Plum Site
U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton and U.S. Representative Tim Bishop, regarding the possible expansion of anti-bio-terror research off Long Island.
[Plum Island Animal Disease Center, 107 miles from New York City]
One year ago, San Antonio’s chances of landing Homeland Security’s $500-million golden goose of germ research — the National Bio- & Agro-Defense Facility — were good. Three of the eighteen sites being considered were in Alamo City.
We had Brooks City-Base, Texas Research Park, and the nation’s only privately run BSL-4 capable lab in the country at Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research.
Just up the road, Texas A&M was dropped after embarrassing and potentially dangerous lab mishaps. An escaped baboon running for dear life from the heavily primatized Southwest Foundation probably didn’t increase SFBR’s rating with the Feds, either. Homeland is considering a variety of factors in the site selection process, including public support, access to existing infrastructure, ability to attract qualified researchers, and security.
When the shortlist was announced last summer, the odds on San Antonio remained statistically the same at one-in-six, but a strongly supportive and/or silent public played to the boosters’ advantage. Tens of millions of dollars have been spent by the research community to bring N-BAF to San Antonio.
However, since the U.S. General Accounting Office required Der Homeland to quantify the risk of outbreak from the center tasked with studying some of the most deadly diseases known, it has become apparent that expanding the existing home for zoonotic diseases, those that can be passed from human to animal and back again, may be the best option after all. (GAO doubts research lab can be moved safely.)
The Plum Island Animal Disease Center off the tip of Long Island was not under consideration when Homeland first began the site selection process but was added along the way as protests in various communities took root.
Plum Island was originally sited where it is in the 1950s to keep risky research into foot-and-mouth disease off of the U.S. mainland. However, since the attacks of 9/11, the U.S. has seen a surge in bio-defense research across the country (and a lack of oversight and a rash of security breaches) that has made siting a new facility closer to current research centers more desirable.
Consider that in 46 states there are now 1,356 BSL-3 labs monitored by the CDC and 15 BSL-4 labs. The total number of BSL-3 labs (those outside CDC range) is unknown.
Since 2003, there have been more than 100 accidents and cases of missing deadly germ shipments.
A GAO investigation found no single agency is tracking the bio-safety labs and oversight is “fragmented,” relying heavily on self-reporting.
In its Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Homeland officials report that a Rift Valley Fever Working Group determined that an RVF outbreak under worst-case scenario would not be identified until day 27, “by which time the number of infected animals and humans have tripled.” Such an event would cost the U.S. economy more than $50 billion and untold lives. The cost of a foot-and-mouth outbreak would also run into the billions.
Of course, outbreaks cost the same whether they are intentionally or accidentally triggered.
So it would seem that barring any major problems with the Plum site, security would rule the day and the island would keep on playing host for this most sensative of research. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement repeatedly references the benefit of the island location.
• “The Plum Island site is near the New York City metropolitan area, but its location on an island reduces the likelihood of viral transmission to people or animals …
• “The generally colder climate of Plum Island compared to the other alternative sites could reduce the ability of mosquitoes … or their offspring to survive and maintain the virus over time. Hence, from a human health economic perspective, Plum Island could pose a smaller threat compared to the other alternative sites.
• “The other alternative sites are relatively similar in economic health risks, although establishment of infected mosquitoes in one of the southeastern sites could lead to a more rapid dispersal of the disease to larger human populations such as in the Atlanta or San Antonio areas and ultimately lead to a permanent reservoir of virus …
• “Of the proposed location sites, only Plum Island has no livestock populations in the vicinity of the proposed site. The other five locations have livestock population densities either between 10 and 20 livestock per kilometer or between 20 and 30 livestock per kilometer …
• “From an agricultural economic perspective, the mainland sites are not significantly different from each other in terms of risk to the local economy … Many of the alternative sites are located relatively close to human populations; for example, Athens is only about 60 miles from Atlanta, Georgia, which has a metropolitan population exceeding 5 million people. Similarly, the Texas site is located on the outskirts of the City of San Antonio, which in 2007 had a population approaching 2.6 million.”
So, all things being equal, and the naturally enhanced security of off-East-Coast research, why the push to bring the germ lab onshore? Well, all things are not equal.
The Plum Island site would cost an estimated $250 million more than any of the onshore alternatives. The $500-million project quickly becomes a $750-million project when it meets island real estate.
Who’s game for a small wager that USHS gambles to save a quarter-billion in short-term savings for the heightened risk of losing multiple billions in lives and greenbacks down the road?
One option raised by DHS has been to sell Plum Island and use the profit from such a sale to offset the construction costs of the NBAF, the decontamination and remediation costs for the island, and the demolition costs for the PIADC. Under this proposal, DHS would sell Plum Island in FY2009 or FY2010, arrange with the purchaser to allow operations to continue until the NBAF construction was finished, and transfer Plum Island to the purchaser only after clean up of the island had been completed.71 Most sales of surplus property are handled by the General Services Administration and any funds received redirected into the Treasury.
The DHS has proposed to add statutory language to the FY2009 DHS appropriations act providing express authority to liquidate the Plum Island assets and retain the proceeds of the sale. The proposed language indicates that these funds could be used to offset costs associated with construction of the NBAF; however, the proposed language would also allow the DHS Secretary to use the net proceeds of the Plum Island sale for “other real property capital asset needs.”73 Under this proposed language, the net proceeds from the sale of Plum Island would be retained by DHS until fully spent rather than reverting to the Treasury at a future date.
Goat: it's what's for theater
My little sister would call us brag-a-docious, but whatever, we totally predicted the AtticRep’s kick-ass ’08/ ’09 season. Seer and Current contributor (and Trinity prof) Tom Jenkins can say what he wants about AR mulling over Edward Albee’s The Goat long before he ever pitched it in last year’s Fall Arts Guide feature “Produce This!”, but we know he’s just being classy (although we have some incriminating goat-pix that suggest otherwise).
And though my personal submission for consideration wasn’t chosen (Sam Shepard’s Fool for Love , with its central incest, would have been perfect for AR’s self-proclaimed “Season of Taboos”), it’s clear 1 Trinity Place’s theaters heart Mr. (sort of) Jessica Lange, too: Attic’s got True West going up in December, while the Trinity University Speech and Drama department will present Icarus’ Mother and Action in February.
Whether or not we’re really clairvoyant, AR, as usual, has exceptional, challenging, original, and new-to-SA fare planned out for us. See atticrep.org for more.
Here’s the full lowdown from their press release:
(Yes, Messrs. Rick Frederick and Andy Thornton are playing brothers again. Not that we’re complaining.)
True West by Sam Shepard
December 4-21, 2008
Sam Shepard's classic American contemporary drama. True West deconstructs the myth of the American Dream through a pair of quarrelling brothers, each laying claim to the "true" spirit-and promise-of the American West. By turns naturalistic and poetic, True West lays bare the myths not only of American families, but of an American nation. The play runs December 4 through December 21, 2008 and will star Rick Frederick (Lincolnesque, Fat Pig, One for the Road) and Andy Thornton (Lincolnesque) as the brothers. David Connelly directs.
Forum Theatre Project 2009
"Borders and Walls"
March 12-15, 2009
This play is an original work
exploring border relations in
The Goat or Who is Sylvia? by Edward Albee
May 14-31, 2009
Critic Helen Thomson describes the
play as follows: "With
The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?, Edward Albee has certainly
made good his promise
to stir up theatre-goers. The play crosses boundaries of all kinds and
raises
issues that are so remote from our everyday experiences, we don't even
talk
about them. If you thought there was nothing left to reveal about sex,
then
perhaps you haven't given bestiality enough
consideration."
Tim Hedgepeth directs the
Blackbird by David Harrower
July 9-26, 2009
"Scottish playwright David Harrower
has bravely chosen
to address and dissect a taboo subject that even his characters dare
not
name. That he has done so with remarkable sensitivity and
minimal
prurience is much to his credit." -British Theatre
Guide. Directed
by Stacey Connelly, will feature David Connelly (Back of the Throat),
who has
performed on Broadway with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
The
production is a
Quick CAM notes
Rubin, the curator of contemporary and modern art at SAMA, has put together an ambitiously conceived, and densely populated, group show. Known for attending more openings and art events than even the artists themselves, Rubin, who moved here in 2006, said he began to notice that many local artists addressed or manipuated concepts of time in their work -- more on that in the Current's full-on review this coming Wednesday.
In the meantime, head out there and admire Rubin's signature gallery notes -- he includes a quote from the artist plus a pithy observation of his own -- and take special note of the selections, such as Nate Cassie's set of four abstract paintings, that use art as a way to contemplate human puzzles that approach the spiritual.
While you're there, commune for a while with Alex Rubio's neighboring one-man show, which builds on his outstanding Artists Looking at Art "Four Horsemen" installation in the McNay's medieval galleries during CAM 2006. Looking at his "Locust" diptych, you can see a golden thread running from the Middle Ages through war, pestilence, famine, and death to our contemporary West and South Sides. His use of reds and oranges is virally transcendent on its own.
On the Street
"Death is Mother Nature's way of telling you you're in the wrong gear..."
Letters (to the On the
Street Penthouse Suite)
#1 Virus
Been out of town a few
days - have y'all seen this?
Freakin' ballgirl in
minor-league game....Absolutely incredible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SqJz0NgnnE
And then, the follow up email...
After further reading,
seems to be a Gatorade commercial....Too bad -
pretty cool, still.....Yes, I'm gullable.
#2 A Brief Letter from
OTS San Luis Obispo Domestic Correspondent Steve
Mark,
seen this criminalz
video?:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNZSe8Q8-Iw
S
Yeah, the song is really annoying for long stretches and seems like a
devil spawn from DJ Screw. There was a
sense of legitimacy with the video until the guerilla in-line skater
showed up. Still, riding a bike on the 405 speaks
for itself.
A Summer Breeze
On the way over to the Very Vodka party I had heard rumors that a truck had collided with the SW Crafts Center.
Yes. Luckily, the damage was small and the party was held at the other campus across the street.
Current parties guarantee a line at the beginning. A buffet of food and liquor speaks a voice San Antonio understands.
Within minutes of opening the floodgates people diffused to various
spots with drink in hand and plates of pasta, salad, cake and other
things inbetween.
Knowing that things might run out I tried to get my fill early. I
think everyone knows the score with these kind of events.
Low light, vodka, imperfect equipment, all lead to this fuzzy foto.
In the nether regions of the party a small wind quintet (or
something close) was found to be playing at low volume.
Another blur. For more precise fotography, check this out.
The Americans Are Coming
Last night the NBA draft came and went. For Spurs fans this
moment often is a geography lesson as the four corners of the Earth and
scoured and plumbed in search for the next project. The
Spurs' pick was both expected and surprising: they did indeed choose an
American player as almost everyone thought they should, yet they find
someone from a school, basically, no one has heard much of.
The player: George Hill
The school: IUPUI (which stands for Indiana University-Purdue
University, and the "I" I'm not sure about.)
There were other picks as well.
Player: Malik Hairston
The school: Oregon
Player: James Gist
The school: Maryland
By picking George Hill with their first pick, there was a fair amount
of head scratching, especially when more known and successful college
players such as Mario Chalmers from Kansas and Chris Douglas-Roberts
from Memphis were still available. George Hill must
have impressed people in the pre-draft scouting camps and private
workouts. Still, there is a tendency for teams to
discount the proven success of other players and get seduced
by the appeal of an unknown. Whether that is the case is to
be determined. As usual with the Spurs, there were rumors of
CIA-like smokescreens, saving face moments to the media, mysterious
last second emails, and other obfuscations that completely blur actions
and results.
Fans are grumbling in general but people are waiting to see
what George Hill can do.
Victory
This was a movie that had often eluded me. I didn't have
cable television when it became a cable hit many years ago.
By accident I saw it at the video store. It has
Pele. It has Sly Stallone in his only "intriguing" period of
work - the brief time after Rocky and before Rambo II when he actually
had to go out and try to act in movies he didn't have complete control
over, or at least for the most part.
How else to explain this...
Victory was one of John Huston's last films. Michael Caine is
there as well as Max Van Sydow, real futbol players and other old
schoolers. It doesn't quite hold up, in part because of
Stallone's over acting. The film does feel very british
though, for whatever it's worth.
Urban Forestry
With the chondromalacia still haunting, the ride-by journalism has been
greatly reduced. It's lamentable. So what does this
mean? Too often having to walk to get some sense of activity.
Perhaps not as bad as Dr. Detroit but the feeling is there.
Rumors of an off-road bike trail in the Olmos Basin off Dick
Frederick came back to me. (OTS historians will recall a mention of
this trail from before. The extent of it, at the time, wasn't
fully explored.) Now, I finally wandered around back there.
Finding online images of this spot is surprisingly difficult.
Even the annual Basura Bash zone isn't exactly the same.
Anyways, it's back in there off Dick Frederick. It's probably
the best urban forest in the city, for whatever that's worth.
The maze of interconnecting paths suggest years of slow
maintenance. Someone hand built a small bridge back there.
There's also a hand built bench to rest on. Fotos
possibly to follow later on. Walking is very british as well.
And so goes another week on the streets of San Antonio. As always, to be continued...
AT&T bails for DFW; Scott Ritter calls foul on media nuke darling
Express-News loses excuse for treating AT&T with kid gloves!
Telecom implicated in President's warrantless wiretapping program announces it's moving headquarters (700 of 6,000 employees, and all the golf clubs) to DFW ... because they have a bigger airport. (That's right, but in SA you'll never have to land in Denton and drive in to the gate).
And:
Former UN weapons inspector (and WMD whistleblower) Scott Ritter, profiled in the Current and our sister Times-Shamrock alts last fall, talks about the suspect credentials of media nuke "expert" David Albright of the self-founded Institute for Science and International Security, who's being trotted out to ramp up the attack-Iran-now rhetoric.
Biohazard Bully
As we mention in this week's Queque, the proposed federal National Bio-
& Agro-Defense Facility germ lab for the latest in foot-and-mouth
fun has cleared another hurdle. And San Antonio is still in the
running.
Que2 wrote (with haunting bullet-replacing-question-mark furry:
Speaking of reasonable routes, how about tracing possible pathways for foot-and-mouth disease to reach American beef cattle? From an island off Long Island: Eight Ball says tricky. From a South Texas research lab: less so. At least that’s what some livestock associations decided before taking up their cattle prods to protest the proposed move of Homeland Security’s (do they run everything now, or just the doomsday stuff?) proposed $450-million National Bio- & Agro-Defense germ lab off of the now-infamous Plum Island.
Last Friday, Der Homeland released their Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Queque is merrily marching through the 1,005-page tome, but found a few nuggets worth passing along.
? No preferred alternative is announced. All five locations (Georgia, Kansas, Misissippi, Missouri, and SA’s Texas Research Park) are still in play;
? Homeland could start building in 2010 and finish in four years;
? The facility would use 52-million gallons of water annually if it comes to Texas and would require 12.8 megawatts of power (roughly equal to 7,000 homes cooking, air-conditioning, and computing for a year);
? And if foot-and-mouth disease should slip out it could cost Texas $4.1-billion in lost business and dead livestock.
Speaking in support of a new N-BAF facility, though not advocating for a location, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President Gary Voogt put the full outbreak figure at $10-$34 billion. That is good enough reason for the folks at National Grange, the nation’s oldest farming association, to oppose moving the lab to the mainland.
But, oh, that darned anticipated billions in economic-development potential (and word is the whole operation may be — say Republican three times fast — privatized). Feel better?
We forgot to mention a few things, though.1) The public hearing for SA has been set:
12:30-4:30pm and 6-10pm
Radisson Hill Country Resort Ballroom
9800 Westover Hills Boulevard
San Antonio, TX 78251
210-509-9800
2) Construction cost estimates are lowest (well, second to the bottom) in SA, while outbreak risks are highest in financial terms: So, money is no object.
3) A strange caller patched through with me to ask I never again post her husband's name on CurBlog. Considering I have mentioned few individuals in relation to N-BAF, it was a wee bit rattling... Then I rememberd THE LIST. Not a regular reader. I mean, that was AGES ago.
So, strange caller lady who hangs up on me after threatening to sue: If you would, please ID your husband from the following list of those who spoke in support of N-BAF at the last public hearing and I'll give serious thought to your proposal.
As for the learning how to write part... well, old dogs, you know?
THE LIST:
1. Bryan Alsip
2. Elizabeth Ames Jones
3. Jeff Barker
4. John Bruno
5. Jay Campion
6. Shannon Cantrell
7. David Casteel
8. Ramiro Cavazos
9. Mike Charlton
10. Henry Cisneros
11. Peter Conner
12. Henry Cuellar (presented by Sean Caporaletti as Representative Cuellar got called away from the meeting)
13. Thomas Cropper
14. Ed Davis
15. Eugene Dawson, Jr.
16. Melissa de la Garza
17. Allen Dehnert
18. Cheryl DiCarlo
19. Guy Dietrich
20. Jim Dublin
21. York Duncan
22. Jay Fraser
23. Jane Fritz
24. Robert Gracy
25. Neal Guentzel
26. Fernando Guerra
27. Howard Ham
28. Cyndy Hanson
29. Brian Herman
30. Mario Hernandez
31. Bob Hillman
32. Jonathan Huhn
33. George Irving
34. Tony Jaso
35. Marcel Johnson
36. Jeffrey Kantor
37. Melina Kinsey
38. Karl Klose
39. Thomas Kowalski
40. Ron Lehman
41. Linda Loomis
42. Lawson Magruder, III
43. Margaret Martin
44. David Marquez
45. David Maserang
46. William Miller
47. Mary Pat Moyer
48. Jean Patterson
49. Marcel Perret-Gentil
50. David Prichard
51. James Reed
52. Rick Rhodes
53. Ciro Rodriguez
54. Kenneth Shine
55. Robert Siddall
56. Clay Smith
57. Gary Stamp
58. Ann Stevens
59. Gregor Weber
60. Bill Welsh
61. Jeff Wentworth
62. Phil Wilson
63. Nelson Wolff
64. Xhavit Zogaj
[And should you decide to sue (despite this friendly overture) you may want to consult this federal site on libel law before you cash out your chips for that sure-to-be-deflating initial consultation.]
Rollback on CPS
Five thousand box fans and expensive advertisements reminding you to turn off the television, that’s the price for forgiveness.
Angry? Is somebody angry?
Consider the last six months of inputs: Repeated scoldings leveled from the public realm at every significant public meeting CPS Energy has held thanks to plans to expand its nuclear holdings; a City Council that voted down the City-owned utility’s rate hike request of five percent and further complained about lack of fiscal transparency in the department; repeated requests from city leaders to go ever greener and stave off nukes.
Now weigh that with the utility’s output. CPS Energy’s response has been to embark ever deeper on what could be called an “alternative course.” This has included not only joining the Excelon Energy’s astroturf (that is, an attempt at authentic grassroots appearances but unavoidably corporate origins and control) group, Nuclear Energy for Texans, but lobbying the Texas Public Utility Commission to go slow on progressive transmission line projects into West Texas that would encourage major wind and solar growth in the state.
In response, State Representative Mike Villareal helped organize a lobby of 14 fellow state leaders to request the PUC Commissioners plug their ears to CPS’s noisemaking on a vote that could happen next Thursday. (Item 16)
Villareal delivered the letter today along with a petition signed by 1,781 citizens gathered in two days that urges “maximizing the transmission lines that carry renewable energy from west Texas to our population centers.”
At issue is the creation of Competitive Renewable Energy Zones, or CREZ’s, in West Texas and the Panhandle that will lay a healthy groundwork for renewable energy development in the state. CPS is advocating for the smallest expansion plan on the table.
“Our energy crisis requires a bold response, not half-measures,” Villareal said in a prepared release today. “Texas was a world leader in oil and gas in the 20th Century. The decisions we make now will determine if Texas is a leader in wind and solar energy in the 21st Century. The pay off of this investment will be cleaner air, new jobs, and lower long-term energy bills for hard-working families.”
Here’s the letter:
June 26, 2008
Commissioner Barry Smitherman
Commissioner Paul Hudson
Commissioner Julie Parsley
Public Utility Commission of Texas
1701 N. Congress Avenue
Austin, TX 78711Dear Commissioners,
We urge the Public Utility Commission to support renewable energy use to the fullest extent possible by selecting and expediting deployment of Competitive Renewable Energy Zone (CREZ) Scenario #3. This bold option will put the transmission lines in place to bring a substantial amount of wind energy - and eventually solar energy - to our major cities. This is the future of energy in Texas, and it is far cheaper to build a transmission grid of adequate size once than to add additional capacity later. By building the necessary infrastructure now, we can expedite the process of improving air quality, reducing global warming, preparing for expected federal regulations, creating new jobs and industries, and putting money back into the pockets of Texas families through an overall reduction in long-term energy expenditures.
Aggressive development of transmission lines would provide an opportunity to substantially reduce emissions that undermine human health and contribute to global warming. According to the 2008 ERCOT Ancillary Services Study, an analysis by GE shows that installing 15,000 megawatts of wind on the ERCOT system this year would reduce NOx emissions by 12 percent and reduce CO2 emissions by 15 percent. Extrapolating these results suggests that Scenario 3, with 24,859 megawatts, could result in a 20 percent reduction in NOx and 25 percent reduction in CO2. It will take years to develop the wind power to reach those levels, but we must invest in the necessary transmission lines in order to eventually seize this clean air opportunity.
Investing in adequate infrastructure now is also important for preparing for future constraints and demands on our state’s energy system. While Congress is debating the best approach to emission reductions, it is clear that the federal government will soon place a limit on carbon dioxide emissions. As the national leader in carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, Texas will face an even greater challenge in transforming our economy and energy production to meet new federal requirements if we do not begin to develop the infrastructure now. Furthermore, as plug-in hybrids and other electric vehicles reach the market, there will be ever greater demand for renewable energy to power these vehicles. Given the dramatic increase in the cost of gasoline, and GM and Toyota’s recently announced plans to have plug-in hybrids for sale by late 2010, it will be critical to have adequate transmission to deliver west Texas wind energy to growing electric transportation markets.
Scenario 3 is also the best economic options for Texas families, without even factoring in the substantial environmental and societal benefits. ERCOT conservatively projects that an investment of $6 billion for a 50-year transmission grid would reduce power prices by more than $3 billion a year. This investment delivers a far better return than the vast majority of Texans are able to receive on their savings accounts. Additionally, the wind energy industry has already created thousands of new jobs, and many more will follow if the infrastructure is in place to support the industry.
We believe adoption of an aggressive CREZ plan is a great strategy for reducing costs, creating jobs and lowering pollution. We urge you to make the kind of bold policy decisions that your predecessors made to help turn Texas into an energy leader for many years.
Thank you for your attention to this critical issue.
Sincerely,
[Rep. Villareal; Sen. Ellis; Rep. Swinford; Rep. Gallego; Rep. Leibowitz; Rep. Dukes; Rep. Hernandez; Rep. McClendon; Naishtat; Rep. Anchia; Rep. Burnah; Rep. Rodriguez; Rep. Castro; Rep. Menendez; Sen. Lucio]
—
Meanwhile the San Antonio Sierra Club chapter is also flexing its muscle by encouraging members and like-minded residents to protest CPS’s recent trajectory.
Here’s their release:
* Voice Opposition to CPS’s PUC Position *
We are asking you to call your Council person ASAP to complain about two recent actions of CPS Energy, which Council oversees. CPS recently joined a statewide nuclear coalition called Nuclear Energy for Texas to push for more nuclear power. This is unethical for a municipal utility that pretends to be open to other, less costly options that it also claims it has little money for. More recently, CPS was caught blocking a plan of the state Public Utility Commission (PUC) for greatly expanded transmission lines for wind energy in favor of a far less extensive system of lines. The head of the PUC was himself incredulous that CPS was lobbying for the lesser Plan 1b instead of the more ambitious Plan 3.
See this short video of the PUC meeting.
Please call your Council rep to say that CPS’s recent actions are not in the best interest of its ratepayers and ask that Council (1) urge CPS to remove itself from an organization whose goal is to promote nuclear power and (2) direct CPS to pursue Plan 3 for added transmission lines for wind. For more info contact Loretta Van Coppenolle at 492-4620 or livewithnature@msn.com .
City Council email and phone information.
—
Sadly & Related: Excelon-funded Nuclear Energy for Texans released their first real press release last week on — what else? — the enthusiastic support South Texans have for new nuclear power plants.
Maybe hiring an outside agency would help with the possible public perceptions that polls run directly by the industry groups themselves may in some way be weighted in favor of certain responses. Of course, how could a poll do that?
So you wanna figure out this CREZ business? Start
here.
Those box fans? The CPS giveaway hasn’t hit the press
release page yet, but maybe there’s still time to
snag one… if you’re suitably old, and quick.
CAM Wiki History
June 1986 Contemporary Art Month is officially born via proclamation at the hands of then-Mayor Henry Cisneros in honor of three major exhibitions of contemporary art. The first to open, the Blue Star Exhibition, on the site of today's Blue Star Arts Complex, was curated by Steve Bradley, fired earlier that year from the San Antonio Museum of Art for insubordination, according to an article from the Express-News (by Dan Goddard. Hi, Dan!). Maybe 250 art fans were expected for the opening, says Blue Star Director Bill FitzGibbons, who dug a handful of stories out of his archives for us, but 2,500 showed up. SAMA featured "Open/86" (juried by future director George Neubert) July 6, and the now-defunct San Antonio Art Institute (where FitzGibbons later served as an instructor) opened "San Antonio Circumference," showcasing works by emerging local artists.
Ringleader Jeffrey Moore, then at the Southwest School of Art & Craft, became the first director of Blue Star Art Space, which traces its birthday to those same events. This is why Blue Star's annual CAM (usually group) show is referred to as, i.e. "Blue Star 23: Playing With Time."
Mystery date: Art in America, Texas Monthly, and the Current have reported 1985 as the year of the first CAM, but the Express-News story announcing the "history-making cooperative venture" between SAMA, the Art Institute, and the Blue Star space, is dated May 11, 1986, and a subsequent article announcing Cisneros's proclamation appears to be from the same year based on exhibit titles.
2004 During Carla Stellweg's tenure as Blue Star director (1997-July 2001), the Office of Cultural Affairs took over the calendar and promotions for the poorly run annual event, but Stellweg's husband registered "Contemporary Art Month" in Blue Star's name, according to FitzGibbons, who replaced Stellweg one year later. In 2004, OCA approached Blue Star about moving CAM to October to coincide with its new Fall Art Festivals initiative. The Blue Star board gave its approval, but when FitzGibbons and OCA Director Felix Padron took the idea to the artists, galleries, and artist-run spaces, they met with stiff resistance (read: torches and pitchforks). Artist, designer, and Wiggle Room proprietor Robert Tatum registered CAM in his name, and with then-partner Anjali Gupta initiated CAM as the independent, artist-run month we know now, which currently revolves primarily around camsanantonio.org.
2008 Tatum moves to Houston for work (keeping a house in SA), and approaches local arts organizations Southwest School of Art & Craft and Blue Star for help with CAM, leading to rumors that he is giving up running the event. Tatum asks FitzGibbons if Blue Star will consider serving as the umbrella for an independent CAM steering committee. FitzGibbons says he's interested if the arts community supports the idea. FitzGibbons approaches the Convention and Visitors Bureau's Scott White and Padron, which leads to a facilitated public meeting attended by some 30 people, including artists, gallery operators, and City folk. Among the goals the group reached consensus on: grow the national and international audience, and form a steering committee.
Tatum responds that he is rebuilding his CAM board, and they will negotiate with Blue Star to become the official sponsor, and move the annual event to March, a more popular month with the CVB, OCA, and people who have to walk between galleries. FitzGibbons reiterates that he'll only consider it if the community as a whole supports Blue Star's involvement.
Another stakeholder meeting is set for the first Saturday in August. Contact Robert Tatum and Justin Parr if you're an arts-community stakeholder.
Luther's Cafe gets new life
Luther's
Cafe, a decades-old eatery that offers an extensive
fare ranging from hamburgers and chili-topped Irish to steak and
specialty
salads, was transformed this past year into a part of
Luther's
Cafe is
located at 1425 N. Main Ave.
The 14th Annual SA Film Festival
It was the final day of the festival and I went out to the Instituto to see one last film during the late afternoon. The film, Twelve, was a dozen shorts fashioned together into a 110-minute anthology; each segment was directed by a different filmmaker. All the directors hailed from Salem, MA, so I thought it might follow the same rules as 2007’s Paris je t’aime, just on a smaller scale and maybe set in the Boston area.If you haven’t seen Paris, je t’aime, the film allows 20 directors to shoot a short narrative set in Paris. (My favorite is Alexander Payne’s contribution).
Each director (including the Coen Brothers, Alfonso Cuaron, and Gus Van Sant) has the freedom to choose his or her own genre and storyline. It’s basically what Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, and Woody Allen did with 1989’s New York Stories and what next year’s New York, I Love You will do with directors like Joshua Marston (Maria Full of Grace), Brett Ratner (Rush Hour), and Mira Nira (The Namesake) at the helm.
Anyway, Twelve was nothing like what I thought it would be (although I did like the crime-drama musical and the short documentary on honeybees), but it got me thinking about San Antonio’s tightly-knit film community and what they could do if they got together and produced something similar to Paris. It could be a feature film that captures the essence of the Alamo City in 10-15 shorts. There could be a romantic comedy about a tourist falling in love with a chubby bajo sexto player on the River Walk, a horror movie about a brujeria on the Westside (I think the ghost tracks and La Llorona are basically played out), and a documentary on ice cream truck drivers and their life-long passion for raspas. Well, overall, it was a satisfying four-day movie marathon for me and I really hope the festival has found a permanent home at the Instituto.
P.S. Get a good night’s sleep Adam Rocha and Susan Ranjel. Ya’ll deserve it.
Local 782 goes for 3 Rounds
Local 782 took over The Mix for 3 days this past weekend. This event has been 4 months in the making. Judging by the turnout, it was a big success. If you were there...thank you. If not, then let me fill you in on what is going on. Local 782 was established to bring awareness, support, and innovation to San Antonio's music community. Uniting musicians to create opportunity by organizing, educating and performing. It's not a union, but a coalition.
Local 782 has just released a compilation showcasing 11 amazing San Antonio artists. This 3 days party was the Digital Release Party. 9 of the 11 artists on the release played over a span of 3 days at The Mix.
The cd entitled You are Here, We Are Here offers up diverse selections of the San Antonio music scene which made each of the 3 night's show unique.
The cd is available on iTunes
and amazon.com
Thursday night started off the festivities with probably the most varied lineup of all 3 nights. Bryan Hamilton has been making rap music for a while now, but this was his first actual live performance. Karma, a rock en espanol trio, had people actually banging their heads. The night was closed off by Pop Pistol, who I would says is an up and coming name to watch. I've been to the Mix on a Thursday night and this crowd was not just the regulars. People were there to see the music.
Karma
Friday night's lineup got The Mix to full capacity. Sons of Sancho kicked it into high gear right off the bat. Dance Like Robots name suits them well, as their instrumental music was making everyone move. Kick It! closed off the night with a tight circle of fans closed in around them the whole show. I had never seen so many people crammed into The Mix as I did on this particular night. I don't know if there is a point you can say the place was "sold out" but that night it should've been. Just getting to the bar was a feat in itself.
Kick It!
Photos by Jaime Monzon
Saturday night, or as we were calling it, Round Three, was the final night. The 7 piece Audio Glo Experiment started things off. You don't see too many bands around here with a frontman that plays the fiddle. Heather Goes Psycho came next and stayed in 5th gear the whole time. Ledaswan, ended the night with a with the track "Where Birds Go" which they recently performed live on Great Day SA last week.
Ledaswan
Photos by Daniel Monzon
Membership was opened up to the public. If you are interested in joining Local 782, please visit www.local782.org or myspace.com/local782
Top Ten things you can do to support your music coalition
1. Add Local 782 to your Top Friends on MySpace
2. Add ALL the bands who are members of Local 782
3. Attend our fundraisers
4. Attend our Digital Compilation Release Showcase June 19-21 at the Mix 11:00pm!
5. Buy our Digital Compilation Release on ITunes, Rhapsody, and Amazon.com in June
6. Buy our T-Shirts, buttons, and stickers
7. Get the word out! Tell the local and national media about Local 782.
8. Go to live shows put on by Local 782 members
9. Watch and Repost our YouTube videos
10. Join us! Musicians of all styles are welcome
14th Annual SA Film Fest
This year’s San Antonio Film Festival will perhaps be remembered for its record crowd of spectators and a handful of movies and documentaries that showcased plenty of potential in the film industry.The four-day event wrapped up this past Sunday, June 22 at Instituto Cultural de Mexico. This year’s guest of honor was Luciana Cabarga, an accomplished producer who worked alongside film director and actor John Huston in the 1984 film, Under the Volcano. Huston was known for films such as The Maltese Falcon, Key Largo and The African Queen.
Ari Gold, Los Angles director and recipient of the 2008 San Antonio Film Festival Grand Prize Award, was one of several honorees among the crowd. Gold’s 96-minute movie, Adventures of Power, premiered at the 2008 Sundance Festival, and has earned a number of other international film awards. Adventures of Power tells the story of a man whose considered an outcast by many of his peers, but becomes inspired by his rejection from others. His mission is to bring together other outcasts like him and hopefully change the world.
One of the most memorable films this year was Reborn: New Orleans Schools, directed by Drea Cooper of Mill Valley, Calif. The 88-minute film and winner of the SA Film Festival’s Amateur Award traces the emotional and physical transition of students returning to school in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. The emotionally-charged and thought-provoking film’s plotline centers around a charter school where administrators and families are readjusting to the school system, surpassing the challenges faced by inner city students while trying to align their lifestyles following the natural disaster.
The film festival serves as a stepping stone for many of these directors who are pursing careers as producers and directors. Two main goal they hoped to achieve were whether they connected with spectators through their movies, and taking advantage of the opportunity they had to mingle and network with other producers and directors.
14th Annual SA Film Fest
About 45 directors from San Antonio, Mexico and other cities in the Lone Star State and throughout the nation have continued featuring their latest independent flicks during the 14th Annual San Antonio Film Festival, an event that presents and supports small budget, independent films. The festival was launched this year on Thursday, June 19.
From horror movies to gangsta flicks and boxing films a la Rocky Balboa, this year's festival was a crowd pleaser and hit among spectators, said Adam Rocha, director of the San Antonio Film Festival.
"We're more serious about things," said Rocha. "We're bringing in the media and different organizations throughout the city, and you have a city that wants to make it all happen."
For the first time, the film festival is being held at the Instituto Cultural de Mexico. The event was formerly held at the Southwest School of Art & Craft since its launch in 1994. Rocha said he hopes the exposure of the event at the Instituto will also create more awareness of Latino filmmakers, many of which were selected for this year's festival.
Buddy Calvo, a 24-year-old local director, was one of the directors whose film was screened at this year's festival. His movie, "Jacob," was filmed on a $250 budget in six days. It's the story about a young man who stakes out in his neighborhood to track down a group of burglars.
"We have an array of great stories that if we were just given the money, we could produce many other films," said Calvo, whose film will also be featured at the Alamo Drafthouse. "What other people don't have that we do is substance. We just don't have the budget."
The Free Filmmakers Workshops were also held on Friday, June 20 and Saturday, June 20. About six to 10 movies were shown both days following the workshops. Some of the movies, presented in English and Spanish, were shorts and documentaries, ranging from four to 10 minutes. Other features were full-length movies, which were about 88 to almost 100 minutes. The past three evenings (including the opening day on Thursday) concluded with closing receptions where guests and spectators enjoyed sipping on tequila, followed by after parties at Bar America.
The event was previously known as the San Antonio Underground Film Festival, but Rocha said its mission, which he describes as coalition-building, hasn't changed.
"I've been trying to get filmmakers together to network," he said. "These directors are brilliant. They have the passion and the desire. They're hungry."
The festival concludes on Sunday, June 22 following an awards ceremony, final movie screenings in the afternoon and evening, and after partying at Bar America.
All screenings are held at Instituto Cultural de Mexico, 600 Hemisfair Park. For info. call (210) 227-0123 or visit the Instituto de Mexico's website. A complete list of the screenings is available at safilm.com. Sunday afternoon screenings begin at noon. Evening screenings begin at 5 p.m. Admission is $5 daytime screenings, $10 evening screenings.
The 14th Annual SA Film Festival
While Thursday’s premiere of the impressive documentary Crawford should have brought out dems in droves, it still was a Thursday night, which probably had something to do with the empty chairs in the screening room (Hey, some people work, you know!)
Friday night was an entirely different story. Spilling out the front door, attendees waited to see if they were going to be able to get into the screening of Garrison, directed by local filmmaker and screenwriter Kerry Valderrama.
Apparently tickets for the screening had sold out (lucky for me I had my press pass, which, like my charm and good looks, gets me in anywhere*).
So, I got in and waited around for the prior film to finish up and was greeted by a few filmmakers with flyers inviting me to a couple of their events. (Shameless plugs: “The Alvarez Vietnam Story” Benefit Party on July 4 at 8 p.m. at the Blue Bubble Ballroom. San Antonio Horrific Film Fest Aug. 28-31 at the Instituto).
Then I watched Garrison.
The best thing about the film – hands down – is the fantastic score composed by Douglas Edwards. I searched out Douglas, a graduate of Churchill High School and the University of North Texas, after the screening to let him know how much I enjoyed his contribution to the movie.
We talked about his instrumental compositions in the film and how he was able to generate some of the haunting sounds as a one-man orchestra (the guy plays the piano, violin, viola, guitar, and electronic pads). He is the winner of the Best Movie Soundtrack at the 2008 Bare Bones Film Festival and the winner of the Best Impact of Music in a Feature Film at the 2008 Park City Film Music Festival.
I ask him about his favorite composers, but interjected before he can answer:
“Cliff Martinez. That’s what your sound reminds me of.”
His face lights up and we become as giddy as schoolgirls talking about how we both think Solaris is one of the best musical scores in the history of cinema. Yes, it’s that good!
I go home and visit Douglas’s website (www.douglasedwards.com) where he has more audio clips of his work. I listen for about half an hour and fall asleep happy.
The 14th Annual SA Film Festival
There have only been two animated feature films released this year (Horton Hears a Who and Kung Fu Panda), so it was worthwhile to attend the third day of the SAFF where the line up of short films included a few nice animations.
The very first one – and my favorite of the afternoon – was Berlitad, a 10-minute short from Mexico City, directed by Pablo Angeles. The film is about a small, salmon-colored alien who dreams of a life more fulfilling than having to work a monotonous job in a machine-parts factory. The animation is beautifully imagined and well-drawn. For those of you who didn’t get a chance to make it to the Instituto on Saturday, you can see Berlitad here.
In Invisible Master, San Antonio director Mike Fisher introduced the audience to a character known as a nanosapien, a sort-of robotic superhero who travels through the human bloodstream in a spaceship to fight disease. With a techno soundtrack beating throughout the nanosapien’s journey and some trippy visuals, Master was an entertaining 4-minute infomercial on living a healthy life.
From Portland, Oregon, director Holly Klein presented her film Maggie and Mildred, a story about two young girls and the fun time they have together during the day. I had never seen an animation like this one. The characters looked like they were made from needlework. I could see Klein stitching together a series of these and a channel like PBS Kids picking it up. It was very sweet and charming.
Finally, there was Red Princess Blues from Hollywood, Florida. More of a 10-minute character-development prequel to set up the upcoming feature-length film, RPB is an anime film that follows Princess, a 12-year-old girl who is taken in by a man named Nino. Nino has promised her father he would take care of her. With a heart full of vengeance, Princess discovers the “Book of Violence” among the stacks of books in Nino’s home. (The “Book of Violence” is basically a series of books with the pages cut out to fit knives and guns). I really liked Princess’s last line of the short: “I hope I never have to use what I learned from those books, but something tells me, I’m not going to be that lucky.”) Great set up for the film, don't you think? A few months ago, I was able to interview Colombian actress Paula Garces, who is a producer of RPB and the voice of Princess. For those of you who don’t know who Paula is, she’s best known for playing Maria, the love interest of Harold in “Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle.” You know, the girl Harold fantasizes over and ends up kissing at the end of the film. Anyway, when Paula and I were talking about RPB, she was really excited about her pet project and talked about how a Latina influence has never really been used in Japanese anime before. It could be an interesting culture clash. You can see the prequel here.
The Tejas delegation's FISA vote
Texas
No Vote TX-1 Gohmert, Louis [R]
Aye TX-2 Poe, Ted [R]
Aye TX-3 Johnson, Samuel [R]
Aye TX-4 Hall, Ralph [R]
Aye TX-5 Hensarling, Jeb [R]
Aye TX-6 Barton, Joe [R]
Aye TX-7 Culberson, John [R]
Aye TX-8 Brady, Kevin [R]
Aye TX-9 Green, Al [D]
Aye TX-10 McCaul, Michael [R]
Aye TX-11 Conaway, K. [R]
Aye TX-12 Granger, Kay [R]
Aye TX-13 Thornberry, William [R]
No Vote TX-14 Paul, Ronald [R]
Aye TX-15 Hinojosa, Rubén [D]
Aye TX-16 Reyes, Silvestre [D]
Aye TX-17 Edwards, Thomas [D]
Nay TX-18 Jackson-Lee, Sheila [D]
Aye TX-19 Neugebauer, Randy [R]
Nay TX-20 Gonzalez, Charles [D]
Aye TX-21 Smith, Lamar [R]
Aye TX-22 Lampson, Nicholas [D]
Aye TX-23 Rodriguez, Ciro [D]
Aye TX-24 Marchant, Kenny [R]
Nay TX-25 Doggett, Lloyd [D]
Aye TX-26 Burgess, Michael [R]
Aye TX-27 Ortiz, Solomon [D]
Aye TX-28 Cuellar, Henry [D]
Aye TX-29 Green, Raymond [D]
Nay TX-30 Johnson, Eddie [D]
Aye TX-31 Carter, John [R]
Aye TX-32 Sessions, Peter [R]
It looks like Representative Charlie Gonzalez kept his word, even though it was lonely standing up for spy-com accountability. “I’ve never been for [retroactive immunity]” he told the Current, in February, and it's gratifying to see him stick to his guns, especially since AT&T, the telecom most publicly associated with the illegal wiretapping thanks to a whistleblower, has been a Gonzalez $$ supporter. “We ask individuals to be accountable for their actions — they’re not granted immunity ... When you have liability, it produces responsibility.”
On the Street
The Summer season is in full
swing. Last year was all about the monsoon and accidental
gardening. This year there hasn't been much of meteorological
interest except an occasional brisk wind. Yes, things are slow
right now. A self-diagnosis of chondromalacia didn't help
and put the ride-by journalism on a temporary break. With
that melodramatic introduction, here we go...
Letters (to the On the Street Penthouse Suite)
#1 Cat Found
With the simple title of 'cat found' came this appealing but horrific
image...
#2 Texas Texas Texas
Similarly, came this message with the simple title of...that's right,
'Texas Texas Texas!!!'...
#3 The Turbulent Aeviternity
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New sculpture installation by Jason Jay Stevens
at Joan Grona Gallery, in San Antonio,
June 26 through August 16, 2008
WHO:
Jason Jay Stevens, San
Antonio-based installation artist,
exhibit designer & live cinema performer
WHAT: Mixed media sculpture installation, titled:
"The
Theoretical Fixed Point in the Turbulent Aeviternity
(Come
You Lost Atoms to Your Center Draw)"
WHEN: June 26 through August 16, 2008
Opening
Reception: Thursday, June 26, 6-9pm
WHERE: Joan Grona Gallery, 112 Blue Star
San Antonio, Texas 78204
210-225-6334
San Antonio-based artist, Jason Jay Stevens, presents his latest
sculpture installation at Joan Grona Gallery, at the Blue Star Arts
Complex, during San Antonio Contemporary Art Month.
The show opens with a reception on Thursday, June 26th, from 6 until 9pm, and runs through August 16th.
Mr. Stevens' immersive installations envelope and transport viewers,
mixing poetry and science to alter space and time. The work is
often interactive, multimedia, and always multi-layered and complex.
For "The Theoretical Fixed Point in the Turbulent Aeviternity (Come You
Lost Atoms to Your Center Draw)," Stevens has combined work in fabric,
wood, electronics, light, musical objects, and strange lightning bolts
made from black shag carpet. The result might be a scene from an
alternate dimension.
At one end of the gallery, a giant light box occasionally flashes the
question, "Did you feel that?" referring to a mysterious event that
makes the viewer question their sensitivity. Throughout the room,
flying bed sheets imitate a firmament of angels, and flecks of gold
outline otherwise invisible magnetic fields.
A Hint of the Lavender
Last weekend, somehow, surprising to even me, I ended up in Blanco for
a celebration of all things lavender. It was more of an event
for spinster grandmothers and wolf packs on Harley Davidsons, but in
truth there was a mix of people. I sat on the curb in the shade
for a moment and had a brisket taco. Most of the Texas wine featured
that day was especially sweet. Perhaps I should have tried the
lavender limeade instead.
Outside the city were occasional lavender farms that opened their doors
and fields to people roaming the countryside. Blanco is the
lavender Capitol of Texas I learned. There were all things
lavender being sold that day- crushed lavender, lavender soaps and
oils, lavender margarita mix...
Bogart and Bergman together again. Inside the Blanco Courthouse
was this surprisingly well put together poster. "OBCCPS" in red
ink makes it seem almost communist. Basically, the heat was
unbearable and people hid inside the courthouse for a brief break
before investing in more lavender lifestyle purchases.
His hat, her flowers...together as always. It was more than just
lavender. Ancillary organizations got in on the action in various
ways. Booths were everywhere. This booth was for LBJ Park.
(After the brisket taco, I realized I could have tried Vietnamese
spring rolls with a spicy but sweet peanut-lavender dipping sauce but
realized I probably made the best choice. Usually things happen
by accident (the discovery of penicillin, as one example) but in Blanco
it was an active laboratory, pushing and pulling the limits of
lavenderness.)
To go from walking in the fields of flowers with the LBJs, to this odd
mini-jail promoting itself as a school, it's as if the horrors of 1968 have revisited...the Great Society dismantled...
A view out the car of the Blanco River. For about $5 people could
get in and swim along the banks. The drive might be too long for
the current gas prices, but it's an option.
Back at the festival. One of the more interesting booths was of a
guy who made wind chimes out of wine bottles. Here, segments of
the wine bottles made there way to this window. (The glass guy
assumed I was taking fotos of his work because I wanted to take his
ideas. I assured him that was not the case. I quickly moved
on and went back to stealing lavender secrets.)
At the LBJ State Park one can find an ananchronistically working farm
for visitors to observe. The occasionally brilliant George
Saunders had a short story
that dealt with a character who worked at a historical park, though at
the time it was written I thought it was more near-future satire, and
to be honest, it was of a pre-historic caveman exhibit and not a Texas
German farm of the Late Edwardian Era.
Here is a blurb from the website...
The Sauer-Beckmann Farm - Rural Life,
1900-1918: When visitors can smell lunch being cooked on a wood-burning
stove, they are close to the Sauer-Beckmann Living Farm! Here, costumed
interpreters carry out the day-to-day activities of a
turn-of-the-century Texas-German farm family. Some chores are seasonal,
such as canning and butchering. Farm animals, however, must be cared
for on a daily basis, including activities like feeding, milking,
gathering eggs and slopping the hogs. Also, the house is cleaned, meals
are cooked, butter is churned and cheese is made. Visitors may see the
"family" scrubbing the floors with homemade lye soap, or plowing the
garden with a team of horses.
The F Word
In what seems to have become a weekly feature of linking to articles that challenge and at times offend people, here is another.
(sin permiso)
The Mighty Wind
The AT&T Arena is now powered solely by West Texas wind
power. A press conference revealed this a few days ago, and
actually the arena has been on windtricity since June 1st. Meanwhile,
the evil Lakers are probably powered by nukes and triple espressos...
(sin permiso)
Spider Man 3
With no early class this morning, sadly, I found myself flipping
through the channels last night. I stumbled upon the last half of
Spider Man 3. What a disaster. The surprising progress made
by the last Spider Man movie was tossed to the wind. What struck
me was the awkward choreography: darkside Peter Parking strutting down
Broadway in an outfit stolen from the band Interpol, Parker doing an
unlikely John Travolta impersonation, and then dry humping the air as
women walked by. It was not a good moment for cinema. Then
later at a jazz club, darkside Peter Parker does an elaborate dance
routine with the help of a chair, all to humiliate the feeble Kirsten
Dunst and perplex the audience. And I almost forgot the Chubby
Checker "twist" scene when Dunst and the guy who hates Peter Parker
made an omlette together while 'twisting. The spirit of Travolta
dance numbers haunted this film. The forced charm was
anachronistic (that word again) and perplexing.
When later I read the budget was almost $300 million dollars and the
film such a disaster, I wondered if Hollywood might be returning to an
identity crisis it "suffered" in the 70s when it didn't know what to do
and let the filmmakers make the movies. After Spider Man 3, can
the numbers people at the studios continue to roll the dice this way?
Gas prices are through the roof, but will quality studio
filmmaking also return? Too hard to say, and yes, this is a
forced argument. That era of film was as much about youth culture
explosion and the innocence before the dawn of Jaws. Still, with
the national economy in trouble, can films of that budget and risk
continue to be made? The Critical Darling raises a similar issue.
(sin permiso)
And so goes another week on the streets of San Antonio. As always, to be continued...
Free pass for AT&T
Above the fold June 8, with lots of dramatic followup: City lies about playground inspections, some playgrounds in bad shape.
Above the fold June 15: DA Susan Reed may have secured special treatment for her son's friend, who was caught packing heat at an airport.
Nowhere to be found today: Congress reaches a FISA deal that includes retroactive immunity for the companies -- including hometown behemoth AT&T -- that caved into the Bush Administration's post-9/11 illegal-wiretapping program. The New York Times quotes Republican Representative Roy Blount of Missouri saying confidently, "The lawsuits will be dismissed."
Mind you, the playground and DA stories are newsworthy (although, as a fellow journalist noted to me at last night's Red Dot event, if you're going after someone of Reed's caliber, get the real goods. I like to call the type of story they ran ankle-biting.) but so is news that a major local corporation is going to get off the hook for breaking the law and violating untold numbers of customers' legal rights. A total of 17 stories begin or are teased on the paper's front page today, including news that Congress is examining the horse-racing industry (RIP Eight Belles). But bupkis about the FISA legislation.
Wait! Maybe it's on the cover of the Metro section? Nope.
The Business section?! Nope.
The website as of 10:35am clearly thinks it's more important that Naomi Campbell was found guilty of air rage than that no one will be held accountable for the administration's and telecoms' bad behavior.
The Express-News didn't even have to write the story themselves; they could have just picked it up from the New York Times (which did run it above the fold today), as they often do. A story finally appears (buried) on page 4a -- and while it does feature a nice pull quote from the ACLU, the piece, picked up from the Los Angeles Times, plays down the immunity provision more than the NYT story.
But, hey, maybe the Ex-News is just working on an in-depth cover story that'll appear above the fold in this Sunday's paper ... that'd be nice.
Medical pros and patients rally for realistic medical care
The San Antonio HealthCare-Now Coalition was participating in a nationwide protest directed at lobbyist group America's Health Insurance Plans' annual meeting in San Francisco. The city's chapter of the protest brought out doctors, nurses, and patients, all rallying for a bill in Congress that would extend Medicare benefits to the entire country.
The bill, H.R. 676, is currently stalled in a subcommittee. It calls for the removal of health insurance, taking out the middleman and having the government directly fund discounts and support health care through income and sales taxes. The bill is not technically socialized health care because the government does not own or control the hospitals or drug companies, but rather funnels public money through them. It proposes to save money, rather than increase costs, by removing billions in administrative costs.
Also known as the United States National Health Insurance act, the bill seeks to rectify what protester Vibeke Mendonca-Lee calls a "health-care crisis." She said many people with pre-existing health conditions like diabetes are ineligible for health insurance and therefore cannot receive the care they need.
"Our health-care decisions need to be made between doctor and patient," Mendonca-Lee said. "We don't need insurance executives to decide that we can't afford this. We're not saying that everyone should have everything they want, that's not reasonable, but we want that decision to be up to doctors."
For protestor Diane Kilby, the struggle hits close to home. Kilby, who carried her oxygen tank along with a bright orange protest sign, said she has been on a lung transplant list since 2006. Because of the income she receives from social security for her disabilities, Kilby doesn't qualify for Texas's Medicaid and is uninsured.
"The way that it's going, insurance companies take 30 percent of all our health-care dollars," Kibly said. "We have got to get people to understand that you don't have to keep being abused by the system. If we stand up for ourselves we can make a difference."
A local resident doctor at University Health Care Hospital, who declined to give his name, said the system is in shambles and as a health-care provider it is frustrating.
"A lot of people here, in Bexar County, are basically the working uninsured," the doctor said as he adjusted his picket sign against his scrubs. "They would like to have health coverage, but they can't afford it. The premiums are just too expensive. Health insurance is supposed to be a way to help people, but instead it has morphed into this monster."
CPS Against the Wind?
CPS makes a lot of hay about their wind energy consumption. The most
renewable wind energy this side of the deregulated market, we hear.
But when it comes to cranking up the pace of solar and wind energy
development in Texas, CPS has to draw the line somewhere, it appears.
Last night the Alamo
chapter of the state Sierra Club hosted a panel of
sustainable energy experts (including CPS's lonliest department, the
single-employee sustainability program staffer/director/manager/slave)
at the Witte Museum. It appeared the conservation group dedicated to
"knocking on windows," as current A-SC jefe Jerry Morrisey
said, was trying to build bridges.
Expect some buckling in that construction project: It appears the
City-owned utility has not only joined the pro-nuke lobbying group Nuclear Energy for
Texans, but is now working against proposals to increase
solar and wind development in Texas.
Environment
Texas sent out a media cherry bomb this morning, including a
video of two CPS attorneys encouraging the Texas Public Utility
Commissioners (*to the bewilderment of the commissioners themselves*)
not to move too quickly laying down new high-capacity transmission
lines to that wild and wonderful waste of open range known as West
Texas.
ET writes:
A new video released today by an environmental advocacy group documents that San Antonio utility CPS Energy is aligned with Exxon, coal companies and other big polluters to actively fight efforts to build an extensive network of transmission lines to link wind farms to Texas homes.
"You'd expect Exxon and the coal industry to block wind power, but CPS's role in blocking an ambitious plan to expand wind power in the state is truly disappointing," said Environment Texas Director Luke Metzger.
At issue is an upcoming decision by the Public Utilities Commission of Texas which will play a critical role in determining how much renewable energy is built in Texas in coming years. Environmental, economic development and public interest advocates, wind energy companies, more than 100 west Texas communities, and the San Antonio Express News have called for the most ambitious plan which would create transmission capacity for almost an additional 18,000 megawatts of wind and solar power. By displacing some coal-fired electricity generation, such a plan would reduce smog pollution from power plants by 13% and global warming pollution by 16%. It would also save consumers money, as expensive natural gas would be somewhat displaced by cheaper wind power, lowering the overall wholesale cost of electricity.
"CPS likes to brag about its investments in wind, but most of its money comes from burning dirty coal," said Metzger. "Rather than support a forward-looking plan to reduce pollution and reduce the cost of energy, CPS is teaming up with other big polluters to stall Texas' leadership in wind power."
I did my journalistic duty and emailed the vid to two of CPS's icily polite mouthpeices this morning. Still, no response.
[Update, 6/19] Received emailed response from CPS spokesperson Bob McCullough:
CPS Energy strongly supports wind power as part of our successful fuels diversification program that enables us to produce electricity using a variety of fuel sources. In fact, we rank no. 1 by a substantial margin in the amount of wind energy capacity among the nation’s municipally owned utilities. We do recognize the need for more transmission lines to bring wind energy from remote areas of the state to urban areas such as San Antonio. We favor a phased approach in expanding transmission that will permit the Public Utility Commission of Texas to resolve any reliability concerns about the effects of adding more wind energy to the ERCOT interconnected electric grid.
Trans-Texas Corridor slims down
Unable to ignore the 28,000 Texans who complained about the 650-mile Trans-Texas Corridor, which is slated to cut through east Texas on its route from Mexico to Louisiana, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has agreed to improve existing highways, not build new ones, to construct the TTC.
This is a change from TxDOT's plan to use eminent domain, the state's legal ability to acquire land for public-works projects, regardless of whether or not the owner wants to sell. The citizens, farmers and small businesses who would have been uprooted by this plan expressed their opposition in meetings held this winter and spring along the proposed route.
Changes at the MPO!
Bexar
County’s
Metropolitan
Planning Organization met Monday to vote on proposed bylines
changes, including what constituted a quorum, powers given to the mayor
and
county judge to appoint officials to elected positions, the powers
granted to
the head of the finance committee, what funds can be used for tolling,
and the
extension of the MPO’s boundaries to the Hill Country.
“I think that the policy
board has looked at what changes
are beneficial to the long-term transportation-planning
process,” Ericksen
said, adding that the committee needs to use foresight in planning its
finances,
citing the high rate of growth in
The 14th Annual SA Film Festival
Adam Rocha’s baby is all grown up.
After being very inconsistent with my attendance at the festival for the last six years (I believe I made it out one night for the decade celebration), I returned Opening Night of the 14th annual SAFF on Thursday and was ecstatic not to see any pissed-off puppies making their film debut.
It's Sedimentary!
So that's how you win a "Golden Shovel" award, eh?
Announced by the lamentably un-singed press staff of Governor Rick
Perry this morning, Texas received the gilded implement from Area Development
magazine.
Can you feel that business-friendly climate breathing down your neck?
Can you see it? It looks an awful lot like bad building practices
silting up our cherished rivers and streams.
Perry credit's the award to "our state's reasonable regulatory
environment."
But we would be remiss not also to credit our long history of not
bothering the builders.
Days before the Shovel announcement, the U.S. EPA announced it had
settled a number of lawsuits against four of the country's most
prominent builders, including Dallas-based Centex Homes, for alleged
Clean Water Act violations.
Texas stayed out of it, despite being the third most impacted state in
the country.
Of the 2,200 sites included in the lawsuit, 247 were in Texas. That
includes 26 housing developments in San Antonio and 19 in Bexar County.
So, while Colorado, Maryland, Virginia, Missouri, Nevada, Tennessee,
and Utah are divvying up their share of the $4.3 million settlement
(granted, it's not much), Texans get to play with our shiny tool in
silted-over riverbeds.
Post-settlement reforms are across the board, however, with the EPA
anticipating they will keep 1.2 billion pounds of sediment out of
national waterways each year from here out.
Find your neighborly subdivision on the EPA's list of housing developments included in the lawsuit. Or for more info, go to EPA settlement page.
Youth gets served
Watching the Celtics-Lakers series from a San Antonio-centric
perspective, one fact has stood out to me: While the Spurs were dogged
thru much of the post-season for being too old, no one has pointed out
that the Celtics have prospered with a trio of stars older than the
Spurs' Big Three.
Ray Allen will soon turn 33, Kevin Garnett is a 32-year-old veteran in
his 13th NBA season, and Paul Pierce is 30. By comparison, Tim Duncan
is 32, Manu Ginobili is 30, and Tony Parker is only 26. Certainly the
Spurs' bench has logged more miles than that of the Celtics, but it's
not as if Sam Cassell or James Posey just qualified for their driver's
licenses.
The Lakers' triumph over the Spurs was seen as proof that a younger,
more athletic team couldn't be stopped by the kind of methodical,
graybeard group the Spurs put on the court. Hasn't anyone noticed that
the Celtics are taking apart the Lakers with exactly the kind of
grind-it-out offense, dogged defense, and veteran wiles that the Spurs
built their dynasty upon? When Ray Allen blew by Sasha Vujacic in Game
Four, it wasn't his quickness or athleticism that made the difference,
it was intelligence and determination. The Spurs had a thin bench and a
hobbling Ginobili in the Western Finals, and they were beaten by a
hotter, better team. But can we finally get over the knee-jerk age
angle?
On the Street
Letters (to the Penthouse
Suite)
#1 & #2
More Reasons Why
In a further reverberation from the Why We Ride article came this
illustration from Nice Guy Jack.
(con permiso)
Then came a related letter from OTS Friend Carlos with a mention to the
award winning NYC fashion/foto blog called The Sartorialist...
for style....but this is
the bike section.....
http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/search/label/Bicycles
#3 California
Correspondent Steve Reports In (Sort Of)...
Hi - forgive the group
mass-mailing - I wanted people to know that Rep Dennis Kucunich has
introduced Article of Impeachment against George Bush in the House and
needs help (calls to your Rep and Rep John Conyers, Head of the
Judiciary Committee).
If you are interested
you can find more info and contact info for your Reps on my blog right
here:
http://occasional-occasion.blogspot.com/2008/06/hail-hail-freedonia.html
Which promtped this unfocused discussion with Correspondent Steve from
San Luis Obisbo.
Civil Liberties: the turn of the tide
In the United States, the Supreme Court has ruled for the third time in four years that the people detained in Guantanamo can challenge their imprisonment in US civilian courts. When the Court made the same ruling in 2004 and 2006, an obedient Congress passed legislation overruling it, but that will not happen this time.
The Supreme Court judges have ruled once again that the ancient rule of habeas corpus, the right of every prisoner to be brought before a court where the state must give a legal justification for his detention, cannot be thrust aside on the pretext that the suspect is a foreigner, or a terrorist, or an “illegal combatant.” The government still has to convince a judge that it has the evidence to justify the charge, and then bring the accused to trial.
With Democratic majorities almost certain in both houses of Congress after the November elections, and both presidential candidates committed to shutting Guantanamo, this time the Supreme Court’s ruling will stick. As Justice Anthony Kennedy put it, "The laws and constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times. Liberty and security can be reconciled; and in our system they are reconciled within the framework of the law."
The rule of law is returning in the United States after years of abuse. In Britain, it is still under attack, but the fight back has started in earnest. After Prime Minister Gordon Brown forced through the 42-day detention law on Wednesday despite the resistance of both major opposition parties and 36 rebels from his own Labour Party, something unprecedented happened.
David Davis, the Conservative MP who serves as shadow home secretary (the opposition spokesman on domestic affairs), resigned his seat the following day. He declared that he would run for re-election on a platform of opposition to the “monstrosity” of 42-day detention and to the "government's slow strangulation of fundamental British freedoms."
The Great British Public, it must be admitted, is not very interested in fundamental British freedoms. As Gordon Brown pointed out in defence of his law, a majority of the public supports 42-day detention.
Indeed, a majority of the British public, given the right lead by the gutter press, would probably also support 90-day detention, waterboarding of suspects, 180-day detention, torture of their relatives, 360-day detention, and summary execution of detainees. Provided they were Muslim, of course.
But democratic countries have laws and constitutions precisely to fend off this kind of ignorant populism. David Davis is acting in defense of habeas corpus, and when the voters of his constituency are forced to confront the issue of human rights squarely they will probably vindicate him.
Former prime minister Tony Blair began the attack on civil liberties even before 9/11. British citizens, who could previously be held by the police for only two days before being charged or released, found that period raised to seven days by the Terrorism Act of 2000, and to fourteen days by the Criminal Justice Act of 2003.
A significant minority of his own party rebelled when Blair tried to extend it again to ninety days in 2005, and after much haggling it was fixed at 28 days – already the longest period of pre-charge detention in the democratic world. So what possessed Gordon Brown to want to lengthen it yet again, given that there had been no request from the security services and no recent terrorist atrocity?
Political expediency, of course. Brown’s unchallenged succession to Blair as prime minister is already seen as Labour’s great mistake, and it is almost universally assumed that the Conservatives will win the next election in less than two years’ time. So Brown cast around for some symbolic gesture that would wrong-foot the Tories, and came up with 42 days: paint himself as tough on security, and force the Conservatives to choose between defending unpopular civil liberties or playing me-too.
Stupid.
The Conservatives decided to oppose the legislation, although with some misgivings. (Indeed, David Davis’s spectacular action is partly intended to nail own his party to its commitment to kill the 42 days when it comes to power.) About 50 Labour MPs were initially prepared to vote against their own government, although various pressures reduced that to 36 for the final vote.
The law squeaked through last Wednesday by a majority of only nine votes – thanks to nine Democratic Unionists from Northern Ireland who agreed to support Brown in return for large sums of money spent in that province. Brown is weakened by this vote, not strengthened, and the ugly law he has pushed through the House of Commons will almost certainly die in the House of Lords (as he knew all along – it was only done to make him look “tough on terror”).
In both of the countries where civil liberties were most grievously damaged by the “war on terror,” the tide is turning. About time, too.
___________________________________
Gwynne Dyer’s new book, After Iraq, was recently published in London by Yale University Press.
Greening Alamo City
It's just a "B" session for crying out loud. Still they come crowding
in as San Anto Mayor Phil Hardberger lays the foundation for this
afternoon's presentation on "COSA Mission Verde" — the city's
amped up efficiency and renewable energy adventure.
First dribbled in his State of the City speech back in January, plans
for a new City-wide energy policy have been incubating at City Hall
even as a trench warfare has been waged these past months against the
City's utility, CPS Energy, over plans for two new nuclear plants. The
tussle has included back-room warnings from activists of a potential
"Nuclear Phil" campaign if Alamo City leaders didn't get on the stick
with serious energy conservation initiatives.
Since that time, it's been meetings galore, and the direction of the
conversation is looking dead-on. Specifically, the group that was hired
to explore the city's energy use habits is one of the best in the
nation, Chicago's Center
for Neighborhood Technology.
Raging gas prices and Wall Street jitters on the subject on nuclear
power have provided the perfect launching pad for a major green
initiative in San Antonio. And each councilmember in turn went to pains
to show they were on board, with District 5 Councilmember Lourdes
Galvan describing her struggle to pull plugs to save at home and
District 10-er John Clamp saying he will rush the message of
conservation to his neighborhood association and beyond.
CPS President Milton Lee wobbles and taps, and speaks when invited, but
no mistake — this multi-pronged endeavor is the city's baby.
The vision is laid out by Hardberger as a sermonette.
There are light
rails, and net
metering, timed
traffic lights, and massive home
efficiency campaigns, "zip"
cars, tidal
power, solar…
There will be task forces formed on transportation and sustainable
building.
Overheard: "I wonder where he got all these ideas?"
Hardy's been getting schooled these past months — and by the
sound of his enthusiastic and informed oratory, he's been a good
student. Still, there will be fights soon enough with the building
lobby, who will surely resist any significant changes to city
construction codes.
If any serious light rail pitches get made, you can bet a good number
of the businesses and homeowners along those corridors will be up in
arms as they were in Houston not too long ago.
And there will be claims to the Mayor's throne hinging, at least in
part, on who is best qualified to continue leading Alamo City's just
begun Green Revolution, our Mission Verde.
Speaking of which, Councilmember Diance Cibrian in her own oversized
oratory called out solar deviant Bill Sinkin and gushed: "Isn't this
just like a dream come true?" The 95-year-old half a chamber away is
inaudible.
By the time Hardberger wrapped up his gospel of green
prosperity in the Council's side chamber, and City Chief Information
Officer and former state senator Richard Varn clicked through the more
detailed Power Point, there was still time to pass the talking stick
among Council (and take a cell call on speaker phone from Councilmember
Justin Rodriquez, an adamant supporter of the new sustainability
vision).
Memorable quotes:
"It doesn't sound too good, but they call them 'green collar jobs.'
Adults and young people are going to make their living finding ways to
use as little energy as possible."
"They'll be others — even harnessing the power of the sea.
Some of these will be 'out there' more than others."
"Before we go too far down that road (with traditional energy sources),
let's see how far we can go with what the Good Lord gave us."
— Mayor Phill
Hardberger
"I can't top that mayor."
— Sheryl
Scully, City Manager
"It cannot be done by the City alone, or the utility alone, it must be
done with substantial community input."
— City Chief
Information Officer Richard Varn
"I really believe we should never build another coal plant in the City
of San Antonio."
— District 8
Councilmember Diane Cibrian
Here's the executive summary from CNT:
Executive Summary
CNT recommends addressing the risks associated with rising costs for energy and transportation in a way that is both cost-effective and maximizes the creation and capture of economic value. Specific proposals include:
-
Development of an energy efficiency and clean portfolio strategy for CPS
-
Implementation of new policies such as a building code
-
Better energy management at the City itself
-
Coordination between the City's IT department, SAWS and CPS of advanced metering for tracking and managing energy and transportation use and cost
-
Development of a modern transportation strategy and enhancement of current transportation choice and service opportunities
-
Linking energy efficiency and transportation efficiency opportunities with economic development strategy
-
Improved capital access and workforce development for emerging green industries
-
Information and neighborhood efforts to help households and businesses reduce exposure to rising prices and help stabilize or reduce the cost of living.
General Findings
The City and its associated agencies in the region as well as the economy in general face pressures of significant scale in the provision of energy, water and transportation services. For the average household, these costs can easily equal or exceed the cost of housing. San Antonio overall can be characterized as a "hot" market for business location with a fast-growing population. But from an economic sustainability perspective, it can also be characterized as a "low wage, high waste" economy. This is not likely to be sustainable. San Antonio produces neither its energy nor its water, and so the increased demand for these resources constitutes a large and increasing drain on the economy.
The Renewable Energy Policy Project finds that the technical potential for renewable power technology manufacturing could replace a significant portion of the hundreds of manufacturing jobs lost in the past decade, but this will take concerted investment and a trained workforce. San Antonio's real estate form fits what's increasingly called the "Drive 'til You Qualify Market." The majority of employment is located in just 10 employment centers located largely on the region's beltways, and San Antonio's transportation demand, at 27 miles per capita daily, is one of the top five in the nation. This leaves working and fixed income households vulnerable to energy price shocks. Transportation costs usually start to equal or exceed shelter costs for households at a point about 10-12 miles from the city center.
Energy Challenges
The region is subject to mild winters, with an expected average of 2332 heating degree days but a relatively high demand for air conditioning at 2492 cooling degree days and growing. The region abuts a desert and the nature of the landscape strongly influences both energy and water demand. Decades of neglect of San Antonio's urban forest led to renewed calls in recent years for restoration, and scientific surveys show that a combination of local planting and more reflective roofs, sidewalks and streets, and can result in local reduction of outdoor temperatures in the range of 6 to 8 degrees Fahrenheit.
Energy demand and energy bills
Actual home efficiency is rated in energy units of BTUs per square foot per degree-day. Measured ratings can range from zero (super-efficient homes with on-sight renewable energy sources) to 10 or more on this scale. Assuming an average home size of 1500 square feet, as an example, the data published in the recent CPS study suggests San Antonio residence would receive a poor rating in the range of 7 or more on this scale. San Antonio has enjoyed low rates but has paid for high consumption.
Energy Supply from Reduced Demand
The most successful programs at getting to scale are those that:
-
Package necessary services in a one-stop delivery (e.g., energy audits, contractor selection, and financing);
-
Get around split incentives, such as those that exist between landlords and tenants through incentives and supportive policies, such as building codes;
-
Use measured results to set goals;
-
Build effective partnerships with competent private and public sector actors;
-
Reach hard-to-reach and small users at large scale by organizing at the community-wide or neighborhood scale;
-
Build demand for the services through specialized information channels; and
-
Work to achieve success through continuous improvement and recurring activities (e.g. setting and enforcement of building standards through both codes and voluntary agreements).
Transportation Challenges
The need for upgraded transportation is a function of both absolute growth in travel and in the number of vehicles traveling, and in the forces that influence that level of travel. A principle influence is land use and the distance that people and goods must travel; a second is the availability of time to travel and the need to use time productively; a third is the availability of travel mode choice; and a fourth is tolerance for the external impacts of transportation, whether these are environmental, economic, aesthetic or health and safety-related in nature.
Household Transportation Expenditures
Nationally, 18 percent of trips taken by metropolitan households are for the journey to work or work-related purposes, and 82 percent are for shopping, school, recreational or social purposes.
San Antonio travel 27 miles per capita per day
At 27 miles per capita per day, a household of 2.5 persons will be driving 24,637 miles per year. Our cost model, which is conservatively based on the model provided by the Federal Highway Administration, is that each vehicle carries a fixed cost of $5,068 per year, and a variable cost in 2000 of 7.5 cents per mile for gasoline and 1.5 cents for other expenses. Fixed costs have been flat since then (people holding on to cars longer, buying smaller ones when they can, cars lasting longer) but the variable price of gasoline at $4.000 per gallon is now 20 cents per mile, plus 1.5 cents for miscellaneous expense.
So a 2-car household in San Antonio driving 24,637 miles per year total would spend $5068+$5068 +$0.21(24637) or $5174 for variable costs, mostly gasoline, and $10,136 for automobile ownership, or $15, 310 per year total.
In 2008, estimated median metropolitan household income is $45,000, and so transportation expenditures are amounting to $15,310/$45,000 or 34 percent of income. Median annual housing costs for owners with a mortgage are likely $18,000 or 40 percent of income.
San Antonio fits the profile of a "Drive Until You Qualify" market—the transportation costs are largely determined by the location of the house, too many "affordable" homes are located at a distance such that the need to drive is high, effectively doubling the price of the home for working families and households, those earning under $50,000 per year.
Specific opportunities that can be tried in San Antonio—In the short and medium term, there are several things that can help mitigate the high costs of gasoline and of travel in general, that should be considered as priorities
-
Better information and counseling to make use of available options
-
Better marketing of employer provided or supported transit services, including use of deductibility for employer-assisted "transit check" programs and federal parking cash-out incentives
-
Expanded levels of scheduled service from VIA
-
Serious and aggressive pursuit of both car-sharing services and car-pooling
-
Improved regulation of and support for pedestrian and bicycling amenities
-
Include screening of major development proposals and public siting decisions for locations that minimize unnecessary travel demand
-
Explore opportunities to better match residential locations with non-residential activities, both employment and otherwise
Aggressive planning and lobbying should be supported for the following options:
-
Rail relocation to support the proposed Austin-San Antonio ASA Rail service
-
Investment in modern streetcar service on high-density routes
-
Long range development of either Bus Rapid Transit or some form of commuter rail
-
Development of community telecommuting options
-
Develop specialized districts that can expedite mixed use development in conjunction with better transportation choices
-
Develop a regional strategy that can deliver consensus around these goals, put into place an effective inter-agency coordinating mechanism and better support a financial strategy sufficient to get the job done.
Economic Challenges: Creating and Capturing Value Locally
A sustainable economy needs to provide services efficiently and affordably with a minimum of environmental disruption, and it also needs to provide sufficient jobs that pay a competitive wage. We find that methods of intercepting the economic value of the efficiency and ecological improvements that result from policies and actions are an essential part of an economic development strategy for sustainability. Cities and states are developing ways to attract investment, training a workforce to meet the needs of emerging industries related to their sustainability goals, helping households better understand how to take advantage of initiatives that can lower the cost of living and improve their own environmental performance, and organizing collectively for more efficient and successful community economic benefits. San Antonio has a strong network of governmental and private financial counseling and financial literacy services that could be mobilized to help households take advantage of transportation alternatives and energy assistance.
Open Records & SAPD Nailed Files
A few interesting points about assembling this week's story on civil
rights attorney James Myart.
Firstly, not only was the recently-suspended attorney himself
indisposed, but a good chunk of the legal community that have handled
cases against SAPD were simply not up to returning phone
calls. It creates a challenge, but I'm sure they all have the city's
best interests as heart as we at the Current do. Right, fellas?
In any event, the number of closed doors (including the spiritual
leader of Mt. Zion
First Baptist Church putting the call-block on me) led me
into unexpected corners.
Digging around in the city's files ultimately resulted in an interesting interview
with a former SA-based defense attorney. The conversation ended up not
fitting the overall narrative of "Myart's
remains," which hit the racks today. However, he
raised some points regarding the challenges that face any
attorney operating in SA that I think are worth passing along. Chiefly, first-hand perspective related to the uphill contest that fighting police in court represents and how one firm has sought to overcome that challenge.
Attorneys going up against law enforcement are well-acquainted with
jury's predisposition to believe the men and women behind the shield,
said Phil Stauffer, a former attorney working for "DWI Dude" Jamie Balagia's
office in San Antonio.
After all, a badge goes a long way in the public psyche. You might as
well be putting a doctor in a lab coat with a stethoscope necktie on
the chair, he said.
"If it ever comes down to your word against this cop's word on the
witness stand, the cop's gonna win," said Stauffer.
While Stauffer now practices law in Fort Worth, when he was with
Balagia the two understood that their clients needed a more aggressive
form of defense. So they started their own investigations into the
workings of SAPD, using state Open Records law to get their hands on as much public information about the department as possible.
"They were always going to do background investigations on our people,
so we decided we'd just start doing it on theirs," Stauffer said. "We
just wanted to look and see if there's ever been anything that we
could've used at trial and bam! We just came up with a gold mine."
Today, Balagia has a file room dedicated to police disciplinary reports
that is the envy of more than a few others. (Balagia, in keeping with
what appears to be a new legal trend, failed to return calls for comment.)
Cases of cover-ups and report falsification proved common, Stauffer
said.
"It's scary. It's just downright scary - you can quote me on that - the
amount of stuff that's out there that SAPD doesn't seem to be doing
anything about."
This post isn't intended as an endorsement of Balagia, per se, but any attorney - and we're sure there are a few - that is utilizing state law on the public's right to know, is doing something right.
You know the press, the more Sunshine the better. Why should "civil society" hold all the cards?
Jumbled gym
Using a sliding scale, the City combined the lowest two income brackets to make Kid Quest, an eight-week summer program of activities for children ages 6-12, affordable to more low-income families. For the lowest reduced-fee bracket, the price for the entire summer is $20 for the first child and $10 for each additional child, and $40 total for 3 or more children. The City also changed the requirements for qualifying for the reduced-fee plan. Originally they asked for W-2 forms to prove income, which parents who are paid in cash couldn't supply. Now they ask for utility bills with proof of address to verify income.
But the City hasn't budged on the top-tier price of $250 for the first child if the parents don't qualify or can't provide the paperwork for the reduced-fee plan. The Parks and Recreation Department, which runs Kid Quest, didn't respond to phone calls asking to provide details for the program's expenses.
"We must remember that Kid Quest belongs to San Antonio Families, all families, including those who live in less-affluent school districts," Paul Martinez, a member of Metro Alliance who fought the fee increase, said. "It is not an exclusive club that charges high fees to screen membership, and offers discounts impossible to get."
Kid Quest runs from June 16-August 8 from 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. and includes games, sports, arts, crafts, and an Enrichment Program in Art and Science. The children also are given a snack and hot lunch each day. Kid Quest has been active for four years and there are 60 schools running the program in their gymnasiums and community centers.
The deadline to sign up was June 6, but the City extended the deadline to June 13 because registration was so low.
Last year Kid Quest ran at 100-percent capacity with about 6,000 children; this year the fee increase reduced that to roughly half. Although this past weekend there was a boost in sign up of about 677 children, the effect of the fee hike is still evident in the figures. The Northside and North East Districts programs are full, but in SAISD, where 97 percent of students are economically disadvantaged, some schools reported online one, four, or 10 students signed up out of 100 spots available.
"The poor children should not be burdened with the expenses," said Reverend Walter D'heedene of Communities Organized for Public Service and the Metro Alliance.
D'heedene called the fee hike an "immoral and outrageous act."
"If the city needs extra revenue, raise property taxes; do not balance the budget on the back of poor children and families," D'heedene said.
If the City is worried about saving pennies, critics argued, they should consider the price if these children are left on the streets and get involved in illegal activities. Reverend Brett Lortie, speaking for COPS and the Metro Alliance, said the price for keeping a minor in the juvenile system is $30,000 a year. If 20 of the hundreds of children no longer able to sign up for Kid Quest end up in the juvenile system, it would cost the city $600,000.
Gibbon 'em the business
The
nation’s
oldest primate sanctuary, Primarily Primates
of Northwest Bexar County, is
welcoming back three gibbons after settling a case with two other
sanctuaries.
"The
facility
still doesn't have cages suitable for gibbons," Shirley McGreal,
founder of the
IPPL, told a South Carolina paper last year. "For instance, gibbons
live high
up in trees. The cages in Texas were about 7 feet tall. The cages near
Summerville have spaces that are 20 feet tall."
"We want Emma and Jackson to have a happy life," Feral said. "We will always miss them; but we're confident they will enjoy a place of permanent safety."
Save Yourself!!!
If you are concerned about the state of media, lack of media, or just plain old bad, commercial-sponsored mediummy in San Antonio (not mentioning any names here), this is a forum you can not afford to miss.
(And if you're not worried, you may want to start your awakening with Common
Cause or just read the numbers below.)
First Friday + McNay reopening = an art lovers dream weekend
We also checked out the opening of the McNay Stieren Center grand opening. However, we failed to capture the rollercoaster-like bus ride from Alamo Heights high school to the museum. It was bumpy but the journey did lead us to an amazing site. We regret we didn't capture any interior shots of the museum, but here are two images from the tranquil gardens.
quick sidenote I hope won't get me banned from the museum:
When security guards looked away my friend and I dipped our feet in the water fountain (seen below), it was just too inviting.
Acorn to the rescue
An unprecedented economy in the 1990s led to a booming housing
market that
helped many people to achieve their home-ownership dreams.
A darker side has emerged from this story however, as unwise
lending and
borrowing has led to foreclosures in record-setting numbers. More than a million homeowners in the U.S. are in foreclosure [edit, 6/11], and people struggle everyday to make mortgage
payments and avoid the same fate.
Acorn Housing, a branch of the activist organization Acorn,
is
helping to
combat this crisis in a number of ways. The group employs loan
counselors that
will aid people in avoiding foreclosure and offers education classes
for people
that are looking to buy a new home.
“Acorn Housing has a working relationship with over
40 mortgage lenders and
services across the country,” said Michelle McClenan,
Acorn Housing uses these connections to help adjust people's
mortgages so
that they are more manageable. McClenan said that while individuals who
tried
to deal with lenders by themselves would not make much progress in
adjusting
their mortgage, those who came to Acorn and had the benefit of its
connections
and knowledge typically were able to find relief from their mortgage
problems.
A major problem that loan counselors see is people who get
behind in their
mortgage payments because of an emergency, such as necessary medical
expenses.
To make homeowners current, where they are no longer behind in their
payments,
Acorn will use its connections to convince a lender to let the
homeowner shift
the debt to the final payments. While homeowners will pay for a
slightly longer
period of time, returning to the “current” status
helps them to avoid
foreclosure.
Lowering monthly payments is also a big part of what acorn
does. According
to McClelen, Acorn works under the assumption that lenders would much
rather
adjust rates and be able to collect monthly payments consistently than
go
through the process of foreclosure.
Loan Consoler Vivian Torres said Acorn's pre-loan education
tries to ensure
that no one ever needs to use these methods of foreclosure avoidance by
teaching responsible borrowing. They also stress that it is important
not to
accrue large amounts of debts related to the house outside of the
mortgage,
such as buying new furniture and appliances.
“Don't
go buy more things, stay in
the same budget you were in before you bought the house,”
Torres said.
Participants who complete this education course are also
privilege to
special offers from Bank of America, Chase Bank and Citi Bank.
Borrowers that
use these institutions are guaranteed that their loans will never be
sold to
another bank, that they will receive a fixed rate (where the amount
that is
paid every month will be the same throughout the time of the loan), and
other
special incentives.
Acorn offers these services free of charge, asking only that
people call
before coming so that they can be sure to bring the necessary paperwork
and
records.
Acorn can be reached at 210-226-2584 or by going to their Stop Foreclosure
website.
On the Street
Letters to the On the
Street Penthouse Suite
#1 Critical
First came this letter in regard to the cover story last week called Why We Ride...
Mark,
Great article!
Tammy Busby's story is especially motivating and I'm glad people like
her are featured. Loved the first 3 paragraphs:
great characterization of the scene.
Do you know anything
about the Critical Mass bike ride? A friend of mine and are
are starting to go out and ride - but it's just a critical duo at this
point, although we've heard of others possibly on the scene.
Thanks,
Kristin
#1-A: Stuff White People
Like
OTS Friend Carlos sent in this letter...
i forget who sent this
to me.....but i know he's white.......and a cyclist.......hey, just
like the site says!
http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/02/10/61-bicycles/
#1-B: A Foto from Why We
Ride (That We Weren't Able to Use)
Here's Dave Zunker Jr. on the fixed gear bike mentioned in the article.
This was posed outside Bun 'N Barrel. The curbside
service we found out is no longer active, which perhaps takes the wind
out of the sails from an art direction point of view, but it's a fine
foto nonetheless.
For more bike commentary, see below for Downtown Highlife and the Beer
Hall Putsch...
#2 Comfort Art
In came this letter announcing a new show for First Friday at 3 Walls.
Little was revealed yet comfort was suggested.
Interesting...
please join us...
Rhonda Kuhlman
Comfort Art
Three Walls
June 6-27, 2008
opening Friday, June 6,
6-9pm
Open by appointment,
210-219-1562
Three Walls is located
in studio 106D Blue Star, Building B, San Antonio, TX
If it was my show it would be an empty room with a lazy boy chair in
the middle. The AC would be cranked and someone's mother
would come in and feed the patron chicken soup with saltines while an
obscure Michael J Fox movie played on the tv in the background.
There would be a line out the door. Dramatic low
key lighting would be crucial to pull this off.
#3 Just A Little
Something to Take the Sting Off
(sin permiso)
(Oddly, this foto was taken a few blocks down from the Ambassador Hotel
in LA, see below for more...)
With heavy hearts following the Spurs loss (as well as our first round
draft pick saviour from Brazil, Tiago Splitter, most likely ditching us
to play for a team in Spain named after a ceramic tile company, Tau
Ceramica, and thereby reintroducing, symbolically, on the team, the
historic Great Divide between Argentina and Brazil first evidenced with
the Papal Bull of 1493) came
this goofy joke...
Kobe Bryant,
after living a full life, died. When he got to heaven, God was
showing him
around. They came to a modest little house with a faded Los
Angeles
Laker's flag in the window. 'This house is yours for eternity,
Kobe,' said
God. 'This is very special; not everyone gets a house up here.'
Kobe felt
special, indeed, and walked up to his house. On his way up the
porch, he
noticed another house just around the corner. It was a 3-story
mansion with a
brilliant Black, Silver & White sidewalk, a 50 ft. tall
flagpole
flying an enormous San Antonio Spurs flag, and in every window a
Spurs logo.
Kobe looked at
God and said 'God, I'm not trying to be ungrateful, but I
have a
question: I won 3 NBA Championships, more awards than I can remember
and am one of
the greatest players of all time.'
God said 'So
what do you want to know, Kobe?'
'Well, why
does Tim Duncan get a better house than me?'
God chuckled
and said 'Kobe, that's not Tim's house, ..it's MINE.'
Low Rent Franchises of
the 80s
With a break between semesters and a full plate studying for the
registry, I've found myself up at night watching a bit too much of AMC,
the American Movie Channel. The programming seemed diverse at
first. For every John Ford chuck wagon movie, there was a 3
Days of the Condor or other intriguing gem from the 70s. Now
the programming has become dominated with what I would call the Low
Rent Franchises of the 80s.
The 80s concretized the heroic vigilante theme from the 70s, first
developed in 1971 with Dirty Harry. The trend continued to
the 80s, evolved, and reached a point of no return with Arnold's
Commando and Stallone's Tango & Cash.
But within all that was the Low Rent Franchise. Here, Chuck
Norris and Charles Bronson became the low budget versions with Missing
in Action and Death Wish being the respective vehicles.
Grounded in a tradition of exploitation and drive-in cinema,
these series of films tried to follow in the success of other action
institutions, yet by taking the low road with horrible cinematography,
leaden leads, and poor audio recording. The idea of using the celebrity
of a minor actor to propel a franchise seems so foreign in today's film
world where franchises begin at $100 million. Perhaps it was all about
the forgotten genius of Golan-Globus?
This all became clear (sort of) yesterday morning when the Chuck Norris
film Ocatagon came on AMC. I was dozing in and out.
From what I could tell there was a kung fu/ninja white
slavery ring, a lot of annoying whispering suggesting something darkly
magical, a lame love interest that was probably killed off at the end
of the second act if I was awake to verify it. I later watched this trailer which confirmed some of my thoughts.
I thought these films were just on AMC for a few days but they've trenched
in now and don't seem to be going away. Cleaning up the
streets and bringing the prisoners back home are the themes.
Is this some sort of message being delivered by the
programmer?
The angry white ninja? The new silent majority?
(sin permiso)
Is that a young John McCain?
Beerhall Putsch (For Real)
On the last Friday the Downtown Highlife bicycle gang resurfaced and
roamed around the downtown San Antonio streets. The first
destination was San Pedro Springs Park. There was a
possibility of going to Patty's Ice House instead but time was of the
essence, and given that, a diversion to see that weird mossy stone
structure at the park was omitted as well. A compromise stop
at the Valero happened and then it was toward the hills.
The route took us over to Mahncke Park with a climb up Funston and a
quick stop at the VFW Hall by the Wooden Nickel Museum.
And why all the rush? Word leaked that this was going to be
Gordon's last night at Beethoven's. When I came back to town
in 2006 Beethoven's was an open bar with a nice mixture of old timers
and young people. Evidently, those days may be over.
Gordon was the guy often behind the bar. He booked many local
bands to play there...
...such as this moment from Fiesta...and seemed to make the place
succesful and friendly to all. Now, Beethoven's future is a
bit in question. Will it still be open to the community?
A letter came in which suggesting it wouldn't be. In the days
leading up to Friday, I watched the last two Spurs games there, and a
rumor went out that a secret meeting was going down at half-time to
address Gordon's future running Beethoven. Yes, it was the
classic beerhall putsch.
This First Friday might be the last time Beethoven's is as it was even
though it might be volunteers only running the place.
On a local bike message board I found this post which contextualizes
the moment...
Gordon put in well over
80 hours each week at that place, week in and week out, the only
vacation he got was the week they closed at Christmas. He
single-handedly built that place up from an occasional weekend crowd
non-factor to the major weekly Southtown draw that it is. Revenues are
unmatched and some Mannerchor members worry if the gravy train has now
left (granted, a Mannerchor member recently passed away and left some
money to the organization, it is absolutely foolish to rely on that).
The Strangers
(sin permiso)
I just recently found out this movie The Strangers opened.
The writer/director Bryan Bertino perhaps could have the most
storybook entry into Hollywood life that I can remember. He
was working as a grip/gaffer on low budget films in LA. This
was his third script and sold for a few hundred thousand and then later
he was asked to direct the film without having ever directed a film
before. It's an amazing story.
All the more unusual for me because I remember going to film school
with him. I remember he helped out on one of my projects when
we all went out to West Texas for a long weekend. We stayed
at a youth hostel in Fort Stockton. Very odd memories.
I think he was captured in the background of a scene washing
a car.
I still have his number, though I'm not sure if it's changed.
Perhaps I'll give him a call for an interview. He might even answer.
3AM - The Call Was Never
Answered
(sin permiso)
It seems the obvious finally became obvious and Hillary is out
of the race. Obama gave an acceptance speech.
McCain shot back with awkward puppetry.
In a way
it's as if the 2000 election is reversed with the GOP offering up a
stiff line reader and the Democrats now providing an engaging candidate
one can "hang out with."
Still, here it is a few days later and Hillary still hasn't officially
gotten out of the race. When will this end? Is this
the kind of decision making she promised with the phone call at 3am?
Would she even be able to pick up the phone?
Ambassador Hotel (RFK)
Lost in the discussion of the RFK death is the actual building itself,
the Ambassador Hotel, and it's demise. As of 2003 the
Ambassador was boarded up, and looked to have been for a long, long
time. In 2006 it was demolished to make way for a
new school.
The hotel became a home to feral cats and the occasional Hollywood film
(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071517/locations), with Barton Fink being
perhaps the most signature. Someone in LA told me that the
kitchen where RFK was shot was going to somehow be moved and preserved
to another location, but I've yet to find any follow-up to that rumor.
For what it's worth...
(sin permiso)
Upcoming Next Week: Fotos of First Friday and maybe if the stars are
aligned, the McNay Opening Weekend. For all the buildings
being razed, it's good to see something new (of quality! finally!) go
up.
And so goes another week on the streets of San Antonio. As always, to be continued...
Nuke Texas, Please
Yesterday, San Antonio's City-owned CPS Energy, local automotive mongrel Red McCombs, and Illinois polluter Excelon Energy established "Nuclear Energy for Texans," a private-public partnership built to lobby taxpayers, voters, and lawmakers for a nuclear-powered future.
The collection of business interests (and former Guv Lite Bill Ratliffe) along with San Antonio's recently spanked utility, fresh from a requested rate hike denial and green energy lectures from our very own city council, are pledging to fight hard to nuke this state.
It's as if the utility has gone to TxDOT finishing school. One has to wonder just what percent of each utility bill goes to CPS' advertising and lobbying budget.
Here's what they say about themselves:
Committed to raising awareness of nuclear energy in Texas, NET's steering committee is composed of elected officials at the state and local level, representatives from business and industry, health organizations and the scientific and engineering community. Their involvement ensures a high level of leadership and support in NET's efforts to educate Texans about the benefits of nuclear energy.
Although their backgrounds vary, one common denominator of NET's steering committee is the knowledge and belief that nuclear energy needs to be part of our state's energy mix.
Initial funding for NET comes from Exelon Nuclear, the largest nuclear operator in the United States, with other NET members contributing financial support as well.
Meanwhile, up in Washington, the debate has begun on a climate bill opposed by the Bush Administration for its negative economic impact on Old Industry (coal), while a raft of planetary-systems advocates push for the creation of a new greenhouse-gas-free economy.
However, the bill, an example of the deafening power of underreporting still promises billions (over 500 of 'em) in nuclear earmarks and incentives.
Writes watchdog Karl Grossman:
With Wall Street unwilling to finance new nuclear plants, U.S. Senators Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and John Warner of Virginia have cooked up a scheme to provide $544 billion – yes, with a "b" in subsidies for new nuclear power plant development…
A Lieberman aide describes the plan as "the most historic incentive for nuclear in the history of the United States."
The Lieberman-Warner scheme is cloaked in a climate change bill the claim being that nuclear power plants don't emit greenhouse gases and thus don't contribute to global warming. However, the overall "nuclear cycle" – which includes mining, milling, fuel enrichment and fabrication, and reprocessing has significant greenhouse gas emissions that do contribute to global warming.
Moreover, nuclear power is enormously dangerous. Accidents like the Chernobyl explosion of 1986 stand to kill and leave many people with cancer. Nuclear plants routinely emit life-threatening radioactivity. Safeguarding nuclear waste for millions of years is an insoluble problem.
Nevertheless, there have long been powerful forces in government and the nuclear industry promoting atomic energy.
Wall Street is uneasy rightfully regarding nuclear power as terribly risky. Six of the nation's largest investment banks including CitiGroup, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley last year told the U.S. Department of Energy that the risks "make lenders unwilling…to extend long-term credit."
Enter Senators Lieberman and Warner.
Safe energy advocates are outraged by their scheme. Brent Blackwelder, president of Friends of the Earth, says: "It's time to focus on real global warming solutions like solar, wind and energy efficiency, not to further fatten the moribund nuclear calf."
Oblivious on the subsidy angle, the SustainableBusiness.com crowd reports:
Climate change debate began yesterday in the U.S. Senate and in Bonn, Germany, where a new round of negotiations began among 162 nations seeking to create a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol.
On Capitol Hill, Senators voted 74-14 to bring debate on the Lieberman-Warner climate change bill to the Senate floor. The bill calls for cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. by roughly 66% below current levels by 2050.
The bill is not likely to pass the Senate this year. Opponents say the bill would severely damage the U.S. economy, while proponents say it will create new markets and jobs and only slightly decrease the U.S. Gross Domestic Product. Reuters reported that as many as 20 Senators are uncommitted on the bill.
President Bush criticized the bill before the Senate vote, saying it would cost the U.S. economy $6 trillion dollars. He vowed to veto it, should it pass through Congress in its current form.
In a statement that is laughable in context of U.S. war debt accrued under the current administration, Bush said, "I urge the Congress to be very careful about running up enormous costs for future generations of Americans."
Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, responded to the president's statement.
"Just when we finally have a chance to get off of Big Oil and foreign oil, you can count on the Bush Administration to fight us every step of the way," Boxer said.
A climate change bill is not likely to pass until a new administration enters the White House.
So the honor of forging a sane energy plan in a world wrought by climate change will fall to the next administration, most likely. Here's a newsflash for them: uranium is not a renewable resource.
A lot of attention has been fixed on how carbon credit notions and cap-and-trades will work. But before this goliath moves forward, we need a better working definition of sustainable energy. And the American people deserve a clear picture of this subsidy issue.
In the growing chorus for "energy independence," we would be wise to remember the U.S. only has a fraction of the estimated 3 million tons of uranium on this planet.
Back to Grossman:
Among the subsidies nuclear power already gets is $20 billion approved by Congress and President Bush only last year. And there's a law Congress passed, called the Price-Anderson Act, that limits liability to $10 billion for a catastrophic accident although, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, this is a small fraction of what a nuclear plant disaster could cause in property damage, not to mention birth defects, cancers and deaths.
While you are brewing over all this inanity, surely you can find time to send a note of thanks to the steering committee members of the Nuke Texas campaign:
| The Honorable Clyde Alexander Member, State Parks Advisory Committee |
| Grant Billingsley Wagner & Brown, Ltd. Midland, Texas |
| William Blanchard CEO, DeTar Hospital Victoria, Texas |
| Consumer Energy Alliance |
| CPS Energy San Antonio |
| Donald Day Past-president Associated Builders and Contractors of Texas |
| Exelon Generation |
| Dale Fowler President, Victoria Economic Development Corporation |
| Hector Gutierrez El Paso Electric, Co. |
| The Honorable Glenn Hegar, Jr. Texas State Senator |
| Becky Armendariz Klein President, RA Klein & Co. |
| Sheldon Landsberger, Ph.D. Coordinator, Nuclear and Radiation Engineering Program The University of Texas at Austin |
| Luminant |
| Red McCombs CEO, McCombs Enterprises |
| The Honorable Geanie Morrison Texas State Representative |
| Lee Peddicord, Ph.D., P.E. Professor of Nuclear Engineering Texas A&M University |
| Wilbur (Skip) Porter, Ph.D. Founding President HoustonAdvanced Research Center |
| John W. Poston, Sr., Ph.D. Past-President, Health Physics Society |
|
|
| The Honorable Donald Pozzi Victoria County Judge |
| The Honorable Bill Ratliff Former Lt. Governor of Texas |
| Maria Teran Board Member, Public Service Board of El Paso |
| Texas State Association of Electrical Workers (IBEW) |
| The Honorable Bruce Todd Former Mayor of Austin |
| The Honorable Jim Wyatt President African AmericanChamber of Commerce of Victoria |
Remembering Rudy
Rudy was a character. As in a character from Roman mythology.
Janus, to be precise.
"One day, two female bartenders from Good Time Charlie's came in for lunch and sat at the bar," wrote artist and former Liberty bartender Nate Cassie, one of a few folks I asked for anecdotes and fond Rudy memories. "Sam was working and they asked if he knew Rudy. Sam said he did and the two women just went on about how nice Rudy was -- he used to stop in there on his way home occasionally. Sam asked if they were sure they had the right Rudy and they said that he had told them he worked at Liberty Bar and described Rudy physically. Sam said that he must be a different Rudy at their bar because for the first two months he worked with Rudy he was sure that Rudy thought his name was 'motherfucker.'"
With one face for his beloved customers, another for his fellow Liberty staffers and patrons who irritated him (usually for reasons they couldn't name if asked), he was either adored or loathed and feared in return. There were customers who refused to sit in his section, and customers who refused to be waited on by anyone else.
"As a bartender, I answered the phone a lot," recalls Cassie. "People would call and ask if Rudy still worked there. And I would say yes. They would say, 'The one with the creased jeans?'
Yes.
'The one who often wears a jacket while working when it's cool out?'
Yes.
'The one who's worked there forever?'
Yes.
I had one woman go all the way to: 'You know, the one with that tropical look?'
I said, 'Yes, Ma'am, he's black and yes, he still works here.'"
Unlike some of his genteel clientele, Rudy didn't shy away from discussing race, usually with his signature dismissive wit. During one of our too-frequent stops at the bar, Rudy took note of my husband's last name, which he shares with a major thoroughfare in Houston. "Are you related to the Houston Westheimers?" he asked, his eyes enormous in those thick glasses of his. Yes, said my husband. Sure enough, Rudy knew his aunt and uncle because many years back he was married to my husband's second cousin -- a relationship that he recalled with a mix of sugar and bitters because not everyone thought the redhead-afro combo was beautiful.
"No one person taught me more about jazz music or what it was like to grow up in San Antonio in the '40s and '50s as a black man," says Cassie. Rudy's take on racial PC, he adds, went like this: "I've known some colored folks in my day, black folks, too. Hell, I've even known a few niggers. But I have never met an African-American. Can you explain to me what that is? Rant goes on from here ... "
Another story: Rudy and other members of the Liberty crew were discussing the day's news when the topic of Strom Thurmond having a daughter with a black woman came up. Owner Dwight Hobart asked him, "Well, Rudy, what do you think about all that?" Rudy didn't miss a beat. "Well, boss, you don't think I got off the boat looking like this, do you?"
On that jazz note, Rudy was a musician -- a good one, say those who heard him play. "In remembering him and searching for representative moments from our relationship, I find myself going back to conversations about music, especially jazz," wrote John Navarro, a San Antonio native, artist, and former Liberty bartender. "Rudy was a trombone and piano player for many years before working for the railroad and then moving into restaurant work. Rudy would usually have a comment about the music playing at the bar if it was jazz-related, particularly bebop. He had the highest regard for Duke Ellington and Miles Davis. I enjoyed his insights and stories from his rich and varied life and will miss him dearly."
He'll be missed dearly, too, by those of us who had less frequent and personal contact with him, but for whom he represented the best of Liberty Bar: the feeling that we'd arrived home for the reunion all those heartwarming quirky movies encourage us to fantasize about. If Rudy liked you, he was thoughtful to your family, too: your spouse, your folks, your kids.
"To me, Rudy was the Liberty Bar," wrote San Antonio native and writer Mimi Swartz. "I always feel special affection for anyone who is nice to my dad, and Rudy always was. He knew when Dad wanted crackers, and when he wanted bread, and when he wanted just a splash more of red wine, and it was there before he could ask. I know these sound like small, silly things, but everything Rudy did he did with grace and affection, and so you felt special in his presence. He watched my son Sam grow up, and always greeted us like long lost friends, which, I think, we were."
I felt like I'd stumbled upon a long-lost friend when I ran into Rudy at Central Market a few weeks ago. He was one of the more recent departures in an accelerating Liberty staff attrition (one of whom was biological family), rapidly turning the place where everybody knows your name into the place where nobody knows what the pasta luego is (Edith and Stephen excepted, of course). He looked the same as ever, if a little more tired, and he assured me that retirement was his idea and that it was wonderful, before talking up his burgers-and-beer enterprise. Now, of course, I wish I'd lingered longer, provoked him into one more Rudy pronouncement, like this one, also from Cassie, a perfect epitaph for a man who asked for no concessions and offered very few:
"He was teasing [bartender] Michael Campbell about being a vegetarian: 'When they put me up on that slab after I die, they're gonna know what killed me.' Of course, this was said between drags on a Benson Hedges 100 and sips of scotch, neat."
Pretty Pictures!
I know what you're thinking: "What is that video playing in the nether
regions of the Screens
page?" (Oh, you don't go there? That's cool. Whatever. I'm not deeply hurt.) Well,
this week it's a super-swell trailer from SA's Machina Cinema. Film's
called Jacob,
and I just received word it'll be playing the San Antonio Film Festival
(former title: San Antonio Underground Film Festival) on June 22.
Congrats to producers Perla Rivera and Joe F. Gallegos and director
Buddy Calvo.
So, yeah, we're doing this nifty thing now. We'd love to spotlight the
talent of some nifty film artists! Drop me a line if you're working on
something you'd like to share.
It was a landmark to us ...
And there goes another downtown landmark. Of course, none of us young whippersnappers knew there was a landmark under that '60s-era tin facade until the Historic Preservation & Design office made the current owners (American Payroll Association, we think) tear down the big panels so that the city could appreciate what lies beneath: a beautiful 1929 facade of molded plaster medallions and big windows. The building, at 131 San Pedro, was built for the Jorrie Furniture Company.
According to Ann Benson McGlone, soon to leave her post as Preservation Officer to oversee community development in Alamo Heights, when the owners came to the City with a demo request, her office asserted that the building, designed by Aztec Theatre and Landa Library architects Kelwood Company, might have historic potential. They responded by hiring a lobbyist, who went straight to former Planning head Emil Moncivais. Moncivais, says McGlone, signed off on the building's demise on his way out the door, skirting HDRC review and any chance for public input.
We're hopeless optimists. The facade was still standing when we stopped by, and we have a call in to the owners to see if perchance they're planning a Texas theatre/Watermark (without the latter's collapse) shell preservation. Look for more in Wednesday's Queque.
Good Reads, Good Times
With the rise of technological advances (sorry, Amazon Kindle we're just not into you), the old-fashioned book circles are something of a dying breed, right? Well … last week San Antonio had its first National Book Critics Circle — Good Reads event held at Gemini Ink. Participants included: Sandra Cisneros, Steven G. Kellman (Current contributing writer), Rod Davis, Norma Alarcon, and Gregg Barrios (another Current contributing writer). Each panelist spoke about their current favorite tomes (which included a few NBCC winners and NBCC Good Reads list selections) and also discussed their lives as figures in the literary world.
Alacron was the voice of reason for the independent bookstores and publishers. Founder of the now defunct Third Woman Press, Alarcon expressed her concern of the closing of independent bookstores — this was a reoccurring topic throughout the event. Cisneros, who Alarcon said she's been friends with for more than 20 years, eloquently spoke of her love of fine literature, comparing it to gourmet food: Once she ditched the drive-thru and picked up some filet mignon she never went back. In other words, once she read a work of fine literature she abandoned Chick Lit (not Chicano/a Literature, folks) and has since devoted herself to books that "nourish" her. She read a passage from Brother I'm Dying and noted "it was such food … such nourishment" for her to read.
Kellman, a professor of comparative literature at UTSA, used his academic expertise to educate the crowd about the trends in American culture made evident by looking at the best-seller lists. He cited that more and more readers are turning to non-literary titles these days; although we've become inundated with new works people still flock to the romance novels and scandalous tell-alls. He also mentioned a recent Publisher's Weekly article about how in 2007 more than 400,000 new books (new and revised editions) were put out by both traditional and on-demand titles.
As for book selections, Davis devoted a few of his picks to New Orleans-set novels, even his guilty pleasure read The Tin Roof Blowdown: A Dave Robicheaux Novel (Dave Robicheaux Mysteries). While Barrios, who acted as moderator of the event, opted for two vastly different selections that dealt with nostalgia.
The event brought out a hefty crowd to the small quarters of Gemini Ink: The group was comprised of a nice mix of young and old avid readers, all enthusiastic about the panel discussion, and willing to spend some extra time afterward to talk to the panelists. Barrios hopes that more Book Critics Circle events will follow in the months ahead. We second that notion.
Recommended reading:
Rod Davis's picks:
Yellow Jack: A Novel
The Clearing: A
Novel
Rising
Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How it Changed America
The Tin Roof Blowdown: A Dave
Robicheaux Novel (Dave Robicheaux Mysteries)
Sandra Cisneros's picks:
Brother
I'm Dying
The
Flowers: A Novel
Steven Kellman's picks:
The Selected Essays of Gore Vidal
1940
Apples and Oranges: My Brother and Me, Lost and Found
Gregg Barrios's picks:
The Bad Girl: A Novel
The Lazarus Project
Norma Alarcon's picks:
Dreams
from my Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
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