areas that lack the amenities being built, both Wegmann and Zimbalist maintain. That means they must prove useful on a daily basis to residents living in close proximity.
A prime example of a team doing the best with the cards it’s been dealt is the NFL’s New England Patriots, who, much like the Spurs, are a storied franchise and a once-great, nearly mythical sports dynasty.
Similar to the Frost Bank Center, Gillette Stadium opened in 2002 and followed the outdated trend of building a stadium in a remote location. It’s nearly 30 miles south of Boston, to be exact.
However, when Patriots owner Robert Kraft wanted people to come early and stay late, he didn’t ask the notoriously frugal City of Boston to demolish historic buildings and pay for a new downtown stadium.
Instead, Kraft built his own sports and entertainment district in the quiet town of Foxborough, a village with a population of fewer than 20,000.
Dubbed “Patriots Place,” the sprawling 450-acre complex features two hotels along with nearly 63,000 square feet of retail space, including dining, entertainment, shopping and a medical center — all built on what was previously miles
of asphalt.
Of course, Holt’s $200 million net worth pales next to that of Kraft, who’s worth an estimated $12 billion.
But Holt doesn’t own Spurs Sports & Entertainment outright. Instead, the ownership group includes several billionaires, including Michael Dell, worth $125 billion, San Francisco-based private equity firm Sixth Street Partners, which manages more than $115 billion in assets, and the McCombs family, who also control billions in assets.
In other words, there’s money to be spent if Spurs Sports & Entertainment wanted to redevelop the area and give back to the East Side, a community city leaders and the business elite have long neglected.
Instead of crying poor and complaining about a bad fan experience to the leaders of one of the nation’s most impoverished cities, perhaps Holt and the rest of the ownership group should get creative about reimagining the East Side. And they should be willing to spend money.
The Spurs are under the salary cap, and all those cash considerations could be spent on, well, something.
With the Frost Bank Center more than three decades old, it’s a fair argument that the team could use a new arena, and moving the Spurs downtown seems like a neat idea in theory. However, it’s insincere and unfair for Holt to lament the team has the worst fan experience in the NBA without looking in the mirror to ask who bears the blame.
Courtesy Photo Spurs Sports & Entertainment
Hazardous Conditions
Flurry of 911 calls has been coming from ICE detention site near San Antonio
STEPHANIE KOITHAN
Adetention center southwest of San Antonio used to hold people arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has experienced a flurry of 911 calls originating from inside, Wired magazine reports.
The emergency calls, sometimes made by staff and sometimes by detainees or their visiting family members, paint a picture of dire conditions inside, immigrant advocates argue. The subject matter of the calls ranged from suicide attempts and allegations of sexual abuse to health issues faced by pregnant inmates, according to Wired’s reporting.
“Conditions at the South Texas ICE Processing Center (‘Pearsall’) are broadly punitive, as they have been throughout its two-decade history under the management of private prison company GEO Group,” immigrant rights advocacy group RAICES told the Current in an emailed statement.
“Near-capacity detention rates in recent weeks have only threatened to exacerbate long-held concerns and compound violations of the federal government’s own standards,” RAICES continued. “Medical care is inadequate, disorganized and indifferent to urgency. Food is limited, heavily rationed and often expired. And inattentive guards enable systemic obstacles to qualified legal counsel for people in detention, which have only worsened under this administration based upon RAICES’ observations.”
The South Texas ICE Processing Center, located less than an hour’s drive from the Alamo City at 566 Veterans Drive in Pearsall, is operated by private prison giant GEO Group. The facility is one of the nation’s largest such detention sites and has a capacity of 1,900 inmates, comprised of both men and women.
The Current reached out to the South
Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall for a response to the claims of abuse but received no response by press time.
Wired reports that from January through May, more than 80 emergency calls originated from the facility, including several regarding suicide attempts.
One 36-year-old man reportedly swallowed 20 over-the-counter pills, while another detainee, 37, ingested cleaning chemicals and a third, 41, was found cutting himself.
Other calls involved pregnant women bleeding or suffering severe pain, according to the magazine’s data dive. ICE detention is linked to heightened rates of pregnancy complications — both for the child and mother — according to research by the peer-reviewed JAMA Network of medical publications.
While official ICE policy generally discourages detaining pregnant individuals, ICE booked 158 pregnant, postpartum and nursing people over a six-month period ending early last spring, according to federal data.
Jonathan Ryan, a San Antonio immigration attorney and former CEO of RAICES, told the Current that the 911 calls emanating from the Pearsall Center are a tactic by GEO Group to avoid cutting into profit margins by administering in-house medical treatment.
“You always have to remember that these are for-profit detention facilities,” Ryan said. “These are corporations that are profit-based, and medical care is expensive. And so even if they have the facilities to provide medical care, if they are able to
orders and doesn’t comply with their regimen of rules in the facilities.”
The number of 911 calls originating from the South Texas ICE Processing Center tripled in March, according to Wired. However, the magazine noted that a number of factors could have contributed to the jump, including worsening conditions, increased willingness to dial 911 or a surge in population. In one week, dispatchers fielded 11 separate calls from the facility.
In one such call, a woman complained that her husband detained inside had been too weak to get out of bed all day and “they have not helped,” Wired reports. Another dispatch from the facility in March was due to a report of sexual abuse identified as “staff on detainee,” according to the story.
offload those services to the local community, they’re going to do that because that’s more money in their pockets.”
Ryan continued: “You do everything you can to avoid spending money on the people who are detained there. And that’s a race to the bottom in terms of safety and sanity and health for anybody who is unfortunate enough to be stuck inside of those facilities.”
The JAMA Network’s report showed a high rate of preventable deaths at ICE detention facilities nationwide due to inadequate medical care. Most deaths were people under 43 with no co-morbidities, and one-half of the deaths were due to preventable causes, such as COVID-19 and suicide.
“Systematic substandard care has been identified as a factor associated with these deaths, including lack of recognition of severe illness, medical staff dismissal of concerns about individuals’ health, and delays in activating external emergency care,” the report states.
Ryan, who’s dealt with cases at the Pearsall facility since it opened in 2005, said he’s frequently heard of its on-site medical facility prescribing water for a slew of health problems.
“But you also see in some instances over-medication, and that particularly is in terms of things like psychotropic medicine,” Ryan said. “And I’ve on many occasions seen my clients zombified in those facilities because they’re being pumped up with psychotropic medicines that the facility uses in order to practically render catatonic anyone who doesn’t follow their
In addition to 911 calls made from the facility, detainees’ family members have taken to leaving negative Google reviews in apparent hope their cries for help reach the world at large.
“The detention is really bad, [nobody] hear[s] us, [today] all the inmate[s] stop[ped] eating food,” Respina Saze wrote a week ago in a review of the Pearsall site. “Detainees have launched a hunger strike demanding justice and urgent review of their cases. [T]here is no [human] right[s]! And [nobody] answer[s.] [W]e are worry about our [family] member.”
“This place does not know what it’s doing,” said another one-star review, left a month ago by Tami Dube. “[Y]ou call[,] ask questions and you get transferred to phone numbers that don’t even exist. People get sick or hurt and they’re not medically attended to. You try to bond them out and people have to wait 6+ hours just to be turned away 2 hours before closing.”
As of this week, ICE is holding a record 59,000 detainees throughout the country as part of President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown, according to CBS News. Historical data gathered by the Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the criminal justice system, indicates that it’s the largest population of immigrant detainees in the nation’s history.
Of the 204,297 people ICE booked into detention since the start of the fiscal year, 65% have no criminal convictions and 93% have no violent convictions, according to data compiled by the Cato Institute, the libertarian think tank. Among those who do have prior convictions, 53% fall into the categories of immigration, traffic-related offenses and non-violent vice crimes.
Courtesy Photo GEO Group
Questions and Conjecture
Early information suggests much blame to go around in tragic Texas flooding
BY STEPHANIE KOITHAN
In the wake of a devastating July Fourth flood that claimed more than 100 lives in Central Texas, a search is underway, not just for survivors but for someone — or something — to blame. As could be expected, some have been politicizing the tragedy, and as the public demands answers, leaders at the federal, state and local level have already sought to shift blame.
“There’s going to be a lot of finger-pointing, a lot of second-guessing and Monday morning quarterbacking,” Republican U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, whose district includes Kerr County, said in a press conference the day after the tragedy. “There’s a lot of people saying ‘why’ and ‘how,’ and I understand that.”
Even U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican known for weaponizing anything and everything into a partisan attack, urged people to focus on rescue efforts and not seek to assign blame.
“I talked about the partisan finger-pointing … just immediately trying to use it, for either side to attack their political opponents, I think that’s cynical and not the right approach,” Cruz told Fox News.
But as with many such tragedies, the truth isn’t so simple — and those affected are eager to see it uncovered.
The Texas Hill Country will likely spend the coming weeks, months or even years assessing what went wrong. As the facts continue to come in, not all of them will fit into neat, partisan boxes.
And what’s already come to light suggests that there may be plenty of blame to go around.
National Weather Service and DOGE cuts
Kerr County officials maintain the National Weather Service didn’t properly notify the local authorities that a flood of such severity was imminent. At a news conference last Friday, when reporters pressed Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly about why the area wasn’t evacuated the day before, he replied, “We didn’t know this flood was coming.”
As criticisms commenced, some observers were quick to blame the communication breakdown on the early retirement of National Weather Service San Antonio-Austin Warning Coordination Meteorologist Paul Yura in April.
Yura’s departure was prompted by staff cuts ordered by the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the Office of Personnel Management. The Austin-San Antonio Weather Forecast Office currently has six vacancies, according to its website.
However, in a Monday morning interview with TV news program Democracy Now!, retired NOAA meteorologist Alan Gerard said the DOGE cuts didn’t directly impact the federal response to this emergency.
“It does appear that, overall, for the actual event as it occurred, the warnings went out as they should have,” Gerard said. “The office was staffed appropriately.”
Even so, Gerard warned that the White House cuts might worsen the outcomes of other weather events — especially as hurricane season begins.
Early warnings
The matter of how and when local authorities reacted to the warnings is also under scrutiny.
The NWS began warning of a severe storm as early as Wednesday. The Texas Division of Emergency Management also issued a press release that same day announcing that it was deploying emergency personnel ahead of flood threats in West and Central Texas.
NWS tweeted out a flood watch for the area Thursday afternoon, predicting up to 7 inches of rain. However, it upgraded its flood watch to a flood warning via a tweet at 11:42 p.m. That status upgrade signifies a flood is either underway or imminent.
At 1:14 a.m., the NWS issued a “potentially catastrophic” flash flood warning, which automatically triggered Wireless Emergency Alerts on mobile devices. However, some campers were without a phone, the Texas Tribune reports.
By 3:06 a.m., the NWS posted that “a very dangerous flash flooding event is ongoing,” adding “Turn around, don’t drown!” By 4:23 a.m., the service was
calling the situation a “flash flood emergency,” a rare term only used for the most severe flooding events with the potential for extreme loss of life.
Too Late
The Kerrville Police Department didn’t post about the flooding until 5:16 a.m. on July 4, by then calling it a “life threatening event” and encouraging people to seek higher ground. The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office didn’t post about the flood until 5:32 a.m.
At 6:22 a.m., Kerrville City Hall shared its first flood announcement via Facebook, stating that the area was getting “much needed rain” which might affect July Fourth holiday activities. The city added that Louise Hays Park, where a fireworks viewing was scheduled, had already flooded.
Some Facebook users criticized the delay in social media alerts. They also blasted the announcement’s tone of levity in calling the weather event “much needed rain.” Comments on the post have since been disabled.
In addition to issues with the social media announcements, Kerrville’s portion of the Guadalupe River had no siren system to warn sleeping campers and those in RVs about the rising water levels.
The Fourth of July deluge was the worst flood since 1987 — an event that prompted the installation of some alarms along the river. However, Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice told NPR that he believes those alert systems were installed south of Kerrville.
“There [are] not alarms everywhere on the river,” Rice said.
During a Friday press conference, Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said the county has no warning system. He added that the county had considered investing in an outdoor warning siren, much like those used for tornadoes, but that “the public reeled
at the cost,” according to multiple media outlets. A single siren can cost between $10,000 and $50,000, KXAN reports.
Without sufficient warning, the river that rose swiftly in the dark of night became a silent killer. For many sleeping victims, by the time they were awakened by the flood, it was already too late.
Despite living in “Flash Flood Alley,” local officials admit that even they were caught off-guard by the severity of the flood, during which the Guadalupe rose 26 feet in 45 minutes.
Kerr County officials have asked the state to fund a flood warning project three separate times to no avail, the Houston Chronicle reports. In 2018, Kerr County, in partnership with the Upper Guadalupe River Authority, applied for a $1 million grant for a flood warning system, but the application was not selected. Two years later, it tried again. In 2023, it was still discussing grant options to fund flood mitigation, according to meeting minutes reported by Austin TV station KXAN.
Additionally, during its most recent session, the Texas Legislature failed to pass House Bill 13, which would have established a grant enabling counties to improve emergency communication and response infrastructure.
Still, had it passed, the law wouldn’t have gone into effect until Sept. 1.
On Tuesday, local officials dodged reporters’ questions about whether Kerrville has an Office of Emergency Management — as many cities do — or even an official in charge of monitoring emergency alerts from the NWS.
Officials — many of whom might shoulder some of the blame — are conveniently saying it’s too early to ask what went wrong. However, it’s only natural to search for answers in the wake of such a tragedy, and those answers, however painful, will emerge in time.
Wikimedia Commons Bob McMillan
Passage of ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ shows why we don’t need a Republican
Party
BY KEVIN SANCHEZ
Bad Takes is a column of opinion and analysis.
“A‘progressive’ is just a socialist with the brains knocked out.” — Wisconsin State Assemblyman George Tews, Jan. 5, 1932
The United States of America was not yet “a great nation,” George Washington said in his Farewell Address almost 230 years ago. But he said we had potential.
Washington wanted his parting words to “now and then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign intrigue, and to guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.”
Long story short, we haven’t heeded a friggin’ word.
Washington said we should “indignantly frown” at “every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest,” yet we still speak in terms of Red states and Blue states, and party polarization is off the charts.
He also said we should avoid “overgrown military establishments”, which are “inauspicious to liberty” and “particularly hostile to republican government.” Yet the recently passed Big, Beautiful reconciliation bill adds $150 billion to a so-called defense budget that’s already a cool trillion.
Washington said it’s in “the interest and the duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain” partisan rancor as it “agitates the community with ill founded jealousies and false alarms and foments occasionally riot and insurrection.”
Think of Jan. 6, incited by bogus allegations of widespread election fraud. He added that “those entrusted with the country’s administration” should “confine themselves within their respective constitutional spheres, avoiding in the
exercise of the powers of one department to encroach upon another.”
Think of the despotic chainsaw DOGE took to agencies like USAID, a defunding likely to result in 14 million preventable deaths around the world over the next five years, according to medical journal The Lancet.
Washington said “one of the most baneful foes of republican government” is “the insidious wiles of foreign influence” since they create opportunities “to tamper with domestic factions, to practice the arts of seduction, to mislead public opinion” and “dooms a small or weak nation to be the satellite of a great and powerful one.”
Think of the Israeli lobby, though Washington failed to consider how a powerful nation might counterintuitively become the satellite of a smaller one. “Real patriots, who may resist the intrigues of the favorite,” Washington said, “are liable to become suspected and odious, while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the people to surrender their interests.”
In this case, New York City mayoral candidate Zohan Mamdani or Vermont
“Of all the sad things that America is now facing, I would submit that a weakened Republican Party doesn’t rank especially high,” former New Republic staff writer at JC Pan dryly remarked back in October 2020.
But how ought we reply when even well-intentioned progressives parrot the supposed truism.
Michelle Davis, who runs the Lone Star Left blog, imbibes countless hours of floor debates and hearings at the Texas Lege, mining the minutiae to keep exasperated Texans informed. Yet, in an otherwise spot-on post celebrating
Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones’ recent victory, Davis slipped in, “We should want a functioning two-party system, not one held hostage by extremists cosplaying as patriots.” What if hostage-taking extremism, as Washington foreshadowed in his Farewell Address, is exacerbated by the two-party system?
Would the sky fall if we increased the number of nonpartisan races from the local level up, or expanded ranked-choice voting, or aspired to become a nation of independents, with candidates who don’t rely on party allegiances or big-money donors to fund campaigns? Why, at the very least, is it unreasonable to so much as want that?
Senator Bernie Sanders — harsh critics of our complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza — appear to be the “real patriots” while President Trump Donald Trump and Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman sure look like “tools and dupes.”
The country also should avoid “the accumulation of debt,” Washington admonished, so as not to “ungenerously throw upon posterity the burden which we ourselves ought to bear.”
And how best to address that? “It is essential that... there must be revenue; that to have revenue there must be taxes.”
So, was he suggesting that now, as the nation is saddled with more than $36 trillion in debt, isn’t the best time to gift the richest 1% with a trillion dollar tax cut?
If militaristic plutocracy is what the United States has come to, why are we still committed to the party system that got us here, especially after Washington’s unequivocal condemnation?
Establishment fogies such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Joe Biden are easily mocked for spouting clueless cliches defending the existence of a strong Republican Party.
A full 71% of U.S. adults told the Pew Research Center they wish there were more political parties to choose from. That percentage rises to 81% among those under 30.
A Hillsdale College explainer video tries to explain why that thinking is wrong. “For instance, if you are inclined to vote for the Green Party in America, you’re probably more closely aligned with the Democratic Party than you are with the Republican Party,” political science professor Joe Postell says in the clip. “Every vote you cast for a Green Party candidate is actually taking votes away from the Democratic candidate.”
Unless, of course, a certain number of Green Party enthusiasts would never vote for a corporate Democrat anyway. More and more we seem to be a four-party country masquerading as two: libertarians, religious conservatives, liberal moderates and socialists jammed together.
“Every member of Congress who voted for this disastrous piece of legislation ... must be defeated,” the longest-serving independent, Bernie Sanders, posted to Facebook July 4 about the reconciliation bill. That doesn’t leave much room for a strong Republican Party. All for the better.
Shutterstock Joshua Sukoff
FRI | 07.11
SPECIAL EVENT
PRINTS & PINTS:
THE ART OF THE SPEAKEASY
Journey back to the Roaring ’20s with an evening of art, history, food and fun at Villa Finale, a historic San Antonio home rife with lore and legends in the Alamo City’s beloved King William neighborhood. The night’s events kick off with a deep look into the story of the home’s most infamous owner, Billy Keilman, often referred to as the “King Pimp of San Antonio.” According to history, Keilman’s wife Minnie ran a brothel out of the home while Billy tended to a speakeasy in the basement. After this colorful history lesson, guests will be instructed on how to create linoleum-cut block prints on the theme of the evening’s festivities to take home with them. Beer and snacks are included with the price of each ticket. This event is open to guests 21 and up. Members $20, non-members $25, 6:30-8 p.m., Villa Finale Museum & Gardens, 401 King William St., (210) 223-9800, villafinale.org. — Kat Stinson
SAT | 07.12 - SUN | 07.13
SPECIAL EVENT
CREATIVE YOUTH SUMMIT
Like a tornado, adolescence hits fast and hard — a chaotic convergence of hormonal and emotional changes and increasing social pressures all at once. As part of their developmental journey, teenagers do have a need to express themselves, and what better way to do so than through the arts? San Antonio youth-development organization SAY Sí will hold its first Creative Youth Summit this summer. The two-day program brings together teen visual artists, performers and filmmakers along with educators and arts organizations for an exchange of ideas, creative exercises, workshops and future collaborations. On day one, explore emotional wellness and youth development through culture, creativity and experiential learning with keynote speakers from 1906 Gallery and S.M.A.R.T.’s Andy and Yvette Benavides. On day two, enjoy workshops, live performances from students in Conjunto Heritage Taller — a community-based organization dedicated to the preservation and perpetuation of traditional conjunto music — followed by tours led by San Anto Cultural Arts, known for its community mural program. Through these interactions, young people can explore their community and themselves and learn about the power of collaboration. Free with registration, 6-8 p.m. Friday, 9:30-5 p.m. Saturday, 1310 S. Brazos St., (210) 201-4950, saysi. org/youth-summit. — Becky Hardin
SPECIAL EVENT
KING OF DRAG WATCH PARTY
Who says the fun has to stop when June stops? Last month, the groundbreaking reality TV show King of Drag premiered on streaming series Revry. Hosted by iconic drag king Murray Hill, the program serves as the first such competition series to focus exclusively on drag kings. The sizzling excitement continues this month with the release of episodes 5 and 6, and to celebrate Papi Creative Productions is throwing a watch party at the Starlighter. Hosted by the cheekily named Papi Culo alongside a rotating cast of co-hosts, including Culo’s drag son Rey de Copas, the watch party promises not just smoking-hot takes and performances, but an opportunity to build community and cheer on contestants such as the Austin-based, lushly-pompadoured Alexander the Great. Watch parties sweep into the Starlighter weekly on Sunday evenings and on Monday, July 21. The fun begins at 7 p.m., and viewing begins an hour later. Free, 7-10 p.m., The Starlighter, 1910 Fredericksburg Road, papicreativeproductions.com. — Dean Zach
Courtesy Photo Villa Finale Museum & Gardens
Daniel Barragan
Courtesy Photo Say Si
SUN
TROKAS DURAS: FILM SCREENING AND PLÁTICA
In rough translation, the Spanish phrase “trokas duras” refers to something or someone that is tough, enduring or long-lasting. The jornaleros, or day laborers, whose conversations are featured in the award-winning 2025 short film Trokas Duras (2025) embody this spirit. Directed by Jazmin Garcia of Mexico City and Los Angeles, the film, funded and supported by the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), dives into the hopes, fears and passions of LA’s jornaleros. The viewer sees the City of Angels through the eyes of those who tread closest to the ground and who are so often taken for granted — ranging from a housekeeper who sacrifices time with her family to take care of her employers to a group of men who take pride in wringing new life out of their unique, personalized pickup trucks. A plática featuring Garcia along with local organizers Monica Sosa of Entre Film Center and Patricia Gonzalez of Domesticas Unidas will follow the film. The event is bilingual and open to all ages. Free, 4-6 p.m., Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, 922 San Pedro Ave., (210) 228-0201, esperanzacenter.org. — DZ
TUE | 07.15
CLASS/WORKSHOP
SAN PEDRO SPRINGS
Join Eco Centro for a presentation by environmental scientist Gregg Eckhardt, who will take the audience on an exploration of San Pedro Springs, tracing its colorful and contested history. Two rivers snake through the area: the San Antonio and the San Pedro. Add to that Olmos Creek, San Antonio Springs and San Pedro Springs, along with a series of artesian wells that once shot blue-tinged water up from the Edwards Aquifer below and you have the makings of a hydrogeographic head scratcher. The largest spring, known as the Blue Hole, was a sacred place and a converging point for many native tribes. Even European naturalists were captivated by the spring’s majesty and ethereal beauty, suggesting it seemed like a dwelling-place of nymphs and naiads. If you're fascinated by the storied geographic features of our region — either because of karst topography or Victorian fairy stories — prepare to be enchanted. Free, 2-4 p.m., William R. Sinkin Eco Centro at San Antonio College, 1716 N Main St., (210) 486-0417, alamo.edu/sac. — Anjali Gupta
Tehillah De Castro Public Domain
FRI | 07.18
FILM TRON
With the release of the science fiction movie Tron: ARES looming this October, the Collins Garden Branch Library is offering a free showing of the original Tron (1982) — one of the earliest films to use extensive make of CGI — as part of its Friday Retro Movies series. The storyline of the first of the three full-length films follows genius computer engineer Kevin Flynn, played by Jeff Bridges, who discovers a co-worker has been stealing his designs. When Flynn accesses the system, he’s downloaded into the digital world and competes against his rival’s computer program. The original movie became a cult classic partially due to its distinctive special effects, which were state-of-the-art for the era. Free, 2-4 p.m., Collins Garden Branch Library, 200 N. Park Blvd., (210) 207-9120, mysapl. org. — Rae Drady
FRI | 07.18 - SAT |08.17
THEATRE
HAIRSPRAY
Based on the 1988 cult classic film written and directed by John Waters, the campy hit Broadway musical Hairspray will shimmy into the San Pedro Playhouse this summer. Winner of eight Tony Awards including Best Musical, this incarnation promises to be a lively, unforgettable production under the direction of Deonté L. Warren. Warren, who hails from Nashville and currently teaches at Texas State University, describes the musical as a story that sparks joy, is full of heart and lifts your spirits sky-high, much like the main characters’ over the top hairdos. “At its core, Hairspray is about transformation— of people, communities and what’s possible when we believe in change,” Warren said. “It’s about a girl who dares to think she can make the world better using rhythm, courage and yes, a whole lot of hair spray.” $20-$55, 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, San Pedro Playhouse, 800 West Ashby Place, (210) 733-7258, sanpedroplayhouse.org. — RD
FEW DOLLARS MORE
Spaghetti Westerns were one of the most innovative — not to mention unlikely — subgenres to emerge the popular cinema of the ’60s and ’70s, and this year’s summer film series at the Briscoe Western Art Museum celebrates 60 years Italy’s stylish, action-packed and often hyper-violent exploration of that most American of film genres. Following the success of Sergio Leone’s “Dollars Trilogy” featuring Clint Eastwood, European movie crews produced some 600 Spaghetti Westerns across Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece and even Yugoslavia. Stylistically, the films differ from American Westerns in their cinematic language, including framing and pacing, and also their abundance of morally ambiguous characters. The summer series begins with Leone’s For a Few Dollars More (1965). Each film is included with general museum admission, viewers receive complimentary snacks and beverages. Pre-registration is encouraged. Currently on view at the Briscoe is “Aloha Vaqueros,” an exhibition that explores the little-known history of cultural exchange between Mexican vaqueros and native Hawaiian ranchers. Free for children under 12 and members, $16 general admission, 1:30-4:30 p.m., Briscoe Western Art Museum, 210 W. Market St., (210) 299-4499, briscoemuseum.org. — AG
Walt Disney Productions
Courtesy Image San PedroPlayhouse
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc
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Marvel Man
Legendary comic book inker
Josef “Joe” Rubinstein to appear at San Antonio’s Nelco Comics
BY SANFORD NOWLIN
Over a career that started in the early 1970s, comic book icon Josef “Joe” Rubinstein has reportedly inked over more characters and more pencilers than anyone else in industry history.
For those not familiar with how comics come together, inkers such as Rubinstein use brushes and pens to add shading and detail to artists’ pencil drawings, imbuing them with mood, character and a heightened sense of action. Fans understand that a masterful ink job can bring the panels of a comic to life.
And plenty in the industry came to respect Rubinstein’s skill at finding just the right touch to heighten, rather than detract, from the artists whose work he touches. Especially when it comes to Marvel Comics, name a property — from Wolverine to Captain America to the Silver Surfer — and there’s a good chance he worked on it.
Indeed, Rubinstein was so prolific at one point, rumors circulated that he must have hired secret staffers to crank out all the work, a
claim he vehemently denies.
“I just didn’t go anywhere,” he said. “It was all I did.”
Rubinstein, 67, will appear at San Antonio’s Nelco Comics, 1134 N. Flores St., for a Saturday, July 12 signing and meet-and-greet. While the artist charges for autographs at some appearances, he’s agreed to forgo his usual fee for anyone who buys the comic he’s autographing from the shop.
We caught up with Rubinstein to discuss the care he applied to inking over other artists’ work, his history in the business and how comics helped finance his love of painting.
I read an interview where you said you had a chameleon-like quality that helps you excel at adapting to different artists’ styles. Can
Find more arts coverage every day at sacurrent.com
Courtesy Image Marvel Comics
Instagram josefrubinstein
WIkimedia Commons Gage Skidmore
HOW TO ENTER AND RULES:
1. Design a flash art tattoo using the voodoo ranger icon
2. Follow @voodooranger and @newbelgium_texas
3. Post your design on your instagram feed and tag #inkmethis
4. Design submissions will end on august 31, 2025 (stories don’t count, only feed posts and reels)
5. Winners will be announced on september 13, 2025, through @newbelgium_texas instagram handle
#INKMETHIS
arts
you talk about that?
Well, I have an approach. … I inked the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe in one form or another for 20 years, and the reason Mark Gruenwald hired me is because I made it cohesive, but at the same time, I was faithful to the individual artists’ approach, so that you flipped the page and you knew it was a Walt Simonson, and you knew it was an Al Milgrom, and you knew it was a Bill Sienkiewicz. That’s because I said, “OK, Bill has to have a hard line. Walt is more stylized than I usually work with, so let me see if I can adapt to that.”
I inked Bill Sienkiewicz’s very first job, a Moon Knight backup in the full color magazine, and my credit was left off because they didn’t know that anybody else inked it other than Bill. I did a three-part Eric Larson Spider-Man and Wolverine series, and they left my credit off because they thought Eric inked it.
So, I’m always trying to give respect for what’s in front of me. It’s not exactly that I have a special skill. It’s just that I listen and look at what’s in front of me.
How much of that comes down to your willingness to do deep research on an artist’s work? Do you go back and look at their past illustrations to get a full understanding of their style and what approach to take?
No, I’m more direct than that. I would call them up. I would say, “Hey, I’m inside your job. Who’s your favorite inker? What did you hate about the [inking] jobs you didn’t like? What do you ink with? Who are your influences? Do you think your stuff is more appropriate for a pen or a brush?” I get all this stuff down, and then I say, “By the way, it’s probably going to take me three issues to figure out how to do you correctly, but I’m going to try on the first page.”
How often does that kind of communication happen in the business? Are you unusual in that you reached out so directly?
I don’t know. I didn’t take a survey. I just know that I wanted to give the best I could do, because you spend — at least I do — spend my life alone in a room. It’s like, after it’s all done, I’d like to have something I’m not ashamed of and something that I thought, “Well, that’s a job well done.” …
I would call people up and just ask them lots of questions, but sometimes the frustrating response after being in
Although best known as an inker, Rubinstein is also an exceptional painter. ‘The comic book stuff paid for my painting addiction,’ he says.
the business for a while was, “Oh, just ink it like Joe Rubinstein.” It’s like, “What’s that?” Because I know how I would ink me, but I don’t know what you want. Again, if I’ve got, let’s say John Buscema and Kerry Gammill, Kerry’s very influenced by John, but I’m not going to ink him the same way, because John, when he inks his own stuff, has a very sort of
an Arthur Adams piece. And I sort of stopped and went, “How am I doing this? These are really different approaches.” I went, “Because I just look at the line and go, hard line, soft line, thick line, thin line — go with it.” Really, it all comes down to drawing. Since I’ve been drawing from life, since I was 11 years old at the Art Students League, first and foremost on my list is draw well, and then let style occur after that. Because some people hide behind style. They’ll say, “That’s my style,” because they can’t draw.
In addition to inking, you’re a skilled painter. How interested were you in fine art before you got into comics, or did comics provide an opening and a better understanding of fine art for you?
Look, I was 5 years old when I came to America from Israel, and I couldn’t speak the language or read it. My older cousin had comic books. I looked at them, and I guess I became enthralled by the pictures and the superheroes. … And like a lot of kids, I took lined paper and crayons and did my own comics for a while, and then I really wanted to be better. My parents were nice enough to send me to the Art Students League. Eleven years old on the subway to Manhattan. What the hell were they thinking?
Then I wanted to be a comic book artist, but I kept being drawn toward color, and I’d see these illustrations and these paintings and go, “Well, I want to paint too.” Eventually, I just wanted to paint and draw better. The great part was comic books were satisfying. I mean, imagine reading Curt Swan’s Superman as a little kid and then getting hired to do Curt Swan’s Superman. What a dream. Or reading Carmine Infantino’s Flash, and then getting hired to do Carmine Infantino’s Flash. That’s a great experience very few people ever go through, but I wouldn’t have been able to survive if I didn’t sit down and draw my own drawing and paint my own paintings. The comic book stuff paid for my painting addiction.
casual, not in a derogatory term, but a casual handwriting way of inking his work. Kerry is a lot more rendered and crafted, so I had to craft it more.
When I ink, I ink several pieces at once because I don’t want them to smear, so I’ll jump from this one to that one to that one. I was inking like an Al Milgrom and a Bill Sienkiewicz, and a, I don’t know,
How often do you get out these days and meet with fans and sign autographs, and that sort of thing?
I don’t know, 20 or 30 times a year. My living is going to conventions these days, and doing commissions, so I’m always on the road somewhere.
Free, 11 a.m.-noon and 2-4 p.m. Saturday, July 12, Nelco Comics, 1134 N. Flores St., Suite 2, (210) 863-0360, nelcocomics.com.
Instagram josefrubinstein
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Here’s Johnny!
Co-director Adrian Arredondo celebrates
legacy of Latino TV trailblazer in Take It Away
BY KIKO MARTINEZ
It started with a phone call.
Emmy-nominated director Myrna Pérez reached out to fellow filmmaker Adrian Arredondo to ask if he knew anything about Johnny Canales, the iconic TV host behind The Johnny Canales Show, a syndicated variety series that launched in 1983 and gave countless Tejano musicians a national platform. At the time, Pérez was working on the Netflix series Selena, where Canales appeared as a character. Canales is often credited with helping launch Selena Quintanilla’s career. She first appeared on his show at age 13 and became a recurring guest. To many, he was the “Mexican American Dick Clark,” a charismatic host who brought Latino music into homes across the U.S. for more than two decades.
As a McAllen native, Arredondo was familiar with Canales. After talking it over, he and Pérez decided the TV host’s story needed to be told on film. The result is Take It Away, a documentary named after Canales’ famous catchphrase, which explores his influence through archival footage and emotional interviews with family, friends and music legends.
Take it Away makes its San Antonio premiere at 5 p.m. Sunday, July 13, at the 46th Annual CineFestival. The screening will take place at the Jo Long Theatre at the Carver Community Cultural Center.
Did you grow up watching The Johnny Canales Show?
Yes, my parents would watch the show when I was a kid. Even after the show went off the air, Johnny and his presence were still very much a part of the culture in the Valley. Even in 2020, when we went down to start shooting the film, Johnny’s presence was felt everywhere you went.
The archive footage in the film is amazing. What did you have to do to get your hands on that?
The archive was the first piece of the puzzle. Before we knew the full story that we wanted to tell in the film, we knew we had to explore the archives of The Johnny Canales Show. So, we contacted [Johnny’s wife] Nora and the family, and we got their blessing and permission to make the movie. They opened the archives. With flashlights, we went through the archives and just picked out tapes.
How extensive was the archive?
There were thousands of tapes — 30 years’ worth. Myrna and I, along with a local producer, just started making our selections. We would do about 30 tapes at a time. We would then send those tapes to the UCLA Film School. They very generously donated their services to digitize the tapes. Then, we would watch the episodes. It took years.
How did you decide what footage you wanted to use for the film?
We started by identifying the major artists first. We were like, “Let’s get all the Selena tapes. Let’s get all the Ramon Ayala tapes. Let’s get all the Bobby Pulido tapes.” Then we were like, “OK, now let’s find the interesting tapes.” We would see something amazing on one tape, and were like, “OK, there’s a good story thread we can follow.”
Why do you think Johnny and the family gave you full access?
We were not the first people to come with a proposal to make a long-format movie or TV show. They’ve gotten requests quite regularly. But they ultimately decided to give the rights to Myrna and myself because of our experience and our pedigree. We were fortunate to establish a rapport with them. It really started with our friendship with Nora.
Did that put pressure on you as filmmakers to get it right?
We did feel some pressure. We made the movie for all the Johnny Canales fans, all the Mexican Americans, the migrant community and for all the Latinos who really saw themselves reflected on TV with Johnny Canales. That’s what we cared about the most. We made sure we told this story accurately and truthfully.
Do you believe Selena wouldn’t have become the Selena we know without Johnny Canales?
I do. Selena was a superstar in her own right. She definitely would have been groundbreaking in any universe. But I don’t believe that it would have been in this universe had it not been for
Johnny’s television show and for the way he mentored her. He really took her under his wing the second that he met her. He opened every single door for her.
When Johnny died last year, what was your thought process on deciding to include that in the film?
We were so grateful we finished the film prior to Johnny passing. Then, suddenly, right when we were putting the last touches on it, we got a call from Nora that he passed away. On top of being heartbroken, we were a little bit confused. We were unsure what to do and how to navigate our [narrative] structure. But we knew that it was a part of the story. We recognize that it was a very poetic way to finish the story of his life.
What do you want people to know about Johnny when they see this film?
I want people to know that Johnny Canales was just like all of us Latinos in America. He is somebody who came to this country with not a lot in his pocket. He really made himself into the person that he saw he could be. I want people to see themselves in Johnny and to understand that there’s a lot of opportunities for Latinos when we come together and support each other.
screens
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Trojan Horse Media
Más Mariscos Por Favor
Costa Pacifica Margarita Garden delivers fresh, sophisticated seafood flavors
BY RON BECHTOL
Although located just upstream from the Pearl, the more-compact culinary and cocktail complex known as The Creamery lacks the scope and variety of its larger neighbor.
Even so, with players such as Amelia Social Lounge and Chika Omakase, the development is emerging as an eats-and-entertainment destination in its own right. Costa Pacifica Margarita Garden is its noon-to-night anchor.
A footed ceramic bowl of fish caldo may well be emblematic of Costa Pacifica’s focus.
Called Tlalpeño Marisco Soup on the menu, the robust concoction is at once rustic and sophisticated — and brimming with seafood. There’s something for everyone, from octopus and squid to shrimp and fish, each somehow cooked to its perfect degree.
Yes, a single mussel appeared instead of the advertised clams, but the “hint of chipotle” turned out to be just enough for most palates, and garnishes of sliced avocado and melty queso panela provided a welcome finishing touch. Also expected and appreciated were cubes of more-neutral potato. Rice, not mentioned in the description, seemed superfluous but also didn’t detract.
The soup is large enough to serve as an entire lunch or light dinner order. Consumed outdoors on a reasonably cool day, the dull roar of the flanking expressway only somewhat masked by the efforts of a sound system, pleasant breezes and sheltering umbrellas almost conjured a seaside setting, margaritas optional.
With the underside of its roof upholstered in luxuriant faux foliage, the restaurant’s covered outdoor space gives the Margarita Garden part of the name credence on weekends and late at night.
Should you decide to order from Costa Pacifica’s extensive margarita menu, let me gently steer you away from the almost cloyingly sweet dragonfruit option. Four lime wedges failed to overcome its pink perfume.
However, as a perfect accompaniment, do try the Tuna Carpaccio. Unlike the lime-forward shrimp aguachile it resembles, the fanned and thinly sliced tuna is doused in a marinade that’s as much soy sauce as it is lime, and the variation seems just right for the more assertive tuna. Look for the toasted tortilla discs in the bottom of the chips basket for an appropriate carrier.
Tuna rears its head again in the Torre Lida, a vertically layered cylinder of the ruby fish with
marinated mushrooms and avocado. That its “rasurada” sauce is in quotes suggests that the kitchen may be playing fast and loose with a classic seafood accompaniment, and indeed there’s a pronounced Asian influence with the addition of sesame oil and scattered sesame seed. It’s also defanged with the omission of especially picante chiles such as habanero. Yet it all works — including the “torn” tuna. My quotes, not theirs.
In general, Costa Pacifica sails to its own tack, not focusing, as many coastal-style Mexican restaurants do, on vivid Vuelve a la Vida-style seafood cocktails served in giant schooners, for example. Still, it hasn’t abandoned its regional roots altogether. Grilled snapper is available in a variety of preparations, including Tiki-Tiki and zarandeado.
The Tiki-Tiki sauce is chipotle-based, but it proved unavailable on my visit, forcing a pivot to zarandeado. There are many versions of this West Coast classic, often involving a split, whole fish slathered with a pungent mixture that can include mustard, mayonnaise, soy sauce, anchos or guajillos, lime juice and even annatto and grilled over live coals.
Costa Pacifica’s rendition, featuring filleted snapper, slightly more polite, seeming to settle
COSTA PACIFICA MARGARITA GARDEN
for suggesting tradition rather than replicating it. But it’s good fish all the same — perfectly flaky and calling out for a cold Pacifico.
Sounding more like an invention than a classic, Costa Pacifica Shrimp are appealingly described as a crispy, grilled cheese “tortilla” stuffed with beer-battered shrimp and topped with cabbage, pico de gallo and chipotle aioli. The plate that arrived looked nothing like this. Yes, there appeared to be a wrapper that may have once been crisply fried cheese, but it had surrendered to a steamy bed of unexpected white rice. Further, there was no cabbage, and the battered shrimp were scarce. In short, basically a bomb.
Everything else I tried, including appealing green enchiladas with shrimp and poblano sauce and an impeccably fresh shrimp ceviche, proved good to great, so I have to consider the Costa Pacifica Shrimp an anomaly. Maybe paste a revision over the menu description. Or deep six it.
And while the restaurant’s at it, they should paste a blank over the pastel de elote, listed under the menu’s Sweet Delights. It’s never been available in several visits, but I’ll keep trying.
875 E. Ashby Place, Building 3, (210) 801-2100, costapacificamargaritagarden.com
Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday
Price range: $12.50-$45.50
Best Bets: Shrimp ceviche, tuna carpaccio, Torre Lida, Tlalpeño Marisco Soup, red snapper zarandeado
The lowdown: Costa Pacifica Margarita Garden at the Creamery provides just what the name suggests: seafood with a coastal Mexican slant, most of it expertly executed. Ceviches and aguachiles are especially successful with shrimp. (Tilapia is the fish of record when not specified otherwise.) Tuna shines as carpaccio and also stacked in a tower with mushrooms and avocado. The relatively simple fish soups also punch above their weight.
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Ron Bechtol
food Cooking Up Conversation:
Bar Gimme Gimme’s and Amor Eterno’s Aaron Peña
As he battles cancer, the bar owner discusses his shifting priorities and how he wants to give back to others
BY KAT STINSON
Name: Aaron Peña
Job: Co-founder of Bar Gimme Gimme and Amor Eterno
Hometown: San Antonio
Years in food and beverage service: 12 Big Impact: Peña is one of the highest-profile figures in Southtown’s bar scene, and his other notable projects include the now-shuttered Squeezebox
Money Quote: “[A cancer diagnosis] is the worst-case scenario that everyone envisions, but you can find purpose. People should understand that it isn’t the end of the world, you just have to realign your world.”
How are you doing?
I haven’t had a drink in 80 days and counting! Jokes aside, the cancer diagnosis has changed everything. My goals have changed. My outlook on health has changed. Cancer has affected me, but it won’t stop me.
I also love a bit of gallows humor. It’s a fun coping mechanism.
Tell us how you’re finding a renewed sense of purpose following your cancer diagnosis.
It’s the worst case scenario that everyone envisions, but you can find purpose. People should understand that it isn’t
the end of the world, you just have to realign your world. I’m a little more mindful of my time. I’m just appreciating life with a little more urgency.
I was so grateful to be the beneficiary at my Memorial Day benefit. When I’m fully recovered, I want to throw a plate sale or some sort of event for someone else going through cancer.
What’s been the greatest help for you during chemotherapy?
My loved ones and long walks. It’s been critical for my body to move. My energy levels have dropped during chemo, so taking walks has been critical.
What do you hope for in terms of the future of San Antonio’s bar scene?
We’re always comparing ourselves to Austin. I think we should aim bigger and compete with bigger cities like Los
Angeles, Miami, Chicago, etc. I want to see more people get together and move the needle for our city.
Do you have any other bar projects in the works?
I had a project I was working on prior to the diagnosis. While my priorities have shifted at the moment, I may revisit that idea in the future. I’ve always just wanted to create cool things I personally would want to see in the city.
Happy belated anniversary to the Squeezebox!
Even though it’s closed now, the Squeezebox’s anniversary on July 1 is still special to me. It opened on that day in 2016 and changed my life forever.
People want to know when the Fajita Lounge is returning?
The third-annual Fajita Lounge Showdown is slated to take place Labor Day weekend. It’ll be the biggest one yet. You can print that!
What’s a local restaurant or bar you think is underrated or that you wish more people knew about?
I absolutely love The Cottage Irish Pub on Broadway.
How do you want to be remembered in decades to come?
As someone who lived with intention. That’s the way I approach my business and life. I want people to look at me and say, “If he did it, I can do it.”
What’s the first drink you’re ordering when you complete chemo?
A cold Mexican beer with lime. Maybe nine or 10 of them.
Christopher Perez
Outlaw Original
Americana stalwart Steve Earle talks about his trailblazing career ahead of San Antonio performance
BY BILL FORMAN
Two weeks before embarking on his 50 Years of Songs and Stories tour, Steve Earle was performing onstage at Nashville’s famed Grand Ole Opry.
After finishing a song, country star Vince Gill unexpectedly walked onstage and presented Earle with a Grand Ole Opry 100th-anniversary guitar strap, which Earle gratefully accepted. It was a nice surprise, to be sure, but nothing compared to what was about to come next.
Gill began to walk offstage, while Earle put the strap to his guitar and stepped up to the mic. It was at that moment that Gill stopped in mid-stride, turned to Earle, and told him that the commemorative strap was made to be worn only by Hall of Fame inductees — and Earle had now joined their ranks.
“It was one of the biggest moments of my life,” said Earle, who fought back tears as he accepted the invitation. It had been a long time coming.
“They would not let me near their place for years,” recalled the veteran singer-songwriter, who along with his contemporaries like Dwight Yoakam, Maria McKee and Dave Alvin, played a pivotal role in taking country music in new directions — in Earle’s case, a rocking sound that didn’t sit well with the mainstream country establishment.
“The people I’m closest to that are members of the Opry are Vince, Marty Stuart and Emmylou Harris,” said Earle, who’d joined Gill in an Opry tribute to Duane Eddy two weeks earlier. “The three of us have known each other for years. In fact, the first time I got on the Opry, I came as Emmylou’s guest.” Fresh off that honor, Earle will perform at San Antonio’s Charline McCombs Empire Theatre on Sunday, July 13. As with the rest of the shows on his 50 Years of Songs and Stories tour, he’ll be performing a solo acoustic set.
Even though the tour is a solo showcase, recent years have found Earle in full collaborative spirit.
Willie Nelson, Johnny Bush and Miranda Lambert are all featured on his So You Wannabe an Outlaw album. He joined forces with Jason Isbell, The War and Treaty, Rosanne Cash and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band for a remake of Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’.”
And this past April, The Waterboys recruited Earle to sing the lead vocal on “Kansas,” the first single from the group’s latest album,
Life, Death and Dennis Hopper.
“There are only a few bands that I ever wanted to be in,” Earle said with fanboy enthusiasm. “Like I wanted to be in the Beatles, in NRBQ, in the Rolling Stones maybe, and the Waterboys. So I’m kind of a Waterboy for a minute, and I’m pretty proud of that.”
Earle, who grew up in San Antonio, had been living in Nashville for more than a decade before releasing his 1986 debut album Guitar Town and its 1987 followup Exit O
“I was just trying to make credible country records,” Earle said of the two albums, which earned considerable praise from critics.
But not everyone at his label shared that enthusiasm.
“And then, of course, Copperhead Road sealed the deal,” Earle said of his 1988 rock-leaning breakthrough album and title song, which crossed over in a big way. “It was never played on country radio back then, but it is now. It’s also played in country nightclubs for people to dance to. But back then, things were different.”
In the years since, numerous genre labels
have been affixed to Earle’s music. It’s been called outlaw country and alt-country, new traditional and heartland rock, protest music and Americana.
And that’s not all. Earle’s three Grammys are all in the Contemporary Folk category. He’s also earned seven nominations for Best Solo Rock Performance, Best American Roots Song, Best Bluegrass Album and the list goes on.
All of which gives Earle a lot to work with on his current tour, as he draws upon a career-spanning selection of songs and the stories behind them.
A number of those songs can be found on his 2024 album Alone Again (Live). It’s a testament to his talents as a songwriter and performer that such a wide variety of styles can be translated into a solo acoustic format without sacrificing any of their power.
Earle has also written his fair share of political songs. Among them is “Christmas in Washington” with its poignant chorus: “Come back, Woody Guthrie / Come back to us now / Tear your eyes from paradise / And rise again somehow.”
He’s also covered “Deportee,” a heart-wrenching ballad that is at least as timely now as it was when Guthrie wrote it back in the 1940s. And earlier this year, he encored with “This Land Is Your Land,” a song whose melody Guthrie borrowed from a Carter Family song, which was a common practice in those days.
“As far as I know, Woody never wrote a single melody in his career,’’ Earle said. “He borrowed all of his melodies. But at the time, that was what folk singers did. Bob Dylan didn’t have original melodies until he started writing songs like ‘Mr. Tambourine Man.’
Even the song that changed everything, ‘A Hard Rain Is Gonna Fall,’ that melody is from an old English folk song.”
Like those artists, Earle has never shied away from social commentary, whether it’s in his songs, interviews, or onstage. He’s played numerous benefits for the American Civil Liberties Union, while always maintaining a level of respect for people whose views may differ from his own.
“I’m an unapologetic lefty, but I don’t think we’re perfect,” he said. “And I think that we’ve obviously forgotten how to communicate with working people, or we wouldn’t be in the position that we’re in right now.”
That can also be a lesson for songwriters, which is one of the things Earle learned from his friend and mentor Townes Van Zandt.
“With the political songs I write, I learned a long time ago to make characters, and then let characters say it for you,” Earle said. “Because it becomes more about them and less about you if you do that. Pretty important. But, you know, I still write more songs about girls than I do about anything else.”
$48-$182, 7 p.m. Sunday, July 13, Charline McCombs Empire Theatre, 226 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 226-5700, majesticempire.com.
Find more music coverage every day at sacurrent.com
Danny Clinch
critics’ picks
Wednesday, July 9
Buscabulla
Puerto Rican group Buscabella, a Bad Bunny collaborator, wows crowds with a vibrant fusion of tropical synth-pop, salsa, reggaetón, bachata and experimental electronic sounds. Formed in 2011 and signed to the influential Domino label, Buscabulla keeps its music danceable and fun while offering just enough experimentation to keep things interesting. $29, 7 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx. com. — Danny Cervantes
Magoo
Denver-based Magoo blends traditional bluegrass instrumentation with contemporary jam band-style improvisation and three-part vocal harmonies. Bill Monroe it ain’t, but the dudes can rip. $17, 8 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — Bill Baird
Saturday, July 12
Tank, Jacquees, Dej Loaf, Levelle
Even if you don’t know R&B singer Tank, you know his collaborators and the artists he’s produced, a list that includes Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Chris Brown and more. Billed as “Tank and Friends,” this star-studded tour showcases classic soul-meets-modern R&B production for one hell of a dance party. $31, 7 p.m., Boeing Center at Tech Port, 3331 General Hudnell Drive, (210) 600-3699, boeingcentertechport.com. — BB
James McMurtry
James McMurtry, a one-time San Antonian, is known for his literary approach to Americana, which he owes at least partially to his famous father Larry, author of Lonesome Dove and The Last Picture Show . While that’s a big pair of shoes to step into, the singer-songwriter has managed to forge his own path. He’s worked with modern folk, country and Americana greats while sticking to his strengths: masterful storytelling, adept character studies and bold takes on the politics of the day. $22, 7 p.m., 14492 Old Bandera Road, Helotes, liveatfloores.com. — BB
Wednesday, July 16
Patricia Vonne
Patricia Vonne is braving the construction and traffic on I-35 for a visit to a beloved jazz haunt in her San Antonio hometown. Dubbed the “renaissance woman of Austin, Texas” by the New York Times for her range as a musician, actress, activist and filmmaker, Vonne serves up passionate and piercing blend of Latin ballads that seem perfectly suited for the intimate setting of Jazz, TX. $28.49, 7:30 p.m., Jazz, TX, 312 Pearl Parkway, (210) 332-9386, jazztx.com. — DannyC
Thursday, July 17
Sunny War, Sunjammer
LA-based Sunny War is both a killer guitar player and one of the finest singer-songwriters working today. She was homeless for years, and her songs carry a hard-won grit. While her music is broadly categorized as Americana, it hews closer to folk-punk than country. Labels aside, Sunny War is straight-up cool, as evidenced by the increasing buzz around her recent albums. Document Magazine even called her “Americana’s brightest star and biggest skeptic.” $17, 9 p.m., Lonesome Rose, 2114 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 455-0233, thelonesomerosesa. com. — BB
Saturday, July 19
Croy and the Boys, Crypt Trip
Lonesome Rose co-owner Joey Cano is hosting the Little Lonesome Bike Show, a special event celebrating beautiful custom motorcycles and featuring musical accompaniment. Austin-based Croy and the Boys will deliver twangy country sounds infused with a soulful punk energy. Meanwhile, Crypt Trip plays heavy psychrock with more than a touch of ’70s swagger. Come for the bikes, stay for the music. Or vice versa. $10, 7 p.m., Lonesome Rose, 2114 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 455-0233, thelonesomerosesa. com. — BB
Sunny War
America
America’s current tour celebrates the veteran act’s 55 years of being a cornerstone of mellow FM rock. Known for hits such as “Sister Golden Hair,” “Horse With No Name” and “Ventura Highway,” Dewey Bunnell, Dan Peek and Gerry Beckley delivered tight vocal harmonies, introspective lyrics and wistful melodies that were practically inescapable in the ’70s. Bunnell and Beckley carried forward after Peek’s 1978 departure and 2011 death. Expect an evening of timeless classics from America’s Grammy-winning and chart-topping career. $73.90-$235.75, 7 p.m., Majestic Theatre, 224 E. Houston St., (210) 226-5700, majesticempire.com. — DC
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“Peddle Pieces”--some vend diagrams. by Matt Jones
