Beyond the Bite

Fourteen years ago, San Antonio made a significant investment in its youngest residents. In 2012, voters approved a one-eighth-of-a-cent sales tax to establish Pre-K 4 SA, an initiative designed to expand access to high-quality early childhood education. Today, the program has grown beyond its original four education centers, developing partnerships with school districts and early learning provide...

In this episode, Eddie Aldrete sits down with Kevin Dinnin, Board Chair of the Greater San Antonio Chamber, and Paul Basaldua, Board Chair of the Metro San Antonio Chamber, for an in-depth conversation about an unprecedented effort to unify San Antonio's business voice. Together, they discuss the evolving roles of the city's two major chambers of commerce, tracing their origins, missions, and the...

San Antonio’s media landscape is changing—and a new voice is asking some important questions. In this episode of Beyond the Bite , Eddie Aldrete sits down with Phil Reichert , editor of The Civic San Antonio , an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan media outlet focused on accountability journalism. Reichert explains why the founders of The Civic believed San Antonio needed a different kind of l...

The San Antonio City Council has rejected Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones’ call for a second vote on the city’s $489 million contribution to the new Spurs arena. Now the focus shifts to what comes next: negotiating the contract with the Spurs, shaping the master plan for the surrounding development, and confronting a $158 million budget gap. In this episode of Beyond the Bite , Eddie Aldrete sits down with...

Who gets the final say when voters have already spoken? In November 2025, Bexar County voters approved a financing plan for a new downtown arena for the San Antonio Spurs, including $489 million in city visitor tax funds and $311 million in county visitor tax funds. The Spurs are contributing $500 million toward the arena, guaranteeing construction cost overruns, and investing another $1.5 billion...

Texas came within 4 minutes and 23 seconds of a total grid collapse during Winter Storm Uri—and the consequences could have been catastrophic. In this episode, Host Eddie Aldrete sits down with Bill Lauderback of Texans for Responsible Infrastructure Investment to take listeners inside that near-disaster and explains why strengthening the state’s power grid has become one of Texas’s most urgent ec...

For more than three decades, Janet Holliday has helped shape some of San Antonio’s most memorable moments. As founder of CE Group, she has been behind major civic celebrations, public projects, and events that have defined the city’s growth. In this episode, Janet joins former San Antonio Assistant City Manager Lori Houston to discuss an extraordinary leadership transition as Lori becomes the new...

This episode kicks off with a brief overview of the evolution and expanded mission of greaterSATX, highlighting the organization’s transition from the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation to a dynamic force serving a 10-county region. greaterSATX CEO Sarah Carabias Rush drilled into the organization's drive to create and diversify jobs, both by attracting new businesses to the area and reta...

In this episode of Beyond the Bite , Eddie Aldrete sits down with Robert Puente, CEO of San Antonio Water System, for a wide-ranging conversation about the future of water in one of America’s fastest-growing cities. Puente explains where San Antonio’s water comes from, how projects like Vista Ridge helped the city survive years of severe drought, and why long-term planning is critical to keeping u...

San Antonio City Manager Erik Walsh says his job is personal, because it’s not often that you get to be a city manager for your own hometown. But that’s just a part of the story that comes out of his interview. In this episode, Manager Walsh updates us on recent city issues, major projects, and leadership transitions. They begin by dissecting the city council's recent debate over the veteran housi...

In this episode of Beyond the Bite, host Eddie Aldrete sits down with VIA CEO Jon Gary Herrera and VIA Board Chair Laura Cabanilla to discuss major transformations taking place at VIA Transit in San Antonio. The conversation explores how the agency is accelerating service improvements, particularly focusing on increasing bus frequency and redesigning routes to better connect job and education cent...

This episode of Beyond the Bite takes listeners inside San Antonio’s annual “SA to DC” trip, where business leaders, elected officials, and community advocates travel to Washington to advocate for the region’s priorities. Guests Kevin Matula of USAA and Krista Piferrer of the First Day Foundation provide a behind-the-scenes look at how a diverse coalition—from large corporations to small business...

In Part Two of our interview with Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller , the Archbishop explores the vital role of the laity in shaping business, civic life, and public policy, highlighting organizations like Legatus as examples of how faith can guide leadership in the marketplace. The conversation then shifts to moments of profound tragedy—from Uvalde to the migrant deaths in San Antonio—where he ref...

Part One of this two-part episode is a wide-ranging and deeply personal conversation where Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of the Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio, reflects on his upbringing in a large family in San Luis Potosí and how those early experiences shaped his worldview. Growing up as one of 15 children, he describes a culture where family was seen as a blessing rather than a burden,...

In this episode of Beyond the Bite , Eddie Aldrete sits down with San Antonio City Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran for a candid conversation about the recent censure of Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones and what it means for leadership and collaboration at San Antonio City Council . Viagran walks through why she supported the vote to censure the mayor following an investigation into violations of the city’s cod...

In this episode of Beyond the Bite , Eddie Aldrete sits down with Texas Transportation Commissioner and long-time friend Alex Meade — not just to talk policy, but to tell the story of a problem-solver who believes progress begins with listening. Meade’s journey starts long before his appointment to the Texas Transportation Commission . From his days in city management to his work in economic devel...

In this episode of Beyond the Bite, host Eddie Aldrete sits down with David McArthur, candidate for Texas House District 121, and Adam Blanchard, CEO of Double Diamond Transport and Tanager Logistics, for an in-depth discussion on the upcoming state representative race and the latest issues impacting Texas communities and businesses. The conversation kicks off with with McArthur discussing his cam...

In this episode, Host Eddie Aldrete sits down with Harris County Commissioner Lesley Briones for an in-depth discussion about her upbringing, career, and the unique challenges of representing one of the most diverse and fastest-growing county commission precincts in Texas. Commissioner Briones shares her background as the daughter of two educators from Laredo, her journey through Harvard and Yale,...

In this episode, Eddie Aldrete sits down with Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock for a deep dive into fiscal management and government transparency, with a special focus on municipal spending and indebtedness. Hancock explains how his business background drives his mission to bring efficiency, accountability, and urgency to state government, but he also stresses why monitoring and communicatin...

In this episode of Beyond the Bite, host Eddie Aldrete welcomes back returning guest Rudy Garza for an in-depth conversation about the current and future challenges facing CPS Energy and the broader San Antonio community. The discussion opens with a look at recent board changes at CPS Energy, highlighting the appointment of Dr. Erika Gonzalez and her impressive background in both business and civi...

In this episode of "Beyond the Bite," host Eddie Aldrete sits down with Melissa Mastrodomenico, current president of the San Antonio chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), and Aquila Mendez-Valdez, longtime NAWBO member soon-to-be board president. The episode kicks off with a lighthearted discussion about how Aquila and Melissa first met—though neither can recall the...

In this episode, Host Eddie Aldrete sits down with Steve Spriester and Demonte Alexander for a deep dive into San Antonio’s evolving political and civic landscape. The conversation kicks off with reflections on Spriester’s 30-year career at KSAT-TV as an anchor and reporter including the changes he witnessed in local media, city development, and community engagement. The episode transitions to exp...

When host Eddie Aldrete sat down with David McGee, CEO of Amegy Bank for the Central Texas Region, he discovered why the bank moved from its longtime airport location to the city’s core. McGee said the strategic decision signaled Amegy’s commitment to economic revitalization post-COVID and supports the ongoing development momentum in the area. Their conversation uncovers why vi...

In this episode of Beyond the Bite, host Eddie Aldrete welcomes Thad Rutherford, President of SouthStar, and Jessica Loudermilk, Chief of Staff to the president of Texas A&M University - San Antonio, for an in-depth conversation about Project Vida. Project Vida is a transformative, mixed-use development on San Antonio's south side, designed to bring together education, hous...

In this episode of Beyond the Bite, host Eddie Aldrete sits down with Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai for an in-depth discussion about the upcoming county ballot propositions A and B. Judge Sakai provides listeners with a rich historical context, detailing the longstanding needs of San Antonio’s major sports and entertainment venues, like the Frost Bank Center and the Freeman Coliseum. He explains...