Calling BS on a statistic

No, I'm not buying the notion that San Antonio women are sexually assaulted more often during Fiesta than at other times of the year.

SAN ANTONIO -- A sexual assault examiner said a rise in sexual assaults usually corresponds to the 11-day, citywide party, Fiesta.

Already this month, 20 sexual assault victims have been treated by Shelley Botello and her Sexual Assault Response team at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital.

In April of last year, she said, the hospital treated 80 victims. She said her team typically handles 50 to 60 cases monthly.

Now that Fiesta has begun, Botello said it's a sign of what's to come, because 67 percent of the hospital's cases involve alcohol and drug consumption prior to the assaults.

"It makes them easy prey for predators," Botello said.

Before isolating a victim from others prior to the attack, "the predator will often sit back, (and) kind of observe the behavior of that person," Botello said.

She said the victims range in age from 17 to 25.

(from KSAT-12)

This is akin to the bogus claim that women are victims of domestic violence more during the Super Bowl than on any other day, no matter what day it is. The statistic of a rise in sexual assaults sounds shocking, and -- on the surface -- it is such a no-brainer to believe (more drunk people = more sex) that it must be true. But I really don't see any evidence of it in this news story.

There's no link to any data on the KSAT news story or on Botello's Facebook page, which KSAT links to. Without the ability to quickly and easily examine the raw data she's referencing, I remain suspicious. What about the Aprils of previous years? How do they compare? Maybe 2010 was an anomaly, maybe it wasn't. It's impossible to tell with what we're given. The tips Botello gives on avoiding being a victim is good advice, but that goes for any time of year. I get that she is using San Antonio's big party as a chance to get media attention for her cause, but I'm not so quick to believe there's a causal relationship between Fiesta and sexual assault. Not enough to account for a significant rise every April, at least.

Hey, sexual assault is serious. I'm not claiming otherwise. But it's dangerous to imply causality where there is none.

"Wooden plank discovered in San Antonio boy's leg"

And by plank, they don't mean something larger than a board, they mean something much smaller.

More like a large splinter.

SAN ANTONIO -- Nine year old Ted Rodriguez was running after some fireworks when he tripped, causing a gash in his right leg on News Year's Eve.

"I was running with a stick," says the third grader. "I fell and it stabbed me, so I yanked it because I was so shocked."

He was rushed to Santa Rosa Hospital on the northwest side. Family members say doctors there stitched him up and sent him home. When the pain got worse, Ted came back for another diagnosis.

...

Doctors found a 3 by 1 inch wooden plank [sic] lodged inside Ted's right leg, just above his knee.

(from WOAI-TV)

Is it sweeps month, yet?

Yawn headline of the day

"Client Upset After Bruce Bowen's Spa Closes"

C'mon, KSAT. Punch it up a bit to hook that reader.

Picking on the elderly

Some people out there just aren't very nice, are they?

A woman was jailed Thursday after police said she knocked an [sic] man and his walker to the ground at a grocery store parking lot in an effort to steal cash he had in his pocket.

Yolanda Peterson, 56, remained in jail Friday on $75,000 bail on a felony charge of aggravated robbery of an elderly person causing bodily injury, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

Peterson tried to hug Jerald Janke, 67, in an effort to distract him, and when he “politely tried to ignore her” because he did not know her, she reached into his pocket, according to the affidavit.

(from the Express-News)

See, this is why people get freaked out when strangers start offering them free hugs.

Landing on the highway

Now this is something you don't see every day on your way down to the coast.

Just before 9 p.m. a pilot and his passenger had to make an emergency landing on the shoulder of the southbound lanes of I-37S near S. New Braunfels.

...

The chopper pilot told emergency responders he had to land abruptly because a bird flew through the aircraft's windshield.

The pilot and his passenger were treated on-site for minor injuries.

A tow truck was called to haul the helicopter away.

(from KENS-5)

Reporting on the local news, Chinese style

Maybe this is why there are so many Chinese ads at the Spurs games.



(hat tip -- KSAT-12)

"SA Bike Sharing Program First For Texas"

The headline alone is enough to qualify for a post on this blog.

SAN ANTONIO -- The San Antonio Bike Share program is the newest way for San Antonio residents to get a different look at their city, especially if they live or work downtown.

"It really is designed for your local community to be able to move about in an active eco-friendly way," said Cindi Snell, who is the executive director of San Antonio B-cycle and co-owner of Bike World.

Bikes are parked at 14 kiosks all over downtown, from the Pearl Brewery south to Blue Star.

Although visitors can take advantage of it, the setup is designed for locals.

"If you need to move about downtown -- whether it's a meeting, or a lunch or delivery, whatever it might be -- instead of moving your car and having to re-park or pay for parking, you just use these bikes for short trips," Snell said.

For those who live in the downtown area, it is a unique way to see the city, especially if you don't own a bike.

(from KSAT-12)

And they have nifty baskets!

Not waiting until they got home

This story ended tragically, but it is a good illustration of why things that sound so cool to do often are not when they are actually done.

Police say the driver lost control and slammed into a telephone pole near Wetmore and Thousand Oaks. Police say they believe the couple was having sex while driving. The man was naked and the woman was only partially clothed. The man died at the scene, and the woman is in critical condition.

(from WOAI-TV)

Waiting fifteen minutes until you get home -- or at least to the driveway -- is never a bad idea.

Starting a feud

Sweeps must be coming up. Or else why would WOAI start such an argument in San Antonio?

SAN ANTONIO – Breakfast tacos are a San Antonio tradition. People here will fight to the death defending their favorite. [Really? Is that necessary? --ed.]

The tortillas? The salsa? The eggs? What makes your favorite so good?

Now it’s your chance to sound off --- who has the best breakfast tacos in San Antonio?

I do. When they are in my hand and ready to go into my mouth, they are the best damned tacos on the planet.

Miss San Antonio got her crown back

And she gave it to God's mother.

Ousted beauty queen Domonique Ramirez retrieved her title and crown Thursday under a national media spotlight after a lawsuit jury unanimously decided the pageant organization that fired her had breached their contract.

“I don't have any choice but to reinstate Miss Ramirez as Miss San Antonio 2011,” state District Judge Barbara Hanson Nellermoe told the parties after shaking each departing juror's hand.

Family and friends of Ramirez, 17, broke into applause, and her attorney, Luis Vera Jr., appeared to wipe away a tear. [Blech! --ed.] Within minutes, Ramirez, her mother and Vera were at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church on the West Side, where she left her crown as a gift to its patroness.

“She's the queen of all queens, the keeper of all crowns,” explained Ramirez, who said she could buy a replacement crown for the Fiesta and Miss Texas appearances that go with the renewed title. “I wanted to give my crown to her. I just wanted to send a message I'm very grateful and she has answered my prayers.”

(from the Express-News)

Eh, she wasn't busy, so why not?

Chupacabra!

Explained.

And you can blame Hollywood.

[Benjamin] Radford dug through every El Chupacabra mention and traced the physical description of the monster to a single event in the second week of August 1995, when a sketch from an eyewitness named Madelyne Tolentino ran in a Puerto Rican newspaper. Locals immediately tagged the alien-looking animal as El Chupacabra.

The creature, Radford noticed, shared a strong resemblance to the alien/human hybrid in the 1995 sci-fi thriller "Species." When he spoke to Tolentino, he asked her if the thing that she saw could have been inspired by the film. Indeed, she had seen the movie in the weeks prior to making her description.

"You can make a direct connection between the film hitting theaters, her seeing the creature in the film, seeing it in the street, making the report and entering the public conscious," Radford said.

Soon after, reports of nearly identical creatures began appearing throughout Latin America. But these can be dismissed, Radford says, because they're all based on Tolentino's Hollywood-inspired monster.

"What I've tried to do is take the whole El Chupacabra enchilada and break it into small mysteries and then solve those mysteries," Radford said. "There's no place else for those mysteries to hide now. If I haven't solved every piece of it, then I don't know what I'm missing. It's all there."

Of course, there is mention of the Texas beasts and how they fit into the whole mythos, mange and all.

Going Chinese, Spurs style

So I'm watching the Spurs play the Warriors tonight, and I notice this:




And this:




And this:




And it gets me to wondering, are there any late night Chinese food delivery joints?

Seriously, though, I don't usually get to watch Spurs games live, so maybe I don't know, this could be a common thing. But what was it with the Chinese language advertising tonight? Was this a special Chinese night, like how the NBA panders to the Hispanic populations from time to time by making all the players wear jerseys that say "Los Spurs" and "El Heat"? Or does San Antonio really have a big enough Asian population to actually warrant advertising to them? Or was the AT&T Center simply taking whatever advertising they could get and, hey, Chinese dollars spend as good as American dollars so what if we don't know what the ads say?

Does anybody know?

I am genuinely curious.

Gettin' enraged by the burrito prices

I do like my Taco Bell, and I do like it cheap. But I think I can handle a price increase a bit better than this guy.

Ricardo Jones, 37, is being held in the Bexar County jail. He's facing two counts of aggravated assault on a public servant.

Police said they received a 911 call around 2 p.m. on Sunday from the manager of a Taco Bell restaurant in the 5300 block of Rigsby Avenue, telling them about a man who had just fired at him with a BB gun.

"He asked me the price of a burrito," said Brian Tillerson, the restaurant manager. "As soon as I told him the price, he just shot at me."

Tillerson said he recognized Jones as the same man who had yelled at him a week ago.

He said after Jones shot at him, he immediately called 911, then locked the restaurant doors when he saw Jones approaching.

"Then he proceeded to get out of his car and put a machine gun on the roof of his car and that's when we locked the lobby," Tillerson said.

(from KSAT-12)

He fled and fired at police officers, who flushed him out of a motel room after four hours. From what I can tell, no one was hurt. Except maybe Taco Bell's reputation as a go-to place for cheap tacos.

Bexar County politics

They can be quite strange. Witness Dan Ramos and the things he's willing to say to the media. (In case you don't know, the Stonewall Democrats are a gay-rights group.)

In a wide-ranging interview with the Current last Friday, Bexar County Democratic Party Chair Dan Ramos likened homosexuals to children stricken with polio and the Stonewall Democrats, an organization working to advance the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals, to the Nazi Party.

In immediate response, State Democratic Party Chair Boyd Richie called on Ramos to resign his post. Texas Stonewall Democrats called on him to apologize or resign. And Bexar County Young Democrats urged him to apologize and resign “for his profane display of bigotry.”

Among his more incendiary comments to the Current last week, Ramos said, “I liken [Stonewall Democrats] to the Tea Party — the Tea Party and the fucking Nazi Party — because they’re 90 percent white, blue-eyed, and Anglo, and I don’t give a shit who knows that. That’s the truth. Just like the blacks, they’re strong. And there’s nothing wrong — they’re Americans — but you can’t get your way just because you’re black.”

...

Ramos frequently suggests that anti-Hispanic racism is to blame for the division that has been on display at past party meetings. When asked if race or sexual orientation were more a cause of concern for him, Ramos responded: “I go back to an old very well-used slogan: blacks wanted to get their way because they were black. What it is, is we have a very, very sinister movement in which you don’t know, at the end of the day, you didn’t even know that your next door buddy, your bosom fishing buddy was gay. That, I guess, goes to my belief in the religious thing. Look: this is not natural. This is like a kid who was born with a polio leg, you can’t kill him and you can’t sweep him under the rug. … I’m glad that Texas has not yet come to where gays can adopt children … because the poor kids have already come from a troubled family and then to be ‘hey, how come my momma is my daddy type of deal.’ It’s not natural.”

When challenged about his comments, Ramos insisted that he has been fighting for civil rights for 40 years. “I feel equal opportunity is meant for everyone that is being violated, regardless of who they are,” he said. “All I said was that equal opportunity should not be used as a umbrella to gain any kind of advantage over other people. It is pretty obvious that the advantage they [Stonewall Democrats] take is way beyond the pale. Certainly, all the people with handicaps, I represent them all the time.”

(from the San Antonio Current)

Our political future is in the very best of hands.

For the record, my uncle has a polio leg. He is a university-educated man and he works in social services because he cares about his community. I like him very much, and I'm proud of him. And I doubt his mother ever thought about killing him or sweeping him under the rug.

UPDATE: Ramos held a press conference Thursday, March 17 concerning this controversy. KENS-5 reports what he said:

Thursday, Dan Ramos called a new conference to set the record straight about an interview published in the Current in which Ramos is accused of making “bigoted” remarks.

However, while Ramos said the Current took his comments out of context, many local Democrats said the chairman only added fuel to the fire at his conference as he again likened the Bexar County Stonewall Democrats, a group that advocates for gay-rights, to the Nazi Party.

"I think Hitler made a pretty good example of when an individual perceives that he has power beyond control, and this is what these people (Stonewall Democrats) are doing in the Democratic Party," said Ramos.

Ramos also called members of the group “termites”.

"They have infiltrated the Bexar County party much like termites infiltrate your house, and they are trying to destroy what's been around for a long time."

When asked about Texas Democratic Party Chairman Boyd Richie's remarks that he should resign, Ramos said Richie is an “idiot”.

Do you think Ramos has read any Carnegie?

Car crashes into garage

The automobiles are getting bolder. First it was just houses. Then it was houses and fences. Now it's houses, fences, and play equipment!

SAN ANTONIO -- San Antonio police said a local teenager went joyriding late Wednesday night and slammed a car into the back of a garage.

...

He lost control of the vehicle, ran over a basketball goal and a fence before he crashed into the garage and came to a stop on two wheels, police said.

(from KSAT-12)

Show off.

"NBA-best Spurs survive scare from Kings -- and bat"

They really need to have an exterminator check out the AT&T Center.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Tony Parker scored 27 points, Manu Ginobili had 24 and the San Antonio Spurs won their 11th in a row over Sacramento, beating the Kings 108-103 on Friday night.

...

For the second straight year with the Kings in town, a bat swooped down from the rafters and circled the court during the game.

The commotion ended when the bat ran smack into a fan. It apparently survived.

(from WOAI-TV)

At least Manu didn't swat it down this time. A round of rabies shots will change anyone's attitude.

Time moves on, as does the traffic

I found this interesting tidbit on San Antonio Remembers:

1940
Work will start within one week at the traffic control project at Romana Plaza, most congested area in the city, Virden A. Rittgers, city traffic engineer, said Friday.

It's a bit odd to think of the Romana Plaza area as the most congested in the city, especially now that it is 70 years later and we've added a whole interstate highway system since then. Now traffic congestion can be had in all areas of the city.

By the way, if you are familiar with the San Antonio area but don't know where Romana Plaza is, it's the area just north of the Central Library.

Someone who thought a little, but not enough

If you decide to burglarize a house, and you have an excuse handy just in case the homeowner comes back and catches you in the act, you might want to give it a lot of thought and come up with something creative. The homeowner still won't believe you, but you just might give them a good laugh to take the edge off the awkwardness.

The arrest affidavit showed the resident called police Feb. 16 after finding Linda McCloskey, 52, inside her home when she returned from running an errand. Police believe McCloskey got in through an unlocked door.

The homeowner told police when she confronted her, McCloskey said she was there to clean the house and then pointed to a vacuum cleaner and carpet steamer near the door.

However, the homeowner said both of the cleaning tools belonged to her and that she did not have a maid.

(from KSAT-12)

Car crashes into house

They say drinking and driving don't mix. They say texting and driving don't mix.

Now imagine what they'll be saying if you try more than that.

A woman was rushed to the hospital in critical condition Saturday morning after she flipped her car and crashed into a house at Rim Rock Trail and Stage Ln. around 1:30 a.m. Saturday morning.

Police say speed, alcohol and texting may have been factors in the accident that caused the woman to flip end-over-end several times, taking out a guardrail and a large portion of fencing before crashing into the house.

During the crash, a large piece of lumber that police believed to be from the fence impaled the woman's leg.

(from KABB-29)

Ouch. I hope she gets better, but still, ouch.

Reinstalling a statue

I had wondered what happened to that statue.

The missing statue of Ernani "Nani" Falcone is back where it belongs.

City leaders and friends of Falcone gathered Saturday morning to rededicate the statue at the spot where it had disappeared more than a year ago.

Someone took the statue honoring the late parks and neighborhood advocate, and no one knew where it was, who took it, or why.

But friends said a city park policeman recently stumbled upon the statue while helping other officers search for a robbery suspect.

That find led to the Saturday ceremony and replacing of "Nani" at the Mystic Park spot where it was first dedicated more than four years ago.

(from KSAT-12)

Good to hear it's back. But I wonder where it was all this time.

Details, details, details

You know, when you're walking around downtown San Antonio, you just might slow down a bit and take in the sights. There's the Alamo, of course, and the River Walk, and other such common, touristy locales. But there are piles more places to see that are not as well known but just as beautiful, if not more so.

And you can see even more of the beauty if you take the time to notice the details.

Look closely. Note the architecture. Admire it. And, if you look closely enough, you just might find something as interesting as this in the vicinity of Martin Street.





Nice, isn't it?

I like it. A lot.

But don't forget to look even closer. You just might notice some little detail that you missed before that makes the whole scene that much more interesting. Like a small home of sorts, one that appeals to a paper wasp just nicely.





That finishes it, I think.

"Man Claims He Was 'Taxed' By Mexican Mafia"

Hm. I don't remember voting for this tax increase.

SAN ANTONIO -- A southeast side man said the tax man who came knocking at his home had a knife and took what he said was owed.

As a result, San Antonio police have arrested one of the suspected illegal tax men, 19-year-old Jesse Aceves.

The victim told detectives he was leaving his home in the 800 block of E. Highland on Jan. 13 when three men approached him and demanded $200.

The arrest affidavit said the victim told police the group claimed to be members of the Mexican Mafia, and told him he owed the money as tax for "living on their block."

(from KSAT-12)

Car crashes into house

And causes a really big fire!

SAN ANTONIO -- A late night out may have saved the life of a local homeowner. The man said he was driving home early Thursday morning when he noticed his house was on fire.

San Antonio police said a car crashed into the northeast side home about 3 a.m. and ignited the massive blaze.

Police said the driver had been speeding when he crashed into the home in the 4200 block of Clear Lake Drive.

(from KSAT-12)

No one was killed, but someone did get arrested.

Erin go Blah

St. Patrick's Day is coming up. So if you are planning to be in a St. Patrick's Day parade, and if someone from Rio Magazine comes to take a picture of your parade so that they can use it in next year's mag, try to smile. It tends to make the headline not such a lie.

Graffiti, street art, or clever advertising?

Or all three?

You decide.






I saw this on the sidewalk by San Antonio College facing San Pedro. What's interesting about this piece is that it doesn't involve adding anything to the public walkway (paint, chalk, what have you). In fact, it involves taking something away.

Dirt.

Yes, it seems that this was made with a stencil that was pressure-washed, cleaning the exposed areas of the sidewalk and leaving the rest dirty. It's semi-permanent, but the advertisers did not do anything that was technically "graffiti". They actually cleaned a little bit of the public space, but they did it in a way that promotes a specific event.

What do you think? Clever tactic, or just another way to get away with marking up public property?

Eye-catching headline of the day

"New Park Called Waste Of Tax Money"

You know, I saw that headline and I said to myself, The city has officially run out of naming ideas.

"Cowgirls recruit for all-women football league"

Finally! San Antonio gets a professional football team the whole town can get behind!

There is a new all-women pro football team in San Antonio, and they are in search of players.

The Texas Cowgirls will be part of the Leather and Lace football League. They will play their first game iin [sic] late April or early May.

Leather and Lace is an all female league with noticeably different uniforms than the ones you see on Sunday in the NFL.

(from KENS-5)

I'll say!



(photo found on the Texas Cowgirls website)

"Bank robbery suspect may be woman who wore fake goatee"

Now there's a good headline.

Investigators say the suspect pulled a gun at the Lone Star Capital Bank in the 15,100 block of San Pedro around 1:00 p.m. Friday and demanded money. They believe they are looking for a thin woman who was dressed as a man and was wearing a fake goatee, but said they could not be sure.

If you have any information about this bank robbery, please immediately call police ...

(from WOAI-TV)

Because they sure need some.

Getting ink

Today I saw a man with a neck tattoo. You know, the ones such guys put on the sides of their necks just above the collar line so their future job prospects are severely limited----those kinds. But this one particular tattoo was the three-digit number "210" in very large numerals. In Old English font, to boot. (I couldn't get a picture of the tattoo. I didn't have time to get my camera out. Sorry!)

Now, I know that the "210" is supposed to represent the San Antonio area code, and I know that it's somewhat popular for the youth of this nation to take great pride in their hometown by flashing around the area code they grew up with. But to get it tattooed on the neck?

What if he moves?

Becoming royalty, the judicial way

The new Miss San Antonio got crowned in a courtroom.

There has been a new development in the fight for the Miss San Antonio crown.

District Judge Cathleen Stryker has declined the temporary injunction sought by 17-year-old Domonique Ramirez.

Pageant officials had a little make-do crowning event immediately after the judge's ruling, placing the crown on Ashley Dixon's head for the first time.

Ramirez had been fighting to retain her title, after pageant officials tried to take it away.

Ramirez wasn't at court for the grand finale Wednesday. She was out sick with pneumonia, her attorneys say.

(from KENS-TV)

Well, I bet her little sick-out didn't help her case any.

This story has been all over the news lately, and I won't rehash the details (though you can read more about it here). Suffice it to say that the 17-year-old Ramirez apparently won the title of Miss San Antonio, was lax in fulfilling her obligations to her position, and got canned by the organization that owns the crown and runs the program. They preferred the first runner-up instead, thinking she will be more reliable than Ramirez.

But, this being Strange in San Antonio, you know the whole flap did not start well. In fact, it started out with a great big, misguided hatefest, adequately skewered by Sabra. Read it and experience the fun that goes along with the Miss San Antonio title.

Creating a haven

When I first read this, it didn't seem that strange.

Jaime Martinez, Board Chair for the Cesar E. Chavez Legacy and Educational Foundation is asking city leaders to make San Antonio a "safe haven" for undocumented workers and their families. Martinez is calling for immigration reform on labor rights, reunification of the family, and giving illegal immigrants a pathway to citizenship.

"Close to 6 billion dollars a year is collected from these workers who do not have matching social security numbers," said Martinez in a press conference Tuesday. "We want the politicians to check the social security administration suspense files," explained Martinez. "[They're] going to be alarmed, that [illegal immigrants] do pay their fair share to America."

(from KSAT-12)

Sadly, cities that make life easier for illegal immigrants are not unusual, and it's not so surprising to see a push for this status in heavily Hispanic, largely Democrat San Antonio.

But what caught my eye is this passage:

Also attending the press conference was a representative from United Food and Commercial Workers, a worker's union that stands for achieving the American dream.

...

"What about all their benefits?" asked [UFCW representative Tony] Reyes. "Their 401Ks, and their vacations?"

Huh?

401ks?

I am not an accountant, but retirement plans like that are complex. How can anyone with a fake Social Security number get a 401k? Is it really possible?

And vacations? If someone is truly facing the difficult possibility of being deported to a land they fled in the first place because it was such a crappy place to live, do you really think they are going to worrying about whether or not they lose a few unused vacation days?

I think not. I think they will be worrying about life first.

Not being too big to take on a flea market

Louis Vuitton, that is. They're quite jealous of their brand and aren't above taking out some knock-off artists in San Antonio.

SAN ANTONIO-- Luxury brand Louis Vuitton is suing a popular northeast side flea market, claiming the owners and manager have allowed vendors to sell counterfeit Louis Vuitton merchandise.

The company claims vendors inside the Eisenhauer Market have sold counterfeit goods for more than a year. Shoppers say the market is a popular spot for knock-off handbags that cost hundreds less than the real thing.

(from WOAI-TV)

And San Antonio is in good company (or bad, if you like), according to a statement from the purse-maker.

Louis Vuitton’s Intellectual Property Department is managing over 11,500 intellectual property rights including trademarks, designs and copyrights with the support of 250 agents around the world. Thanks to this fully-dedicated team of lawyers and former law enforcement professionals based in Paris with regional offices in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Milan, Dubai, New York and Buenos Aires, thousands of anti-counterfeiting raids are performed each year. In 2009, Louis Vuitton initiated 9,489 raids (39 per day) and 26,843 anti-counterfeiting procedures worldwide, resulting in the seizure of thousands of counterfeit products and the break- up of criminal networks, easing the plight of workers working for illegal organisations.

They initiated 39 raids per day in 2009. Looking at that statistic, I guess it was just a matter of time until they got around to the Eisenhauer Market.

Jacking with my radio expectations

Hey, I know FM 102.7 likes to say it's "One station that plays everything", but it was still a little surprising to hear "War Pigs" immediately followed by "Rock Me Amadeus".

Just sayin'.

Someone who should have thought a lot more

This story sounds a little fishy to me.

According to an arrest warrant, 36-year-old Alfredo Ibarra went to his uncle's home on Sunday to make a deal. Police said he claimed he was sent to murder the 52-year-old victim. However, if his uncle could come up with $2,000 they could bury the plot to kill him.

The warrant indicates the uncle could only give his nephew $80. Ibarra allegedly agreed to this plan. Police said the suspect intended to come back for the rest of the money.

Investigators said the victim was so frightened he hid for two days. The authorities were called.

(from KENS-5)

Did this guy think his plan would work?

I mean, if you really have been hired to kill your own uncle, and you think you can get more money out of him if you simply tell him about the plot and promise not to follow through on it, then what do you think the thugs that hired you are going to do after that? Shrug and say, "Better luck next time"?

Or, if you are just making the whole thing up to get some extra bucks, do you really think this is a better idea than just asking your uncle nicely for a little loan?

But, do you know what the truly sad thing about this story is? Ibarra actually made bail on a $10,000 bond. Where'd he get the money for that? A promise not to kill another family member?

Making it pretty easy for the cops

To find you, that is. By leaving beautiful batches of your DNA behind.

According to an arrest warrant, investigators found Pete Ramos' blood at the scene of the crime, which reportedly gave police DNA evidence to link him to the smash-and-grab.

The warrant indicates Ramos is one of the suspects who burglarized the Target near I-10 and De Zavala Road. Police said someone threw a large rock through the front glass doors and took quite a bit of merchandise on Dec. 15.

While breaking into the display case, the 32-year-old suspect cut himself, leaving blood behind on the broken glass.

(from KENS-5)

Be careful, burglars. Haven't you ever seen Gattaca?

Garage crashes into ground

Today a parking garage under construction decided to deconstruct very rapidly.

SAN ANTONIO -- Two construction workers suffered injuries -- one critically -- when a parking structure they were working on in the Medical Center area collapsed Monday.

The collapse occurred just before noon on Monday at University Hospital near the intersection of Wurzbach and Medical drives, hospital spokeswoman Leni Kirkman said.

...

San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood said the crew was working on the seven-story structure when they heard a rumbling noise shortly before noon.

Hood said the workers activated an emergency tone, causing the crew to evacuate the structure.

More than 100 workers were on the site at the time and all were accounted for, Hood said.

One person suffered non-life-threatening injuries, Kirkman said, but another was admitted in critical condition and was being treating [sic] at University Hospital's trauma center.

(from KSAT-12)

Wow. One hundred workers, and only two were injured in a freakin' building collapse! Don't you know a lot of guts dropped when that emergency tone sounded, followed closely by mass and speedy evacuations.

And they got out pretty quick, too.

Flag bleg

I saw a sticker that looked like this on someone's car the other day:



Does anyone know what this particular derivation of the Texas flag symbolizes, what group it stands for or what it means? I couldn't get a picture of the sticker, so I created this image from memory. The asterisks were actually letters, but I couldn't quite make them out in the brief moment I saw the curious symbol.

Any clues? I am genuinely curious.

Men crash into building

If you find yourself on the streets of downtown, and you end up drunk, and you start arguing with another drunk man, be careful when you begin fighting. You just might end up bloody and in need of rescue.

Two men fell through a window at a downtown San Antonio bank building, trapping them inside for an hour-and-a-half, police said.

The incident happened at the Broadway Bank building at Pecan St. and Soledad around 4:30 Saturday morning.

Police said the two men had been drinking and started to fight. They fell against the window, breaking it and crashing more than 20 feet to a floor below, investigators said.

The man were trapped inside an enclosed area away from the bank itself.

(from KSAT-12)

It took a couple of hours, but the emergency crews got them out, somewhat cut and bruised. They were taken to a hospital and charged with criminal mischief.

Remember, glass is sharp and pointy when it's broken. Be careful on the streets.

Going out in style

Randy Beamer at WOAI compiles information on odd funerals in the Alamo City. It's a pretty good read because it includes this:

One of the weirdest burials in the world was right here in an East Side cemetery. Sandra West was the young widow of Texas multimillionaire oilman Ike West. When she died in 1977 the Beverly Hills socialite left a handwritten will saying she had to be buried in her lacy nightgown sitting in her 1964 powder blue Ferrari 330 America in a comfortable reclining position.

If she wasn't buried as instructed, her brother-in-law would get nearly nothing. A court battle lasted two months before she finally rode off into the ground. Hundreds showed up at the Alamo Masonic Cemetery to see the spectacle, but the funeral director kept West all crated up. The onlookers couldn't see West inside the crate, even though she was dressed in her nightgown in the car. The court had ordered it to be respectful and discrete.

And it includes plenty of quotes from the wonderfully-named owner of Mission Park Funeral Chapels and Cemeteries, Dick Tips, including a sneak peek at the plans for his own funeral.

“I'm going to have different costume changes,” says Tips. “I was a Rey Feo here in San Antonio. I'm very proud of it,” said Tips.

“Absolutely. The Masonic Lodge, Rey Feo, Cavaliers, and, of course, the suit,” said Dick's wife Kristen, who is also a funeral director.

Dick Tips plans to show off and celebrate what the family business can do. Someday, not soon, in the very same solid bronze casket with the gold hand bars that Michael Jackson was buried in.

That's going to be some send-off.

"Woman Dies In Fall From I-10 West"

Yes, those ramps are very high up in the air.

Officers said the woman fell 75 feet from I-10 just south of Crossroads Blvd. Police are now trying to figure out what caused her to fall.

They said it appears the woman was driving on I-10 and hit a wall, but they're not sure whether she was ejected from her car or got out on her own.

Investigators said another car then hit the woman's car from behind, and they believe she either was tossed, or jumped to avoid the impact. She then fell to the access road 75 feet down and was killed.

(from KSAT-12)

It's not the first time someone has died falling from a ramp on that interchange.

We're No. 1!

And for once it's something that we can really get behind!

SAN ANTONIO -- Lately, the Alamo City has seen its name on a variety of lists -- some good, some spotlighting our range of waistlines.

But this time, we love seeing San Antonio at the top of The Daily Beast's "50 Best Cities for Love."

According to The Daily Beast's story, its staff ranked our nation's largest cities based on marriage and divorce rates, happy population and wealth of bars and restaurants.

(from KENS-5)

I really don't put a lot of stock in these Top 10 (or Bottom 10) lists, but it's nice to not be slammed for being too fat or too lazy or too stupid or any other such arbitrary pronouncement.

For what it's worth, here's how the Daily Beast scored the Alamo City.

#1, San Antonio, TX
Singles: C
Social life: A
Emotional health: A
Marriage: B
Divorce: C
Romantic hotspot: Omni La Mansion del Rio

And here's the rankings for other Texas cities on the list:

#3 -- Austin
#40 -- Houston
#41 -- Dallas

Feel the love, yet?

Blaming white people

Sabra catches a lame attempt to blame rich, white people for ---- I don't know, something.

First obvious problem with this? The executive director of the group that runs the pageant (Miss Bexar County Organization, Inc) is named Caroline Flores. Granted, that may well be her married name, but methinks not too many Mexican-haters marry them.

Second obvious problem? This is the runner up:

Make sure you click the link.

As dangerous as rocks

Really? Drug cartels are buying pipe bombs made in San Antonio? Why, because they are of higher quality than those made in, say, the Valley?

ATF agents say drug gangs are buying old grenades to do their dirty work across the border. Agents are going undercover to catch them.

Unfortunately, the black market for explosives in San Antonio is booming. ATF agents say Mexican drug cartels are snatching up pipe bombs and old pineapple and baseball grenades in our back yard.

They say the grenades dint [sic] have to be live to be lethal in the wrong hands.

(from KENS-5)

The explosive objects don't have to be live to be lethal? So, in a sense, the drug cartels are buying expensive metal rocks in San Antonio and bringing them back to Mexico. Right?

Am I missing something?

"Relatives Of Missing Toddler Given Polygraph Tests"

Here's one that seems a bit unusual to me.

NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas -- Relatives of a missing New Braunfels toddler said police are asking them to undergo polygraph tests in an effort to locate the 18-month-old boy.

Joshua Davis Jr. was reported missing by his parents, who told police they last saw their son around 8 p.m. Friday inside their home in the 2600 block of Savannah Hill Circle.

Police, along with other law enforcement agents and volunteers, combed a wooded area near the family's home all weekend but did not locate him.

...

"We're going to be retracing some of our steps," Lt. Mike Penshorn said Monday morning. "Also, we are still interviewing a number of the people associated with the child and, of course, we're expanding that where we have quite a few people that we are bringing just to talk to find out what did happen in this case."

According to Jerome Davis, Joshua's grandfather, that also includes administering polygraph tests to everyone who lives in the household.

(from KSAT-12)

I didn't think law enforcement could use polygraph tests in the course of a criminal investigation (or, at the very least, that the test results couldn't be admissible in a trial). Am I wrong? I am not a lawyer, so I don't know for sure, but I hope the family members of that missing boy don't get a raw deal out of this.

I hate polygraph tests. They don't measure the veracity of any statement, they simply measure how nervous a person is while making that statement, and that anxiety could be caused by the mere fact that person is taking a freakin' polygraph test!

I know people will say, "If you're telling the truth, you have nothing to hide." But no matter how truthful you are the test measures only your nervousness, so if you're spooked by the test to begin with you could still fail it even while being honest and straightforward. The results all depend on the person administering that test and how adept that person is at shaking up the subject to extract a confession. It's nothing more than traditional interrogation aided by a contraption that the general public seems to believe is capable of detecting the truth. And the test administrators count on that belief to get their results!

For the record, yes, I was once forced to submit to a polygraph. The results? I failed it. The administrator thought I had something to hide when, in fact, I didn't. It said I lied when I told the truth. Nothing adverse happened to me because of that test, but I've been spooked by the experience ever since.

"Hecklers mar comedian's thought-provoking performance"

Caustic comics shouldn't have thin skin.

Prickly political comedian Lewis Black is a big boy and certainly doesn't need my help in handling obnoxious hecklers.

But his thought-provoking jowl-shaking performance at Majestic Theatre on Friday was marred by drunken audience outbursts of the Tea Party variety that, for any comedy lover, were cringe-worthy and a black eye to this city.

Especially since Black opened his show with a hilarious, self-deprecating five-minute warning about his brand of caustic, unforgiving comedy which has made him a Comedy Central star and best-selling author.

...

Friday's show, with talented opener John Bowman, took a darker turn when Black — who skewers the left, right and middle — touched on provocative issues of gun control, abortion and taxes.

“When people ask next year why Lewis Black left comedy, you've seen the pivotal moment,” said Black, 62, utterly exasperated with a woman near the front who rudely and repeatedly interrupted a riff about taxing the rich and Black proposing — sarcastically — a “Rich People's Day” to honor them.

...

To a man who screamed ideological nonsense from the back, Black responded, “You're in love with your guns and you're a (expletive) happy person. And you make a scary sound like the (expletives) wolves at night.”

The ruckus broke out when Black said, “The one thing we don't argue about is gun control. It's off the table.”

When mindless whoops went up, Black looked genuinely stunned. “What does that (expletive) mean?” he asked.

The same man yelled out, “I love guns!” Black simply stared and implored, “But stop making that scary (expletive) noise.”

...

Years ago, the late George Carlin had two heckling jerks removed from the Majestic for lesser offenses. To his credit, Black kept his cool and stayed in control — though the vast majority likely wished he'd taken that page from Carlin's playbook.

(from the Express-News)

I don't know, sounds like the majority likely didn't agree with the comic's politics and found his jokes less than funny. I don't know if it was a "vast" majority, but it takes quite a crowd to throw a professional like Black off his game. Maybe Black really did have thick enough skin to take it. Maybe it was the Express-News guy that couldn't handle the heckling.

Van crashes into house

They say it was a van, but I have my doubts.

A 41-year-old man crashed his van into the wall of a brick home on the Northeast Side after suffering a seizure Thursday afternoon.

Police said the driver had been traveling east on O'Connor Road when the attack caused him to lose consciousness and swerve into the 6300 block of Kings Crown Street, where he hit the house.

His Jeep Liberty punched a hole in the side wall of the garage. [emphases added]

(from the Express-News)

The man was not hurt. No word on the condition of his "van".

"Rather warns media is in 'state of crisis'"

Dan Rather was in town, and he was talking to some folks at San Antonio College about the state of the mainstream media in this nation. He said some interesting things during the course of his chat, and the Express-News reported this:

Rather said that when it comes to the media, this country is “in a state of crisis.”

“Those who dumb down the news, trivialize the news with in-studio shouting matches passing for debate,” Rather said, “those who tart up the news with celebrity gossip, scandal and sensationalism are playing right into the hands of those that stand to gain the most from the news being seen as irrelevant and trivial and no more or less worth your attention than the next episode of ‘American Idol.'”

He elaborated: “I worry that if it becomes no more than a reality show, something that could be scripted and rigged behind the scenes without anyone really getting upset about it, that our freedom of the press will become another one of those constitutionally granted rights that can be watered down and eventually taken away from us.”

Seriously? This guy -- who had to step down from his job because he presented a news segment on 60 Minutes Wednesday bashing then-president George Bush just before his re-election (and the entire segment was based on fake documents!) -- this guy is accusing others of "tart[ing] up the news with ... scandal and sensationalism"? This guy is worried about news that is "scripted and rigged behind the scenes"?

Geez.

If Natalie Maines can be ashamed that the President comes from Texas, then I can be ashamed that this guy comes from Texas as well.

Snow

This is always strange in San Antonio.

"Snow Thursday Night?"

This is definitely strange in San Antonio.

Part of a upper level storm system over the Rocky Mountains will move eastward into Texas. It will help draw moisture from the Pacific Ocean over our area.

This will also enhance lift in the atmosphere causing precipitation to fall. Since we are below freezing at the surface and aloft in the atmosphere most of the precipitation will fall in the form of snow.

(from KSAT-12)

Get your cameras ready!

"Home of the baboons opts for new name and new tagline"

That's probably the best headline I've read all day.

SAN ANTONIO -- One of San Antonio’s premier research facilities has a new name and an expanded mission.

The Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research is now the Texas Biomedical Research Institute.

You might know it as the place with the monkeys on Loop 410, often confused with the Southwest Research Institute next door. The scientists who work at Texas Biomed hope there won’t be any more mistaking who they are and what they do.

(from KENS-5)

Nope. These are the baboon guys, and they are doing work to "enhance lives through discovery".

And sometimes they chase baboons, too.

A mess of meth

Making a drug bust in San Antonio is not really strange, but the quantity involved in this story is a bit unusual.

The bust was a joint investigation between DPS and ICE that resulted in the seizure of 28 pounds of crystal meth.

Investigators say that's worth about $2 million to $5 million on the street. Authorities did make two arrests in the sting.

The San Antonio High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force started investigating the men in March of 2010.

A federal complaint says the men had plans to move some crystal meth to Houston. Authorities say they were storing the meth at a Mini Storage unit in the 3500 block of S.W. Military.

(from KENS-5)

Just goes to show ---- you never know what's in the storage unit next to yours.

Sot meets lush

And it's a wonder no one was hurt critically.

Edguardo Joel Berrios, 24, is set to be booked in Bexar County Jail on one count of driving while intoxicated. A judge set bail at $5,000.

Berrios was reportedly driving on West Durango Boulevard around 10:30 p.m. Saturday when an allegedly intoxicated man tried to run across Old U.S. 90 in front of him, according to police.

SAPD spokesman Officer Matthew Porter said the victim sustained injuries not thought to be life-threatening and was hospitalized.

(from the Express-News)

It's amazing no houses were involved.

Pondering a trilemma

I'm not sure what to do.

There's this guy who periodically drives around (or walks around, I guess; I really don't know how he does it) and sticks one of these stupid business cards on each of the vehicles he can get to on the street and in various parking lots.





And my vehicle happens to be one of those that this guy has absolutely no problem sticking things on. He obviously does this as a form of free advertising (I've blurred the pertinent information so as not to further his efforts), but I can't help seeing it as nothing more than littering.

I don't want his business cards on my car. He leaves them without my permission. But I can't just take them off and throw them on the ground because then I am the one who would be littering. And I hate throwing them into my car because then it places the burden of disposing of these pieces of trash squarely on my shoulders.

But I'm also not sure what I can do about it. The way I see it, I have three options.

1. I can call the guy and tell him to please stop it. I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds this practice annoying, but without knowing who I am or what my car looks like, how can I reasonably expect him to avoid my one car out of so many on the street? And that's assuming he's a decent guy who might actually have some concern for other people and who is mindful of his actions and their consequences. For all I know, he's an ass, and he might just laugh in my figurative face.

2. I can drive over to his place and throw these damn cards on his doorstep. Sure, it's littering, but it's being done on his private property to the same extent he's doing it on my private property. But it's also kinda passive-aggressive, and there's no guarantee he'll get the message without me confronting him directly at the time. After all, he might just think he dropped the cards himself while going out on one of his advertising sprees.

3. I can do nothing. I can always just accept his crap and throw the cards away later. I don't like this option, but it is the least confrontational, and I'm not one for confrontation that may never solve anything.

So, what would you do? Which of these three options do you find most appealing, or do you have any other options you might suggest? I'm all ears.


Oh, and the Bible verse that's referenced on that card? It goes like this:

Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.

I guess that's why he only cuts men's hair.

Nets in San Pedro Park

Do you play tennis?

Have you ever been to the McFarlin Tennis Center in San Pedro Park?

Did you know they have a giant tile-mosaic tennis ball there?




And an arch made of metal tennis racquets?



I know they do. Now.

Car crashes into restaurant

And there's one less Chinese eatery in town because of it.

An allegedly intoxicated passenger grabbed the wheel of a moving pickup and steered it into a Chinese restaurant on the Northeast Side early Tuesday, where it ignited a fire that heavily damaged the eatery, San Antonio Fire Department and police officials said.

The blue 2002 Chevrolet truck had been headed north on Nacogdoches Road and crashed into the side of Chin San Chinese Restaurant near Wordsworth Street at about 1 a.m., bursting into flames, SAFD Battalion Chief Bill Bochat said.

Driver Jonathan Puga and his passenger Sean Gardner, both 33, were able to get out safely, police said. Puga was treated at the scene for minor injuries and released to relatives.

A police incident report states that Gardner was intoxicated when he called Puga to ask for a ride home. Puga had picked him up and was traveling down Nacogdoches when Gardner said he wanted to go to a female friend's house and yanked the steering wheel, police said.

(from the Express-News)

They used to say, "Don't drink and drive." Now we might be hearing, "Don't drink and ride," instead.

Chilling smiles II

Ugh. More with the smiling thing. Maybe it is getting to be a trend.

SAN ANTONIO -- San Antonio police arrested a south side woman who they said played a big role in a robbery which led to the death of at least one person.

Police said Avelina Perez, 22, was one of two women who helped to lure the actual robbers to a home in Universal City back in November.

During the robbery, the victims said four men pointed guns at the them and beat them with a club.

According the arrest warrant, their neighbor called police while the robbery was taking place and officers arrived and it led to a car chase and crash.

One of the suspected robbers was killed and a woman was critically injured, the arrest warrant said.

(from KSAT-12; video here)

Falling to pieces

New buildings, old buildings, in-between buildings ---- who gets to say when they get dangerous?

Members of the city's Dangerous Structure Determination Board were discussing the Oaks on Bandera, an apartment complex on the city's Northwest Side where a stairway had collapsed on Jan. 7, fatally injuring a resident.

During the meeting, small white and blue pieces of plaster broke free from the high, decorated ceiling in the council chambers. The largest pieces almost struck a city inspector. No one was injured.

(from the Express-News)

Their meeting had to be evacuated.

Local music bleg

Help! Someone! (I'm especially thinking of you, Keith Alan K.)

Some years ago I heard on the radio (it was probably KSYM) a San Antonio band that I really liked and that I haven't been able to track down since. It was a rockabilly band, and the name had something to do with "IH-10" or "I-10".

Has anyone else heard of this band? If so, how can I get my hands on a CD of them? I don't remember the name, and I haven't been able to find them through any internet searches or inquiries of local record stores that are not chains.

Going blonde on stage

OK, I don't care how much you are into the whole world of musicals, this is still a little weird.

“Legally Blonde,” the latest film-to-stage musical adaptation to play the Majestic Theatre, opens with a big burst of energy and never lets up.

The show follows the 2001 film's storyline pretty closely. Elle Woods (scrappily portrayed by Nikki Bohne), a sunny sorority gal who virtually everyone dismisses as vapid, is crushed when her beloved boyfriend Warner Huntington III (Matthew Ragas) dumps her the very night she was expecting a marriage proposal. To win him back, she follows him to Harvard University's law program, where she surprises everyone, including herself, when she scores a spot on the defense team for a high-profile murder trial. (No one is terribly surprised when she winds up seeing Warner for the jerk that he is and upgrades to a better guy.)

Heather Hach, who wrote the show's book, makes a few small changes that serve the story well. For one thing, there are just enough updated references — Bruiser, Elle's fashion-forward Chihuahua (played by the adorable Frankie) is a “Glee” fan, and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is name-checked — to make the show current without going overboard.

(from the Express-News)

I think I'll pass.

Car crashes into house

Or, rather, through a house!

SAN ANTONIO - Fire officials were called out to a home on the West Side after a car drove right through the garage. It happened at a vacant home in the 100 block of Villa Arbolitos near Culebra Road and 24th Street.

Police got the call just after 3:00 a.m. Tuesday. They say the car drove into the garage and came out the other side. Officials on scene say the fire department was called after a tow truck driver was worried the house could collapse.

(from WOAI-TV)

Holy cow, that car was moving! But the driver fled the scene and was nowhere around to tell just how fast he was going to make it through a house.

Hiding out

He could always say he was just looking for change.

SAN ANTONIO -- San Antonio police officers arrested a man at the Alazan Apache apartments on suspicion of sexual assault, after neighbors told them the man assaulted at least two young girls in the complex, police said.

Officers forced their way into the apartment on Friday evening after the resident refused to allow them inside, enlisting a San Antonio Housing Authority employee to drill through the door lock, then entered with guns drawn.

After searching for several minutes, detectives said they found the man hiding under the cushions of a couch. They said the woman who lives in the apartment was sitting on the couch and insisted no one else was home.

(from KSAT-12)

Just sitting on the couch. By myself. Waiting for you officers to drill through the lock and come in with guns drawn. Nope, nothing unusual here. Carry on.

"Transgendered Student Caught In Dormitory Dilemma"

Though this story takes place a bit west of San Antonio, I have to include it because of the strangeness at the base of it!

UVALDE, Texas -- Her admission to Southwest Texas Junior College in Jennifer Gellar's hometown of Uvalde is not the issue.

Willie Edwards, SWTJC spokesman, said what is still "under review" is which dormitory the transgendered student will be moving into when classes begin next Monday.

The campus of 1,700 students has a coed dorm and another for women.

Formerly John Brigman, who said he served in the U.S. Navy and in military police Reserves, now 51 years old, Gellar said "going over to the female side," resulted in a medical discharge from the military in 2008.

Now in her final year at the two-year college, Gellar said she would feel safer living in the women's dorm.

"Actually, I'm afraid of men," Gellar said.

(from KSAT-12)

Wow! How weird is that?

There's actually a college in Uvalde!

Hitting you where the sun does shine

Thinking about going "green"? Want to get in on that sweet solar-energy action that lets you save money on your electricity costs? Be careful who you hire to install your system because the second-oldest profession is now in the green business.

"We gave him all of our savings," said homeowner Diana Acosta, who said she hired the contractor who installed the system. "My husband worked so hard to get all this money."

Acosta said she hired Mamadou Barry, of World Sun Technology, to install the [solar] panels. She said she gave him a check for $8,000 and another for $5,448.04 from her savings account to pay for the system.

Acosta said Barry came to her door and told her that her panels had been purchased and then were stolen.

"It was lie after lie," Acosta said. "Then he came crying. He convinced me to buy the other set of panels."

Acosta said she paid for another set of panels with her credit card and that Barry did install them -- badly -- but never paid her back and never paid the electrician who helped install them.

(from KSAT-12)

Don't trust crying contractors.

Demanding to be heard

This will sure wake you up, if you see it at work.

SAN ANTONIO - Police are looking for a man who walked into a store with a butcher knife. It happened at the Dollar General on Blanco Road near Basse. Witnesses say the man walked in with a butcher knife and made demands. Police say the man just took off without hurting anyone or even taking anything.

(from WOAI-TV)

Perhaps his demands were met.

Ponies!

Just when you think you're at the end of your rope, you find out one of your co-workers has just the skills needed to solve the day's problems. And all is well.

Four Shetland ponies wandered the area around SW Military and Whitewood just after 8 a.m.

Police tried to capture the horses and finally managed to get three of them contained. But a fourth pony proved a harder catch.

He roamed around and police weren't able to catch him.

Frustrated police called in an officer they say had experience with roping horses. That officer arrived and, after several attempts, was finally able to throw a rope over the pony.

(from KSAT-12)

Let's all be thankful for cowboy cops. Yippee-ki-yay!

Not doing the new movement any favors

I can't think of a faster way to get me to not try something than to say it is trendy and all of the cool kids in Austin are doing it.

What a tasty experiment: San Antonio, with a twist of Austin.

That's how many described Saturday's grand opening of the Boardwalk on Bulverde, the Alamo City's first mobile food truck park, serving up a smorgasbord of gourmet dishes in an outdoor atmosphere not unlike a backyard barbecue.

But these aren't your neighborhood taco trucks.

“It's pretty cool,” said Cory Jernigan, 25, shortly after he chowed down on a salmon sandwich from the Wheelie Gourmet, one of 11 trucks open for business at the park on Bulverde Road, between Loop 1604 and Thousand Oaks Drive. “It's very Austin.”

“I didn't think many people would be here actually,” said Jernigan's girlfriend, Erin Shoemaker, 23. “Because I feel like in San Antonio this kind of thing hasn't really hit — like the trendy stuff.”

(from the Express-News)

Hey, this is San Antonio. We don't have to be trendy to be cool, and we certainly don't have to be like Austin. Then, we wouldn't be San Antonio. Puro.

And please, let's not hate on ourselves.

Besides the variety of food, the Boardwalk is also something new to the North Side, area resident Shawn Meek said.

“To see people in this area congregating, having fun, chilling, it's a good thing,” Meek said.

We're perfectly capable of having fun and chilling without having to go to a trendy food truck park to do it.

"Man hurt when stairs collapse as he's chasing burglar"

Well, this is unfortunate. You'd expect any staircase to support your weight and that of others that might be using it at the same time. You certainly wouldn't expect it to collapse, especially when you are engaged in a pursuit of a bad guy.

A man was in critical condition and two others were hurt Saturday after an apartment complex stairwell collapsed under him as he chased a burglar, police said.

Paul Sambrano, who turns 45 today, was injured Friday night when he fell on his head at the Bandera Oaks apartment complex in the 1100 block of Bandera Road on the Northwest Side.

Police said Sambrano, his wife and a niece were chasing a man they'd been told was seen coming out of a nearby apartment window. As they yelled for him to stop, the stairs suddenly gave way, police said.

(from the Express-News)


UPDATE: Sambrano has died of his injuries.

Murder rates dropping

This is certainly good news. Whether or not you think it's strange that murder rates are dropping significantly in San Antonio doesn't change the fact that it bodes well for all of us here.

SAN ANTONIO -- San Antonio Police investigated a 25-year low of 79 murders in 2010, the third straight year murder rates declined, said Chief William McManus.

After 119 murder investigations in 2008, the number dropped to 99 in 2009, then dropped again by 20 this past year.

"This is very welcome news, and I think it's indicative of the hard work of our police department," said San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro.

(from KSAT-12)

Let's hope this trend continues.

A Democratic tussle

Did you hear about the ruckus at the meeting of the local Democrats? It's a sign of their recent troubles (which involve theft of taxpayer funds, among other things).

An attempt to reorganize the beleaguered Bexar County Democratic Party collapsed in chaos Tuesday night.

After an hour of raucous argument among executive committee members, a faction of party activists blocked Chairman Dan Ramos' attempt to designate new precinct leaders.

Ramos adjourned the meeting before any significant action was taken.

Precinct 2 Commissioner Paul Elizondo, who was there to swear in the new precinct chairpeople, left without performing the ritual because the meeting was short of a quorum.

The meeting in the Granada Homes ballroom opened with a tussle between two women over a sign-in sheet, a flare-up that resulted in an assault charge being filed.

The tension only rose from there, as some members yelled to get attention and others shouted in support of Ramos, who slammed the gavel repeatedly to try to regain order.

(from the Express-News)

And after that, it all went downhill.

Grabbin' the tongue

Watch out who you point your tongue at. Especially if they are in a bad mood and perhaps a bit out of control.

SAN ANTONIO -- San Antonio police arrested a man Friday who is accused of pulling a boy's tongue during in argument with the boy's mother.

Investigators said Chadwick Benoit, 38, pulled the 12-year-old's tongue because the boy stuck it out at him.

The San Antonio Express-News reported the boy got in between Benoit and his mother during the argument.

(from KSAT-12)

Bonus strangeness: The fancy monogram of the Bexar County Adult Detention Center, visible in this photo.





Actually, that's kind of cool. It shows that the County is saving some bucks in these hard times by making do with plain white T-shirts and black markers.

And, in case Anonymous wants to argue with me, I definitely think that picture is a mug shot.

Draining the River Walk

Did you know that this is the time of year the City drains the River Walk, to clean it up?

It is. If you have friends who are thinking of visiting San Antonio in the winter, tell them not to bother in early January. Tell them not to bother, that is, if they are the type to like the River Walk and all its beauty.

Because it's not that pretty this time of year.




On the other hand, if your friends are the type to enjoy knowing how things work, to want to see what lurks behind the scenes that makes all the magic happen, then perhaps this is the perfect time of year. You can spy such things when the water is pulled away.




Of course, if they do come, tell them to be careful. It's awfully muddy on the bottom of the drained river, and we wouldn't want them to fall in and get dirty. And for Pete's sake don't drop your credit card. Even with the low water it's hard to get those things back.




But there are so many neat things to see. Such as old, sawed-down supports under the Crockett Street bridge, which I think -- though by no means am I sure -- might have once held up a lower bridge that was replaced. Now they are forever forgotten, except for a few days in January.




Then tell your friends, Don't worry. Come anytime, really. The water will be back soon, and so will the fine weather. And all the tourists, and all the ducks, and all the reasons to drink up and have a good time.




Just make sure you drink one for me.

Tagging our history

I can't stand graffiti. People who do it have a very misguided sense self-importance.

But this takes the cake.

For the second time in about five years, someone has vandalized historic structures at Mission San Juan.

Black spray-painted symbols resembling the acronym “ATM” now mark one wall of the more than 200-year-old church and another structure that surrounds human remains on the South Side park's grounds.

The Rev. Jim Galvin, pastor for 12 years, said the same symbol appeared on a church wall four or five years ago. Whoever painted it was never caught, he said.

...

Visitors to the park Sunday, taking advantage of the warm weather and clear skies, were equally disgusted by the graffiti. The mission dates to 1731.

“The mission is part of the South Side,” said Mary Herrera, 47, who stopped at Mission San Juan to stretch her legs while teaching her 15-year-old daughter, Gabrielle, how to drive. “You're hitting home here — it's personal.”

First-time visitor Erica Ances, who toured all of the local missions Sunday, said she thinks the vandals should expect more than a possible federal charge.

“They're going to get haunted,” said Ances, 33.

(from the Express-News)

They should.