Good morning, Kerr County!

How about the RAIN! Thursday's late afternoon thunderstorm stuck around into the evening, giving us a much-needed soaking. The storm dropped the temperature by nearly 30 degrees — depending on your source. Weather Underground tracked a high of 101 at about 4:35 p.m., but an hour later, it was 71 degrees. Wow! We've got a cool day ahead of us — 95 degrees — before there's a chance of thunderstorms. After today, all bets are off for a cool down, and the National Weather Service suggests 100 degrees or hotter is on the way next week.

On today's The Lead Live!

Museum of Western Art Executive Director Darrell Beauchamp and Becky Crouch Patterson will discuss her exhibition entitled "Luckenbach Legacy, Hondo's Daughter." "It will showcase the art and talents of Becky Crouch Patterson, a fifth-generation Texan whose father was the legendary developer of historic tiny-town Luckenbach, made famous by Waylon Jennings's classic song, "Let's Go to Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love," Beauchamp said. The exhibition features Becky's original art, a marriage of Texas Folk Art and Fine Art, plus textiles, memorabilia and works from her life. In addition to her work, three display cases of photos and artifacts of Hondo and Luckenbach. We'll also have a 90-minute show today with Amy Goodyear updating us on Playhouse 2000's latest production — "Last Gas."

Today's newsletter is sponsored by:

This is dedicated to the cast and crew of Matilda, opening at 8:30 p.m. on Friday at the Point Theater in Ingram.

Events to consider

If you haven't seen our new feature — The Leslie: A Guide To Fun In Kerr County, then watch it here:

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Today's events!

Markets

• Kerrville Farmers Market — A.C. Schreiner Mansion, 4 p.m. Information: https://kerrvillefarmersmarket.com/ The details: Come down and enjoy a complimentary beer, or buy a handcrafted pizza and enjoy the market.

Drama

• "Last Gas" — Playhouse 2000 VK Garage Theater, 7:30 p.m. Information: https://www.playhouse2000.com The details: Nat Paradis is a Red Sox-loving part-time dad. He manages "Paradis' Last Convenient Store," the last place to get gas (or anything) before the Canadian border in northern Maine. When an old flame returns to town, Nat gets a chance to rekindle a romance he gave up on years ago. But sparks fly as he must choose between new love and old. This play takes a hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking look at love lost and found and what it means to "get back to happy."

Watch the cast of Matilda on The Lead Live from Thursday!

https://fb.watch/egzPwVQapP/

• "Matilda" — Hill Country Arts Foundation Point Theater, Ingram, 8:30 p.m. Information: https://www.hcaf.com The details: Matilda is a little girl with astonishing wit, intelligence and psychokinetic powers. She's unloved by her cruel parents but impresses her schoolteacher, the highly loveable Miss Honey. For her first term at school, Matilda and Miss Honey profoundly affect each other's lives, as Miss Honey begins recognizing and appreciating Matilda's extraordinary personality.

Science and Nature

• 1-on-1 with a naturalist — Riverside Nature Center, 10 a.m. Information: https://www.riversidenaturecenter.org The details: Naturalist, author, and columnist Jim Stanley and Texas Master Naturalist and native plant enthusiast John Hucksteadt will be available to meet one-on-one to answer questions, discuss various topics, or listen to ideas about nature.

Live music

• Graham Warwick — Pint and Plow Brewing Co., 6 p.m. Information: 830-315-7468 The details: Texas Bluesman Graham Warwick, aka, The Texas Blues Gentleman, will, from the first note, take the listener on a foot tappin' musical journey through several styles of Blues, some classic Rock and Roll, classic Country, folk music, songs from the American Songbook, and sprinkled liberally with his own unique songs! Graham will also fill in all the empty spaces with entertaining stories!!
• Dave Kemp — Cafe at the Ridge, 6 p.m. Information: https://www.shopsattheridge.com
• Aaron LaCombe — The Hunt Store, 7 p.m. Information: 830-238-4410
• Moonshine and Wine — Trailhead Beer Garden at Schreiner University, 6 p.m. Information: https://www.trailheadbeergarden.com The details: This Texas trio performs country music with acoustic guitar, bass, and a harmonica player on lead. Blending traditional & original songs and bringing in great songs from some of the newer country bands, the mix is for dancing & listening. The lead singer is Dennis Alan Owens, a singer song-writer who has released his own music on the recent albums "Going Back to Texas," and "The Last Cowboy," telling stories hoping to take you back to the old ranch roads and dance halls he has traveled in his life. The harmonica player, "Moonshine Marie," gets her harp sound from listening to Mickey Raphael on all of those old Willie Nelson tunes, also sings, and lives in Kerrville, not far from the Quiet Valley Ranch which first brought her here.
• Concerts by the River — Louise Hays Park, 7 p.m. Information: https://kerrvilletx.gov/1582/Concerts-By-The-River The details: Tejano Image & Jessie Wren will play.
• C-Rock — Pier 27 River Lounge and Pizzeria, 8 p.m. Information: 830-896-7437
• The Flashbacks — Joanne Marie and Me Wine Boutique, 6 p.m. Information: (936) 554-8326

Dance

• Learn to Belly Dance — Kerr Arts and Cultural Center, 6 p.m. Information: The Cheeky Peacocks Dance Company The details: Bring a yoga mat, a bottle of water and a friend! The class is $10.

Saturday, July 16

Markets

• Heart of the Hills Farmers Market — River Hills Mall parking lot, 8 a.m. Information: 830-370-7476

Art

• Luckenbach Legacy, Hondo's Daughter, Becky Crouch Patterson Exhibition — Museum of Western Art, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Information: The details: Becky Crouch Patterson, a fifth-generation Texan whose father was the legendary developer of historic tiny-town Luckenbach, made famous by Waylon Jennings's classic song, "Let's Go to Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love." This is Patterson's original art, which he describes as a marriage of Texas Folk Art and Fine Art, plus textiles, memorabilia and works from her life. In addition to her work, three display cases will be filled with photos and artifacts of Hondo and Luckenbach.
• Kerr Arts and Cultural Center Art Exhibits — Kerr Arts Cultural Center, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Information: 830-895-2911 The details: Through Aug. 13, three different art exhibits. Paintings by LaRue, "Kerrville Fiber Artists," Fiber art show by local artists, "Hometown Crafts Teacher's Show," an exhibition featuring the work of local teachers, sponsored by Hometown Crafts and Gifts.

Drama

• "Last Gas" — Playhouse 2000 VK Garage Theater, 7:30 p.m. Information: https://www.playhouse2000.com The details: Nat Paradis is a Red Sox-loving part-time dad. He manages "Paradis' Last Convenient Store," the last place to get gas (or anything) before the Canadian border in northern Maine. When an old flame returns to town, Nat gets a chance to rekindle a romance he gave up on years ago. But sparks fly as he must choose between new love and old. This play takes a hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking look at love lost and found and what it means to "get back to happy."
• "Matilda" — Hill Country Arts Foundation Point Theater, Ingram, 8:30 p.m. Information: https://www.hcaf.com The details: Matilda is a little girl with astonishing wit, intelligence and psychokinetic powers. She's unloved by her cruel parents but impresses her schoolteacher, the highly loveable Miss Honey. For her first term at school, Matilda and Miss Honey profoundly affect each other's lives, as Miss Honey begins recognizing and appreciating Matilda's extraordinary personality.

Live music

• Rain Thoresen — Trailhead Beer Garden at Schreiner University, Information: 830-307-5990 The details: Rain Thoresen is a singer-songwriter and adventure enthusiast from the Appalachian mountains. She wrote her first song here in Texas and has been in love with the lone star state ever since. Her music has been described as girl-power Americana.
• The Stateline Band — Crider's Rodeo and Dance Hall, 8 p.m. Information: https://cridersrandd.com/band-lineup
• Jim Turner — Cafe at the Ridge, 6 p.m. Information: 830-896-0420
• Starseed — Pier 27 River Lounge and Pizzeria, 8 p.m. Information: 830-896-7437
• The Reefs — The Hunt Store, 7 p.m. Information: 830-238-4410

Stories we're paying attention to across Texas

Texas sues the federal government — again

• Ever determined to win a case against the federal government, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued President Joe Biden over an executive order that said hospitals that accept Medicare and Medicaid payments must perform abortions if the mother's life is in danger. Here's a rundown: https://www.texastribune.org/2022/07/14/texas-biden-emergency-abortion/

Officer checking his phone was checking on his wife, one of the two teachers killed in Uvalde shooting

• The online criticism of a Uvalde police officer checking his phone led a member of the Texas House of Representatives committee investigating the shooting to speak out. Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, said he had not planned to make any public comments until the committee's report was finished but felt he needed to set the record straight. More on the story: https://www.texastribune.org/2022/07/14/uvalde-video-officer-phone-ruben-ruiz-wife/

Former school campus faces wrecking ball

Buh-bye old Hal Peterson Middle School — you served us well

Sources tell us demolition of the old Hal Peterson Middle School could begin Monday. The new buyers could be revealed this week.

Kerrville Independent School District Trustee Greg Peschel noted on his Facebook page the buyers are local, looking to do a mixed-use development and will cut up the gymnasium floor as a fundraising tool for the booster clubs. There is already a fence around the campus marking the imminent demolition.

COVID-19 latest surge continues to press Texas

The latest surge of COVID-19 continues to hit Texas hard, with another 10,000 people testing positive for the virus. Hospitalizations rose slightly to more than 3,281 cases.

Once again, pediatric cases continued to climb and sit at 168. The UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas reported that the BA.5 omicron variant is spreading rapidly among older adults — those over 65 — but also appears to be spreading in children under five. Positivity remains high across the state — 30.5%.

Through July 1, Peterson Regional Medical Center had at least eight people over 80 hospitalized — the most since February in that demographic.

Changes in federal law could impact many small businesses in Kerr County

https://fb.watch/egzWmoLIjd/

Kerrville attorney Greg Richards wants owners of small limited liability corporations — a number he estimates at 20,000 in Kerr County — will have a lot more paperwork to handle in their future.

In 2021, Congress adopted a law called the Corporate Transparency Act to fight money laundering. One tax reform group says the United States is the least transparent country in the world when it comes to corporate identity and financial malfeasance.

The act requires all beneficial owners of an LLC to register — or race the consequences.

"It's a nice gift that our friends in Washington have given us and something we're all going to have to deal with," said Richards during a recent interview on his podcast on The Lead's Facebook page. "It's important to have a heads up on this because there's going to be a timeline for compliance, and there's going to be significant both civil and criminal penalties for non-compliance."

There's a catch; the act focuses its efforts on small LLCs that have less than 20 employees. For Richards and other lawyers, setting up LLC businesses is a regular part of their daily work, but the new regulations heap significant work on the law firms and the LLC owners. The American Bar Association wrote that it worries about the onerous rules requiring every LLC member to register.

"A primary concern is the need to balance requirements under the CTA with professional, ethical responsibilities to their clients," the American Bar Association wrote in an opinion piece on its website. "The CTA defines the term applicant as any individual who files an application to form an entity or registers a foreign entity to do business in the United States. Lawyers frequently undertake such acts, but it is unclear as to whether the reporting obligation will be imposed on the "applicant" or the entity itself."

Richards said that all LLC owners must submit:

• full legal name;
• date of birth;
• current residential or business street address ;and
• a unique identifying number from an acceptable identification document or FinCEN identifier.

The FinCen is the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a Department of the Treasury unit that will regulate the act. FinCen is still putting together the final rules, but they should go into effect next year.

"I would say most if not all the clients that I work with and I would say most of the entities that get created are not going to fit one of the exemptions," Richards said.

The crux of this effort is to fight money laundering by eliminating the anonymity of small LLCs.

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Health, Wellness and Beauty Show is set for July 21

Join us July 21 for our first-ever Health, Wellness and Beauty Super Show on The Lead Live. This special show features health professionals, personal trainers, therapists and mental health professionals. The show is our biggest yet. We've had so much interest that we opened some additional spots after 2 p.m. If you're a health, beauty or wellness professional or business, contact us today because space is limited.