LOCAL: Alamo Heights, Monte Vista, Olmos Park, Downtown, King William, Terrell Hills, December 2013

www.salocallowdown.com

new city council seats

Kelli Cubeta

pg.00 Elections mean a new day for Olmos Park, officials say Priorities include hiring new city manager, public safety, economic development

COMMUNITY NEWS ALAMO HEIGHTS

Vol. 2, Issue 6

What's

INSIDE your community

pg. 03 local commentary SUSAN YERKES

King William

Illustration by Jeremiah Teutsch

Monte Vista

Olmos Park

Terrell Hills

12/2013

Plans for H-E-B downtown grocery latest in long saga pg.11 Company's plan to close off South Main Avenue has opposition

pg.14 Elder statesman

Quirky artist/activist of River Road

Photos by Josh Huskin

pg.16 Alta Vista writer teams up with novelist to pen two-in-one horror book Journalist-musician and SAPD officer want to scare readers

pg.19 Steves Homestead crossroads for Christmas past, present Tours of mansion in King William offer window to another time

fantastic deals

coupons INSIDE Discover the city through LOCAL deals from restaurants, retailers and services in your community, and save money while you do it! pg. 29

Photos by Joshua Michael

by eileen pace

T

he saga of H-E-B building a grocery store while closing off South Main Avenue is just the latest chapter in a long history of markets opening and shutting over the years in downtown San Antonio.

H-E-B wants to build a supermarket at South Flores Street and Cesar Chavez Boulevard, which is in keeping with plans by city leaders for the past few years to return a grocery store to downtown as the population grows.

But the proposal has met plenty of opposition — especially from neighbors

H-E-B continues on pg. 14

Southtown gallery not taking itself too seriously

pg.17 Longtime friends use alter egos to explore art world Photos by Joshua Michael

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december 2013

From the editor

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December 201

tedwards@salocallowdown.com

President Harold J. Lees LocaL is where Publisher you are.

Gregg Rosenfield

From THe eDITor

Happy holidays to all

tedwards@salocallowdown.co

Assoc. Publisher Rick Upton

TW

he holiday elcome is To Your FIrsT Issue oF season president locAl commuNITY NeWs. our LocaL is what Editorial upon us, and Harold J. Lees philosophy here at the newspaper Executive Editor we do. thatis keeping meansour goodwill readers in touch, informed publisher Thomas EdwardsGregg andand blessings to all.happening in their aware of what's Rosenfield neighborhoods No matter street by street, business by News Staff Assoc. publisher business, venue by venue and even in the what traditions Collette Orquiz andRick Will Wright Upton circles of government and education. you observe, the in addition, we want to help our advertisers Contributing Writers eDITorIAl message remains the and sponsors get the best results possible Olivier J. Bourgoin, executuve editorRose Mary Budge, by making LocAL the go-to choice for same: Peace to mankind.

Thomas Edwards Dan R. Goddard, Joyce Hotchkiss, Nicole consumers GETTING This reminds us ofwho thewant to know where the editorTravis E. Poling, Gianna TO time of year Lessin, managing Eileen Pace, greatest products and deals can be found.

Travis E. Poling KNOW qualities that bringWe outknow thereaders best inhave both a wide variety of sources to Rendon and Susan Yerkes NOW editorial Assistant ourselves and ourgetneighbors: information respect, about the world around them, but lOOkiNg fOr ART Collette Orquiz LocAL we're taking a new approach to an old tolerance, charityhere andat humility.

THomAs covering our local communities as thoroughly as contributing Writers Creative Director eDWArDs It is the seasonidea: of fellowship, of giving Bowlin, Joyce Hotchkiss possible by featuring stories on the events and news ExECuTivE EdiTor RichardSean Fisher Jr. gifts and strengthening bonds. and Kate Hunger that have a direct impact on your life, your family, your As the days grow shorter Production Designer neighbors andand yourthe friends.

• Army brat, grew up in proofreader • Editorial We want to focus on the everyday folks in the Joyce Hotchkiss temperature colder, it is not unusual San Antonio Pete Morales • ad dEsign/Editorial community as wellother as the news-makers; we want to • Has cats, to dogs findand us warming up to each ArT Contributing Photographers celebrate what is unique and what brings us together. horses by opening our hearts and our Director but to do this, we also need to hear from you – because Steven creative Gilmore, Josh Huskin, R. Fisher Favoritewallets movies:to help one’s fellow man. you are at the center of what we cover.

Joshuacontributing Michaels photographers and Mark Sohbani "Planet of the Apes" And while it's true And most know the season is we are supported by advertising (original), "Star Wars Collette Orquiz, Leland A. Outz emaiL Contributing Illustrator value the relationships and presents, but we have with our customers, Episodenot IV: A about New moneyand thomas edwards news and editorial content are independently Jeremiah Teutsch Hope" strengthening thethe ADVerTIsING ties of friendship produced by a team of top-flight journalists Advertising Directors old newspaper Advertising and community. and It also reminds us to photographers. or email Jaselle Luna nickname: "Kid Death" tedwards@salocallowdown.com Advertising Director LocAL is mailed directly each month to readers count our blessings and give thanks.

Account manager motto: Saving the world living in hill country Village, hollywood Park and ZiP

Here at LOCAL Community News, Shelly Talamantez Dawn Radick one sentence at a time.

As the San Antonio area codes 78232 and 78216. as we gather with friends and family for Manager continues to grow, knowing Account reADer serVIce This is not the only edition of LocAL we produce, bu the holidays, we want to take a moment mailing Address what’s happening just down the Kelly Jean it is the only edition tailored to your life, your interests, your community, your school Garza and Jennifer Parker 4204 Gardendale Ste. 201 SA, TX 78229 street is harder to keep up with. toorganizations. thank our readers and advertisers. and your Fax Local Community News monthly Controller phone even You if you didn't this newspaper delivered to your home or business, you can havehave given us a wonderful (210) 957.2799 338.8842 editions have got San Antonio Gerard (210) "Jerry" Sulaica keep up with all the stories we cover by visiting SALocalLowdown.com. gift: Your support. covered exploring neighborhood Advertising Inquiries LocAL wants to hear feedback on how we're doing, but also keep us in mind READER SERVICE With each issue we strive to provide rupton@salocallowdown.com issues and trends and letting anytime you see something interesting or hear of something going on in your Address readers know everything from whatMailing story Ideas intriguing insightful stories, as community you thinkand is newsworthy. tips@salocallowdown.com business is coming in the next For instance, thiskind inaugural edition you willoffers find stories about how technology 4204 Gardendale Ste. 201 SA, TX 78229 well asinthe of content that block over to how local government Website is helping emergency Medical Services tackle response times, efforts by neighbors information to enrich your lives and Fax Phone www.salocallowdown.com decisions will effect their lives. living near the San Antonio international Airport to soundproof their homes and a tell you more about your community.

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Correction Photos of a vacant lot that appeared in the November edition of LOCAL Community News incorrectly identified a parcel where a planned apartment and retail complex by Alamo Manhattan could be built.

Thomas Edwards executive Editor facebook.com/salocalcommunitynews

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local commentary

Plastic — it’s in the bag by susan yerkes

T

he holiday season is upon us. It’s the shopping-est time of the year.

And whether we’re buying groceries for festive holiday gatherings, or gifts for friends far and wide, there’s one thing the bulk of our purchases have in common: We’ll carry them out of the store in plastic bags.

Americans use more than 100 billion plastic shopping bags a year, most of them the thin, single-use type that come in handy for groceries and sundry shopping. Some folks reuse them – they’re especially good for scooping up cat litter or dog poop – before trashing them.

But useful as they may be, they still end up in landfills or blow down the road as urban tumbleweeds, getting stuck in trees or hedges and creating trash-jams in lakes, creeks and rivers. Unlike their free-range namesakes,

these tumbleweeds can take up to 1,000 years to decay. In addition, it requires at least 12 million barrels of oil a year to manufacture all those bags. And it takes a lot of money to clean up the mess. In San Antonio alone, officials estimate the city spends about $1.3 million a year cleaning up and recycling plastic bags.

The bags are back in the news these days, ever since District 7 Councilman Cris Medina recently put forward a proposal to ban the bags in most grocery and retail stores. You can expect a lot of discussion in the next couple of months, before the City Council votes on the idea.

Medina is not the first to suggest a ban to help curb the plastic bag build-up. In the past decade, as plastic waste kept piling up, legislation aimed at fixing the bag mess was introduced at local, state and national levels.

Back in 2010, Washington, D.C., implemented what some folks call a “backdoor bag ban” – a law requiring shoppers to pay 5 cents each time they need a recyclable plastic bag. The action was spurred by a disgraceful plastic pile-up in the Anacostia River — which flows through the nation’s capital. This past spring, veteran Virginia congressman Jim Moran introduced a national bill modeled on the D.C. law.

This issue isn’t going to go away.

In the past few years, many Texas leaders

have gotten on the bag-ban bandwagon.

Back in 2009, when environmentalists were beginning to sound the alarm about the plastic pileup, state Sen. Leticia Van De Putte of San Antonio filed a fairly mild bill in the Texas lege to require businesses that routinely bagged purchases in plastic to at least provide reusable bags.

Brownsville passed the first municipal bag ban in the state. South Padre Island passed a ban, as did El Paso. Austin passed a bag ban last year, and Dallas and Houston leaders are currently considering the issue.

San Antonio took a step toward at least curtailing bag use in 2011 with a voluntary “Change Is In the Bag” program with H-E-B, Target, Walgreens, JCPenney and Walmart. The stores encouraged recyclable bag use, and set up collection points where single-use bags could be left for recycling.

Unfortunately, the program was a bust.

As long as plastic bags are free and easy to get, folks keep using them. They sure are convenient, after all. It may take something like a bag ban to get people to actually make a dent in plastic-bag proliferation.

There’s been some blowback on the bag bans, too. This spring, state Rep. Drew Springer, riding the Ted Cruz/tea party wave, filed a “Shopping Bag Freedom Act” bill that would have banned cities from banning plastic bags.

This is Texas, after all.

We love the land, but we’ll be damned if we’re going to let somebody else, especially the government, tell us how to take care of it.

One of these days, when I’m out on the freeway (or the toll road), I fully expect to see a bumper sticker that reads: “You can have my plastic bag when you pry it out of my cold, dead hands.”

In the meantime, happy holidays!

Email comments to syerkes@ salocallowdown.com

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december 2013 OUR GUIDE TO YOUR MONTH

Happening LOCAL

Plan your month with our calendar of upcoming events in the community.

through Jan

HOLIDAY SPARKLE The twinkling

lights – more than a million of 6 them — are on at the University of the Incarnate Word. The campus, at 4301 Broadway, is open for self-guided tours every evening through the Feast of the Epiphany.

dec

TOY DAY Harking back to

firefighters’ toy drives of the 1930s, the Institute of Texan Cultures offers free admission to children 12 and younger who bring a new, unwrapped toy for the San Antonio Fire Department’s 2013 collection drive. There will be holiday music and crafts, Santa Claus and a “pastorela” morality play performed

by Los Belen Pastores. The event runs

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from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Institute, 801 E. Cesar Chavez Blvd. Admission for those 12-64 is $8, $7 for seniors and $6 for children 3-11 without a toy.

dec

ART

dec

TERRELL HILLS CITY COUNCIL

dec

THE SOUNDS OF CHRISTMAS AT VILLA FINALE The house

The council starting at 5 p.m. will 9 discuss the 2014 fiscal year budget at City Hall, 5100 N. New Braunfels Ave.

"HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS"

The McNay Art Museum, 6000 8 N. New Braunfels Ave., will hold its annual holiday brunch from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. A special musical performance is promised. For more information, or to reserve a spot, call 805-1761.

dec

h a pp e n i n g k e y

ALAMO HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL

The council meets 5:30 p.m.

9 at 1248 Austin Highway, Suite 220. The meeting for Dec. 23 is canceled.

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museum and gardens in King William will host the San Antonio Brass from 6:30 to 8 p.m. for an outdoor concert of traditional Christmas songs and other holiday tunes. The gates open at 6 p.m., and light holiday refreshments will be served.

The cost is $20 for members of Villa Finale/ National Trust, or $25 for non-members.

Villa Finale is at 401 King William St.

MADRIGAL DINNER The Alamo Heights High School 13, 14 Choral Department will create a sumptuous medieval atmosphere with music and a feast served by costumed students singing period carols. Guests will be led by candlelight into the school’s auditorium, which will become a castle banquet hall, complete with a royal court.

A short concert concludes the evening.

Tickets are $25 each for those age 10 and up; to purchase them, call choir director Angus McLeod at 832-5718, ext.

5751, or email him at amcleod@ahisd. net. The programs run 6 to 8 p.m. each night. The school is at 6900 Broadway. dec

In the photo bottom left, Rahime Bulut (left) and Aycel Inalhan prepare a dish during a recent Turkish cooking class at the Raindrop Turkish House on the North Side. In the bottomright photo, Inalhan scoops ingredients into a bowl. Photos by Mark Sobhani

dec

13-15

INTERNATIONAL ARTISAN FAIR This edition of pop-up

shopping at the Pearl Brewery will feature works by artisans from 14 countries. A preview party from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Dec. 13 costs $75; to sign up, go to http://atpearl.com and click on the event name under December Featured Events. The fair is 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Dec. 14; admission costs $5 for those

TALK

outdoor

Music

FOOD

16 and older. Dec. 15, noon to 4 p.m., is Children’s Day and will offer special activities for the young ones. Admission costs $3 for those 16 and older. The popup site is 306 Pearl Parkway, Suite 110.

GAUDEAMUS HOLIDAY CONCERT A benefit concert for

dec

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St. Luke’s Episcopal Church will feature the St. Luke’s Choir and Choristers at 6 p.m., with a reception to follow at 7 p.m. There’s no admission cost, but there will be a free-will offering during the concert. To reserve a seat, contact Russell Jackson at russellj@stlukes-sa.net or call 828-6425; the seating is first come, first served. Sponsors are always needed. The church is at 11 St. Luke’s Lane, at JonesMaltsberger Road, in Alamo Heights.

dec

14, 15

"WE NEED A LITTLE CHRISTMAS" This musical

celebration by the Fiesta City Chorus of Sweet Adelines International will raise funds for the chorus and for the Elf Louise Christmas Project. Performances are at 7 p.m. Dec. 14 and 2 p.m. Dec. 15 at the Josephine Theatre, 339 W. Josephine St. Tickets cost $15, or $12 for seniors, military personnel or groups of six or more; call the Josephine box office, 7344646, or go to www.josephinetheatre.org.

dec

OLMOS PARK CITY COUNCIL

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The council meets 6 p.m. at City Hall, 120 W. El Prado Drive.

dec

FREE WELLNESS SERIES

Revolucion Coffee + Juice, 7959 Broadway in The Collection shopping center, offers information on low testosterone in men. The session, which starts at 6 p.m., will be led by Jacob Torres, a chiropractor certified in functional

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Time for a classic? A gorgeous smile is timeless.

For patients who experience anxiety, we offer Twilight Sedation.

Mention this ad and receive 1/2 OFF the sedation fee, through December.

210-824-9566

Ivy Lane Dentistry is a full service family dental office offering a superior experience in family care, orthodontics, cosmetic dentistry for over 15 years.

Happy Holidays from

See Details at:

ivylanedentistry.net 1073 Ivy Lane, San Antonio, TX 78209

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endocrinology. Complimentary coldpressed juice and snacks will be offered.

Reserve a spot by calling 701-0725.

through dec

"MERRY CHRISTMAS MOUSE" The Magik Theatre

21 every Saturday at 10:30 a.m. through Dec. 21 presents this holidaythemed show for kids at 420 S. Alamo St. Admission is adult and children (2 to 17 years), $10; seniors (60 and older), military and educator with valid ID, $1 off; children under 2 are free. To reserve tickets, go to www.magiktheatre.org. dec

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT The

San Antonio Audubon Society Volunteers – from non-birders to experts – to help with the annual bird count. The 114th national count takes place in 15-mile-wide circles and runs from dawn to dusk; to volunteer and determine when and where you will count, email Steve Hawkins at shawkins4@satx.rr.com.

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dec 23 jan 3

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS

The Alamo Heights and North East independent school districts are out for the season, with classes resuming Jan. 6

dec

BOOK LAUNCH PARTY

mistress of ceremonies. The luncheon begins at 11:30 a.m. at the San Antonio Country Club, 4100 N. New Braunfels Ave. Tickets cost $65, and may be purchased individually and in tables of eight and 10; to purchase them, or for more information, call the League at 732-1200. The reservation deadline is Jan. 3.

jan

SOLITAIRES' FIRST TUESDAY LUNCHEON The Alamo Chapter,

Elsewhere in San Antonio RAINDROP TURKISH HOUSE saturdays COOKING CLASSES These

Local romance writer 28 Teri Wilson’s latest book, “Unleashing Mr. Darcy,” will be celebrated at Bird Bakery, 5912 Broadway, from 6 to 9 p.m. Sparkling wine and special cupcakes will spice up the event.

7

Military Officers Association of America, invites single officers, whether they are active-duty or retired, as well as the widows or widowers of officers to its monthly luncheon. It takes place at 11 a.m. at the Fort Sam Houston Golf Clubhouse.

No registration is required, but attendees must pay their own way. If they are not members, they also must be willing to join the chapter; an application is available at http:// www.alamomoaa.org/membership.cfm.

LIT 'N LUNCH The Assistance League of San Antonio will use 10 this literary-oriented event to raise money for children’s clothing and programs, including its “I’m in Charge” project. Featured speakers include Paulette Jiles-Johnson, the author of “Enemy Women” and other novels.

Bexar County Sheriff Susan Pamerleau will be jan

classes, for women only, demonstrate how to prepare Turkish dishes, and the menu changes every week. They take place from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Raindrop Turkish House, 4337 Vance Jackson Road; cost is $10 per session. The menu for Dec. 7 will be stuffed cabbage leaves, Tarhana soup, salad and Kataifi dessert. Dishes prepared at recent classes include Squash Boats, Turkish Noodles with Cheese, Stuffed Mince Balls and Yogurt Soup. Reservations are required; email rwasanantonio@ turkishhouse.org or call 979-422-9260.

december weekends

SANTA'S RAILROAD WONDERLAND The Texas

Transportation Museum offers nighttime train rides and hayrides around

its decorated grounds from 6 to 9 p.m.

Dec. 7-8, 14-15, 21-22 and 28. There’s also a historic depot, scale-model train layouts and even Choo Choo Claus. Admission costs $10 for adults and $7 for children 2-12; those under 2 get in free. Check the website, www.txtransportationmuseum.org, for information on group rates, discounted tickets and online ticket purchases. The museum is at 11731 Wetmore Road.

dec

CHRISTMAS LUNCHEON The

North San Antonio Retired Teachers Association will open its annual luncheon with a “meet and greet” coffee at 10:30 a.m., followed by a performance by the Sweet Adelines singing group at 11 a.m. and lunch 30 minutes later. Members are encouraged to bring a friend, too. The catered lunch costs $15. Reservations, which are required, can be made by calling Michelle Bibb at 494-8197 before Dec. 11. The event will take place at San Pedro Presbyterian Church, 14900 San Pedro Ave.

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Submitting events: Email all

the details along with your contact information two months in advance to tips@salocallowdown.com.

we are on instagram.com/localcommunitynews

Wishing you a Happy Holiday Season

make sure to us on

Northeast Methodist Plaza 12709 Toepperwein, Suite 309 San Antonio, TX 78233 (210) 657-4099

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facebook.com/salocalcommunitynews

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december 2013

Address of local business

LOCAL LOWDOWN

Name of local business

Take a quick look at what’s new in the community from opening and closings to news tidbits.

Open and Opening Soon

are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and closed Sunday. For more, call 233-8430 or visit www.nothingbundtcakes.com.

9. BEAT STREET COFFEE CO. & BISTRO,

1. CINNABAR, 1420 S. Alamo St., Suite

2512 N Main Ave., has opened in the Monte Vista Historic District and is a coffee, tapas and wine bar. Hours are 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to midnight Tuesday through Saturday. For more, call 320-2099 or visit http://beatstreetcoffee.com.

147, is a new gallery at the Blue Star Arts Complex that features sculpture, photographs and other creative works, including jewelry. Hours are noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 1-4:30 p.m. Sunday and closed Monday. For more, call 557-6073. (See story on page 23)

IN OTHER NEWS Bill Sheridan has returned as general

2. C.I. CASTRO & CO., 3503 N.E. Parkway, is a children's clothing and fabric outlet that makes upscale apparel for high-end retailers, but also sells wares from its outlet store off of Austin Highway. The company moved to the new site from another San Antonio location. For more, call 733-3961. (See story on page 22)

The Tuk Tuk Tap Room on Broadway offers a variety of southeast Asian foods, has 60 different beers and eight wines, and features Tuk Tuk Lychee Lemongrass Kombucha on tap, a tea unique to the restaurant and made in collaboration with Austin tea brewer Buddha's Brew. Photos by Collette Orquiz

3. TUK TUK TAP ROOM, 1702 Broadway,

opened just a few months ago offering fare that includes craft brews and Asian street food from Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. There is also a patio and an outdoor beer garden. Hours are 5 p.m. to midnight Tuesday through Thursday and 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday. For more, call 222-8277, check out the website at http://tuktuktaproom.com or visit them on Facebook. (See story on page 25)

4. FROST 321, based in North-Central

San Antonio, caters events and uses liquid nitrogen at minus-321 degrees to produce ice creams and cocktails. The liquid nitrogen freezes ice and even alcohol, creating tiny frozen crystals that yield "the creamiest frozen treats possible." For more, call 802-1321, www.frost321.com. (See story on page 24)

5. SOPHIA'S MEXICAN CAFE, 2427

manager of La Fonda Alamo Heights, 6402 N. New Braunfels Ave. Sheridan, who worked as a former food distributer, was first hired as the general manager of the popular restaurant in 1982 after the death of owner Jack Berry. La Fonda had been one of his accounts and Berry relied on him to do much of the ordering on his own. Sheridan left the restaurant 10 years

5

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hand-crafted cocktails such as Cucumber Collins, Blackberry Sidecar and Broad Street Hurricane. Open seven days a week. For more, call 227-8847 or visit www.ruthschris.com.

Austin Highway, serves homemade Mexican food, chips and salsa, tortillas and other delicacies. Open 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Monday through Friday, and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. For more, call 637-0723 or visit Sophia’s Mexican Café/Facebook.

7. KENDRA SCOTT, 310 E. Basse Road, Suite 101, debuts in The Alamo Quarry Market in a 20,000-square-foot space to sell earrings, bracelets, rings and other jewelry. This is the second San Antonio location for the Austinbased retailer. For more, call 591-7180 or visit http://www.kendrascott.com/stores.

6. RUTH'S CHRIS STEAK HOUSE, 600 E.

Market St., Suite L-101 in the River Walk Grand Hyatt, moved in mid-September from St. Paul Square to this new location.

In addition to the traditional sizzling steaks and other fare, new items include breakfast (starting at 6 a.m.) and lunch as well as a "Sizzle, Swizzle & Swirl" Happy Hour menu available 3-6 p.m. Monday through Friday at the bar. It also features specialty

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6 1

8. NOTHING BUNDT CAKES, 5164 Broadway,

is a bakery that just opened in Alamo Heights featuring classic and reinvented bundt cakes in a variety of flavors. It is the 77th bakery in 19 states for the Las Vegas-based company. Hours

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210-844-7001

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salocallowdown.com

later, only to be rehired in 2000 by then-owner Rick Shaw. He left again in 2010, but current owner Hans White, who bought the restaurant in March 2012, persuaded him to return.

Chef Jeff Balfour has announced he

will open a restaurant on the ground floor of the historic Pearl Brewery brew house sometime in fall 2014, according to a release.

After a stint at Max's Austin,

executive chef Justin Johnson joins the San Antonio team at Max's Wine Dive, 340 E. Basse Road, suite 101.

San Antonio’s Alamo Chapter,

National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, celebrated its 100th anniversary during a luncheon Nov. 9 at the Petroleum Club. The chapter first met Nov. 13, 1913, at the Travis Building.

Texas House Speaker Joe Straus,

R-San Antonio, has filed for re-election in District 121. Straus is a fifth-generation Texan, San Antonio native and small-business owner. Straus was first elected to the House in a special election in February 2005. The district includes Alamo Heights, Olmos Park, Terrell Hills and northeastern San Antonio.

The recently released details for the Hemisfair Phase 1 design for the 4-acre, southwest-corner parcel at Cesar Chavez Boulevard and South Alamo Street include several state-ofthe-art climbing structures, an acequiainspired splash pad, a riverbank sand dig, shaded courtyards and more.

enjoys playing clarinet and bass clarinet for the school band and plays volleyball.

Vincent Rodriguez, a former journalist, is now the chief of staff for the University of the Incarnate Word. He will direct the day-to-day operations of the president's office and act as the aide to UIW President Dr. Lou Agnese Jr.

A recent ribbon cutting marked the debut of the new SPARK grounds at Neal Elementary School, 3407 Capitol Ave. The SPARK Program, under the auspices of San Antonio Sports, repurposes greenspace on campuses and turns them into school parks open to the community.

In addition to a quarter-mile running track, other features include a soccer field and recreational resting areas.

The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning recently honored the University of the Incarnate Word with its Institutional Service Award. UIW joins 29 other past honorees. The university is a private Catholic institution founded in 1881 and sponsored

by Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word.

It is the largest Catholic university in Texas with an enrollment of 9,000 students.

"Artemis Rising," a Greek-gods fantasy

dedicated a new educational space in honor of Marie Swartz, a former San Antonio Public Library board member. The Marie Swartz Art Resource Center is a partnership with the Southwest School of Art that will serve as the library of record for the school’s new bachelor of fine arts degree program next year. The 4,500-square-foot center, on the second floor of the Central Library at 600 Soledad St., houses print materials

novel penned by Alamo Heights High School student Emma Hodgson, 16, has just been released by Tate Publishing and Enterprises. The story details the struggles of Artemis to balance her life as both a god and a mortal girl. The novel is available at bookstores, www.tatepublishing.com/ bookstore, barnesandnoble.com and amazon.com. Hodgson, an honors student,

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The San Antonio Fire Department

has opened its newest facility, Fire Station 28, at 15 Burwood Lane in District 1.

It replaces the old Fire Station 28 on El Monte Boulevard. The new station is dedicated in honor of Fire Chief I.O. Martinez, the city's first Mexican-American fire chief and the one who hired the first female firefighters. He served as chief from 1974-1988 and died in 2009.

Heather Monroe, a San Antonio native, has been named the new president of the Downtown Residents Association.

Monroe is the co-owner and manager of downtown business The Bike Waiter.

Credit cards are now being accepted at city parking facilities, including four garages and six lots. St. Mary’s Garage, Houston Street Garage, Marina Garage, Central Library Garage, Dolorosa Lot, Market Square Lot, Houston/Nolan Lot, Continental Lot, Interstate 35 Lots and Municipal Court Parking Lot accept credit cards as part of a technology upgrade at city parking facilities.

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december 2013

LOCAL Live Music

The Last Ten Seconds of Life, Indirections, Buried Under Texas, 2:30 p.m., Backstage Live, $20/$22

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12/17 Robert Earl Keen’s Merry Christmas from the Fam-O-Lee, 8 p.m., Majestic Theatre, $27.50/$39.50

12/8 Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, 7 p.m., AT&T Center, $52.71/$118.77 12/10 Corb Lund, 8 p.m., Sam’s Burger Joint, $10 12/11 Creole Christmas, 7:30 p.m., Charline McCombs Empire Theatre, $29/$110 12/12 The Irish Tenors: Holiday Celebration Tour, 8 p.m., Majestic Theatre, $47.50/$67.50 12/12 Drowning Pool, Minister Fiend, Audiomouth, Last We Fall, 7 p.m., Backstage Live, $16 12/13 Slam City Tour: Suicidal Tendencies, Terror, Trash Talk, The Inspector Cluzo, 7 p.m., Backstage Live, $20/$25 12/14 Everything Is Bigger In Texas Fest II: Upon A Burning Body, The Color Morale, As Blood Runs Black, I Declare War, Fit For An Autopsy,

12/15 REO Speedwagon, 7:30 p.m., Majestic Theatre, $40/$75

LOCAL HEALTH

The latest in medical, health care and fitness news for your community.

AvestÉe Women’s Imaging Center of Alamo Heights has received the

12/19 The 2013 Holiday Havoc Festival, 7 p.m., The Korova, $10 12/20 Magna Carter World Tour: Jay Z, 8 p.m., AT&T Center, $44.41/$144.92 12/20 The Reverend Horton Heat, Dale Watson, Two Tons of Steel, 7 p.m., The Korova, $20/$25 12/22 Carolyn Wonderland, Guy Forsyth Holiday Show, 7 p.m., Sam’s Burger Joint, $20/$25 12/23 Garret T. Capps and the Only Hipsters, John Edward Baumann and The Rolling Blackouts, 7 p.m., Sam’s Burger Joint, $5 12/27 Scott H. Biram, 8 p.m., Sam’s Burger Joint, $10/$40 12/28 Trans-Siberian Orchestra: The Lost Christmas Eve, 3 p.m. & 8 p.m., AT&T Center, $57.66/$90.58 12/29 Robert Ellis, Shakey Graves, 8 p.m., Sam’s Burger Joint, $12/$15 12/31 New Year’s Eve Party: Two Tons of Steel, 9 p.m., Sam’s Burger Joint, $16/$20 1/4 Shine On: The Definitive Pink Floyd Concert Experience, 8 p.m., Majestic Theatre, $36/$46

American College of Radiology’s “Breast Center of Excellence” accreditation. The award was earned by passing a review in mammography, stereotactic breast biopsy and breast ultrasound. For more, call 826-2666 or visit AvestÉeimaging.com.

Families of cornea donors, transplant recipients and health care professionals recently participated in a memorial for donors at the Bright Shawl, 819 Augusta St. About 300 yellow balloons were released to remember donors and the lives transformed through the gift of sight. Transplant recipients and families of donors shared

Mike Koroscik is the new chief executive officer of the Institute for Women’s Health, an obstetrics-gynecology practice with locations across San Antonio. Koroscik was recently the CEO at Austin Urology.

He has more than 20 years of experience managing large medical groups and hospitals. For more, visit www.ifwh.org.

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The University of the Incarnate Word selected Dr. Robyn Phillips-Madson

Dr. Caroline Spana, director of student affairs in the Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing & Health Professions, celebrates 50 years of service at the University of the Incarnate Word. She spent more than 12 years on the University Planning Commission and as director of the bachelor of science in nursing program.

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salocallowdown.com

local our turn

Views and opinions about your community.

The best gift ever — water

D

on't let all the recent rain fool you. The drought is far from over.

And while some cities may relax water restrictions, that's no reason for residents in the greater San Antonio area to take the supply for granted.

As the population continues to grow and more developments rise, the demands for water will only increase.

Water is the new oil.

That is why conservation measures are still important. The Edwards Aquifer — San Antonio's primary source of drinking water — is still very low. That should concern all of us.

The historic low came in 1956 when the aquifer hit 612 feet. A historic drought gripped Texas in the 1950s, but in some areas of the state today the dry spell is actually worse.

During the last half century, the demand on the aquifer has increased beyond its supply capacity.

The same is true for watersheds, lakes and reservoirs across Texas. Government agencies are being forced to take drastic measures, such as curtailing water releases to rice farmers in southeast Texas.

Voters Nov. 5 also approved a constitutional amendment that

allows the state to dip into the rainy day fund to allocate $2 billion to water resources when needed.

More money, cutting off water to farmers, desalinization plants, pipelines… All of these may someday have a beneficial effect, but what about here and how?

That's where you, the individual, come in. As repetitious as it may sound, continue practicing water conservation.

It's the best holiday gift ever — the promise of a needed resource.

If some climatologists are to be be believed, this could be the state's worst drought in 500 years, according to studies of tree rings.

And it's not going to get any better, at least for a while. Forecasters predict that in spite of additional stormy weather, water levels won't return to normal for some time.

Without adequate water, our towns and cities will have trouble attracting businesses and sustaining growth.

The good news is there will probably be enough rain over the next few months to help raise levels, but it won't be enough to end the drought.

From Alamo Heights to Schertz, residents are struggling to conserve, to plant drought-tolerant vegetation and to continue practices that preserve the fragile balance between keeping adequate water flowing without draining supplies.

There is no simple answer. The best strategy to preserve water for ourselves and the generations to come is to simply remember to conserve every chance we get. Don't waste a drop.

THE Answer for Cancer The very best cancer care saves the life you’re living today.

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At CTRC, we work hard every day to help you and your family find the answer for cancer.

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The Local Community News editorial board includes Harry Lees, Gregg Rosenfield and Thomas Edwards.

Send letters to the editor to tedwards@salocallowdown.com or snail mail them to Local Community News, 4204 Gardendale, Suite 201, San Antonio, TX 78229. We reserve the right to edit for taste, grammar and length.

Reader Comments Too late for civility?

Editor: Regarding the editorial in the November edition, it is apparently too late for "compromise" or "civility" to work effectively in this country. Mob psychology seems to have taken over.

Admittedly the GOP had nothing to gain from jumping in front of the runaway train, but "furloughs" are nothing new, and government bankruptcy and its aftermath are a real possibility. This is why we have three branches of government.

Radicalism begets a like reaction, if and

when there are two sides to the issue. In this case it is one of prudent fiscal responsibility, i.e. "enjoy the present but preserve the future" for the sake of the people.

David Montjoye

Reader really enjoys LOCAL Editor: Thank you for LOCAL Community News. It is the best journalism I have the pleasure of reading. I also receive other news publications, but neither compare. Keep it coming.

M. Ison

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10

Elections continues from pg. 01

Where Quality of Life is what YOU say it is!

At Embrace Hospice we strive to bring back the original principles of the hospice philosophy. We are a locally owned company with a passion for elevating the quality of care.

According to the Administrator of the agency, “It’s not just about doing a job, or providing care – because all agencies provide the same basics, we have to. For us it is about making ‘going above and beyond’ the norm and improving from there. We have been honored to provide care for this family through their darkest hour. Our job is not to shine during this time, but to ensure the family shines, and continues to shine thereafter.”

In today’s world Hospice is still a scary word synonymous with death and dying. While it is the basis of hospice to provide care for a terminally ill patient during the last phases of a disease process, we are not here to help people pass. What we at Embrace Hospice put into the forefront of our care is the idea of Living until the End. We want you to experience life to the fullest and make this time the best that it can be. The passing of a loved one, while incredibly sad, does not have to be a horrible experience.

We at Embrace believe that with the right care and education, the passing of a loved one can be just a heartfelt experience that the family remembers for all the love and compassion that was shared and felt during the experience. We want to celebrate that which our loved ones meant to us and remember them for what they gave to us. It does not have to be the depressive time most people come to expect with the thought of death.

Because of this, Embrace does not focus solely on the patient. At Embrace it is important to know that the family is handling the passing of their loved one. We continue to make visits to the family. We understand that anticipatory grieving is different than actually grieving so we continue to follow to ensure that we are still available to help if the situation arises. Our goal is to help people… …Embrace Families …Embrace Care …Embrace Patients …Embrace Hospice 10918 Vance Jackson Rd., Suite 210 San Antonio, TX 78230 Phone: 210.691.3600 Fax: 210.558.0888 administrator@embracehospicellc.com

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Cubeta, Judson excited about new city roles by nicole lessin

O

LMOS PARK — The election of new council members and the narrowing search for a city manager are putting the municipality back on track after the city faced several challenges the last few months, officials said.

The Nov. 5 election saw Kelli Cubeta and Jeff Judson take the two City Council seats left vacant by the resignations of Ernie Locker and Gayle Girdley, and by early next year the city could hire a replacement for City Manager Mike Simpson, who stepped down July 31 for personal reasons.

“We are in the last stages of choosing a city manager, and we have three candidates that we are proposing to the City Council,” said Mayor Kenneth Farrimond of the hiring process. “We hope to have the new city manager start work the first of January, but it totally depends on the council interviewing the three candidates.”

City Secretary Celia DeLeon is serving as interim city manager.

Meanwhile, after the election for the at-large seats, city officials wasted no time swearing in Judson, a former councilman, and Cubeta, an attorney.

Judson, who served on the council from 2007-12, said he had decided to not run for re-election in past years because he and other council members didn't have the same aims.

“They seemed to have a lot of meetings and talked a lot, but didn’t get a whole lot done," said Judson, a principal for Jeff Judson & Associates, a public-policy consulting group. "So I didn’t think it was a productive place for me to volunteer my time, but I think that’s all changed.”

He looks forward to working with his new council colleagues, he added.

“I think we are back to having a well-rounded group of people with a diverse skill set," he said. "In the last few council meetings, there have been calm, rational discussions about meeting the challenges of the city.”

One priority for Judson is working with PSW Real Estate, which is seeking to redevelop the 300 block of Olmos Drive by removing several

december 2013

multiplex units and building instead 18 single-family dwellings.

“The first thing I’m going to work on is to make sure that proposed development on Olmos Drive is something the community will be proud of,” he said.

“Olmos Drive is the gateway to the city … We need to make sure that what is built there fits in with the community.”

Judson said he is working with architects who live in Olmos Park who are informally suggesting ways the developers can make their plans fit better with the surrounding neighborhood, while at the same time considering possible ways the council could make the building process more flexible.

Cubeta, a resident since 2007 and general counsel for ISS Facility Services, said that keeping the city safe is a priority

for her as a new member of the council.

“Relatively recently, we had a rash of thefts — an unfortunate circumstance in the community — and our police force did a wonderful job,” she said. “It’s definitely under control, but it really kind of haunted me to think about what can I do to make sure that I’m staying involved.”

In addition, Cubeta, who has a master of business administration degree from Texas Tech University and an undergraduate degree in business from Texas A&M University in addition to her law degree, said hearing voters' concerns during the election process has expanded her list of priorities to include responsible economic development, among other issues.

“I just look forward to digging in and getting involved,” she said.

Jeff Judson has returned to the Olmos Park City Council

Illustration by Jeremiah Teutsch

11

salocallowdown.com In the meantime, Cubeta has also been on the hiring committee, which has gone through more than 50 applications to narrow down the finalists for the city-manager position.

“I have been very impressed in terms of the pool of candidates, and I have no doubt that we are going to pick someone who is capable, competent and ready to take Olmos Park in the right direction,” she said.

Nonetheless, both Cubeta and Judson

said DeLeon is doing an excellent job as interim city manager and that there is no need to be hasty.

“I think it’s an important process, and I think it’s something that we need to take due consideration and not rush into a decision,” Cubeta said.

“We owe a lot of thanks to Celia for that because she’s doing such a good job, it gives everyone the opportunity to really make a thoughtful choice for the city-manager position.”

TREATING SENIORS IS NOT JUST A PART OF OUR SERVICE. IT IS OUR SERVICE.

H-E-B continues from pg. 01

Grocery giant committed to helping area grow, official says who worry the closure of South Main will negatively affect smaller businesses.

The regional giant intends to make the proposed store a vital partner in the area, said H-E-B's Dya Campos.

“The store will be a success. We’ll tweak it and do what we need to do to make sure the store fits the needs of the neighborhood,” Campos said.

H-E-B’s proposal to the city to build a 10,000-square-foot store at the corner includes the closure of South Main so the company can expand its nearby headquarters.

H-E-B earlier said it would forgo the $1 million incentive package the city had offered in its original request for information, or RFI, in the spring.

THE CONCEPT

The city contracted with HR&A Advisors out of New York, an economic -development planning firm, to research San Antonio’s downtown grocery needs, according to Lori Houston, director of the city’s Center City Development Office.

She said the city stipulated the specifications of the desired grocery store model based on the study’s findings and put out the RFI in March, asking area grocers to present packages that addressed the specifications: • A square footage requirement of 15,000 to 20,000 square feet • One location to allow for a full line of products • A grocer with experience The proprietor would need to own property or already have

property under contract on which to build a grocery store.

“You need a grocery store that has products that include things like laundry detergent, fresh fruit, cleaning supplies and paper towels,” Houston said. “You need one location because it would take the one location with the amount of square footage to get the product diversity that is necessary to really be a grocery store that your residents and employees and visitors to the area would use.”

The RFI was designed with the future in mind – to serve the number of residents who would inhabit downtown after most of the housing development is complete.

Although H-E-B’s proposal was for a much smaller store, it most closely matched the specifications. Three other proposals were eliminated.

GROCERY HISTORY

Downtown residents have usually been able to find food in the area.

Smaller grocery stores proliferated until the big-box stores pushed them out.

Handy Andy may have been the largest downtown store in the 20th century.

Rick Casey, former columnist with the San Antonio Light and the San Antonio Express-News and current host of "Texas Week" on KLRN-TV, remembers the Handy Andy just south of King William.

“That was the only full-fledged grocery store downtown I think in modern times. I’m sure there were others on the edge of downtown, historically speaking, but not in many years,” he said.

Years ago, there was a fiveand-dime on Alamo Plaza that carried food, Casey added.

“They had a grocery section in

H-E-B continues on pg. 12

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H-E-B continues from pg. 11 their basement,” Casey said. “It was not exactly Whole Foods. I used to say that they should label their vegetables so you would know what they were.”

Piggly Wiggly occupied the eastern side of Broadway across from Pearl Parkway for many years.

Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, who also is a former San Antonio mayor, owned Sun Harvest Farms natural foods stores for about 30 years in San Antonio and Austin.

“Before the advent of major supermarkets in the '70s or '80s, there used to be a ton of mom-and-pop stores," he said. "There were Chinese grocery stores, the West Side was proliferated with neighborhood grocery stores. Ricardo Romo’s (University of Texas at San Antonio president) family had a grocery store."

“Slowly but surely the large supermarkets put the small grocery stores out of business,” Wolff added.

december 2013

at the edge of King William has stirred the ire of neighbors who don’t want the other half of the proposal — closing off South Main where it runs through property owned by H-E-B’s Arsenal headquarters.

Residents such as Naomi

Shihab Nye have been outspoken about the proposed closure.

"We are very sorry that our beloved H-E-B did not figure out a way to leave us a walking and bike plan on South Main at least," said Nye, a celebrated poet. "We are

sad that our South Main neighborhood, which has always been proud of being so close and connected to downtown, is being turned into a dead end."

Charlotte Luongo heads Main Access Coalition, an advocacy organization

Now H-E-B plans to create a 10,000-squarefoot grocery near King William, but its plans to close off South Main Avenue are opposed by some residents. Photo

by Joshua Michael

STREET CLOSURE

The discussion of the proposed H-E-B

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The city in late November presented a report to the King William Association and the San Antonio Conservation Society that looked at the impact of a street closure for a grocery store near South Main Avenue and Cesar Chavez Boulevard. Photo by Joshua Michael

residents formed after learning of H-E-B’s plan to close the street.

“We’re talking about overall connectivity,” Luongo said. “We’re talking about the economic impact on existing small businesses. You shut down that street and you create a mega block."

Research shows a mega block decreases "the connectivity of a city street grid" and harms area businesses, she added.

Jason Roberts, founder of Better Block, which was hired by the city to create pop-up blocks to promote complete streets and revitalization of declining areas, said “superblocks” tend to break up the walkable network.

“They promote auto-centric use, which can stifle the long-term revitalization of the area,” Roberts said. “Sadly, once an infrastructure change is made, it typically isn't undone for at least half a century.”

In late November, when the city presented its new traffic report to the King William Association and the San Antonio Conservation Society, both groups signed off on the street closure.

According to the study, "When the recommended improvements are constructed, the proposed H-E-B expansion, grocery store, gas station and anticipated 2 percent growth will not decrease the … level of service of the streets or intersections."

Houston, of the Center City Development Office, said the trafficimpact analysis will help the city determine "what improvements need to be done to mitigate" any challenges.

LONG-TERM PLAN

The Food Policy Council of San Antonio is not on board with the plans

for the single 10,000-square-foot store.

“The central fact that has been mostly ignored is food itself,” council president Len Trevino said. A grocer should provide “downtown residents, including the urban core, with a convenient way to obtain healthy, affordable food and supplies.”

The H-E-B proposal and illustrations reveal a suburban supermarket mindset, he added. The council worries the store will carry only supplemental food.

“Hardly the solution we hoped for,” Trevino said.

H-E-B has presented a five-year plan for the store, which some have taken to mean the company wants to abandon the location after it gets the street closure and campus expansion.

Campos said that’s not true.

“H-E-B does not open stores to close them,” Campos said.

Wolff said although the small-format store will be difficult even for H-E-B and would be nearly impossible for an independent grocer, he knows H-E-B would not be opening the store unless it planned to be there long-term.

“What H-E-B is proposing, I believe, will be difficult to make work financially. Their willingness to do it shows their commitment to the community,” Wolff said.

Casey, who recently purchased property in King William, said he thinks H-E-B knows what it’s doing.

“They say it’s going to be a Europeanstyle store. I asked them if they would have room for expansion if the market grows and they said that they would," Casey said.

“Assuming that it happens, I think it’ll be a big asset,” he added.

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december 2013

Newest Kitchen & Bath Showroom in San Antonio Activist continues from pg. 01

Resident known as treasured neighbor by susan yerkes

G

ene Elder was born on the Fourth of July and has the independent spirit to match the date.

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A self-described "artist, businessman, Texan, American (and) defender of the faith" among other attributes, the longtime River Road resident has spent his life championing creativity, gay rights and a host of other causes — including taking on City Hall — with infectious energy and sly humor.

He’s a firebrand to some and a gadfly to others. And that’s fine with him.

“Some people are bulldogs, and some are lapdogs,” Elder said.

City Manager Sheryl Sculley learned just how tenacious Elder can be a couple of years ago in an incident that made news and prompted calls for clearer policies

at City Hall. The story stretched out over a year, after Elder discovered his emails, which range from UFOs and the Kennedy assassination to pressing city issues, had been blocked to all city email accounts.

It took him a year of writing, telephoning and challenging City Council members and staffers, but after reports surfaced that a number of San Antonians were on a “blocked” email list at City Hall, Elder’s messages began going through again.

Ironically, Elder doesn’t even have a computer in the cozy River Road apartment he has rented since 1991 (he has lived in or around the neighborhood since he first came to town in the early '70s). He still uses a rotary phone.

“I’m in a state of protest,” he said. “I don’t have a TV anymore, since they changed from analog to digital. I have Netflix in the mail, and I have a cassette player.”

As a longtime River Road resident, he is a treasured neighbor to many.

Myfe Moore has known Elder for years, but became a close friend last year when she moved into a home directly across the street from his.

“He’s like the mother hen of the neighborhood,” she said. “When I moved in, Gene was the first neighbor

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Gene Elder, a River Road resident who says he lives 'in a state of protest,' isn't afraid to take on City Hall or champion gay rights, and to many he remains not only a tireless worker but a good friend. Photo by Josh Huskin

salocallowdown.com who brought a housewarming gift and welcomed me. When I need help taking care of my chickens when I’m out of town, Gene collects the eggs and sells them for me. I joke that he’s my egg peddler.”

Residents in the storied neighborhood, which borders Brackenridge Park and dates to the days of the Spanish empire, look upon Elder as a dependable friend.

"People really love him," Moore said.

"You know you can count on him, on his integrity, when the chips are down.”

Elder's energetic pursuit of causes – in particular, gay rights and freedom of artistic expression – has been surprisingly effective in terms of raising people's awareness.

“I’ve been a big mouth,” he said.

His creative approach to issues often makes his statements memorable.

Born in Dallas, Elder went to Sewanee: The University of the South his freshman year, but transferred to Trinity University, where he earned his bachelor of fine arts degree. While at Trinity, he met prominent and popular businessman Arthur “Hap” Veltman, who became his friend and colleague. In 1973, Veltman opened the now defunct San Antonio Country on North St. Mary’s Street, which became a haven for the city's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Elder managed the disco the first year.

The experience introduced him to many local leaders, including attorneys Gerry Goldstein and Maury Maverick Jr., who represented the club in court battles against the military’s attempt to make it off limits.

The job also deepened his commitment to the burgeoning gay rights movement.

And ironically, it helped him feel empathy for some prominent gay-rights opponents including Anita Bryant, a hit singer from the 1960s who became famous in the 1970s as a spokeswoman for the Florida citrus industry.

“When my parents first brought friends to see the club I was managing, and realized it was a gay disco, it was very traumatic for my mother,” Elder said. “Anita Bryant was a mother. I could understand her as a mother who was terribly worried about her children.”

Tensions ran high in 1978 when Bryant made a highly publicized San Antonio appearance. Elder penned a “prayer” for the occasion that pleaded for tolerance and acceptance. It made international news – and also epitomized his outspoken, yet gentle, brand of protest.

After managing the disco, Elder moved to Kilgore for a few years to help his father with his business, before returning to San Antonio for good. He opened the ceramicsthemed MUD Gallery on the River Walk, created the artistic time capsule that is buried in the foundation of the San Antonio Museum of Art, worked on the floating San

15

Antonio Museum of Contemporary Art and continued to speak out for gay rights.

When Veltman and Bernard Lifshutz started what became the Blue Star arts area in King William, Elder managed the property for several years. And after Veltman’s death in 1988, Elder began the job that has been his primary focus since — co-creator and archivist for the HAPPY Foundation, preserving the gay and lesbian history of San Antonio. His offices are in the Bonham Exchange, a downtown nightclub.

“Back then there was almost nothing about gays and lesbians in mainstream media,” he said,” “so we started this history archive. Actually, this has not been done very well anywhere else in Texas – not Dallas or Houston or even Austin. Having a real office space gave us a permanence and continuity no one else has had.”

Recently, the archives got an extra dimension.

“Putting stuff on CDs and DVDs is very fragile, really,” Elder says. “I realized that from every civilization, it’s the pottery that remains. So Wesley Harvey (a prominent ceramicist) came down to the archives and helped me make pottery decals from some of the most significant newspaper articles. I want to fire them onto a dinner set, and then I really want to have a big dinner party at someone’s home.”

Harvey, an art instructor at University of the Incarnate Word and Northwest Vista College and past president of the San Antonio Potters Guild, first met Elder through gallery owner Joan Grona.

“Gene has an amazing work ethic,” he said. “Twenty years ago, he was one of the first artists who was actively creating art and dealing with the operations of running a gallery at the same time. Now a lot of artists are trying to do that. He is ahead of the curve. He knows everyone in town, and he’s full of amazing stories.”

A few years ago, Elder finished his first book, “Murder By Collage,” which he describes gleefully as “the first cubist novel.” He also has campaigned to recognize July as Political Art Month, both locally and internationally.

He is working on the libretto for an opera titled “Banco de San Antonio.”

The characters include San Antonio businessmen and bankers, a countrywestern singer, the late arts patron Robert L.B. Tobin, longtime arts doyenne Margaret King Stanley and St. Anthony of Padua.

In the first scene, one character says: “See that artist over there — I know who he is. Everyone knows who he is. He is very curious. Most think he is just crazy. But you will see…”

When he wrote that, Elder might have been channeling his own life.

16

december 2013

Horror continues from pg. 01

Scary stories help deal with fears by collette orquiz

T

wo local authors — including a journalist from Alta Vista — are releasing a two-books-inone horror novel oozing with mystery, suspense, bloodlust and plenty of chills.

Sanford Allen, a reporter and musician, and his friend Joe McKinney, a San Antonio Police Department patrol sergeant on the West Side, have one thing in common: they enjoy writing scary stories.

The two recently collaborated with publisher Journalstone in part three of the DoubleDown series, where two novels are printed in one volume. The front and the back have different covers, and the reader just flips the book over after finishing one story to start reading the other.

McKinney, who is from Helotes, has published 16 novels (including zombie tales) and was approached by Journalstone to take part in the series. He had the option to choose another writer, and

he picked Alta Vista resident Allen.

They met during their college days at Trinity University, and today belong to the same writers' group.

Allen’s “Deadly Passage” is a historical horror story where the main character is a slave freed for “economical reasons” on a ship that just set sail from Africa after the Revolutionary War. The slaves are being picked off one by one by a mysterious stowaway with a dark thirst.

Allen has had several short stories printed, but this will be his first published novel.

“I’ve got some catching up to do, apparently,” he said.

Horror influenced Allen at an early age.

He remembers being drawn to creature features before he started reading, but suffered nightmares for days after seeing the disturbing images on television.

“I couldn’t get it out of my mind, but the next weekend I’d be doing it again,” Allen said.

McKinney had similar experiences growing up. When he was 13, he watched George Romero's seminal zombie movie “Night of the Living Dead,” but when he went to bed, he cradled a baseball bat.

McKinney’s book is “Dog Days,” a semi-autobiographical depiction of Hurricane Alicia’s destruction of his

neighborhood in Clear Lake City in 1983. In the novel, a shrimp boat brings in a creature hellbent on killing.

Though the two novellas are separate stories with separate plots and characters, both authors agree they contain an overwhelming element of water.

“Mine is a modern-day YA (young adult) book, and Sanford's is historical horror fiction through and through,” McKinney said.

Each story came about in a unique way.

“Dog Days” has a 15-year-old protagonist named Martin Eckhert. His initials spelling "me" is no coincidence.

“It’s about probably the formative summer of my life,” McKinney said. “It made a pretty lasting impression on me and it’s cast a pretty long shadow.”

Allen’s “Deadly Passage” may take a more historical approach, but it also details one of the author's personal nightmares.

“I had a dream that I was in the hold of a ship and there was a storm going on and some things were crawling across the roof,” Allen said.

Because these are short novels, they are quick reads and also faster to pen.

Allen and McKinney said it takes them about two to three months to write, but

the outlining process can take longer.

Stories need time to develop, whether they arise from personal experiences, or from history, where facts need to be checked to create an accurate atmosphere.

While crafting imaginary worlds filled with spine-chilling thrills is not easy, finding the inspiration for horror novels can be surprising. McKinney said his years on the police force have shaped his stories, which often have an officer as a main character.

Allen said writing horror is a way to confront fear, to face head on what frightens us. To be able to do that, understanding what is scary is vital to the horror writer.

“Horror really is the only genre where the emotion you’re trying to evoke is the name of the genre," Allen said. "If you can’t do that, then you’ve kind of failed as a horror writer.”

The DoubleDown duo have a book release party at The 13th Floor, 1203 E. Commerce St., 4-8 p.m. Dec. 14. There will be free scares, food and beverages, as well as 200 free autographed copies of the book while supplies last.

“Dog Days” and “Deadly Passage,” released on Dec. 6, are available for purchase at http://journal-store.com/ fiction/dog-day-deadly-passage/ in both print and e-book versions.

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Explore continues from pg. 01

Exhibits at Epitome Institute challenge artists, viewers by dan r. goddard

S

an Antonio may have a lot of artist-run spaces, but Southtown's Epitome Institute is the first that operates with tongue firmly in cheek.

At first encounter, the Epitome Institute at 222 Roosevelt Ave. exudes a faint whiff of late 19th-century Victorian self-improvement, and it may even seem a bit stuffy and pretentious. The portentous brainchild of curators Margaret L. Honeytruffle and Alice Thud III is “an atelier, research institute, think tank and cultural repository dedicated to aesthetic investigation,” though many might argue it’s something of a lark.

With a fatuous, er, famous grandmother who led the groundbreaking “Study of 1913,” Thud directs a “highly acclaimed team bringing years of curatorial, technical and pedagogical experience to bear on all the machinations of The Institute.”

According to the serious-seeming epitomeinstitute.com website, Honeytruffle is “an ignis fatuus of academic rigor” who, in

her spare time, “dabbles in mycology,” the study of fungi such as mold and mushrooms.

“Ignis fatuus,” by the way, translates as either (1) a phosphorescent light that hovers over swampy ground at night, possibly caused by spontaneous combustion of gases emitted by rotting organic matter; or (2) something that misleads or deludes – an illusion.

If you’re not chuckling by now, you’re missing the fun.

Housed in the front of an old warehouse overlooking Roosevelt Park, the Epitome has been presenting exhibits by prominent local artists since being founded last March during Contemporary Art Month, as well as sponsoring poetry readings, film screenings and other sometimes slightly askew events.

“Every gallery wants to be an institute, so we just went ahead and started one,” local artist Meg Langhorne said. Honeytruffle is her alter ego. “We don’t take ourselves too seriously and wanted to poke a little fun at the kind of art-world institutions that do. But we try to treat art with respect.”

Her partner in satire is Austin artist Donna Pardue, whose nom de plume is Thud. Pardue is perhaps best known for her sculptures made from carved apples, with titles such as “Adam Ate Most of It” and “A Hunger Artist.” Langhorne and Pardue have been friends since they met in art school at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.

Explore continues on pg. 18

Though poking fun at some art-world institutions, the Epitome Institute in Southtown also presents some visually arresting exhibits, such as this Byzantine-inspired design of pennies glued heads-down. Photos by Joshua Michael

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december 2013

Explore continues from pg. 17 Langhorne’s humor spices her art, especially her gouache on paper paintings derived from romance novel covers of burly, macho men embracing swooning female creatures with deer heads. She arrived in San Antonio in 1989 and helped operate the artist-run space Pilot Hole at the Blue Star Arts Complex.

A longtime fixture of the local art scene, Langhorne decided to found the Epitome after retiring from her day job at Half-Price Books.

“San Antonio has a rich history of artistrun spaces and we’re proud to be part of that, plus we wanted to give something back,” Langhorne said. “I wasn’t really looking to start a gallery, but this space opened up and it was just too beautiful to pass up.”

With a bare concrete floor and red brick walls, The Epitome has small slit windows around its high ceiling as well as an old sign missing several letters.

“We’re celebrating the 100th anniversary of Thud I’s groundbreaking study,” Pardue said. “So it was important to have a sign that looks like it’s been here awhile.”

The gallery keeps the fun in art, and the two friends are kind of explorers in a way.

“Having an alter ego is liberating,” Pardue

said. “It gives you the license to explore a different part of yourself. And I think it gives you the freedom to question how things are and to ask: What’s next? We’re spoofing institutes and the pretentiousness of the art world, but we’re also trying to present some pretty cool exhibits.”

For the Epitome’s November exhibit, artist Michael Stoltz covered a large portion of the floor with pennies, which were arranged to look like Byzantine-inspired tiles decorated with complex patterns defined by the darkness or shininess of the pennies.

All of the pennies were painstakingly glued to the floor tails up.

“I think it’s good luck to find a penny that’s heads up, but we challenged Michael to face his biggest fears with this installation,” Pardue said. “It grew out of our Halloween show when we had people name their fears as part of our ‘Salon of Derring Do.’ Michael mentioned a fear of finding a penny tails up.”

Thirteen lucky artists participated in “Monstruo Perfido” in October, including Jayne Lawrence, Leigh Anne Lester, Michele Monseau, Utah Snyder and Ann-Michele Morales. As part of the exhibit, participants were invited to write a two-sentence horror story.

“She opened the cheap umbrella,” Langhorne

wrote. “It cost nothing but an eye.”

Other Epitome exhibits have ranged from Andrea Caillouet’s “Golden Years” which slammed the Shopping Channel, to North Texas artist Jimmie Hudson’s “Estate Sale,” which drew psychological portraits from the objects people leave behind. As part of her “Terra Tales/Anew,” San Antonio sculptor Suzanne Paquette covered the gallery floor with inch-thick red sandstone in rippling patterns.

“At the end of the show, we had everyone sweep up the dirt like it was a Tibetan sand painting,” Langhorne said.

In December, Callida Borgnino, who earned a master of fine arts degree in 1995 from the University of Texas at San

Antonio and now lives in Wimberley, is showing “Between Blinks,” a surreal photography show examining “images undergoing an evolutionary restlessness” that “humanity may not yet be able to integrate,” according to the artist’s statement.

Serious, or no?

“She’s doing allegorical landscapes,” Pardue says. “Seriously, we want artists to experiment and to do something original when they show at the Epitome.”

Like most of San Antonio’s artist-run spaces, the best time to visit the Epitome Institute is during the opening or closing receptions, or for special events, though the rest of the time it is traditionally open “by appointment only.”

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Homestead continues from pg. 01

Docents explain Yuletide traditions by rose mary budge

W

hen Farrah Varga thinks about the holiday season at the Steves Homestead, the fragrance of apples and spices comes to mind— the scent that meets visitors the minute they open the door to the mansion in the King William Historic District.

“We do a lot of decorating with edibles and fresh greenery the way they did in the Victorian era,” said Varga, house museum manager. And, she added, it makes for a magical trip to Christmas past.

The nostalgic journey features a floor-toceiling tree in the formal Sunday parlor—a pine loaded with lights and old-fashioned ornaments, many of them German. A sea of poinsettias fills the sunroom. Popcorn and cranberry garlands as well as cookies hang from trees in the well-polished dining areas and kitchen. Charming apple

trees appear throughout the house. In fact, time-honored treasures offer holiday inspiration almost everywhere you look at the mansion, 509 King William St. “I like to admire the artistry and think how I can adapt the ideas to my own Christmas decorating,” said San Antonio resident Janice Ricks, who never tires of making a Yule pilgrimage to the mansion thought to be designed by noted architect Alfred Giles and built in 1876 for German immigrant Edward Steves, a pioneer Alamo City lumberman and civic leader.

Steves' descendants lived in the mansion for many years. Then, in the 1950s, the historic limestone structure was donated to the San Antonio Conservation Society, which now manages the property as a house museum. Society members started collecting and curating the Christmas décor soon after the homestead’s acquisition.

Assembling the festive display at the mansion, which is a Texas historic landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is a labor of love for the Conservation Society, members said.

“Trimming the homestead is our Christmas gift to the community,” Varga said.

This year the trimmings will shine through Dec. 31. Tours led by the society’s docents

Weight Loss Through healThy alTernaTives

as well as self-guided tours way that electrical wonders were are available. The exhibit also within reach of average incomes. includes a nod to different Also popular, especially decades, a variety of societal with the Steves family and trends and a review of others of German extraction, technological innovations that were artificial trees with have marched through history. limbs fashioned from turkey The history lesson begins and goose feathers. with mention of German Prince “We have feather trees in Albert, who is credited with our collection—white and introducing the Christmas green —and I think they’re tree custom to England my favorite thing of all 509 King William St., the décor,” Varga said. shortly after his marriage to is open daily from Antique glass ornaments Queen Victoria in 1840.

10 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., are probably Varga’s “second Visitors learn that floor-towith the last entry favorite thing.” The Christmas ceiling trees such as the one at 3:30 p.m. For tour collection features a number of that shimmers in the Sunday prices, call 225-5924 or email fvarga@ these fragile treasures, acquired parlor were part of American saconservation.org . by the Conservation Society celebrations by the 1920s. But For more, visit www. at estate sales or donated by long before that, small and saconservation.org. descendants of the Lone Star unpretentious table-top trees that State’s many German settlers. immigrants could easily pack Visitors will see examples of white for voyages to the New World were in favor. trees that imitate snowy forest pines in And before colored lights were common, the Steves collection, as well as white illumination came from candles attached to feather trees adorned with American pine boughs with melted wax or precariously flags—a patriotic trend that surfaced placed in wired-on candle holders. during the Spanish-American War. By 1882, safer lighting was introduced. The “Our flag trees salute the troops strands of lights cost a fortune, though, and it serving the U.S. today,” Varga said. wasn’t until the 20th century was well under

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BUY LOCAL

Learn more about newest purveyors of goods and services in your area.

N.E. Side apparel company celebrates 91 years, new locale

by Collette Orquiz

L

ongevity, integrity and quality goods are credited by a Northeast Side family for their company's success during 91 years of manufacturing and selling designer girls' dresses.

C.I. Castro & Co. started in New York City in 1922, but relocated to San Antonio in 1944. The third generation of the family now operates the company.

Charles I. Castro III is the CEO of the business that his grandfather and father tirelessly worked to create and maintain.

It is located at 3503 N.E. Parkway off of Austin Highway.

While the dresses are no longer manufactured locally but in China, Castro moved the company's headquarters about a year ago from West Laurel Street to Northeast Parkway and opened up an outlet store in the same location.

“We’re still kind of low profile, under the radar, secret for everybody; that’s good and bad,” Castro said.

The outlet carries popular dress brands including Jayne Copeland, Sorbet and C.I. Castro. While the dresses are found at Macy’s, Dillard's, Zulily.com and Amazon.com, some are also available at the outlet for a discounted price.

Customers can expect monthly blowout sales, on Dec. 13 and Dec. 14 this month, where the already

discounted prices are slashed.

Castro said the store also sells some craft and fabric items.

The dresses come in sizes for toddlers up to 16 years old, and range from casual designs such as sundresses to clothing for Easter and Christmas, as well as occasions such as christenings and communion. “(Our dresses are) classic, traditional, but we are eclectic enough to have lots of choices,” Castro said.

Each dress has the same high quality and was created with the Castro family’s philosophy of value, he said.

“Value is different than price. We give a really good value, not just a really good price,” Castro said.

The outlet is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Monday through Saturday.

C.I. Castro & Co., a 91-year-old family-owned firm, recently opened an outlet shop at their headquarters off of Austin Highway featuring girls' dress lines including Jayne Copeland, Sorbet and their own C.I. Castro brand.

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Owner wants Cinnabar to be crown jewel among galleries

by Olivier J. Bourgoin

C

innabar — a new gallery at the Blue Star Arts Complex — takes its name from an ore prized in antiquity by the Romans for its pigmentation and mercury content.

Owner Susan Oliver Heard said cinnabar also is her favorite mineral.

"And as a jewelry maker, I am sad to say that I don't even own any. I almost bought a piece a while back but I didn't, although I wish I had," Heard said. "Cinnabar is also sometimes referred to as 'dragon's blood' in the Chinese culture and I like dragons."

Cinnabar opened in September at 1420 S. Alamo St., Suite 147, just in time to host an exhibit for Fotoseptiembre.

Heard said the show was a hit.

Heard, the daughter of the late attorney Oliver Heard, grew up in San Antonio, attended Saint Mary's Hall and studied at Colorado College.

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She trained as a gemologist, jewelry artist-designer and as a jewelry maker.

Cinnabar is located in Building D, behind Joe Blues.The 2,000-squarefoot space includes an office with a work bench to fashion jewelry, a lounge with a couch, two armchairs, a wet bar and a turntable with a handful of vinyl albums.

The gallery features metal sculptures

by Austin artist Bill Molthen and paintings by Kelvyn Davila.

"After living in Telluride for 10 years, I wanted to come home and bring a fresh perspective to the local art scene," Heard said. "Although the focus of Cinnabar Gallery is not on jewelry, I plan on showcasing selected pieces, where they will fit in."

Heard also has a full-size piano in a corner, a reminder of the seven

months she lived in Vienna, Austria, studying under a master pianist. She has been known to play a masterful rendition of "Us and Them" from Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon."

Cinnabar's hours are noon-6 p.m.

Tuesday through Saturday, 1-4:30 p.m. Sunday and closed Monday.

The art gallery Cinnabar features metal sculptures by Bill Molthen (top left) until Jan. 20, and exhibited paintings by Kelvyn Davila (bottom left and above), whose show finished Dec. 1.

An opening reception for Joseph Cohen's and Lawrence Fodor's group show 'Color Mediation' is 6-9 p.m. Dec. 12. Photos by Collette Orquiz

CINNABAR ART GALLERY

1420 S. Alamo St., Suite 147 For more, call 557-6073

24

december 2013

EAT LOCAL Learn about the newest neighborhood places for breakfast, lunch, dinner or drinks.

Chilling out with icy treats from Frost 321

by Olivier J. Bourgoin

T

he goodies served up by Frost 321 — uniquely cooled by liquid nitrogen at minus-321 degrees — are not your typical icy treats.

It turns out the cryogenic fluid produces smaller ice crystals that turn ice cream, sorbets, cocktails and other treats into desserts with a much smoother texture. "(Frost 321) is Texas' first integrated mobile dessert bar making ice cream and frozen cocktails right in front of your eyes using liquid nitrogen. At the moment, we are basically a specialty dessert catering company," said Karlee Blystone, Frost 321's events manager.

"The liquid nitrogen tanks come in different sizes," she added. "We can set up for a single private birthday party or for a large gathering

such as a corporate event."

Attorney and Trinity University graduate Reema Shroff and husband Dr. Naveen Kella came up with the idea for Frost 321 after a honeymoon to Paris.

"We love Paris and we have been there several times, but it was during our honeymoon that we were served this most incredible dessert," Shroff said. "It was a magical moment and it was what spawned the idea for this business."

The name Frost 321 comes from the fact liquid nitrogen boils at minus-321 degrees.

"We only use 100 percent fresh, all natural juices in the production of our ice cream. We don't use any commercially bought syrups," Shroff said. "We have many recipes we

can use, but if you have your own signature cocktail you would like us to make, we can do that too or we can try to create one for you."

They can make 1,400 frozen desserts in four hours, she added.

"It can also freeze alcohol rapidly, which enables us to make adult desserts and frozen cocktails," she added.

While making ice cream or cocktails, a striking smoky effect is produced from the condensation that occurs — creating a memorable experience for guests, the staff said.

"Right now we are only doing catering and it has kept us very busy, but we are planning on opening a storefront within the next year," Shroff said.

Frost 321 is a new catering company that uses liquid nitrogen to create frozen treats such as peach bellinis (top left) and strawberry margaritas (bottom left) using natural ingredients. Photos by Collette Orquiz

FROST 321 For more information, call 802-1321 or visit www.frost321.com

Y A ID !

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ORDER YOUR HOLIDAY TRAYS

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French Restaurant offering contemporary cuisine with fresh ingredients.

Eat FrEsh and hEalthy.

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See Our Menu On Hours:

Tue - Fri: 11:30 am - 2:00 pm, 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm; Sat: 6:00 pm - 9:30 pm

209 Broadway, San Antonio, Texas, 78205 | 210-223-0209

25

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Broadway tap room incorporates Asian fare with craft beer

by Gianna Rendon

T

uk Tuk Tap Room — a new restaurant by chef David Gilbert and Steve Newman — blends southeast Asian street food with a variety of craft beers.

The restaurant, located at 1702 Broadway in front of the Pearl Brewery, opened in September.

A tuk tuk is an auto rickshaw taxi.

It is the inspiration for the restaurant after Gilbert lived in and traveled across Southeat Asia. He also trained with a master chef in Thailand.

Gilbert was working on another southeast Asian restaurant when he met Newman. Newman and his wife own The Friendly Spot in Southtown and The Newman Project, which builds draft-beer systems. Gilbert canceled his lease and together they created Tuk Tuk. The restaurant focuses on Thai food with flavors from Burma, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam, Gilbert said.

All dishes are served family style.

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The menu is small with different off-menu items every night. All of the food is free of monosodium glutamate.

Newman brings in beer to complement the food and Gilbert sometimes creates dishes to pair with the suds.

Tuk Tuk also offers a nonalcoholic fermented tea, kombucha, specially made for the restaurant by Buddha’s Brew.

Tuk Tuk has 72 taps with 60 different beers and eight wines. The restaurant also has a beer garden that seats 65.

“We are really committed to being a neighborhood place and an extension of someone’s kitchen or living room,” Gilbert said. “Stop by the kitchen and make sure to say ‘Hi.'" Tuk Tuk is open 5 p.m. to midnight Tuesday through Thursday and 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

Tuk Tuk Tap Room (bottom, far left) serves up southeast Asian street eats and sharable plates such as the shrimp and yam fritters (top, far left) and the Bahn Xeo (left), a Vietnamese sizzling crepe with pork, shrimp, sprouts served with leaf lettuce and herbs. Photos by Collette Orquiz

Tuk Tuk Tap Room 1702 Broadway For more information call 222-8277 or go to tuktuktaproom.com

26

december 2013

Live LOCAL From real estate trends and neighborhood listings to home improvement, we’ve got you covered.

SA housing prices recovered fastest in TX Mixed results in near-downtown communities

Recent

PROPERTY LISTINGS zip code guide

by Travis e. poling

T

he housing market in the San Antonio-New Braunfels metro area has recovered faster than anywhere else in the state and October statistics showed houses selling for more money and faster than last year.

The number of homes sold in the San Antonio area in October was up 11 percent to 1,839 compared to the same month last year and a 33 percent leap from October two years ago. The houses sold this October spent an average of 69 days on the market, according to an analysis of Multiple Listing Service data by the San Antonio Board of Realtors.

“All year we have seen prices and sales of homes show year-over-year increases, demonstrating San Antonio’s economic strength,” said SABOR Chairman Steven Gragg. “Jobs are being added, interest rates remain low and both buyers and sellers are able to find success in this market.”

Both buyers and sellers are able to find success in this market SABOR Chairman Steven Gragg

Available inventory hit a low of 4.4 months of housing supply for sale. That tightening helped drive prices up and the average home price in October rose 6 percent to $205,680, according to SABOR. The median price also was up 6 percent to $168,800.

A statewide analysis from Homes.com found the San Antonio-New Braunfels metro area was the first in the state to fully recover from price declines incurred during the recession. The Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown metropolitan statistical area recovered second fastest, followed

by Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos.

In the 78204 ZIP code, the median sales price was up 156 percent to $227,750, but closed sales dipped to two from seven in October compared to the same month last year, according to data from the Texas Market Trends Report.

The median sold price in the 78209 area was up a slight 2.9 percent to $301,500 for the month, and the number of closed sales dipped to 39 from 54 for the month. Months’ supply of inventory was fairly flat at 6.8 months.

Sales in 78210 were up by 60 percent to 16 for the month, but those houses took an average of 178 days to sell, compared to 99 days on the market for houses sold last October. Median sales price was down 25 percent to $75,000.

In the 78212 ZIP code, the median sales price was up 14.3 percent to $148,600. Closed sales were up to 19 from 11 the same month last year and those houses moved in an average of 121 days, up from 83 last October.

78204, 78209, 78210, 78212

Street Address

List Price

SQ. FT.

Built

BR

FB

ZIP

209 Normandy

$495,000

2,400

UNK

3

2

78209

235 Inslee Ave

$850,000

3,052

1934

4

3

78209

112 Mayflower

$450,000

1,801

1914

3

2

78209

114 Morton St

$580,000

1,978

1938

3

2

78209

142 Kennedy Ave

$1,199,000

5,178

1950

5

4

78209

127 Corona Avenue

$554,900

2,348

1924

4

2

78209

120 College Blvd

$759,000

2,962

2013

4

3

78209

281 Oakview Place

$189,900

1,146

1938

2

1

78209

Real Estate LOCAL Trends ZIP Code Median sold price

New listings

78204

78209

78210

78212

oct-12

$89,000

$293,000

$100,000

$130,000

oct-13

$227,750

$301,500

$75,000

$148,600

oct-12

4

69

27

22

oct-13

3

78

24

31

oct-12

105

128

99

83

oct-13

64

111

178

121

oct-12

7

54

10

11

oct-13

2

39

16

19

Under contract

oct-12

8

51

14

20

oct-13

3

40

16

20

Months supply of inventory

oct-12

4

6.5

10.5

10.5

oct-13

6.5

6.8

5.1

4.2

Average days on market

Closed sales

Source: San Antonio Board of Realtors: Texas Market Trends report The properties are new listings put on the market from Nov. 1-26. The properties may no longer be on the market by publication date or prices may have changed.

Local Community News assumes no responsibility for errors or ommissions.

Where Quality of Life is what YOU say it is.

Contact Us 24/7

Phone: 210.691.3600 Fax: 210.558.0888 eMail: administrator@embracehospicellc.com

www.embracehospicellc.com

27

salocallowdown.com

Stunning 3-Story

Historic 1907 Monte Vista Estate For Sale

216 Retama Pl

$889,900

4,091

2007

4

3

78209

837 Ashby Pl

$299,500

1,555

1920

2

2

78212

530 Refugio

$184,500

1,260

2007

2

2

78210

512 Refugio

$208,000

1,257

2006

2

2

78210

528 Refugio

$217,000

1,698

2006

3

3

78210

522 Refugio

$221,000

1,698

2006

3

3

78210

411 Santa Clara Pl

$228,000

1,981

2006

3

3

78210

414 Clay St 101/102

$219,750

1,440

2001

2

2

78204

105 Forrest Ave

$59,000

1,232

1919

3

1

78204

118 Sweet

$220,000

1,354

1920

2

2

78204

119 Daniel St

$410,500

2,256

1912

2

2

78204

516 Hunstock Ave

$92,000

1,573

1923

2

2

78210

117 Chicago Blvd

$70,000

1,526

1940

3

1

78210

933 Flores St

$240,000

2,238

1900

4

2

78212

1219 Flores

$1,250,000

5,200

1890

6

3

78212

1309 Clark Ave

$89,000

608

1938

3

1

78210

138 Astor St

$69,800

1,300

1939

3

2

78210

227 Florida St

$259,000

1,176

1907

2

2

78210

218 Allensworth

$297,000

1,480

1925

2

2

78209

330 Mulberry Ave

$330,000

1,437

1925

3

2

78212

202 Woodlawn Ave

$374,900

2,574

1930

3

2

78212

214 Hollywood Ave

$395,000

2,415

1923

3

2

78212

321 Rosewood Ave

$425,000

2,420

1930

3

2

78212

211 Huisache Ave

$484,900

2,744

1940

3

3

78212

323 Woodlawn Ave

$747,500

4,050

1910

4

2

78212

S108 chreiner Pl

$1,095,000

5,689

1960

5

4

78212

102 Tophill Rd

$269,000

1,537

1954

3

2

78209

427 Brightwood Pl

$285,000

1,590

1952

3

2

78209

812 Kenilworth Blvd

$350,000

2,078

1955

3

2

78209

8127 Robin Rest Dr

$170,000

1,457

1962

2

2

78209

434 Burnside Dr

$230,000

1,521

1955

2

2

78209

2826 Woodcrest

$279,500

2,290

1980

3

2

78209

3218 Burnside Dr

$339,900

2,251

1963

3

2

78209

430 Burnside

$399,000

2,285

1953

3

2

78209

411 Thelma Dr

$614,500

2,514

1937

3

2

78212

410 Thelma Dr

$647,000

2,832

1925

4

3

78212

708 Olmos Drive

$1,200,000

3,750

1924

5

4

78212

706 Lovera Blvd

$90,000

1,430

1950

2

1

78212

834 Magnolia Ave

$328,000

2,494

1940

4

2

78212

122 Zapata St

$89,900

1,225

1925

3

1

78210

252 Devonshire

$225,100

1,496

1949

3

2

78209

103 New Haven Dr

$235,000

1,400

1947

3

2

78209

525 Geneseo Road

$399,000

2,202

1958

3

3

78209

724 Morningside Dr

$429,000

2,005

1951

3

2

78209

103 Bryker Dr

$599,000

2,292

1948

3

3

78209

1017 Garraty Rd

$815,000

3,500

2007

4

3

78209

819 Ivy Lane

$995,000

3,015

1967

4

3

78209

103 Bristol Green

$799,000

3,753

1999

4

3

78209

626 Evergreen St.

$234,950

3,424

1910

4

3

78212

405 Kendall St

$262,900

1,462

2013

3

3

78212

407 Kendall St

$262,900

1,462

2013

3

3

78212

343 Terra Alta Dr

$574,500

3,403

1984

4

3

78209

164 Day Rd

$34,000

1,024

1940

2

1

78210

534 Byrnes Dr

$84,900

1,102

1951

2

1

78209

In a lovely, quiet, inner city neighborhood.

One-of-a-kind Atlee B. Ayers designed Prairie Gothic Home • Beautifully Restored • 11 Ft. Ceilings • 5 Fireplaces • Carriage House • $1,500,000

Virtual Tour: http://www.vpix.net/index.php?tour=107192

Contact Owners For More Information

210.736.6766

105 West Kings Hwy San Antonio, TX 78212

AdvertoriAl

Good SportS outdoor outfitterS Since 1982 Good Sports Outdoor Outfitters has been providing the highest quality gear for San Antonio families’ adventures all over the world. Coming into the holiday months instead of battling the crowds of the malls, come visit locally owned Good Sports Outdoor Outfitters. Located at I-10 and DeZavala our knowledgeable associates will get you in, out and about your day. When it comes to gift shopping or outfitting your family for the coming ski season, why would go anywhere else? Brands like The North Face, Patagonia, Spyder, KJUS, Bogner, Canada Goose, UGG, GoPro, Nixon and so many others round out the amazing selection of this year’s hottest gift items. lAdies first Not everyone that shops at Good Sports is cruising down a mountain or running a marathon so we take the time to offer ladies of all ages something to look great in for the coming winter months.

Alp-N-Rock, Bogner, KJUS and Icebreaker are just some the brands that will keep San Antonio women chic and warm.

MAd Men Of course we also cater to men. It is an outdoor sports store, right? Urban trekkers, high altitude adventurers, runners, campers, and weekend warriors, the list goes on and on. Year after year, fleece vests by Patagonia are a must have, for our easy winters. Paired with a great fitting button up from Patagonia or Royal Robbins, Kuhl or Ex-Officio and your men are looking sharp. Long gone are the days of all black on the ski slopes. Burton, 686, Salomon, KJUS, Volcom and Nobis, will change the way you think about on the slope style. the future is now Every year we try to find the cool gadgets, “toys” and accessories for the person that has “everything”. Oakley’s Airwave 1.5 includes WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth and a head’s up display to view speed, temperature, controls music and so much more. Need I say more? Okay. Nixon watches, headlamps, Benchmade knives, Suunto’s latest line of GPS heart rate monitors, Smith and Kaenon sunglasses. Yup, we’ve got it all.

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210

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december 2013

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In the Grand View Shopping Center m-th: 11am - 9:30pm Fri-Sat: 11am - 10pm Sun: Closed *Restaurant closes M-F from 3pm - 4:30pm

210.524.8894

dINNEr

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At thE BoARdwAlk 4035 Broadway St. San Antonio, tx. 78209

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210-848-8455

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Need A Special Holiday Gift Idea?

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Don’t worry about cleaning and enjoy your house as a home!

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Come to San Antonio’s Original Greek restaurant, Demo’s (est 1979) and think Greek this holiday season with a gift package of homemade greek pastries. Bring in this ad for 10% off pastries at the St. Mary’s location.

2501 N. St. Mary’s ®

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*****ECR WSS Postal Customer

Prsrt Std US Postage Paid Permit 6450 San Antonio TX

COMMUNITY NEWS

4204 gardendale Ste. 201 SAN ANTONIO, TX 78229