Credit: Cover by Zeke Barbaro / Getty Images

Like so many other businesses this spring, the Chronicle staff returned to the office last week. We tried this before back in December, but Omicron scuppered that plan after only three weeks. We’re feeling more optimistic this time around, and it’s been exceptionally nice to share the same physical space again three days a week. New hires are putting bodies to the one-dimensional faces they’ve only met over Zoom, and some existing staffers are getting used to new roles. Senior ad rep Lois Richwine quietly retired last month before we could foist a farewell sheet cake on her; she and husband Jesse Sublett (a well-known figure to fans of noir, punk, and Texana) are enjoying the spring in Los Angeles. Longtime accounting assistant/institutional memory for all things Austin music Chelsea Taylor has joined the sales staff, and Cassandra Pearce has returned to her old desk in accounting to help with the transition.

In other office news, the Chronicle was well-represented at last week’s Austin Alliance for Women in Media’s annual Awards of Excellence. Zeke Barbaro, Wayne Alan Brenner, Jerald Corder, Jeff Gammill, David Kleppe, Rachel Rascoe, Gloria Williamson, and Sarah Wolf all earned nominations, and a handful of us brought home hardware: Cassidy Frazier (Print Sales Manager of the Year), Marisa Mirabal (Digital AE of the Year), Trace Thurman (Digital Sales Manager of the Year and Support Staff of the Year!), and yours truly (pleased as punch to be named Print Unsung Hero). Congrats to the whole team.

Online This Week

Light It Up: Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic and Fireworks, a Texas tradition since 1972, is moving to Q2 Stadium this year. Tickets go on sale Friday, April 15, 10am.

Prime Specimens: James Scott interviews the artists behind a public art project examining Southern nostalgia and toxic masculinity.

R.I.P. Daniel Sahad: Austin pop-rock band Nané confirmed the passing of the 29-year-old, dazzling vocalist on April 10.

Highs and Lows: After a sold-out album release show, Good Looks guitarist Jake Ames was hit by a car and hospitalized.

Gerald Ramsay as Mufasa in The Lion King Credit: Photo by Matthew Murphy / © Disney

This Lion Roars: Strong Disney theatrical adaptation The Lion King is a hit at Bass Concert Hall.

Hard Times at Easy Tiger: Disgruntled ex-staff say actions by management before and during SXSW led to mass resignations at the Seventh Street shop.

This article appears in April 15 • 2022.

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A graduate of the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas, Kimberley has written about film, books, and pop culture for The Austin Chronicle since 2000. She was named Editor of the Chronicle in 2016; she previously served as the paper’s Managing Editor, Screens Editor, Books Editor, and proofreader. Her work has been awarded by the Association of Alternative Newsmedia for excellence in arts criticism, team reporting, and special section (Best of Austin). The Austin Alliance for Women...