David Martin Davies

Looking to increase trade ties, San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro met with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on Thursday. Castro also updated the president on U.S. immigration reform. 

Peña Nieto’s presidential term is only several months old and Castro said he’s looking for ways to improve the flow of trade between the two neighbors. Castro said he was in Mexico City looking to promote San Antonio as a major trade hub for Mexico.

Ground-breaking avant-garde composer and musician Morton Subotnick has been called the father of electronic music and is a visionary who predicted the age of non-linear interactive media.

Subotnick is in San Antonio for a series of concerts and workshops and he continues to educate and enlighten audiences around the world with non-traditional structures of music.

Sen. Ted Cruz has been on the job seven weeks, and in that short time he’s made a big splash in Washington D.C. Speculation about the dynamic freshman legislator is blistering the blogosphere, and many are wondering if the Republican Party can control Cruz.

Ted Cruz and Steve Stockman have quickly established themselves as vocal and active members of Congress, and their gusto is ruffling some feathers. How much do we know about the cost of state lawmaker pensions? Apparently not much, but why not? Debate about changing the way electric utilities get paid; should they be paid for capacity? Quail hunting used to be a part of everyday life, but quail populations have been declining for the past 25 years.

The problem of homelessness is massive and complex and it seems impossible to find a solution that’s going to solve the problem for one and all.

San Antonio is working on dealing with the issue with Haven for Hope by providing shelter, counseling and help with finding work, but for some of the homeless, they are finding the road back from living on the street by lacing up a pair of shoes and running.

While President Barack Obama covered a lot of territory in last night’s State-of-the-Union, one topic that’s being scrutinized is immigration reform. 

It took President Obama almost exactly an hour to deliver the annual address and 2 minutes and 18 seconds of it was dedicated to immigration reform.

“And right now, leaders from the business, labor, law enforcement, and faith communities all agree that the time has come to pass comprehensive immigration reform,” he said.  

A round of applause

Texas education funding is ruled unconstitutional, and Attorney General Greg Abbott is expected to appeal the case to the Texas Supreme Court. There are opposing views in the legislature on whether to immediately act to address the issue, or wait until the court forces it. Gov. Perry is causing a stir with his radio ads in California that try to lure companies to the Lone Star State, and one columnist from San Francisco says this is generating some interesting conversation.

There are aggressive programs underway in San Antonio to redevelop downtown, push education opportunities, improve transportation, deal with water issues, be on the cutting edge of green initiatives and attract job providers.

After months of being closed for renovation, the gift shop at the Alamo is reopening on Friday with dramatic flare. 

"The Alamo Gift Shop is vital to the daily operations because the Alamo derives most of its funding from proceeds from the gift shop," said Mark Loeffle with the Texas General Land Office, which now has control over the landmark.

He said the new Alamo gift shop is loaded with unique Alamo souvenirs for the tourist looking for that special relic of the shrine of Texas liberty.

During the first hearing on immigration of the 113th Congress, House Republicans honed in on seeking a middle ground  between “mass deportation” of undocumented immigrants and providing a path to citizenship. 

The Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Virginia, called it the question of the day.

“Are there options that we should consider between the extremes of mass deportation and a pathway to citizenship?" Goodlatte asked San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro.