Look, we’ll keep this simple: It’s stupid hot out, so we put sno- cones on the cover.

Actually, scratch that, they’re snowballs, which boast a fluffier shaved ice. That’s how they do ’em in Louisiana, which is where you can trace the origins of 51st Street stand Casey’s New Orleans Snowballs back to. You can read all about those origins in Wayne Alan Brenner’s cover story here.

Staff photographer Jana Birchum, who also shot last week’s electric images of Gabriela Bucio, took this week’s cover, and a few Chronicle staffers lent a literal hand for the shot. We figured it’d be fun to reveal the faces behind the hands here. Thanks for pitching in, y’all.

Standing: (l-r) Production / Art Director Zeke Barbaro, Advertising Account Executive Chelsea Taylor; kneeling: (l-r) Proofreader Jasmine Lane, Proofreader / Qmmunity Editor James Scott, Music Editor Kevin Curtin

Online This Week

Lights on for Laughs Again: After 22 dark months, Cap City Comedy Club opened July 12 at its new home at the Domain with a show by Mary Lynn Rajskub.

Cap City Comedy Club

Austin Music Census: A new census gathers data on what lives and careers in Austin music look like.

Uh Wait What: Gov. Abbott responds to news that Operation Lone Star is under federal investigation for civil rights violations by sinking $30 million more of taxpayer dollars into the controversial border program.

Too Hot to Handle: The hellishly hot summer temps have forced cancellations and closures, including a weekend performance by Austin Symphony Orchestra – the third time this year ASO has had to cancel an outdoor concert due to extreme heat.

The Indoor Queer Club: The Qmmunity team recommends queer-centric media to read and watch from the comfort of your own air-conditioned home.

15 for TBF: Texas Book Festival announced the first 15 authors for its November lineup, including actor/debut novelist Omar Epps (Nubia: The Awakening) and bestselling author Sandra Brown (Overkill).

This article appears in July 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...