As we roll into Spring and Summer, there’s a lot going on here in our Southtown neighborhood.

ART AND MUSIC

Much of what’s happening is art, and Jane Gennarelli has put together a really useful summary of upcoming art events that are within easy walking distance of your front door, wherever in the neighborhood you may live. Check out Jane’s list, and make some notes on your calendar.

There’s been some controversy in the art world lately. Maybe you’ve heard about it. The controversy is centered around ‘AI Art’ — that is, images created by artificial intelligence. I was curious, so I spent a couple of weeks trying out some AI Art tools, and I also talked to a couple of local artists to get their thoughts. I’ve written about it, and I’ve included almost two dozen example images that I created.

Have you ever had the feeling that music just isn't as good as it used to be? Maybe that's because you aren't aware of all the tools out there to help you find good music. Tommy Newman has some great advice for you in his latest piece. I'm definitely going to try a couple of his suggestions.

NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATIONS

Spring means Fiesta, and that includes my personal favorite Fiesta event: The King William Parade. The parade’s quirkiness, informality, and relaxed vibe belie the hard work and organization that make it happen. Jane takes you behind the scenes. 

Jane also takes you inside the Lavaca Neighborhood Association (LNA) for a look at what they’ve accomplished in the past year and where they’re headed in 2023. It’s pretty impressive. As an all-volunteer organization with no paid staff, the LNA has always had ‘up’ years and ‘down’ years, in terms of both aspirations and accomplishments. Recent years have been consistently ‘up’.

Another neighborhood-based organization that’s ‘up’ this year is the AVA: America’s Walking Club, with its national headquarters here on South Alamo. The AVA just pulled off a weeklong international event, right here in San Antonio (and right here in the neighborhood). We’ve got the story and some photos.

DEALING WITH AGE, IN WINE AND HOUSES

Did you ever assume that wines are better when aged? It turns out that ‘it depends’. Jen Beckmann has a fascinating article this month on whether, when, and why to let your wine age.

In this neighborhood, it isn’t just wines that are aged. Many of our homes are well over one hundred years old, and it takes some work to renovate and maintain them. A key to quality renovation is picking the right contractors. For more than a decade now, Southtown homeowners have been getting contractor guidance from Scott’s List. Find out what it is, how it got started, and how it works.

REGULAR FEATURES 

We always include a recipe or two in the magazine. This time, Jane goes all-in on the Irish half of her heritage and produces a complete-from-scratch St. Patrick’s Day menu. Not only does she show you how to ‘corn’ your own corned beef brisket, she even shows you how to make your own (non-Bailey’s) Irish cream. I’ve tasted both, and I can testify that they crush their premade commercial alternatives.

Each of our issues carries one or two stories about pets and animals, and this issue is no exception.

Good news for dog parents: The neighborhood just got a new store that sells food, toys, harnesses and other supplies for your furry family members. The Waggery has opened on South St. Mary’s, right next to Southtown Vinyl. Jane tells you about it.

And some controversy. Our newest voice, Katie Jarl, has written a piece for our current issue that talks about an effort underway to get rid of horse drawn carriages from the city center. It’s not good for traffic, Katie tells us, and it’s really not good for the horses. 

There was a lot of media coverage recently about the death of Red McCombs. Over the years, Al Rendon spent a lot of time photographing Red and his family. For our current issue, Al went back into his archives and retrieved one of his earliest photos of Red, along with some personal memories.

Our cover image this month is something a little different. 'Steampunk Captain' arrives via Midjourney, an AI (artificial intelligence) software tool. Read a bit more about it.

And to cap it all off, poet Allen Itz examines an important Texas issue: driving stupidly.