At 11:55 p.m. on Friday, June 24, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill into law that made the Empire State the sixth and largest U.S. state to legalize gay marriage only two years after a nearly identical bill had failed. Glow sticks waved and the anthemic "We Are Family" blasted through speakers in at least 10 percent of the country. In the Alamo City, the monumental news inspired even the lurkiest of gay advocates to change their Facebook profile pic to the rainbow version of the traditional "I love New York" logo. Where are those Donna Summer cassette tapes when you need them?

One of the many celebrants of the long-awaited victory was Rev. Mick Hinson of Metropolitan Community Church of San Antonio, who believes coast to coast equality may not be far away. This week, I met with him to chat about his life's work and to find out why, despite this rise of equality, he sometimes feels he got the middle seat on the plane ride to heaven.

Here’s how things work in the world of Dan Ramos.

The ousted Bexar County Democratic Party chairman – who stubbornly refuses to accept his ouster – and his small cadre of supporters warn that the party is headed for trouble under recently installed chair Choco Meza because the Republican Party might challenge the legality of any slate of Democratic candidates filed by Meza. Of course, the only reason Republicans would think to do something like that is because Ramos is openly challenging Meza’s legal standing as party chair.

Chicken, I’d like to introduce you to egg.

Information may want to be free, but to be liberated, sometimes it has to demonstrate its value first.

When the County Commissioners look at the jail or the courts, they're prone to see dollar signs, more so now that Bexar is facing declining property-tax revenues. This spring's ill-fated attempt to find a better system for providing lawyers to the poor was DOA not only because the loudest defense attorneys weren't particularly interested in doing away with the current method, but because more promising ideas also looked more expensive. You can circle it in the catalog, kids, but don't look for it under the tree this year.

Glancing at the loaded menu at Southtown's Liberty Bar, it's clear Austin has me in a headlock. The realization that my second month of veganism is going to require serious diligence slowly sinks deep into my leafy soul. The options before me are yawn-inducing and the waitress, though quite nice, is hardly helpful. Unfortunately, San Antonio is years away from the state capitol, a magical place where any dreadlocked, incense-reeking 19-year-old can suggest a dozen restaurants within a quarter-mile that can produce the green on a silver platter.

Rather than reinvent the wheel, I faithfully seek advice from local superstars like Texas State Representative Mike Villarreal, who's gone against the cultural grain to maintain health and well-being on his own terms; "Austinity" of the mind, one might say. This week, I met Villarreal to find out how he stays so fit and fabulous in the verdant jungle of state politics.

We were talking on the phone, but I could practically see my contact shaking his head. He’s no fan of County government — which is like an army packed with generals, most of them scheming to maintain or gain small advantages over one another — and Commissioners Court’s creation this week of a county manager position left him mystified.

The conservative steamroller known as the 2011 Texas legislative session surely brought a crinkled smile or two to Rick Perry. Without meaning to, however, the GOP-dominated Lege might have put a serious roadblock in the path of Perry’s presidential ambitions.

In response to the 2009 MOVE (Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment) Act — which requires states to get absentee ballots to service members at least 45 days before a federal election — the Legislature had to alter the state’s election schedule to leave a longer gap between next year’s primary and its runoff.