San Antonio is reaching its goal of becoming the largest no-kill city in America. In the first quarter of 2013 Animal Care Services (ACS), the city’s code enforcement and animal protection agency, had a live release rate of more than 80 percent, the highest in San Antonio’s history. The wider San Antonio animal welfare community, dozens of agencies dedicated to rescuing homeless or abused animals in Bexar County, had a live release rate of 73 percent.

While a commitment by city and county leaders and the collective will of the community are two key factors in San Antonio’s march to become a no-kill city, the third leg of that stool is an unassuming army of thousands of volunteers, all with their own reasons for, and ways of, getting involved.

Read more in the November 2013 issue of S.A. Scene.

The San Antonio area’s neglected animals are lucky. There are champions fighting on their behalf. From the abused to the stray dogs and cats roaming our city streets to the farm animals abandoned in rural pastures, many dedicated local organizations are working to improve their lives. These groups’ ability to be effective is largely determined by where the animal is found. In spite of all the hard work, there remain sad tales of animal cruelty. Fortunately, the less-than-ideal outcomes are numbering fewer and area animals are receiving a second chance at having a home and family to care for them. Though many groups have made impressive achievements in a short amount of time, in their opinions, there is still room for improvement.

In a recent scenario, Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call regarding abused and neglected horses. They found 16 starving animals, left without food or water, in a pasture grazed down to dirt. Further inspection of the property revealed that help didn’t come soon enough for three other horses. Meadow Haven Horse Rescue, based in Nixon, Texas, removed the surviving animals with a court order. Under Texas Penal Code 42.09, the animals’ owner is charged with one count of animal cruelty, a Class A misdemeanor. After arriving at the horse rescue farm, one of the 16 died, its extreme starvation too advanced to respond to care. Other horses underwent treatment for the open wounds of sunburn, which will take months to heal.

Read more in the November 2013 issue of S.A. Scene.

The Ray Allen shot soaked the net, the NBA Champion Larry O’Brien trophy was wheeled away, and when the dust finally settled, the greatest franchise in professional sports had fallen hard. But the story of the failed championship of the 2012-2013 San Antonio Spurs really begins the year before.

The Western Conference appeared to have made a Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan type of changing of the guard in 2011-2012. The Oklahoma City Thunder, boasting three of the NBA’s top 15 players (all under the age of 23), had dispatched of the older and broken down San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. The Spurs glory days of four championships in nine years were about to give way to Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden.

Things can change quickly though, especially with a small market team clinging to competitive life, precariously close to the luxury tax threshold. For context, the big market Los Angeles Lakers recently inked a 20-year deal with Time Warner Cable that will net the organization $3 billion in its television deal alone. The Thunder clear around $15 million annually in its current deal with Fox Sports Oklahoma.

The Thunder, wanting to stay underneath the luxury tax, unloaded Harden. They opted instead to keep the cheaper Serge Ibaka. Without Harden, Oklahoma City boasted the top record in the Western Conference, but a devastating knee injury to point guard Russell Westbrook ended their 2013 post season prematurely.

It’s hard to say if any team in the history of sports has come as close to winning a championship as the 2012-2013 San Antonio Spurs.

Read more in the November 2013 issue of S.A. Scene.

It’s not usually a compliment to be called a “wino,” but I’m sure that my friends and I have qualified for this moniker on more than one occasion. W.C. Fields once stated, “I cook with wine. Sometimes I even add it to the food.” Although I can’t really imagine him in the kitchen, I can’t argue that good food and good wine together make one of life’s most natural combinations. They were meant to go together.

For one local lady, the love of wine has spilled over into a growing enterprise. Veronique Cecilia Barretto, or “Ceci” as her friends call her, is a Level 3 certified wine expert, and holds a master’s degree in Wine Business from the prestigious Burgundy School of Business in Dijon, France. She is the co-owner of Vinously Speaking Wine Shop in the Medical Center, and has been a valuable asset to the Texas Cooks’ Co-op, where she helps the cooks pair their culinary creations with the perfect wines, and eloquently describes and presents the wines between courses at their monthly events. Barretto is passionate about wine and she is enthusiastic in her conversations about wines, their origins and how to pair them with different dishes, cuisines and occasions.

Read more in the November 2013 issue of S.A. Scene.

Skinny dipping? Here? How is that possible? I’ve just checked into Spice Island Beach Resort in Grenada and now a staff member is showing me to my room (OK, villa). Using a key, she opens the first of two doors and I find myself in a mini courtyard with a shimmering turquoise pool, a patio, a shaded sitting area and steps leading up to my lodgings. Private, concealed, a Caribbean Secret Garden—and for the duration of my stay, all mine. In this sunny, clandestine enclave, with or sans suit, pool, here I come!

Some islands, like people, luxuriate in their privacy. They lack no social graces and enjoy playing host to visitors but they’re also comfortable being left alone. This, in many ways, is Grenada, and the island’s character results, in part, from being a land of plenty: fishing nets heavy with tuna, mackerel and grouper and volcanic soil so rich that crops seem to spring from the soil as if by magic. Grenada’s interior is lush and mountainous, waterfalls cascade into sparkling swim-holes and monkeys gorge on papaya and bananas. Spices? Oh yes. The island is chock-a-block with nutmeg, ginger, vanilla, saffron, cinnamon, clove and allspice growing wild on verdant hillsides. All this has resulted in Grenada remaining unchanged for centuries.

Read more in the November 2013 issue of S.A. Scene.