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Waymo has paused its San Antonio taxi service. Is more regulation needed for driverless vehicles?
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The Opener News in Brief
Bad Takes
Texas must make massive investments in clean water, but there’s hope yet in protecting our environmental inheritance
Poll: Texas Latinos show strong lean toward Democrats ahead of 2026 midterms
School Daze
Study says 3 San Antonio universities face uncertain future as lower enrollment, other conditions roil higher ed
Our picks of things to do powerful
A border wall has reappeared on the map of Texas’ beloved Big Bend National Park after federal officials
said plans for a physical barrier were scrapped
San Antonio writer-director Keanu Cordero explores liminality in short film
Astral Evaluations
Naco Mexican Grayson keeps up high standards set by owners’ other concepts
Cooking Up
Conversation
Brewer-turned-restaurant GM
Marcus Baskerville talks about how San Antonio shaped his career
Flavor Forward
San Antonio Flavor returns for a landmark 11th year: Here’s what to expect
‘Blues is Heart’ Raw-edged Chicago bluesman Lil’
On the Cover: Driverless taxi company Waymo temporarily stopped San Antonio operations after one of its cars was swept away in floodwaters. A number of recent glitches on Texas streets raise questions about whether driverless vehicles need more regulation and oversight. Cover design: Ana Paula Gutierrez.
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A 2023 Texas law enabling state police to arrest people suspected of entering the country illegally can go into effect after a federal appeals court last week lifted a lower court ruling blocking the controversial legislation. The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it lifted the temporary injunction without weighing in on the underlying legal questions because the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue. Civil rights groups sued to stop Senate Bill 4, arguing it gives the state powers reserved for the federal government and would increase racial profiling.
San Antonio Spurs star forward Victor Wembanyama last week became the youngest player in NBA history to win the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award. The 22-year-old Frenchman, who was chosen unanimously as the recipient of the award, was also a frontrunner for the prize last season before a blood clot forced him out of action. The Spurs are currently locked in a first-round playoff battle with the Portland Trail Blazers
It’s not all good news for Wembanyama, though. The Spurs star entered concussion protocol after slamming his head on the Frost Bank Center floor during his team’s 106-103 loss to the Trail Blazers last week. The NBA’s concussion protocol requires that a player have at least 48 hours of inactivity and pass neurological tests before being cleared to play. Wembanyama traveled with the team to Portland for games three and four, but his status remains unclear at press time.
San Antonio’s Gunter Hotel is preparing to highlight its place in blues history by hosting a birthday celebration for the legendary singer-guitarist Robert Johnson in early May. Johnson, who was born in Mississippi, recorded some of his most famous songs at the hotel in 1936. To mark what would have been his 115th birthday on May 8, the hotel has planned a weekend’s worth of festivities including a panel on Johnson’s legacy and a variety of musical performances. — Abe Asher
Assclown Alert is a column of opinion, analysis and snark.
When President Donald Trump asked Texas leaders to redraw the map to help Republicans maintain their slim House majority ahead of the midterms, Gov. Greg Abbott didn’t just drink the gerrymandering Kool-Aid. He quaffed the whole damn pitcher. And in doing so, he helped set off a national redistricting bar fight that’s left the GOP with a big, fat bloody lip.
This week, Virginia voters approved a redrawing of that state’s electoral map in favor of Democrats, becoming the second state to do so in response to Abbott and other Trump lackeys. The Virginia victory yielded nine more blue seats, at least matching what Republicans have been able to achieve in states they control.
Of course, the smoke hasn’t cleared yet, and Republicans in Florida are eager to get into the redistricting game. But polls and election outcomes indicate the GOP is still poised to lose the House in November despite all its gerrymandering shenanigans.
Adding to the embarrassment, Latino voters continue to sour on Trump, leaving it an open question whether Texas’ redistricting will yield much of anything in the midterms. Republicans hoped to carve out five more safe seats in the state, but given that three of those are dominated by Latino voters, it now seems an unlikely outcome.
As all the chaos plays out, it’s important to remember that Abbott and Texas Republicans happily played along with Trump’s plan, kicking off the nationwide escalation. What they didn’t account for was that Democrats have finally stopped bringing a butter knife to a gunfight.
The full consequences of Trump’s redistricting arms race aren’t yet clear. The push didn’t just tilt the playing field — it detonated the norms that had been restraining Democrats from going full scorched-earth themselves.
Instead of cementing control, the MAGA-blindered GOP may have accidentally handed Dems the blueprint — and the political permission — to out-gerrymander them. These kind of mid-decade scrambles to redraw political maps could well become a fixture for both parties.
In other words, Abbott and company didn’t just fail, they made things worse.
Because once you normalize bare-knuckle map manipulation, you don’t get to cry foul when the other side leaves you spitting out pieces of your broken teeth. Virginia’s new map, which heavily favors Democrats, is exactly the kind of thing Republicans used to defend when it benefited them. Suddenly, it’s an outrage.
Funny how that shit works.
Here’s something assclown Abbott probably didn’t consider as he fell all over himself to do Trump’s bidding: if you rig the game hard enough, eventually everybody starts cheating — and you might not even be the best at it.
— Sanford Nowlin
YOU SAID IT!
“It’s the same cruelty, but there’s more secrecy now.”
— U.S.Rep.JoaquinCastro,D-SanAntonio, afterhismostrecentvisittoSouthTexas’Dilley ImmigrationProcessingCenter,whichtheTrump administrationusestolockupmigrantfamilies.
A new poll shows Texas’ Latino voters trending back to the Democratic Party ahead of the November midterms. The survey, conducted by Latino-led voter engagement group Somos Votantes, shows Democratic gubernatorial nominee Gina Hinojosa leading Gov. Greg Abbott by 19 points among Latino voters, while Democratic senate nominee James Talarico holds a 24 point lead over U.S. Sen. John Cornyn. Just 41% of voters surveyed said they have a favorable view of President Donald Trump
Five people were hospitalized last week after a pair of explosions in a North San Antonio neighborhood. Police responded to reports of a house exploding in the area at 6 p.m. last Tuesday. Two hours later, while responders were still on the
scene, a second explosion sent debris flying and damaged multiple nearby homes. Authorities subsequently shut off utilities in the neighborhood. Of the five people who were transported to University Hospital, three were in critical condition.
The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week ruled that Texas can enforce a law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments in their classrooms. All 17 judges on the court heard the case, splitting 9-8 in favor of the state with the majority ruling the law doesn’t officially establish a religion. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton cheered the decision, saying it’s important that students learn from the Ten Commandments “every single day.” — Abe Asher
Saturday, May 2, 2026
9am - 3pm
UT San Antonio
H-E-B Student Union Ballroom One UTSA Circle San Antonio, TX
Calling all curious minds! Viva Science SA is coming to San Antonio with interactive science booths, amazing science talks, a science-themed art show and delicious food trucks. Meet real scientists, learn about STEM and discover what makes science so exciting. It's free, family-friendly and fun for all ages.
Curious about science? Visit VivaScienceSA.com
BY KEVIN SANCHEZ
BadTakesisacolumnofopinionand analysis.
“Pay attention, the barrel-bottom of the Robbery is that our lords take all creation as their own dominion. The fish in the waters, the birds in the air, that which grows on the ground, all must be theirs. But to the poor, they say: ‘God has commanded, Thou Shalt Not Steal!’ They fill the wellsprings with wrath, so that the commoners become their enemy... how can that end well in the long run?”
— Thomas Müntzer, peasant revolutionary, 1524
“What this movement is saying is that the right to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live in a community that is not contaminated should be a right all of us enjoy.”
— Robert Bullard, father of environmental justice, 1991
Isn’t it funny how, when it comes to one’s own backyard, everybody’s an environmentalist?
Those who propose building water-guzzling data centers or toxic waste-dumping factories or groundwater-contaminating oil wells seldom seem to live near the proposed sites. Perhaps this also explains why landfills are so often placed on the “other side of the tracks.” Or how that Monsanto apologist refused to sip a glass of the glyphosate-based pesticide Roundup despite saying, “You can drink a whole quart of it and it won’t hurt you.” Sure, it won’t hurt us, but he set a higher standard of safety for himself.
Closer to home, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has recommended a ginormous “superhighway” of 765-kilovolt transmission lines to handle the state’s growing
electrical demand. But even the notoriously pro-industry Texas Public Policy Foundation called for slamming the brakes on the overhasty revamp.
“Landowners are already putting up stiff opposition over the routing of the western lines,” the right-wing group wrote in a letter to the Public Utility Commission of Texas filed last September. “The eastern lines will run through much more populated areas that will invite even more such conflicts.” The organization therefore recommended that “the Commission pause ERCOT’s process and open a docket on those projects to allow for broader public input.”
Privatization zealots advocating for “broader public input?” Signs and wonders.
Together with the massive rollout of new AI-catering data centers, ratepayers will be expected to fork over approximately $33 billion in coming years. Artificial intelligence “will probably most likely lead to the end of the world,”
Sam Altman, the CEO behind ChatGPT, once said, “but in the meantime, there will be great companies created.”
Reminds me of the post-apocalyptic Tom Toro cartoon depicting a man in a tattered suit and tie sitting around a campfire with three dumbfounded children.
“Yes, the planet got destroyed,” the caption reads. “But for a beautiful moment in time we created a lot of value for shareholders.”
A sizable data center can consume millions of gallons of water daily to cool down its fire-prone servers. Before Winter Storm Uri in 2021, there were less than a dozen such facilities in the state. Now there are more than 100 with nearly 1,000 in the works.
And while Gov. Greg Abbott’s 2025
State of the State speech promised a “generational investment in water,” evidently the 20-year, $20 billion commitment voters approved for the Texas Water Fund back in November is woefully deficient.
“If strategies are not implemented over the next 50 years, approximately one out of four Texans in 2080 would have less than half the municipal water supplies they will require during a drought of record,” the Texas Water Development Board revealed this month. The board added that “a severe drought could cause an estimated $91 billion in economic damages in 2030 ... projected to increase to $177 billion per year by 2080.”
So, about $174, the Houston Chronicle reported last week.
“This figure validates concerns that $1 billion a year is not going to be sufficient to meet the infrastructure needs to ensure our water supply,”
Perry Fowler, director of the Texas Water Infrastructure Network, told the Chronicle. And “the total does not include costs associated with repairing aging infrastructure.”
In addition to predictable shortages, the state’s also not taking care of the water we have. Texas regulators are legally obligated to protect potable groundwater for both environmental and public health reasons.
“Polluting groundwater today limits supplies for tomorrow,” journalist Martha Pskowski leveled with readers
MA U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee in Texas examines an abandoned oil well.
of Inside Climate News earlier this year.
Midland is still cleaning up contamination an oil company left decades ago, for example. In 2010, after the Texas Railroad Commission asked for a full investigation of the discovered plume of pollution, the company took less than a week to file for bankruptcy reorganization.
“Chapter 11 is a bailout for oil and gas companies,” an energy finance analyst told Pskowski of the filing. And that’s only one of “more than 500 active cases of groundwater contamination attributed to oil and gas activities,” the article noted.
The Railroad Commission’s list of wells slated for plugging currently identifies more than 11,000 as orphaned — or, as West Texas-serving District Attorney Sarah Stogner prefers, ”zombie wells.”
Across the US, the fossil fuel industry produces more than a trillion gallons of wastewater annually.
“That’s enough to form a line of waste barrels to the moon and back 28 times,” science author Justin Nobewrote for DeSmog, before going on to say that there are “roughly 11 injection wells for every Starbucks.”
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That’s reason for concern, because the effluent waste “can contain toxic levels of salt, carcinogenic substances, and heavy metals, and often far more than enough of the radioactive element radium to be defined by the EPA as radioactive waste,” Nobel added.
Lax enforcement of disposal wells nationwide represents a “financial giveaway” to the oil and gas industry, as Amy Mall, director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, told Nobel, even though experts have “known for generations” about the
BY MIA PEREZ
Apoll released this week by Latino-led voter engagement organization Somos Votantes shows Latino voters in Texas trending sharply towards Democrats ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Gina Hinojosa leads Republican Gov. Greg Abbott by 19 points among Latino voters, while Democrat James Talarico is ahead of incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn by 24 points with that demographic, according to polling conducted for Somos Votantes by predominantly Democratic public affairs firm Global Strategy Group. Economic concerns dominate for the Texas Latino electorate. A total of 75% said they are concerned about inflation, 81% voiced concern about rising gas prices and 76% worry about what the Iran war is costing taxpayers. What’s more, only 41% of those surveyed said they have a favorable view
method’s environmental damage.
It’s not all gloom and doom, however. The cross-partisan opposition to AI data centers in particular has written an inspiring new chapter in the history of environmental advocacy. And accounts suggest it’s happened before.
A must-read piece this month by scholar Scott Stern recounted the populist efforts of 1970s anti-pollution fighter Rex Braun — a Texan no less.
“Today Rex Braun is an obscure figure, but for a brief period, from his first legislative campaign in 1966 until his early death in 1975, he was
perhaps Texas’s leading environmental crusader,” Stern wrote. “Over three terms in the state house, representing the most polluted district in Texas, he fought to win a ‘right’ to a clean environment and then translate it into better conditions on the ground. To Braun and his constituents, as well as a largely forgotten cohort of environmental populist politicians, the battle against pollution was inseparable from the fight for industrial safety regulations, a minimum wage, and public health.”
In a January article in Scalawag, João
Victor chronicled the key role churches can play in defending the right to clean water.
“Long before national headlines called it an ‘environmental justice crisis’, we were living it,” Victor wrote, citing persistent lead levels detected in his home state of Mississippi.
“Drinking water that tasted like old coins was normal in my childhood.”
If everyone’s an environmentalist in their own backyard, it’s high time we took the God of Abraham’s advice and recognized, this Earth Month, that it’s all our own backyard.
of President Donald Trump. Meanwhile, just 37% said they’re happy with Trump’s economic policies.
Even so, Somos Votantes President Melissa Morales cautioned that the favorable numbers shouldn’t breed complacency.
“Republicans and Trump are facing a strong backlash due to economic anxiety fueled by tariffs and the cost of the war in Iran,” she said. “But Democrats don’t have a guaranteed victory either. With Latino voters making up an increasingly decisive share of the Texas electorate, both parties face pressure
to offer concrete answers on the kitchen-table issues such as costs, economic stability and government accountability, that are driving these poll results.”
Indeed, the picture is more complicated down the ballot, where several House races remain genuinely competitive.
In Texas’ 15th District, Democrat Bobby Pulido leads Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Monica de La Cruz by just two points. The 28th District is even tighter, with Democrat U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar holding a single-point
edge over Republican Tano Tijerina, 40% to 39%. In the latter race, 21% of voters remain undecided.
Republicans currently hold an advantage in the state’s redrawn 35th District, where Carlos De La Cruz is ahead, 54% to 39%.
“Latino voters are clear about what they want from their leaders: relief on costs, protection of core programs and accountability,” Vice President of Global Strategy Group Rosa Mendoza said in a statement. “Who addresses these concerns first will have an advantage come November.”
3.) to receive the $300 incentive, the checking account must remain open at least 90 days from account opening, a minimum of 10 point-of-sale debit card transactions (ATM excluded) with a minimum purchase of $10 per transaction, two recurring direct deposits of a minimum of $500 each, digital banking and online statements enrollment must occur. Incentive to be deposited into your checking account within 90 days of account opening during promotion period of January 1, 2026, through June 30, 2026, is contingent upon meeting offer requirements and account must be in good standing. Incentives are considered interest and will be reported on IRS Form 1099-INT. The Annual Percentage Yield (APY), for the Credit Human savings accounts effective as of December 12, 2025, is 0.55% for balances $100 and greater. Dividend rates are variable. All Mastercard consumer debit cardholders in the US are eligible for Mastercard ID Theft Protection coverage and there is no charge for these services. You must enroll in order to receive Mastercard ID Theft Protection. Refer to the Mastercard Guide to Benefits at https:// www.credithuman.com/privacy for more details. Federally insured by NCUA.
3 San Antonio universities face uncertain future as lower enrollment, other conditions roil higher ed
BY MICHAEL KARLIS
Three San Antonio universities face elevated risk of being forced to merge or shut down as a perfect storm of economic problems gathers over the world of higher education, according to a new study.
Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU), the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) and Texas A&M-San Antonio (TAMUSA) are highly susceptible to financial and enrollment shocks, Colorado State University Kyle L. Saunders found in a new working paper. The schools also perform poorly in placing graduates in the evolving labor market, he found.
Neither UIW nor TAMUSA responded to the Current’s request for comment. However, an OLLU official dismissed the study, saying it was built with outdated numbers.
Saunders’ analysis examines which schools are best and least prepared to weather threats due to the rise of AI, dwindling enrollment and other market conditions.
Although the study doesn’t mean the institutions he identifies as being least prepared are at imminent risk of closure, it does suggest that these three schools may face a hard time against the economic headwinds.
“High Stress is a structural diagnostic, not a closure prediction,” Saunders told the Current. “What it really captures is compound pressure, places where several structural conditions are cutting in the same direction at the same time.”
The threat of university closures amid the current turmoil is real.
Earlier this month, Hampshire College, a liberal arts college in Amherst,
Massachusetts, revealed it would close its doors after the fall 2026 semester. The school placed special emphasis on self-experimental and alternative educational methods.
Last week, another small New England liberal arts college, Anna Maria College, announced it would close at the end of the spring 2026 semester after 80 years of operation.
Indeed, more than 89 colleges and universities have either closed or merged with other institutions since March 2020, according to higher-ed website Best Colleges research. With growing financial pressures and rising inflation dovetailing with lower enrollment, Saunders expects the trend to accelerate in coming years.
“ The high school graduating class peaks in 2025 and is projected to decline roughly 13% by 2041, with the steepest losses in the Northeast and Midwest; tuition discount rates at private nonprofits exceed 50%; pandemic-era federal relief is spent; and tuition growth has been at or below inflation since 2018,” Saunders said. “None of that improves on any horizon I can see.”
To document this trend, Saunders published his working paper — or, in Academic Speak, a not-yet-peer-reviewed scholarly article — examining schools’ institutional resilience along with how well graduates fare in the rapidly changing job market.
To determine colleges’ resilience, the professor looked at whether they have the endowments, revenue diversification, enrollment trends and admissions selectivity to absorb the financial and enrollment shocks facing higher ed.
To determine campuses’ prospects for graduate job placement, he analyzed the on-time degree completion rates, earnings-to-debt ratios for grads, exposure to Artificial Intelligence and demographic trajectories.
Using this data, OLLU, UIW, and TAMUSA all fell into the “High Stress” category, suggesting they’re among those facing the greatest risk of closure or merger in coming years.
Specifically, OLLU and UIW scored below the 50th percentile for revenue diversity, enrollment trends, completion rate, earning to debt ratio for graduates, and AI exposure.
TAMUSA, which opened in 2009, scored poorly on endowment per stu-
dent, selectivity, completion rate and AI exposure. However, it racked up better scores than OLLU and UIW on revenue diversity, enrollment trends and graduate earnings-to-debt ratio.
“What pulls TAMUSA into High Stress is a very low six-year completion rate, in part because it’s a relatively young institution still building its outcomes profile,” Saunders said. “Those are different problems with different solutions.”
Although those three Alamo City campuses face economic stress, the study found others here, including the University of Texas at San Antonio, St. Mary’s University and Trinity University are thriving.
All three of those schools landed in the “High Capacity” category, meaning they are better equipped to address the challenges facing colleges and universities.
U.S. higher education is exhibiting a sharp “tier-level stratification,” according to Saunders’ research.
Colleges and universities classified as R1 Doctoral Universities, or those with a very high research activity, are far more likely to land in the “High Capacity” category, while those that primarily focus on undergraduate education and masters degrees rather than PhDs face greater uncertainty.
Traditionally, research institutions tend to attract larger endowments than schools focused on undergrad education.
However, OLLU Provost Alan J. Silva took issue with Saunders’ research, describing it as dated and inaccurate.
“His study no longer reflects the
reality of OLLU,” Silva told the Current. “His research draws upon data sources from 2024 and does not represent the significant changes OLLU has made in the past two years.”
Some of those changes include discontinuing 19 low-enrollment programs last year, a move some students told Texas Public Radio at the time left them with no viable options to complete their degree. OLLU this month also launched a “no-cost” 5-year master’s program for eligible students.
Saunder’s acknowledged that his data is from 2024, adding that it doesn’t accurately reflect President Trump’s research funding cuts for colleges and universities.
“That’s a real limitation ,” Saunders said. “But it’s the best data we have.”
Some former students of the three San Antonio campuses Saunders’ paper identifies as “High Risk” said they’re not worried about the longterm prospects of their alma maters.
“As far as my career goes, no one has hired me because I went to UIW,” said John Puga, a member of UIW’s Class of 2012. “They’ve hired me because I worked in the UIW library for 8 years. That work experience has been the most valuable to me.”
Kelly Hernandez-Villarreal, a 2015 OLLU grad, said she wouldn’t be shocked if her alma mater closed its doors. Still, it would be a difficult blow given benefits she received.
“I’m not too surprised if OLLU were to close down, but it would definitely be devastating,” she said. “Their psychology department helped me decide to be a school psychologist, which is my career now. It made a huge impact on my career.”
Waymo has paused its San Antonio taxi service. Is more regulation needed for driverless vehicles?
BY SANFORD NOWLIN
During mid-April’s downpours, self-driving taxi company Waymo temporarily suspended services in San Antonio after floodwaters swept away one of its vehicles.
Days earlier, local TV stations aired footage of another Waymo gliding the wrong way through a pickup lane in front of an Alamo Heights elementary school.
And up the road in Austin, a driverless car stopped in the middle of a roadway last month, briefly blocking an ambulance responding to a mass shooting.
All three incidents occurred mere weeks after Silicon Valley-based Waymo’s February launch in the Alamo City.
Welcome to the driverless future, Texas.
For a company that sells the future as frictionless, Waymo’s present keeps colliding — sometimes literally — with the messy unpredictability of real-world streets.
“If Waymo or any other company is going to operate autonomous vehicles on public roads, they should be able to demonstrate that those vehicles can follow the law,” said Cooper Lohr, senior policy analyst for transportation safety at Consumer Reports. “We need to have some kind of accountability in place if companies are going to roll out this technology.”
To Lohr’s point, the National Transportation Safety Board early this year revealed it opened an investigation into Waymo cars passing and failing to yield to school buses after a series of incidents in Austin. And in February, one of the firm’s vehicles struck a child
near her elementary school in Santa Monica, California.
None of the incidents have resulted in death or catastrophic physical trauma. The schoolgirl, who reportedly darted from behind another car, only suffered minor injuries.
Even so, the incidents have shaken public confidence in a technology that transportation experts maintain will bring us safer roads. They also raise questions about whether Texas and the rest of the nation are providing adequate oversight to the nascent technology.
Waymo officials declined to be interviewed for this article, but issued a statement saying the service pause in San Antonio will help the company evaluate the flooding incident and tune up its local operations. They said they hope to resume service soon.
“Our hearts go out to everyone in San Antonio dealing with the aftermath of these floods,” company spokesman Chris Bonelli said. “Like many of our neighbors, we were affected by this severe weather when one of our unoccupied vehicles was caught in the rising waters. In coordination with local emergency teams, we have recovered it safely and are incredibly
grateful for the hard work of the city’s first responders during this time.”
Despite the growing list of eyebrow-raising incidents, cities like San Antonio are largely powerless to respond.
The Republican-controlled Texas Legislature passed a 2017 law banning cities from regulating autonomous vehicles. At the time, proponents of the measure said they wanted to make it easier for the industry to grow in Texas — a common refrain from lawmakers in a state that regularly trumpets its pro-business environment.
Last year, the Lege asked the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles to create new regulations for autonomous vehicles, but those changes don’t take effect until next month.
An official from the City of San Antonio declined comment for this article.
However, citing a city spokesman, the Texas Tribune last month reported that SA’s police and fire departments “received training and quick-reference guidance for safely managing autonomous vehicles, including steps to take
if a vehicle becomes unresponsive, how to contact the vendor for immediate support, and how to redirect vehicles away from active incident scenes.”
Critics of Texas’ hands-off regulatory approach argue that state lawmakers flagged the industry into the fast lane without making sure its systems are fully roadworthy.
“In states that don’t have strong regulations in place, it’s problematic when they’re tying the hands of municipalities,” Lohr of Consumer Reports said. “Who’s dealing with these vehicles the most? It’s the local police. The work really starts at the community level — these are the people on the front line as the technology is getting rolled out.
The majority of U.S. residents agree that electric vehicle operators should face penalties for glitches on public streets, according to a January poll by Consumer Reports.
When asked what consequences robotaxi operators should face for repeatedly violating traffic laws, 52% said the company shouldn’t be allowed to operate until they can prove
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the issue has been resolved. An additional 26% support rules restricting where the vehicles can operate, such as keeping them out of school zones. A mere 1% think the firms should face no consequence when their vehicles malfunction on public streets.
Studies and federal reporting suggest that, mile for mile, driverless systems like Waymo’s tend to have fewer serious crashes than human drivers. However, Waymo is not the only autonomous vehicle company with its sights on the massive Texas market.
At least five other self-driving car companies are now operating in Austin, according to media reports. Tesla’s robotaxis are now in operation, but not yet picking up everyday customers. Meanwhile, ADMT, Avride and Zoox are reportedly in the testing phase and Motional is mapping the city.
An analysis of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data by electric-vehicle news site Electrek found that, as of January, Tesla robotaxis have crash rates nine times
higher than the average human driver.
Beyond that, the report accused Tesla of being far less transparent about the data it shared about its crashes than other such companies — every single collision report to the feds was redacted with the same phrase: “[REDACTED, MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION].”
Tesla officials were unavailable for comment at press time.
Despite Texas’ lax oversight, around half of U.S. states currently have some kind of regulatory programs overseeing self-driving cars, according to experts. That patchwork approach to regulating the nascent technology has raised eyebrows in Washington.
For one, the NHTSA has ramped up investigations into autonomous driving systems and is pushing for more standardized reporting of crashes and malfunctions.
Meanwhile, in a rare flicker of bipartisanship, congressional lawmakers
have begun floating proposals that would set nationwide safety standards, improve data transparency and demand clearer lines of accountability for driverless car companies.
In February, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation asked execs at Waymo and Tesla to testify that someone is at the wheel. During the hearing, senators on both sides of the aisle appeared eager to see the industry take distracted drivers off the street while also improving its safety record.
“Fully autonomous vehicles offer the potential to reduce crashes on roads, but we have seen the risk of letting companies beta test on our roads with no guardrails,” ranking committee member U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, said during the hearing, according to a CBS News report.
Indeed, there’s already federal legislation aimed at increasing the transparency of the automated vehicle industry. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, this year introduced a measure that would require better data report-
ing from the industry, and he also cofiled a bill with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, that would require companies to share more safety data before they’re allowed to operate on city streets.
“Autonomous vehicle companies have long boasted they can eliminate road fatalities caused by human error,” Markey said in a statement. “Now it is time they are honest about their technology’s reliance on human help.”
If those efforts gain traction, they could provide a much-needed backstop for states like Texas, where political leaders seem more interested in courting tech investment than scrutinizing it. Federal rules wouldn’t just level the playing field — they’d ensure that cities aren’t left hosting an uncontrolled experiment with no emergency brake.
But as the Texas rollouts barrel ahead — and the possibility of more driverless-technology glitches on San Antonio streets — the question becomes just how quickly a deeply divided Congress is capable of acting.
DISCOVERY AQUIFER TOURS
Due to recent rains, the largest underground cavern in Texas is displaying spectacular geophysical phenomena: an up close and personal view of the Edwards Aquifer. Natural Bridge Caverns is currently offering special Discovery Aquifer Tours as long as this rare state persists. As these conditions rely on groundwater flow and no reliable means of predicting the duration of this event, it is highly suggested that visitors check with the facility daily before booking tours. The waters offer no danger for visitors, according to organizers. Check pricing online, times vary, Natural Bridge Caverns, 26495 Natural Bridge Caverns, (210) 651-6101, naturalbridgecaverns.com. — Anjali Gupta
EDUCATIONAL EXHIBITION
‘YOUHAVETHERIGHT:MEXICANAMERICANSANDDUEPROCESSOFTHELAW’
Miranda v. Arizona (1966), United States v. Brignoni-Ponce (1975) and Chavez v. Martinez (2003): these three cases redefined due process of law as it applies to the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments. The common factor? They all involved Mexican Americans and Latino plaintiffs and still uphold our rights today. The three cases presented in MACRI’s traveling informational exhibit “You Have the Right: Mexican Americans and Due Process of the Law” reinforce the fact that the scope of constitutional amendments is constantly re-evaluated, which results in the constant expansion and contraction of our civil rights. Free,10a.m.-noonand1-4p.m.dailyand byappointment,MexicanAmericanCivilRightsInstitute,2123BuenaVistaSt.,(210)810-4093,somosmacri.org.— AG
THU | 04.29 - THU | 05.21
VISUAL ART
San Antonio’s Angela N. Weddle is a multidisciplinary visual artist on the autism spectrum and hindered by cerebral palsy, and her work presents a fascinating peek into the mind of a genuinely nonlinear thinker. Weddle’s singular blend of photography and mark-making, often intense to the point of confounding the viewer with sensory overload, offer a glimpse at a psychological landscape rarely put on public display. These images conflate the sensory and physical world into a wholly individual vocabulary. Free,7-10p.m.,Thursday,April30andFriday,May1andbyappointment,UnGritoGallery,UpstairsStudiosatBlueStarArtsComplex,1420S.AlamoSt.,(210)992-0585,instagram.com/ungritogallery.— AG
FRI | 05.01 – SAT | 05.02
The dark comedy Chicago, which debuted in 1975, is one of those musicals that seems like it’s been around forever yet never loses its sense of sparkle. After all, the ongoing 1996 revival of the classic is the longest-running show currently on Broadway. It doesn’t hurt that an Academy Award-winning film adaptation from 2002 introduced the infectious songs and memorably devious characters to a whole new generation. Nor does it hurt that its shining satire of corruption seems to resonate as much today as it ever did. For the uninitiated, the play follows the shady exploits of a pair of murderous antiheroes, vaudeville star Velma Kelly and chorus girl Roxie Hart, as they compete for fame and a chance at acquittal in the Windy City of the vibrant 1920s. $52.65-$312, 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Majestic Theatre, 224 E. Houston St., (210) 226-3333, majesticempire.com. — Sanford Nowlin
| 05.02
Librarians — you know, those shrinking violet types — have emerged as first responders in a fight for free speech in Texas and beyond as evidenced in filmmaker Kim Snyder’s documentary The Librarians, which premieres in San Antonio at this event. The film follows a demand by now-former Texas State Rep. Matt Krause to remove 850 books from public access that “might make students feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress because of their race or sex.” Krause, by the way, is a former employee of the registered hate group the Liberty Counsel, a Christian ministry that engages in strategic litigation to promote evangelical values and limit LGBTQ+ protections, and he’s never quite met an adversary like Texas librarians. The irony is strong, as is the message. Trinity University Humanities Professor Norma Cantú will moderate a panel discussion after the screening. To attend, registration is required at bit.ly/TheLibrariansEspe. Free, 5:45 p.m., Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, 922 San Pedro Ave., (210) 228-0201, esperanzacenter.org. — AG
Beer, a crawfish boil and sandlot baseball. What’s not to like? Lone Star Beer and Rambling Sparkling Water are hosting an event they bill as the “Bullpen Boil” at the Ranch Motel, a refurbished residential-style boutique enterprise overlooking Brackenridge Park that features pickleball courts and a Mezcal bar. Eastside Boilers of Buda will be the pop-up vendors de jour, serving massive amounts of the season’s favorite messy meal, and DJ Big Tex will provide the soundtrack. San Antonio Sandlot Baseball is the brainchild of craft-beer bar workers Aaron Coronado and Micah Simms, who decided to have a casual game and inadvertently started a league. Sound a little too hip? Yeah. Does it also sound like fun? Well, yeah. Payasyougo,noon-4p.m.,RanchMotel, 3101Broadway,(210)429-8518ranchmotel.com.— AG
A border wall has reappeared on the map of Texas’ beloved Big Bend National Park after federal officials said plans for a physical barrier were scrapped
BY STEPHANIE KOITHAN
Markings for a physical border wall have reappeared on U.S. Customs and Border Patrol’s updated map of its planned projects in Big Bend National Park.
The changes appeared Tuesday on the CBP’s map without an announcement from the federal agency. Four portions of planned border wall, indicated in green, appear in the national park, directly contradicting prior assurances from a CBP official that a steel border wall wasn’t planned for the public lands.
In March, the Big Bend Sentinel reported that a physical wall was no longer planned for the park after a closed-door meeting between U.S. Border Patrol Big Bend Sector Patrol Chief Agent Lloyd Easterling, Presidio County Commissioner Deirdre Hisler and other local officials.
The line representing plans for a physical wall on the map also changed color overnight, indicating that it had changed to a surveillance zone, likely involving cameras but offering no specifics. Locals were wary of the news, and many said they didn’t trust it. Instead, they continued to stage protests on river canoes in the limestone gorge of Santa Elena Canyon, assuming the physical border wall was going ahead as planned.
It seems their suspicion was warranted.
CBP’s map has changed yet again. This time, four sections of physical border wall appear in the park. Additionally, the “smart wall” has been changed to “Technology & Patrol Road,” perhaps indicating that Border Patrol plans to build roads in the unspoiled natural landscape.
Locals warn that some of the hundreds of miles of new “Technology & Patrol Roads” shown on the map threaten the popular Langford Hot Springs, the Rio Grande Village campground, Mariscal Canyon and the scenery and ecology of the Rio Grande. Additionally, the new map blocks access to the most popular boat entry point for Santa Elena river trips.
“If anything close to what’s on this map is built, it will go down as the biggest butchery inflicted on an American national park in the last century,” environmental activist Laikan Jordahl said on Instagram.
Monday’s update is the latest in a series of drastic changes made to the map without communication from federal immigration officials, adding to stress for locals whose way of life and cherished natural environment hang in the balance.
“National park advocates and members of impacted West Texas communities have received little to no notice about these changes, and there has been zero transparency on what impacts this new border wall plan will have on Big Bend National Park,” said Cary Dupuy, Texas Regional Director of the National Parks Conservation Association.
“CBP should have the decency to come meet face-to-face with our communities,” Jordahl continued in his online post. “To sit in the same room with the landowners whose entire livelihoods they’re about to destroy. To explain why on earth it’s worth building these obscenely expensive and destructive walls in a place where virtually nobody crosses the border.”
Additionally, the latest map update also includes what appear to be errors, such as showing portions of the wall in Mexico.
West Texans continue to seek clarity on specifics of the project, such as the technology planned for the “surveillance wall” portions.
“CBP has still not specified what that technology would include,” environmen-
tal watchdog Our Public Lands wrote on Substack. “Watchtowers? Stadium lighting? Cameras? Other kinds of surveillance? None of that has been explained, specified, or excluded by the Trump administration.”
The environmental blog’s Substack post also raised questions about CBP’s planned “patrol roads,” and whether those and the heavy machinery needed for the physical wall would entail constructing new roads through the park.
Without communication from the feds, locals have little more to go on than speculation. Vigilantly, they continue to monitor the lines on the map to see if they have suddenly changed color, or if they have moved.
“The administration is rushing to build a border wall in Big Bend and the impacts could be devastating for the park’s priceless landscapes, unique wildlife, and recreation access for generations of park visitors to come,” said Dupuy. “It’s time for the administration to stop moving the goalposts and begin an open, transparent dialogue with communities about their plans for border security infrastructure in Big Bend.”
Despite a lack of transparency from the White House, what’s clear is that area residents don’t plan to ease up on their public pressure campaign, no matter what immigration officials say — or what color the line on the map is on any given day.
“We won’t stop fighting for the Big Bend until legal protections are restored and these catastrophic plans are scrapped for good,” Jordahl said.
Find more arts coverage every day at sacurrent.com
BY KIKO MARTINEZ
It was around 2019 when San Antonio filmmaker Keanu Cordero first learned about the modern concept of liminality — a state of transition or “in-betweenness” that can sometimes feel strangely unsettling.
Cordero saw examples of it on social media platforms, where users posted photos of “suspended” physical spaces — empty parking garages, isolated gas stations and office buildings after hours.
“I started seeing a bunch of weird shit trending on TikTok,” Cordero, 27, told the Current during a recent interview. “I was oddly fascinated by the way these photos were making me feel. I had to get to the bottom of it, and then just went down this rabbit hole.”
Cordero’s exploration led him to write and direct the short film, Liminal. The film follows a grieving physicist who achieves time travel only to discover that when he goes back in time, no one is there.
Liminal will screen Saturday, May 2, at Slab Cinema Arthouse. The event will include a photo exhibit of liminal spaces by visual artists Tristan Bennett, C0WBOYKILL3R and JACKODIGITAL.
During our interview, Cordero, who’s originally from Los Angeles, talked about his initial interest in filmmaking, his fascination with liminal photographs and how Liminal is different from Kane Parsons’ The Backrooms, the viral YouTube horror web series featuring liminal spaces.
If I’m doing the math correctly, you were born the same year The Matrix hit theaters. Were you named after Keanu Reeves? (Laughs.) No, that’s funny. Yeah, you’re right, I was born in April 1999, and the movie came out around that time. But no, my parents had taken a trip to Hawaii, and they heard the name over there. They thought it was a cool name.
When did you first become interested in filmmaking?
My dad went to school for filmmaking, so my interest in it came from him. When I was a kid, he showed me the concept of stop-motion animation. I had all my action figures and Legos, so I went wild with my Sony Handycam. That evolved into live-action stuff and making movies with my family.
When did you know you wanted to pursue it
When I enrolled in my video production class [at Reagan High School]. I remember my teacher reinvigorated that creativity in me. I had all the tools and the permission to create without being judged. I wanted to take my skills to the next level. I opted not to go to college. So, I just started going around town asking, “Hey, who wants a music video for $50?” That’s how it started.
How did you feel connected to liminal photos when you first saw them?
There was so much nostalgia in them. You might be looking at a photo of an empty school or a house that looks like your childhood home or a long, empty corridor. But you didn’t take any of the photos. It might’ve look like my school, grandma’s house, grocery store or library, but none of the photos were mine. That’s when I started taking photos myself. I kept thinking about how I could make a movie like this. Then, I saw The Backrooms on YouTube and was like, “Somebody did it!”
How did you want Liminalto be different? I felt like my idea could still work because I wanted to adapt traditional spaces that aren’t altered by some logic of reality. I wanted to focus on a more classic idea of liminal spaces. The Backrooms is a very different interpretation. It’s more of an alternate dimension. It’s supposed to mirror our world. They had more freedom to create these horror-esque elements.
Now, The Backrooms has been adapted into a feature film that is hitting theaters next month.
Yeah, The Backrooms really shot liminal space horror into the mainstream. Now, people want more of it. I think people are willing to accept different adaptations. It feels like there is a synergy between filmmakers who are tackling similar concepts. All we need is a platform to do it.
Does Liminalfall under the horror genre or is it more of a sci-fi film because of the
time-travel premise?
Some people might get horror vibes because of the eeriness. But it starts off as sci-fi because it’s about a guy who uses time travel to prevent something tragic from happening.
I think it’s an interesting exploration of grief and human nature. This is an aspect of time travel that hasn’t been explored.
What do you hope people take away after seeing your film?
I would like people to cherish the time they have. Especially when it’s out of our control, there’s nothing we can do to change it. Time travel doesn’t exist.
And if it did? Would you go back in time to change anything?
The human side of me wants to say yes, but the realistic, rational side of my brain says you can’t. But it’s a very interesting existential question.
$7.77, Saturday, May 2, doors open 6 p.m., film premieres 8:30 p.m., Slab Cinema Arthouse, 134 Blue Star, (210) 212-9373, advance tickets available at bit.ly/4sS4zwC.
BY RON BECHTOL
Husband and wife team Francisco Estrada and Lizzeth Martinez have kept their Naco Mexican concept in the local news for a considerable time in foodie years.
After garnering notice in 2018 with a streetside food truck, the pair launched a brick-andmortar location in bucolic Los Patios. While that northern location has since closed, the accolades continue at more modest digs in a shipping container on Grayson Street near the Pearl, dubbed Naco Mexican Grayson.
All the while, the duo has been active promoting not only themselves, but the city’s food scene as a whole. They are, as just one example, chef ambassadors to our UNESCO City of Gastronomy program. If the Current gave out stars, they would have a passel of them for civic engagement alone.
Allowing you to make your own astral evaluations, we don’t assign stars for food or anything else. However, others have done so in appraising Naco Mexican Grayson’s cuisine, billed as blending Mexico City with the northern borderlands. With all this in mind, we decided to turn the telescope on them ourselves.
Breakfast at Naco Mexican Grayson ranges from the fanciful, including a couple of French toast options, to the familiar in the form of breakfast tacos.
The tricolor concha toast variation is especially cute and Instagrammable. Blueberries and sliced strawberries add further pops of color to the already vibrant conchas, and drizzles of cream reinforce the aura of richness.
Without the menu description, French toast might not come immediately to mind — the version with brioche is likely closer to the expected norm — though the cut sides of the conchas are toasty, and maybe even dipped in an egg mixture. Hard to tell, but the result is fun regardless, and a welcome addition to the morning routine.
The conchas call out for coffee — which you can find a few steps away at Drippy’s tiny truck.
A double espresso wouldn’t hurt with the breakfast tacos, either. Naco Mexican offers multiple standard options, although spinach, avocado and egg steps a little outside the norm.
An even further step is represented by the Pokopus in corn with grilled octopus and chicharron prensado. That combination could either be a stunt pony or a bold new reinterpretation.
Alas, I may never know, since it wasn’t available. Hence, a pivot to the prosaic: potato and chorizo in a flour tortilla, a favorite fully within the canon. House-made chorizo is mentioned on the menu. Regardless of its origins, the sausage is vibrantly flavored, the cubed potatoes perfect. This is a taco that always calls out for a jolt of salsa, and any of the three available here deliver a high-voltage one indeed. Proceed with caution.
Naco Mexican Grayson is basically a two-woman operation, and the two saved me from further disappointment. I had heart and mouth set on another taco that skewed special: huitlacoche, the famous Mexican corn fungus, with carne asada in a blue corn tortilla. It had been 86’d, they told me, due to absence of asada — but then they determined it could be made with carne al pastor. Sold!
Huitlacoche, especially the canned variety, can come across a little murky-musky, but these were impressive, full kernels: plump, purple and just fungal enough. Combined in a lusty guisado with the pastor, I can’t imagine the carne asada version being any better. I do have a minor quibble in the texture of the al pastor; it’s more ground than sliced, but the taste was sensational regardless.
The same beef carried over into another day’s order of Los Chilangos: chilaquiles with eggs and Angus steak asada. (Some argue that chilaquiles don’t have eggs, that term being reserved for migas, but that’s a quarrel for another time.) Again, the coarsely ground beef didn’t really say steak — or Angus, for that matter. And again, the whole package transcended most misgivings. Crunchy tostadas, a whisper of salsa verde, crumbles of queso and lashings of crema … what’s not to like?
And finally, one of Naco’s signature dishes: brisket “simmered in our special Mexican spice blend for 9 hours.” The result isn’t notably spice-forward, but it is a triumph of something simple made exceptional with a little extra care and quality control.
The taco automatically comes with a container of especially noteworthy roasted red salsa, and the pairing of the two yields a particularly moist result. The corn tortilla I had asked for in a moment of false purity was effectively destroyed by all that juiciness. The solution? Go for flour. It has inherently more wet resistance. Just like your favorite brand of paper towel.
Ad astra, after all.
310W.GraysonSt.,(844)536-8127,www.nacomexican.com.
Hours: 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday
Price range: $5-$14
The lowdown: In its various incarnations, Naco Mexican has garnered favorable critical notice over the years — for both food and community engagement. Now operating out of a food truck at Nacogdoches and 410 and a shipping container on Grayson St., the latter continues to please with favorites such as breakfast’s concha “French” toast and an exemplary slow-cooked brisket taco. Tortas and exuberant chilaquiles are also part of the menu, which varies somewhat between locations. Be warned, though: some of the more adventurous items might not always be available. Limited indoor seating is available at this counter-service operation, but abundant tables fill an outdoor patio rimmed with other food options.
BY KAT STINSON
Marcus Baskerville has been a longtime pillar of San Antonio’s craft-beer scene, having co-founded James Beard Award-nominated brewery Weathered Souls, which closed in 2024 after an eight-year run.
During his time with the brewery, Baskerville gained international attention for the Black is Beautiful initiative he launched in 2020. The program helped craft brewers around the world raise money for social justice programs in the wake of George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police.
In the wake of Weathered Souls’ shutdown — a departure that came amid a string Texas craft-brewery closures — Baskerville moved to Dallas for work. He’s since returned as the general manager of Esencia and Anacacho, the new dining concepts at the St. Anthony Hotel helmed by San Antonio chef Leo Dávila.
What brought you back to San Antonio?
I’m so excited to be back. This is the city that built my career and my family — and I’m excited to give back to the food and beverage scene. I’m ready to get back to work. I had seen that Chef Leo was hiring a GM for Esencia and immediately applied. When I was toying with the idea of my own place, he was the first person I reached out to as a possible chef for my idea. He’s an amazing chef. Being able to learn from him and collaborate with him now is an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.
You had plans to open up your own bar and restaurant here. Do you aim to return to that plan in the future?
When I got out of beer originally, I wanted to open up my own bar and restaurant because of my love for hospitality, the
customer service side of things.
I would love to revisit my idea again eventually — right now, I’m eager to grow my food and beverage career. At the moment, I don’t want to open up a concept that would cost me a few million dollars, you know? I’m trying to take my time and not rush into things.
How was your first day at the new job at the St. Anthony?
It was good. Training, shadowing the floor. Being me, I already have notes for the staff! The goal isn’t to change how things are — I just want to help people to reach their potential.
People associate you with beer. Is there a new way you’d like to be known moving forward?
I’m proud of the fact that I co-founded and operated a brewery [that] ended up being recognized by the James Beard Foundation! But now I would love to be more known as a well-established restaurant professional. Beer doesn’t define me. It was definitely a stepping stone I was grateful for, but now I’m working towards what I know I’m destined for: making sure customers leave with a smile on their face and a good memory.
What advice do you have for young professionals that fear a career pivot?
Try it! Branch out. Establish yourself. Look at me two years ago — I left Weathered Souls and applied to so many new positions. I was told I didn’t have enough experience in fine dining and other areas, so I faced rejection constantly. Over the course of the last year, I’ve chosen strategic positions in order to learn how all aspects of a restaurant operate. Accepting my role at Anacacho and Esencia was a great way for me to further my restaurant education and progress in my career. I’m grateful for everything I’ve learned in the various positions I’ve taken in the past two years — it’s helped me become more well-rounded in hospitality.
I think people just need to go ahead and dive headfirst in new things, because they’ll never realize what they’re fully capable of until they take a risk.
What restaurants do you want to try now that you’re back in San Antonio?
I gotta check out Esencia and Anacacho as a guest! The other one is the Desert Spoon. I also want to check out Mexico Ceaty. I love what Chef [Jason] Dady created with that concept.
What are your go-to drinks before and after work?
Before work is going to be a nitro cold brew. Pulp is my favorite coffee roaster in San Antonio, so I was thrilled when I realized that was the coffee they used at Anacacho. My go-to after work is a glass of Zinfandel or Merlot.
What’s the last book you read? Setting the Table by Danny Meyer.
San Antonio Flavor returns for a landmark 11th year: Here’s what to expect
BY KAT STINSON
Foodies, prepare your appetites — San Antonio Flavor is nearly here The annual event organized by the San Antonio Current celebrates the best of what the city’s food and drink scene has to offer. Tickets are still available in the advanced VIP and advanced general admission tiers, each offering guests full scope of all the participating vendors onsite for the night’s festivities.
This year’s San Antonio Flavor will take place Thursday, May 7, at the San Antonio Museum of Art. The event is produced in partnership with the San Antonio Food Bank, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting hunger in South Texas, one warm meal at a time, and it raises money for the organization’s mission.
Participating restaurants include Chef Jason Dady’s new ambitious project Mexico Ceaty, Paloma Blanca Mexican Cuisine, Ladino, The Culinary Institute of America, Elsewhere Garden, Lick Honest Ice Creams, Postino, Whiskey Cake Kitchen & Bar, Mina & Dimi’s Greek House, Henbit, Paesano’s Lincoln Heights and more.
Regardless of ticket tiers, all Flavor guests will enjoy unlimited samplings of the participating food and drink vendors while supplies last — and yes, samples can and do run out.
Participating San Antonio vendors for this year’s San Antonio Flavor include 828 Boutique, Trinket Amor, Linked Visions, Kalianas Boutique, Happy Mama Designs and more.
San Antonio Flavor will once again host its fan-favorite culinary showdown, in which a group of local chefs are paired with local celebrities. Tasked with the challenge to cook a specific type of dish, each team has a limited time to prepare their plate to present before a panel of local judges.
Last year for the 10th anniversary celebration, Alamo City chef-restaurateur
James Moore and Justin Calderon of KENS 5’s Great Day SA took home the Flavor showdown victory and bragging rights. Interested in VIP tickets? The top
ticket tier includes early admission to the venue at 6 p.m., an hour before general admission starts, plus a swag bag, a signature cocktail served during VIP hour from
6 p.m. to 7 p.m. and designated parking. $79.93-$133.70, 6-10 p.m. Thursday, May 7, San Antonio Museum of Art, 200 W. Jones Ave., sacurrentflavor.com.
When our students succeed, San Antonio rises. The Alamo Colleges District is removing barriers, opening doors, and creating opportunity across our region. From healthcare to cybersecurity, we’re preparing students for the jobs San Antonio needs now.
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BY SANFORD NOWLIN
Blues Hall of Famers Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials will slide into Sam’s Burger Joint on Saturday, May 2, on a tour promoting the band’s first new album in a decade, Slideways.
The band is led by Lil’ Ed Williams, who possesses a voice, guitar sound and feztopped stage presence that flies in the face of his diminutive nickname.
Much as the name of the group’s latest album suggests, Williams is known for searing slide guitar and a rough-and-ragged approach that’s drawn frequent comparisons to Hound Dog Taylor and J.B. Hutto, the latter of whom is his uncle.
Williams and his band have operated without a lineup change in 40 years. Indeed, it’s the same group that appeared his 1989 debut album, Chicken, Gravy and Biscuits, a critically acclaimed slab of raw Chicago blues cut live in the studio with no overdubs.
We caught up with Williams by phone at his Chicago home to talk about the artistry of slide guitar, his new album and how to keep a band together. The conversation is edited for length and clarity.
You’re known for your slide guitar work, and the slide has always struck me as having a similar sound to a human voice, because it’s fluid. You can glide from one note to the next. Is that why it appeals to you? Oh yeah. I would say that. Here’s the thing: you talk with the slide. You make notes, but you’re speaking — and you speak what you hear in your mind but it just don’t come out your mouth. You play that with the slide. So, say if you want to make a holler and you hit that slide, that slide makes the guitar holler so people know exactly what you’re talking about.
You and your band have spent four decades together. What’s the secret? Lots of other musicians would love to know. Well, the secret is treat them right, give them respect. Don’t act a fool with them onstage. … Pay them to the best of your ability. And they have no other choice. They have to stay there, see, because there’s nothing wrong. But you start aggravating band members, especially if you embarrass them on stage, that’s when it’s
time. They going to leave. They ain’t going to hang around. They going to go.
Some band members that’s in it for just the money, they ain’t going to hang around. But band members that’s got heart, you treat them right and be respectful towards them. Even though you think they messed up, you have to be respectful towards them, tell them the right way, not hollering onstage. Me and my band members now: we’re family. There’s no more band members here, because we all know each other and we’re family.
See, Uncle J.B. Hutto told me, he said, “Listen, when you get a band, you might not make it to be a millionaire, but you going to have fun and respect your band members, treat them to the best of your ability, and pay them to the best of your ability. I mean, don’t give them every dime you got, but pay them what you can.”
You took a long time between your prior album and this one, but it sounds like it could have come right after the previous release. There’s a real continuity to your sound — raw and live. You seem to know exactly how you want to sound and stick with it.
What I am, I’m a blues man. Nothing but the blues. That’s where I go. I mean, I try to keep it within that blues flavor because that’s what I am. Yeah, there’s a lot of them out there that try to change the blues into rock and using synthesizers and all that stuff. And you
can’t call that blues. Blues is heart, really, love. Madness, crying. That’s what blues is. Blues ain’t nothing about synthesizers and all kinds of weird sounds and all that stuff. What amazes me the characteristics that some people try to put within the sensation of the blues. And I say to myself, why is this person in a blues club and they’re playing pop music? But I guess it’s all because of the economy now and how things are going. So everybody wants to make sure they make that dollar. So they’re trying to incorporate everything they can, but they can’t call that the blues, not really.
Over the years, you’ve been known for your unusual headwear, your fezes. How many do you have in your collection at this point?
Oh, man. I’m getting in the stage of getting ready to move to a new place here and I’m finding hats everywhere. So, really, I don’t know. I think I might have 17 or 18 of them running around here right now, or even maybe more. I don’t know, because my wife makes them and she gets ideas, so she makes whatever she feels like she thinks that’s going to look really cool on me.
$20.25-$26.48, 8:30 p.m. Saturday, May 2, Sam’s Burger Joint, 330 E. Grayson St., 8:30pm, (210) 223-2830, samsburgerjoint.com.
Wednesday, April 29
Clutch, Corrosion of Conformity, JD Pinkus Stoner rock band Clutch’s funky instrumentation and frenetic vocals have cemented its place as a pioneer in the stoner rock genre. Hardcore punks turned chunky riff purveyors Corrosion of Conformity and solo act JD Pinkus fill out the bill. In case Pinkus’ name doesn’t ring a bell, he spent years as the bassist of SA’s legendary Butthole Surfers. $78 and up, 7:30 p.m., Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 812-4355, theaztectheatre.com. — Brianna Espinoza
The Heavy Heavy, Lou Hazel Hailing from the UK, self-styled soulful rock ’n’ rollers The Heavy Heavy bring a classic take on the genre. Co-founders Georgie Fuller and William Turner have opened for the Black Pumas and Band of Horses while drawing comparisons to Jefferson Airplane and The Mamas & the Papas. The group’s latest release is a 2025 live album drawing from its acclaimed 2023 debut Life and Life Only $30.93-$47.82, 8 p.m., Stable Hall, 307 Pearl Parkway, stablehall.com. — Danny Cervantes
Friday, May 1
Big Bill, Cormae, Mypilotis Big Bill and Cormae, two of Austin’s best art-
rock bands, are taking their Snacks Tour to SA. Big Bill specializes in a slightly sarcastic brand of driving-yet-angular rock a la Devo or Talking Heads. Meanwhile, Cormae plays driving garage-punk that will fit SA like a glove. Locals Mypilotis seem poised to bust out nationwide with their addictively catchy pop sound. $20, 8:00 p.m., 502 Bar, 502 Embassy Oaks, Unit 138, 502bar.com. — Bill Baird
Rhett Miller
Miller normally fronts Americana stalwarts The Old 97’s, a perennial favorite for fans of smart songwriting without too much polish. His solo career has explored interesting side avenues, including collaborations featuring uber-producer Jon Brion, indie-folkers The Decemberists and top bluegrass session players. He’s carved out an impressive career, not quite hitting the big time, but just enough to garner critical praise, high-profile collaborations and a devoted fanbase. $27, 8:30 p.m., Sam’s Burger Joint, 330 E. Grayson St., (210) 223-2830, samsburgerjoint.com. — BB
Saturday, May 2
Los Lobos
Los Lobos is rock royalty at this point, which is reason enough to drop the dough at the Stable Hall, but as a kicker they have deep connections to San Antonio, having recorded
including bits of the Ramones and the harmonized guitar acrobatics of Television thrown in for good measure. For those who seek unapologetically loud music with lots of attitude. $24, 8 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — BB
Eric Hutchinson
Singer-songwriter Eric Hutchinson has built a career on a brand of soft rock and piano pop that harkens back to the days of FM radio. His biggest commercial success came with his 2008 release Sounds Like This, which spawned hits such as “Rock N’ Roll” and “OK You’re Alright With Me.” Fantasy football fans might recognize Hutchinson’s voice from his theme song for the popular ESPN “Fantasy Focus” podcast. $38.17, 8 p.m., Sam’s Burger Joint, 330 E. Grayson St., (210) 223-2830, samsburgerjoint.com — DC
Thursday, May 7
with Joe Trevino at our own Blue Cat Studios. Plus, there is of course a spiritual connection between SA and the band’s East LA, both ground zero for the Chicano movement. Los Lobos continue to release album after album of adventurous, kick-ass rock, with no signs of slowing, which may be the most compelling reason to check out this show. $76, 7:30 p.m., Stable Hall, 307 Pearl Parkway, (210) 4277464, stablehall.com. — BB
Wille Nelson and Family, Roger Creager
The word “legend” is often overused, but few are more worthy of the term than Texas country pioneer and 420 advocate Willie Nelson. The smoke still won’t be clear from Nelson’s 93rd birthday by the time he hits the Whitewater stage, but the show is warmup for his forthcoming summer Outlaw Music Festival tour, which includes The Avett Brothers, Wilco and more. $78.31-$185.27, 8 pm, Whitewater Amphitheater, 11860 FM 306, New Braunfels, (830) 964-3800, whitewaterrocks.com. — DC
Wednesday, May 6
Frankie and the Witch Fingers, Gus Baldwin and the Sketch
LA’s Frankie and the Witch Fingers play full-throttle, blistering garage rock that starts at full speed and keeps gunning. Gus Baldwin and the Sketch mine a similar stylistic vein,
Emily Nenni, Croy and the Boys Emily Nenni makes some of the best no-bullshit country music out there. She can sing her ass off, she writes great tunes and her band is wonderfully tight. What’s not to love? Austin’s Croy and the Boys, meanwhile, make the kind of unpolished C&W that everyone can love: fun-loving, clever, soulful, rough hewn and joyous. $20, 9 p.m., Lonesome Rose, 2114 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 455-0233, thelonesomerosesa.com. — BB
Dark Star Orchestra
For almost 30 years, Dark Star Orchestra has toured around the world as one of the premiere Grateful Dead tribute bands. Tickets may be pricey for a tribute act, but diehard Deadheads give high praise to the live show and set list selections — some of which are based on actual Dead performances. Just make sure to puff-puff-pass when the doob comes your way. $47.25-$92.29, 7:30 p.m., Stable Hall, 307 Pearl Parkway, (210) 4277464, stablehall.com. — BE
Tuesday, May 12
Alien Ant Farm, Cold
San Antonians know Alien Ant Farm as that band with the rocked-out cover of Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” that got radio airplay 10 times a day during its heyday. But don’t hold that against the act, which has continued to tour and release albums full of squeaky clean rock sounds. Co-headliner Cold rounds out the bill for those who still listen to divorced-dad rock on the daily. $35.08, 8 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — BE
“Here’s a Quarter”--it’s anniversary time! by Matt Jones ©2026 Matt Jones
Across 1. *2018 documentary about a Supreme Court Justice [#887, June 2018] [As Jonesin’ celebrates 36-Across, we’re revisiting one clue from every year since 2001!]
4. John Lennon’s in-laws
8. ___ Boys (antagonists in “KPop Demon Hunters”)
12. Saline drop
13. *”___ & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming” [#1139, April 2023]
14. *Amanda who came back to the U.S. in 2011 [#542, October 2011]
15. Belgian WWI battle site
17. Lemonheads lead vocalist
19. Dragged along
21. *Moises who missed the ball destroyed 2/25/04 [#139, March 2004]
22. “Atlas Shrugged” author Rand
23. Had for breakfast
24. Got detached
26. *”The Grand Budapest Hotel” director Anderson [#678, June 2014]
27. Dye brand
28. South Carolina city (or puzzle writer Matt, the founding editor of Jonesin’)
33. *Actor Idris of 2017’s “The Dark Tower” [#844, August 2017]
35. 40-Down-shaped container
36. A quarter of a century
43. *2012 acronym akin to “Be adventurous” [#588, September 2012]
44. Tangle ... or disentangle
45. *Emperor who abdicated on 4/30/2019 [#944, July 2019]
49. Motion detector part
52. S.W. who founded the cookware brand called ___ware
54. *2008 kids’ movie “___’s Island” [#366, June 2008]
56. Neurological test letters
59. ___ and Howdy (polar bear mascots of the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics)
60. *Eugene of “A Mighty Wind” [#106, July 2003]
61. *National Historic Landmark designated 3/27/06 [#249, March 2006]
64. Blade holder on a car
65. *Some family speakers at a notable June 2016 funeral [#785, June 2016]
66. *Cookie that partnered with Coca-Cola [#1223, November 2024]
67. *2025 Best Picture Oscar winner [#1240, March 2025]
68. Pancetta purveyor
69. Relaxation
70. *Org. that requested the Pet Shop Boys change their name to the Rescue Shelter Boys [#423, July 2009]
Down
1. Public esteem
2. Canal boats
3. Davies who is the Taskmaster
4. *2021 U.K. award for “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” actor Toby Jones [#1030, February 2021]
5. Astral phenomena (with the fancy plural)
6. Bump’s place, idiomatically
7. “Why you little ...”
8. Precursor to rocksteady
9. Elsa’s “Frozen” sister
10. “Looking for a New Love” singer Watley
11. Nerve cell’s impulse transmitter
12. *Patriots defensive back who scored during the 2002 Super Bowl [#38, March 2002]
16. Clandestine
18. “The Simpsons” beer brand
20. *”The ___” (podcast hosted by Michael Barbaro and Sabrina Tavernise) [#1086, March 2022]
25. Initialism in manufacturing meaning “mean time before failure” (that’s a freebie)
29. Emotions, slangily
30. *Rap group with a 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nomination [#646, October 2013]
31. Suffix after mountain or auction
32. “___ truly” (brief closing)
34. *French electronic group with the 2007 album “Pocket Symphony” [#301, March 2007]
36. Children’s theater, for short
37. Fried rice vessel
38. Peyton Manning’s brother
39. Classic Japanese drama form
40. Flower holder
41. At any time
42. Miyazaki’s money
46. Journey’s “___ Should Break Your Heart”
47. *Brosnan / Rush movie “The ___ of Panama” [#2, May 2001]
48. Words after “truth”
50. Simple to prepare, as a meal
51. Muralist Diego
53. *Amanda who retired, then “unretired” from acting in 2010 [#481, August 2010]
55. “___ Breckinridge” (Gore Vidal novel)
56. Quaint expletive
57. *___ Stanley Gardner (author whose Perry Mason character inspired the 2020 HBO series) [#995, June 2020]
58. “Top Chef” judge Simmons
60. Queue
62. *Show whose season finale was directed by Quentin Tarantino
[#206, May 2005]
63. Decimal point
64. *”Trap Queen” rapper Fetty ___ [#746, September 2015]
Answers on page 25. Customer Engagement & Operations Manager sought by Palenque Management in San Antonio, TX w/ 2 yrs exp. in Restaurant Operations. Email resume to asolis@palenquegroup.com and reference job code GC24020.02 IT Analyst (San Antonio, TX) Analyze tech infrastructure & recommend enhancements to improve performance, cost-saving, scalability, & integration across the bus. MS in S/ware Dev, CS or rltd field. CV, Attn: S. Malhotra, Soniva Dental, 7400 Blanco Rd, Ste 205, San Antonio, TX 78216.
