Two-and-a half hours after informing Out In SA that the ribbon cutting ceremony for the rainbow crosswalk had been moved from Friday, June 29 to Wednesday June 27, District 1 City Councilman Roberto C. Treviño decided to move the event back to its original date.
At 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday, June 26, Justin Renteria, Councilman Treviño’s communications coordinator confirmed to Out In SA in a phone call that the ribbon cutting was going to take place on Wednesday and not on Friday as originally planned.
Out In SA‘s call to Renteria was prompted by a text the magazine received from Phillip Barcena, board president of Pride San Antonio, which said Barcena had been told by the councilman’s office that there would be “no dedication” of the crosswalk as planned on Friday.
At approximately 3:30 p.m. Out In SA published an article informing its readers about the change of date for the event. The story had received over 1500 hits on Facebook and was shared over 50 times.
At around 6 p.m. Out In SA learned from one of its sources that the event was being moved back to Friday. This was later confirmed by Renteria who offered his apologies. Shortly afterward, Out In SA removed the story from it’s website.
No clear explanation has been given as to why the event was moved in the first place.
In a telephone conversation with Out In SA, Councilman Treviño said his staff, realizing the crosswalk would be ready by Wednesday afternoon, thought it might be good to have the ribbon cutting on that day.
However, moving the event left many in the community confused by the change. James Poindexter, board secretary for Pride SA, told Out In SA that his organization, which helped with the fundraising, had been getting push back on social media from community members who had planned to attend the event on Friday.
Councilman Treviño offered Out In SA the following statement:
“I apologize for any confusion and accept full responsibility but we are maintaining our commitment to hold the ribbon cutting this Friday as originally planned. In learning the construction schedule may finish a day early we considered moving up the ribbon cutting. However, the right thing to do is keep the original schedule as many may have planned for a Friday ribbon cutting.”
Rainbow Crosswalk Ribbon Cutting, at 5:30 p.m. Friday, June 29 at Luther’s Cafe, 1503 N. Main Avenue. Ribbon cutting to be followed by Pathway to Policy, a community conversation with Councilman Treviño.
