"Boobie Rock, Landowner In Legal Fight"

Here's the latest on the Boobie Rock soap opera, from KSAT-12:

SAN ANTONIO -- The potential owners of a strip club forced to alter its proposed location because of deed restrictions are fighting with the landowners to recoup some of their losses.

An ownership group originally planned to open Boobie Rock near the intersection of Huebner Road along the access road of Interstate 10, but their plans were rebuffed when deed restrictions on the property prevented the operation of a gentlemen's club -- a fact the ownership group said was not relayed to them by the landowners as they drew up the agreement.

The owners of the strip club said they have spent more than $200,000 to get their business running and are countersuing the landowner, who filed suit seeking rent payments.

What this story fails to mention is that this whole thing was brought on by the priggish theatrics of Diane Cibrian, councilwoman for San Antonio's District 8. She deserves the credit and the blame for this legal fight.

If you are thinking of opening any new business in this town that is even remotely sexy, watch out for City Council. They'll take you down.

"Teens Crash Car Into House During High Speed Chase"

WOAI reports on another chapter in the vehicle-domicile conflicts:

Three teenagers are facing aggravated robbery charges, accused of carjacking a man on the North Side and leading officers on a chase that lasted nearly 40 minutes.

Officers said the teens stole a Toyota Prius from a man on the 100 block of Sage Bluff Circle, near Blanco and Loop 1604 around 1:00 a.m. Thursday.

Minutes later, police noticed the Prius speeding down Loop 1604, and they began chasing the suspects. At one point, the pursuit reached speeds of over 100 miles an hour.

...

Finally, the teen driving the Prius lost control and slammed into a house on Skila Street, in southwest Bexar County. Officers said the three teens took off running, but they were quickly caught and arrested.

The good piece of news is that no one was hurt in this skirmish.

"Man Converts SUV To Run On Electricity"

An old Jeep running like a golf cart?

KSAT-12 reports:

SAN ANTONIO -- Nick Viera had a $10,000 budget, a 1988 Jeep Cherokee and the Internet to set out on an ambitious project.

Viera, an electrical engineering student, wanted to convert his sport utility vehicle to an electrical vehicle.

He ripped out the gasoline engine, the transmission, the radiator and replaced them with electric motors, controllers, chargers switches and 20 golf cart lead batteries.

...

Viera said he feels a lot safer in his SUV now that it doesn't run on gasoline and likes the fact that his converted vehicle has no greasy parts and are built to last.

"Most of the components in an EV are designed for a very long service life," he said. "The motors, for example, can actually last a 100 years."

Oh yeah? Prove it.

"Las Mariposas Seeks To Reopen"

Good luck to them.

From KSAT-12:

SAN ANTONIO -- The owner of a controversial west side restaurant claims city officials are making excuses in not allowing his restaurant to reopen following their forced closure three weeks ago.

Las Mariposas, on the corner of Guadalupe and Trinity streets, has been closed after city officials revoked its certificate of occupancy because outdoor signage violated city codes.

The owner said city officials told him his restaurant is still not ready to open even after he made the initial repairs.

...

City officials said the eatery doesn't have enough parking, which is why they've revoked the owner's request twice already. [emphases added]

C'mon, how many hole-in-the-wall eateries actually have enough parking? Go to any popular neighborhood joint and you'll find cars parked throughout the neighborhood. This smacks of municipal bullying.

Although I do find it odd that in this story the owner of the restaurant is named as Fernando de Leon while in a previous story the owner was a woman named Marion Luna.

Strange, all around.

UPDATED, August 15, 2008: I made a mistake. Apparently Ferndando de Leon works for the city. The actual owner of the building seems to be a Benjamin Leal, and Miriam Luna leased the place and opened the restaurant.

"City Group Considering Plastic Shopping Bag Ban"

Ban plastic bags?

KSAT reports:

The city has formed an environmental policy citizens' committee to look into the possiblity of banning plastic bags, said District 7 Councilman Justin Rodriguez.

"You go by any creek or Woodlawn Lake (and) you see them in there," he said. "They fly all over the place."

Many local stores already carry reusable bags, and some researchers estimated the taxpayer money spent on landfills and litter abatement adds up to about 20 cents per plastic bag used.

So what are dog owners supposed to use to pick up their pets' poops? Reusable bags?

Cars keep crashing into houses

And one woman is tired of it.

WOAI reports:

An accused drunk driver jumps a curb, loses control, and slams into two houses, leaving a big mess for the people sleeping inside.

A woman who lives in one of those home told News 4, this isn't the first time an accident like this has happened, and she's had enough.

The crash happened along a stretch of East Southcross on the southeast side.

Ida Stubblefield said she got the rude awakening around 2 a.m. Saturday morning.

...

There has [sic] been four accidents like this one in the past two years. Three ended up in Stubblefield's front yard.

"After the third time it happened, I thought it was time to go" she said.

Stubblefield and her neighbor spent Saturday moving in to new apartments that are nowhere near that dangerous curve on East Southcross.

Can't say as I blame her for moving. But I still wonder, what did her house ever do to the cars?

The Dignowity Hill Pushcart Derby

Pushcarts are all the rage in an East Side neighborhood, as Elaine Ayo from the Express-News reports.

The theatrics and trash talk will take over Dignowity Park at 700 Nolan St. from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. [Saturday, July 26] for the fourth annual derby, an event that has helped define a new chapter in the historic East Side neighborhood.

“It just goes to show there’s a demand for cool events, but it is going to take doing crazy stuff like the pushcart derby,” said event founder and organizer Cruz Ortiz, who added the neighborhood’s houses are “are so beautiful but so neglected.”

An artist and activist, Ortiz and his family moved to Dignowity Hill about five years ago and wanted to help clean up the neighborhood instead of besides [sic] constantly calling the police and code compliance departments. He described the project as “art activism,” a way to bring the neighborhood together and raise awareness of the East Side and its development.

...

As the event has grown to at least 12 teams competing and hundreds of spectators expected, its structure has been changed to a head-to-head format to allow for more races and more room on the racecourse, said Mary Cantu, derby manager.

The term pushcart is used loosely, organizers said, and past entries have included a shopping cart, a giant chicken piñata and a couch with wheels.

Roll on!

"Woman Stabs Sleeping Husband, Blames Attitude Toward Affair"

Wow, some people really hold a grudge, don't they?

KSAT-12 reports on this strange case of a woman who just couldn't let her husband's bad feelings go unchallenged. About her affair.

SAN ANTONIO -- Angry over an extramarital affair 30 years ago, police said a 78-year-old woman stabbed her 79-year-old husband while he slept early Tuesday on the city's southeast side.

But police said it wasn't the husband, Marvin Meyer, who had the extramarital affair. It was his wife, Mary Meyer, who admitted to detectives that she didn't like the fact that her husband resented her because of her affair.

Mary Meyer also claimed that her husband was trying to steal her inheritance money, police said.

Marvin Meyer was stabbed three times in the neck inside the couple's mobile home in the 3500 Block of Goliad Road. He was transported to Brooke Army Medical Center in stable condition.

It seems odd that someone would harbor ill feelings this long and then suddenly act on them. I wonder if this tidbit has anything to do with the reason why the woman snapped.

The neighbors also told KSAT News that Mary Meyer may have been on some new medication and that may be the reason she attacked her husband.

Anyone smell a lawsuit?

Car almost crashes into house

This was a close one, as KSAT-12 reports, but can the vehicle really be blamed with shenanigans going on like this?

SAN ANTONIO -- A driver and a passenger got into a fight in a moving sport utility vehicle early Monday before the vehicle rolled into the front yard of a home on the city's West Side.

Police said a woman gave a man a ride around 4 a.m., when the two got into an argument.

"He wanted her to drive him some place. She refused to do so, stating she wasn't a taxi service," said Capt. Chris Andersen of the San Antonio Police Department.

Moments later, the man pulled out a gun and shot the woman in the face, Andersen said. When the man threatened to shoot the woman again, she pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the leg. She then lost control of the vehicle and rolled it into the front yard of a home in the 2900 block of Buena Vista.

The woman is in stable condition. The man ran, but he was caught later.

Getting my mail!

Back in April, Dave at Silver Creek 78250 reported on some mail he had received that was a little toasty. It seems a United States Postal Truck had crashed on its way to San Antonio and had burned. They tried to save as many pieces of mail that they could, and Dave had gotten some a couple of weeks later. See his original post for how the mail looked. [Here's my original post linking to his.]

At the time, I commented on Dave's post with this:

Hah! I remember that USPS truck crash, and I wondered at the time if any of my mail had been on board. It's good to see the Post Office trying to make sure you get your mail, even if it is a little damaged.

Well, it turns out some of my mail was indeed on that truck. And it finally got here today! Here is a picture of my burnt Social Security statement.

A little damaged, but still useful. Thanks Mr. Mailman.

"Psychic Says New Airport In City's Future"

I truly wonder sometimes what motivates our local news media.

Look what KSAT-12 is reporting now:

San Antonio is seeing it’s [sic] share of tough economic times this summer. AT&T is moving it’s [sic again] headquarters to Dallas. The highly touted savior of the southside, Toyota, will shuttle [I think they mean "shutter". --ed.] production until late fall. And two airlines have said goodbye to the San Antonio International Airport.

The changes, along with rising gas and grocery prices, has [sic] many worried, and wondering, when will things turn around?

It’s a question we posed to psychic Sean Harribance, who quickly zeroed in on issues surrounding the airport.

“I was meditating last night on the future and I saw a second airport here .. for cargo and international trips”, says Harribance, who sees San Antonio’s future dependent on moving people and cargo. He sees our current airport as problematic for the city, with it’s [sic!] limited size and ability to service international flights quickly. He predicts we will have a second airport, located 30 to 45 minutes away from where the airport is now.

Huh. Well, any new airport that may get built will need city approval somewhere along the way. So, what does the psychic say about the city's role?

Our mayor and city council all get the thumbs up from Harribance, who says “Most politicians do deals and contracts and they cheat .. I would say we have an honest city council and mayor”.

OK, now I know he's not really a psychic. That trusting view of our current city council is a dead giveaway. That, and his vision of the future:

Still, San Antonio will see crime increase this fall, and the city raising taxes next year and in 2010. Outside the city limits, he sees large tanks used for storage, possibly water storage [possibly not; it's hard to tell --ed.]. And in 10 years or so, “all of downtown is going to have casinos and slot machines”, Harribance tells us.

There you go. San Antonio as the next Vegas. Now you can prepare for the future.

I wonder how much Harribance had to do with the generation of this story. And I wonder what the staff members at KSAT have been drinking lately.

Peace and love and good happiness stuff

If you think there might be an outside chance you could be wanted for murder, you might want to rethink your decision to put on that shirt with a peace sign on it. You know, in case they actually catch you. While you're wearing that shirt. And there are news cameras around.
















KSAT-12 reports on the peace-sign-wearing suspect.

SAN ANTONIO -- A 36-year-old man was charged with murder early Friday in the slaying of his younger brother.
Israel Mora made an appearance around 3 a.m. before a magistrate, where he was formally charged.
Police said that Mora wrestled a gun away from his sibling, Miguel Mora, 22, and then shot him in the head, neck, leg and chest.

Baring most of it

What would you think if your newly hired carpenter showed up to work on your house wearing only a bikini bathing suit? That normally doesn't happen, but that's just what 52-year-old Gary Duncan does.

Karisa King at the Express-News has the story.

Gary Duncan hides almost nothing about himself. Quite literally.

Most days, his modesty amounts to little more than a nylon and Lycra man-bikini stretched across his nether region.

For several years now, whether working at a job site as a master carpenter, cycling through downtown or grabbing lunch at a sandwich shop, this is how Duncan faces the world. More recently, he has become a human landmark at the city's First Friday art shows, where he rides through the crowds and passes out carnations that match the color of his bikini.

And here's the slide show, because you know you want to look.

"High Water Bill Shocks SAWS User"

Wow, this is an eye-opener.

From KSAT-12:

SAN ANTONIO -- A local woman is at odds with a utility company over a bill she received stating she used more than five times the standard household average for residential users.

Connie Sepulveda said her bill from the San Antonio Water System normally hovers around $65 per month, but her May bill showed her household used more than 60,000 gallons of water. What's strange, she said, is her June bill was normal, but her July bill jumped another 20,000 gallons, resulting in a bill of nearly $700.

Check your bills closely.

A promo gone wrong

Or right, depending on what your point of view is.

KSAT-12 reports:

SAN ANTONIO -- A promotional campaign for an upcoming movie prompted the evacuation of one local television station and some anxious moments across the city.

San Antonio police, along with the fire department and the bomb squad, were called to KENS-TV at 5400 Fredericksburg Road Tuesday morning after a viral marketing campaign item was delivered to the station to promote "The Dark Knight." The building was evacuated for a brief time as bomb squad officials investigated the cake's contents.

...

The cake, also delivered to KSAT 12, was delivered in a white box and had a cell phone charger coming out the bottom of a cake with a hollow center. Attached to the cable was a cell phone inside a plastic bag that contained promotional materials for the upcoming film.

...

The fire department's arson bureau opted not to file charges in the case, but suggested to Santikos [Theaters] officials they re-think further promotional campaigns.

Yeah, the fire department doesn't like to make unnecessary calls.

"Car Crashes Into House During Shooting"

OK, this one may not be the car's fault.

From KSAT-12:

SAN ANTONIO -- A car crashed into a home during a shooting Sunday afternoon on the city's east side.

Police said a Chevrolet Caprice was traveling west on Martin Luther King Drive at 4 p.m. when someone in another car came up behind it and opened fire.

The Chevrolet crashed into the side of a home at the intersection of Wheatley and MLK Drive, police said.

Only minor injuries were involved.

"S.A. Man Builds Motorbikes"

WOAI reports on a wonderful new invention that can save you lots of money at the gas pump.

One San Antonio man is fighting high gas prices with motorized bicycles.

Mark Morales, a UTSA graduate, started a company called Spike's Motorbikes.

He says the bikes weigh about 40 pounds each. To start one, you pop the clutch and the motor kicks on. The bikes can go up to 30 mile per hour and get 100 miles per gallon.

"It's a good thing for anybody on a tight budget," said Morales.

What a great idea! I wonder why no one has thought of this before!

Oh, wait ...

Strutting the alley

If you've ever been strolling down Navarro Street in downtown San Antonio, you might have stumbled upon Peacock Alley.

















And the name might have conjured up images of an iridescent bird, a beautiful fowl courting his mate with a pretentious display of plumage.



















And then you might have actually looked down Peacock Alley.




















Oh well, I guess one name's as good as another for alleys.

"Business As Usual For Popular Downtown Restaurant Following Fire"

This is a bit odd.

From WOAI-TV:

The owner of a popular Downtown Mexican Restaurant [sic] doesn't plan to let his customers miss a meal, despite an early morning fire.

The flames at the Piedras Negras de Noche restaurant lit up the sky around 2:30 a.m. Friday. The restaurant, which is located on Laredo street, has been around for nearly 30 years.

...

"We had to force entry into the building. Uh, the fire had advanced up to the second and third floor. Uh, it was pretty deep seeded by the time firefighters arrived on the scene," said District Fire Chief Neil Ague.

The fire was caused by an electrical short and is being ruled accidental.

Despite the fire, it was business as usual for the front restaurant, which serves breakfast.

How can a restaurant open for business after a major fire with damages in the hundreds of thousands of dollars? Would the health department really think this was a good idea?

On the other hand, I think the waitresses were fully clothed, so they don't have to worry about the city shutting them down.

Stylin' on the bus

I've seen these bikes around, but I think this is the first time I've seen one on the front of a bus.

Chupacabra lady is back!

And she's selling more than ever!

Remember Phylis Canion, the lady who killed a mangy coyote and wants it to be a chupacabra really bad? Now she has convinced KSAT-12 to do some advertising for her!

CUERO, Texas -- Phyllis Canion and her family used to joke about the legendary creature chupacabra.

Little did they know that one day the mythical creature would inspire Canion to start a business in Cuero, southeast of San Antonio.

Nearly 10,000 people across the United States and 21 countries own T-shirts with the image of the coyote-type animal printed on them that were manufactured by Canion.

"We ... make them inexpensive because I want everybody who can, to have one," said Canion. "And help to show that the chupacabra is from the area of Cuero."

If she really wanted everybody to own a shirt, she could just give them away.

Just an idea.

Rabies in town

A case of rabies has been reported in Leon Valley. Watch out!

From KSAT-12:

SAN ANTONIO -- Pet owners in the San Antonio suburb are being warned to keep a close eye on their animals and watch for strange behavior after animal control officials found a rabid skunk.

The rabies scare began Thursday when a resident called Animal Control officials to report a skunk that was acting strange.

"We went to observe and noticed it was paralyzed and biting on itself," Animal Control officer Kendall Webster said. "We gathered it up and took it in for testing for rabies, and we found out yesterday it came back positive."

Just to remind you: If you ever see a wild animal acting strange, leave it alone. And then call Animal Control. It's not worth it to have to get a rabies treatment.

"Police Call Woman's Death Suspicious"

This is a strange crime scene.

WOAI-TV reports:

Officers were called to a home near the intersection of Brook Hollow and Oakshire, on the far north side, for a possible overdose. But police aren't sure if that's really how the woman really died.

Police say it all started when the woman's husband ran to his next door neighbor's home. The man was bleeding, and claimed his wife had overdosed.

Police say the neighbor ran inside and called 911. But when he went back outside, the woman's husband was gone. The neighbor then went next door, that's where he found Brenda Miller, 27, dead inside.

Police say she didn't have any apparent wounds on her body, but the scene inside was suspicious. Miller was found in the living room, but it had been flooded with a water hose. There was blood all over the house. Police say it looked like there had been a struggle.

The husband came back, but it's not clear what, if anything, the police have done with him yet.

Screwing with the Beetle

I saw this old Volkswagen today. Besides the dull paint job, something about this car caught my eye.
















It was the unique details that had been added on the hood and along the sides. They prompted me take a closer look.















And then my suspicions about these details were confirmed. They were screws.
















And not just screws, but a mix of standard and Phillips-head varieties.

Ah, uniqueness, thy name is Beetle.

Independence Day

I hope your celebrations this day are safe.

R.I.P. Dan Cook

Nothing strange here. Just noting the passing of legendary sportscaster Dan Cook, as reported by the Express-News.

Dan Cook, a San Antonio legend whose career as a sports columnist and broadcaster spanned more than a half-century, died Thursday after a long illness. He was 81.

Insightful, humorous, colorful and brutally honest, Cook spent 57 years in the newspaper business — 51 of those at the San Antonio Express-News — interviewing sports’ greatest legends, from Joe Louis and Jack Dempsey to Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Paul “Bear” Bryant and Tom Landry.

...

In addition to print journalism, Cook worked as a sportscaster at KENS-TV for 44 years, from 1956-2000. It was there in 1978 that Cook uttered the famous phrase, “The opera ain’t over till the fat lady sings,” which is listed in Bartlett’s “Familiar Quotations.” He later said he first used the phrase in a column about two years before.

Requiescat in pace, Cook.

UPDATE: You know, after watching some old video of Dan Cook, it amazes me how much his style of speaking is similar to Hank Hill's. I wonder if Mike Judge found any inspiration there, or if it is just a Texas coincidence.

People who should think a little more

OK, folks, babies are not pets. Remember that.

From WOAI-TV:

A baby left all alone in an apartment is now with her father. That little girl was found by maintenance workers in The Broadstone on Medical apartment complex on the northwest side.

Those maintenance workers called police and EMS after they found the girl alone. Paramedics say the 9-month-old was perfectly fine. Police couldn't reach her mother for several hours. They were able to get a hold of the baby's father, who does not have custody of her.

...

Police allowed the father to take the baby for the night. They're now trying to find the mother and investigate why the little girl was left by herself.

I wonder if the father will now get custody.

"Helotes Fireworks Enforcement Upsetting Police, Customers"

Helotes officials are being jerks about fireworks.

From KSAT-12:

Since 2007, a stretch of Highway 16 past the city limit markers was annexed into the Helotes city limits, but the fireworks vendors currently set up off the roadway are outside the city limits. The highway prevents people who purchased fireworks legally from transporting them outside the city limits, and Helotes police have been cracking down.

"The fireworks stand (previous to 2007) would tell people to turn left and go outside our city," Helotes Police Chief Morton Ault said. "They're (going to) get a ticket as soon as they pull onto the street." [emphasis added]

Really, do the cops have to be so literal on the law? Even people who purchase the fireworks legally and are taking them away from town are being ticketed. That's stupid, and it's not going to make Helotes seem dear to too many people.

Money!

Sometimes, I'm just not in the right place at the right time!

From KSAT-12:

Police said about $100,000 in cash was tossed from a vehicle about 3:15 p.m. near North Star Mall by San Pedro Avenue on Loop 410, and people were stopping their cars on the highway to pick up the loose cash.

Drug enforcement agents, along with San Antonio police, were working on a sting of a suspected drug dealer, according to San Antonio police spokesman Sgt. Gabe Trevino, when the driver took off, starting a chase. When the driver neared the entrance to Loop 410 from the access road near North Star Mall, somebody inside the vehicle threw a box containing cash outside the window.

The chase was immediately called off by a SAPD sergeant for safety reasons, Trevino said, but undercover DEA agents continued to follow the driver, who struck two vehicles near the intersection of Broadway and Wetmore roads. The driver left the vehicle and was immediately arrested by DEA agents, Trevino said. Nobody was injured in the two collisions, Trevino said.

If you were one of the lucky ones that snagged some cash, watch out. That money apparently was used in the sting and is marked. It would probably be better if you turned it in.

"Teacher Claims Racism, Discrimination At St. Philip's"

This is odd.

From KSAT-12:

SAN ANTONIO -- An instructor at St. Philip's College is making claims of racism and discrimination after he said he was called offensive names and campus administrators have failed to act.

Rayford Richardson said when he was approached to teach one of the automotive classes at the college, he was happy to accept since he runs his own auto repair business and restores old vehicles as a hobby.

Richardson said the racist remarks from fellow instructors came quickly and often, including a remark made to him by another instructor in front of Richardson's students.

"I've had one of the directors of the Diesel department say I will never fit in because of the "good old boys" system at the main campus," he said.

This is strange because the man is black, St. Philip's College is a historically black college, and the campus is on the East Side of San Antonio, which is known for its African-American heritage.

I think there's a lot more to this story.

Two cars crash into house

More vehicle on domicile violence on the West Side. A car swerved to miss another car, hit a third in the driveway, and then ended up hitting the house.

From WOAI-TV:

Be careful out there.

UPDATE: I had embedded the video from WOAI in this post, but the video played by itself and kept looping. That annoyed me, so I just made the text above into a link to WOAI's media center. The script for the relevant video is below, with strategic spaces added to make it display as normal text.

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