A rainbow flag waves under Old Glory on a tall flagpole at the corner of Main and Laurel, broadcasting pride and unity in the stiff March breeze. But under the bright bands of color there are rumblings of discontent between the old good-time boys and a new gay lifestyle that's mainstream, diurnal, and a cornerstone of the area's economic comeback.

The Pegasus works on a venerable college-town formula: don't spend money if you don't have to. A wooden fence high enough to block prying eyes runs up to the property line, extending the party into the parking lot – one of a handful of differently themed bars within a bar – with a small stage and frequent barbecues. The Facebook page promises $2 happy-hour wells and themed drag shows, as well as plenty of events designed for revelers of all stripes (this weekend: I Love the '90s; March 17: a Naughty Leprechaun party).

The Council members who brought last week's controversial down-zoning initiatives to City Hall said it was an unfortunate coincidence that their cases hit the dais the same day. The back-to-back agenda items spurred San Antonio's real-estate and development professionals to turn out in force, and during their turns at the podium, they lambasted the tactic as a violation of property rights, and warned Council that it would run off investors.

But the issues are, after all, very different in the details. In District 3, the property that's the subject of the down-zoning request has been a golf course for almost 50 years – the proposed re-zoning would be consistent with its actual use, if not with the owner's desire to halve the course and add housing. The District 9 request, on the other hand, would affect 19 undeveloped acres mid-sale, and zoned correctly for the proposed project – a 180,000 square-foot Walmart Superstore, complete with nursery and tire shop.

Yet what the two requests have in common is more important than their differences: In both cases, Council members are using the threat of down-zoning to bring a reluctant party to the bargaining table. If the development community has a reason to be worried, it's not that they might not get to build what they want, but that they will spend many more evenings at public meetings. And cut a lot more deals.

Outfitted in her signature red blazer, attorney-lobbyist Jane Macon worked the room on October 26, weaving between tables on the floor of Freeman Coliseum and chatting with San Antonio's other movers and shakers. The only difference from the countless other such occasions was the pet llama shadowing her.

The event was County Judge Nelson Wolff's "State of the County" speech, and its sponsor, the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, had inexplicably settled on a county-fair theme. Popcorn centerpieces, a lunch of fish tacos, fried veggies, cups of corn, and funnel-cake dessert, and a petting zoo that included miniature horses, straight from Macon's ranch near the Hill Country town of Twin Sisters.

The event highlighted Macon's access to Bexar County's powers that be, her knack for winning and keeping friends through organizational teamwork, her outsize persona, and even her love of animals, which has evolved into an odd side business for a Fulbright & Jaworski partner.

Following her first star outing on the dais, newly appointed Councilmember Leticia Ozuna said it's time to put on "a negotiating hat." Ozuna led a controversial move Thursday to initiate down-zoning of the Pecan Valley Golf Course on the city's Southeast Side against the wishes of the owner, Foresight Golf. The company wants to redevelop the 200-acre site into The Valor Club, a retirement community and a 9-hole course designed for disabled veterans. Pecan Valley has been in operation under various owners since 1963, but the property is zoned MF-33, which permits such uses as multi-family housing, assisted-living facilities, and off-campus student housing. The vote yesterday allows the City to approach the Zoning Commission for a G designation, which would limit its use to public or private golf and "accessory uses," and parks. The case would return to Council for final approval.