On tonight’s edition of ‘In the Know,’ we’re registering to vote!
The deadline for registering to vote is set for Monday, October 6th. Then, it’s just a matter of weeks before it comes time for us to vote in this year’s presidential election. However, before we can actually vote, we have to be registered with our respective county.
Tina Morton and Nelda Spears, who work with Travis County, will be coming into the studio today to talk about the registration process. They’ll clear up some misconceptions that we may have when it comes down to casting our ballot.
We’ll also be talking about the act of voting in general: Why should one vote? How does one vote? Do we vote by party? How about by person? By ethnicity or religion, perhaps? And we’ll definitely talk about the struggles many have gone through in order to get their voices heard.
So join us tonight at 8 pm! Be sure to give us a call at 512-495-KVRX or blog with us here on the site! See ya tonight!
On tonight’s edition of ‘In the Know,’ we’ll be talking about religion and its role in the educational system.
In 2003, Texas passed a law mandating a full minute of morning silence for all grade levels. Although students are allowed to pray during the alloted time, there are other nonreligious activities in which they can engage in. Also, in 2007, Texas passed another law adding “one state under God” to the state’s pledge of allegiance.
Well one atheist family has had enough. They are challenging the laws that they say promote “improper religious activity.” Many, however, feel that is certainly not the case.
Joining us in the studio tonight is Sandra Jaramillo, President of Atheist Longhorns. We’ll be talking about these laws, as well as the current Texas curriculum. Should creationism be taught in our public schools? And should the Bible be anywhere near our students?
Be sure to tune in tonight at 8pm! If you’d like to comment on today’s topic, give us a call at 512-495-KVRX, or blog with us here at the site.
See you soon!
–XO–
*photo courtesy of The National Constitution Center*
Tonight on In the Know, we’re talking about drug use. Yes, that’s right, we’ll be getting high in the studio today!It’s no secret that drugs are prevalent on college campuses nationwide, UT being no different. But despite the constant use of these narcotics, it seems like no one ever gets punished.We’ll be talking about one particular psychoactive herb that’s being used to obtain that ever elusive ‘high’–salvia. The kicker to that is that it’s perfectly legal. We’ll talk about what’s being done to control its use.Joining us in the studio today is Dr. Kevin Prince, program coordinator for Drug and Alcohol Education here on the 40 Acres. He’ll be talking about the effects of these drugs and how one may deal with an ongoing addiction. Be sure to call in and let us know what you think! Give us a call at 512-495-KVRX or blog with us here on the site.See ya soon!–XO–
Tonight on In the Know, we’ll be taking an in-depth look at suicide.
A recent survey conducted by the university says that nearly 13,000 students have either attempted or contemplated suicide during their collegiate careers. And although the number of teen suicides has dropped over the past couple of years, the rate at which they occur is still incredibly high.
We’ll talk about certain issues that may factor into one’s decision to take their own life. We’ll also talk about the resources that are available to those seeking help.
Be sure to join us tonight at 8 pm on 91.7 KVRX Austin as we discuss this pressing issue.
If you or someone you know has thought about suicide, please give us a call at 512-495-KVRX and share your experiences with us. You can also blog with us here on the site. Just a reminder–you may do so anonymously if you wish.
On tonight’s edition of In the Know, we’re getting back into the grove of things with today being the first day of classes.
We’ll be talking about all that comes along with going back to school, such as buying really expensive textbooks. But with a weakening economy and tuition rates skyrocketing, students are finding it hard to be the least bit happy about returning.
Although preparing for school has taken up most of our time, the Democratic National Convention still rallies on in Denver. We’ll let you know what we really think about Sen. Joe Biden being Obama’s vice-presidential nominee.
Be sure to join us tonight at our new time, 8 pm, on 91.7 KVRX Austin. Also, don’t hesitate to give us a call at 512-495-KVRX, or blog with us here on the site. We definitely would like to hear from you. New school year resolution, perhaps?
On tonight’s season finale of In the Know, we’re going back to the very beginning of summer!
Yes, we’ve certainly come a long way since June. But for the sake of tonight’s show, we’ll be traveling back a couple of months to relive some of the best ITK moments of the summer season.
We definitely have had our share of memorable shows, tackling such issues as sexual education and plasma donation. We’ll talk about our favorite moments and we’ll also discuss those that defined Summer 2008, including the Beijing Olympics.
Join us tonight for our last show of the season! Be sure to tune in to 91.7 KVRX Austin at 7 pm! If you’d like to share your favorite ITK topics or moments, give us a call at 512-495-KVRX or blog with us here on the site.
On tonight’s edition of In the Know, we bid farewell to one of our show’s founding mothers: Vanessa Castañeda!
Yes, after all those years of hard work, Vanessa is leaving us to go on to bigger and better things. That’s why we’ve decided to dedicate this show to her!
We’ll be talking about any and everything that comes to mind tonight. We’ll reminisce about all the good days, all the bad days, and all those in between. With summer almost over, we’ll also talk about the highs and lows of Summer ‘08–what made it and what ruined it! (darn you Dolly!)
Be sure to join us tonight on 91.7 KVRX Austin at 7 pm! If you would like to say goodbye to our wonderful news director, call us at 512-495-KVRX or blog with us here on the site.
Tonight on ITK we have two very special guests, Diego Gonzalez Joven and John Wimmer (www.whatsyourimpossible.com). Both are University of Texas students who are going outdoors to raise awareness about global issues.
The pair, along with John’s dog Rasha, will bike and swim across North America and are in studio to talk about their upcoming expedition. Tune in, leave a comment here or give us a call at (512) 495-5879 and Diego and John will be here to answer your questions.
In The Know, tonight at 7 p.m. for a FULL HOUR! on 91.7 KVRX Austin and online at kvrx.org.
Check out the vid of Diego and John (and Rasha) scaling mountains!
900 American Airlines are taking early retirement or going on leave.
Because of that the airline won’t have to furlough 900 workers like it was planning to do.
Rising gas prices forced the airline to start cutting costs… and flight attendants were first on the list. The next cost to be cut… 15-hundred maintenance jobs and 200 pilots. The attendants are expected to leave by August 31st.
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American Airlines is dealing with another problem in New York today.
A computer glitch in a baggage handling system at Kennedy Airport has forced the airline to sort baggage by hand. About 20 flights have been delayed.
Passengers are being given the option of flying without their bags.
The airline promises to deliver the delayed luggage once the issue is resolved.
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Since 1993, advertising revenue at UT’s Darrel K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium has increased from $570 thousand to $10 million, according to the University’s athletics department. That amount of revenue is expected to increase after the stadium’s renovation and 10,000 seat additions are completed. Another reason for increase in revenue is UT’s 10-year revenue-sharing agreement with IMG College Sports, a division of the worldwide sports marketing firm IMG. As a top sports school and home of the largest stadium in the state, major marketers such as AT&T, Bank of America and Time Warner Cable are extremely attracted to reach all of the fans. UT’s agreement with IMG takes a conservative approach to allowing marketers to advertise so as to maintain the stadium’s image and family-oriented environment.
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A new report from Javelin Strategy & Research in California found that 37 percent of Americans say they are using their credit cards less and shopping conservatively. The study found that 28 percent of consumers said they are having a tougher time paying off balances and 57 percent said they have changed their eating habits. 46 percent of consumers said they now shop more at discount stores. The study surveyed 1,500 people and surveyed credit card industry executives.
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United Title of Texas Incorporated shut down yesterday. The company – based in Austin – had 27 offices throughout the state, including three in Austin. United’s parent company, Mercury Companies shut down the Texas operation, and operations in four other states, due to a discontinuation of a line of credit. United Title’s CEO has tried to contact its parent company regarding severance for his employees but has received no word.
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A new study by the Economic Policy Institute shows that Texas has lost more than 200,000 jobs to China since 2001 – with 34,100 jobs lost in 2007 alone. The study points to the US-China trade deficit as the problem. Of the industries affected, Texas’ computer and electronic products manufacturing industry was hit the hardest – with 90,400 employees losing jobs. America as a whole has lost 2.3 million jobs since China entered the World Trade Organization in 2001.
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A new report from a UT assistant professor of special education and the Texas Youth Commission’s Office of Independent Ombudsman says juvenile inmates receive poor education. The report says teachers spend much of their time trying to get their classrooms under control and that poor readers are told to read independently. The Texas Youth Commission’s conservator said the agency plans to address the issues in the report.
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South Padre is back and ready for visitors. After being slammed by Hurricane Dolly last week, the island was only open to residents and business owners. However, the Queen Isabella Memorial Bridge is now open to everyone. As of Tuesday, a third of the island’s power had been restored. But don’t get ready to party too heartily – there is a 9PM curfew every night until all power is restored.
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The state legislature’s school funding system approved in 2006 does not take into consideration monetary inflation. The consumer price index, the federal government’s index to monitor inflation, has increased by nearly 6% since the funding system was passed. Schools are concerned about being in a revenue-neutral funding system even though costs are increasing. However, there is no uniform way to measure inflation for each school district. The state also utilizes a target-revenue system. Essentially, the more money a district raises by itself, the less it receives from the state.
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A pilot program conducted by the Insurance Council of Texas reveals just how many Texas drivers do not have car insurance. Of the five thousand drivers stopped, nearly 25 percent did not have car insurance in Travis, Williamson and Hays Counties.
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Today the Food and Drug Administration is pointing fingers after this year’s salmonella outbreak.
They say they have linked the strain salmonella to irrigation water and serrano peppers from a farm in Nuevo Leon, Mexico.
More than 1200 people have gotten sick since April
Initially the F-D-A thought tomatoes were to blame…but they lifted that ban in early June.
Peppers were the next culprit.
The F-D-A still warns against eating raw jalapeño or serrano peppers from Mexico.
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A hunk of ice that spreads across seven square miles detached from a Canadian ice shelf in the Arctic yesterday.
Is it more evidence of global warming?
A researcher from Trent University…Derek Mueller…says “Not so fast”…but he does agree that this is consistent with the idea that ice sheets are not being rebuilt in the Arctic.
A crack in Ward Hunt Ice Shelf was spotted back in 2002, but the piece didn’t actually break loose until this week.
Many scientists say that the Arctic will have iceless summers as soon as 2013…not 2030 as the International Panel on Climate Change had previously predicted.
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Going back to school in the fall? Vanessa isn’t, but for everyone else, August 15 kicks off the next tax free weekend in Texas. The sales tax holiday will last through Sunday, August 17 and include many clothing items priced under one hundred dollars. This will be the 10th annual sales tax holiday in Texas.
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Let the summer debauchery continue! The Queen Isabella Bridge to South Padre Island has reopened following Hurricane Dolly’s landfall on the South Texas coast. Officials want you to keep the party indoors after dark, as a 9 p.m. curfew is still in effect while workers continue to restore electricity to the rest of the island.
About 2500 student here on U-T’s campus had sensitive information exposed online according to a Washington-based watchdog group.
U-T learned of the problem all the way back in January and immediately restricted access to the information…which included things like personal tax returns, test scores and social security numbers.
However…the Liberty Coalition says that copies of the information could be found on Yahoo search until May.
The University has said that less than 50 students were personally identifiable.
The affected students have already been notified.
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The family of a U-T student who died after a night of binge drinking at a fraternity party is announcing its settlement in a lawsuit filed against the frat and its members.
Phanta ‘Jack’ Phoummarath say was found dead at the Lambda Phi Epsilon house back in December of 2005.
Phoummarath’s parents settled for approximately four million dollars and some conditions which included having the defendants participate in an anti-hazing video. An attorney for the family says the money will be used to help fund the video and will also be used as a scholarship reward for a student who has created an anti-binge drinking group on campus.
The family filed a wrongful death suit against the Lambda Phi Epsilon national and local Zeta Chapter back in January of 2006.
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Today the Massachusetts Senate repealed a law from 1913.
The result?
Same-sex couples from out-of-state can now go to Massachusetts to get married.
Massachusetts was the first state to allow same-sex marriages more than four years ago.
While the reasons for the repeal mostly has to do with discrimination…the potential economic benefits have also been taken into consideration.
The State of Massachusetts just released a study saying that in the next three years more than 32,000 couples will get married there.
This could create more than 300 permanent jobs and add more than 110 million dollars to the economy.
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The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation is awarding a $75,000 grant to upgrade the Texas Education Agency’s student progress tracking system.
The state has already set aside $4.8 million to renovate the agency’s primary data collection system.
The decision to overhaul the system was made after the state legislature reviewed a report in 2002 that showed it was outdated.
The upgrade is said to be able to provide information that schools can use to see what’s working and what’s not when it comes to student progress.
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The Texas Public Policy Foundation unveiled its newest Web site last week - www.TexasBudgetWatch.org.
The site aims to provide government transparency to taxpayers. Following the example of State Comptroller Susan Combs and her “Where the Money Goes” Web site, TexasBudgetWatch.org is complete with spending information from up to 10 years ago and a Spend-O-Meter that provides updated information on current state spending.
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The City of Austin faces a budget deficit of over $20 million dollars.
The city’s budget office is meeting with the City Council between now and next Wednesday to discuss solutions to the budget shortfall for the upcoming fiscal period.
Results of the meeting and who will pay for the city’s deficit will become public information after next Wednesday, July 23rd.
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The Austin Convention Center hosted the state Democratic convention earlier this year. Now it will be filled once again as the liberal blogging website Netroots Nation kicks off its 2008 conference Thursday. The four-day event includes speakers such as Nancy Pelosi and Howard Dean. Bloggers on the site chose Austin as the cite of this year’s conference because of Texas’ prominent role in the political blogosphere.
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One non-profit organization is doing its part to help pass a ban on some processed meats used on school menus.
The Cancer Project launched their commercial campaign entitled “Protect our Kids” this week here in Austin. They’re trying to get deli meat, hot dogs, and hamburgers taken off school menus.
The campaign says that such processed meats cause cancer. The group has based their claims on a report conducted by the American Institute for Cancer Research and the World Cancer Research Fund.
The report itself says,”Red or processed meats are convincing or probable causes of some cancers.” They recommend that consumers avoid processed meats.
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U-T Medical School at Houston researchers say they’ve found a way to stop AIDS from spreading. One of the reasons doctors can’t vaccinate for AIDS is that the virus constantly mutates.
But the researchers discovered a constant…the site where the virus attaches to other cells… Amino acids numbers 421-433 on g-p-120. Researcher Dr. Paul is now working on abzymes that would kill various strains of H-I-V by attacking that site.
The World Health Organization says that in 2007, more than 33 million people were living with AIDS.
Researchers intend to present supporting data from two additional studies at The International AIDS Conference on Aug. 3-8 in Mexico City. The journal article is titled “Catalytic antibodies to HIV: Physiological role and potential clinical utility”.
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Attention, expecting mothers! Midwives are back! Austin hospitals have been without a midwives since Seton and Brackenridge closed their programs in 2002.
Beginning in August, St. David’s North Austin Medical Center will have nurse midwives who routinely see expecting patients throughout their pregnancy and then deliver the baby naturally without medication.
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NASA set a date for the final shuttle mission. May 31st, 2010. That’s four months before the shuttle fleet retires. But they still have 15 flights left in them…Five this year, five next year, and three in 2010.
They do intend to build new crafts so that astronauts can once again walk on the moon.
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Be a doctor. Get paid up front. Spend more time with patients, and don’t mess around with insurance companies. Sounds impossible, you say? A new method of physician care - called concierge medicine - is slowly gathering momentum across Central Texas.
In the concierge system, patients pay annual fees or retainers to primary care physicians, and they receive all hours access to the doctor by phone, thorough visits, emphasis on preventative care and overall health. People in support of the concierge model say it reduces overhead, paperwork, and patient volumes so you don’t have to deal with insurance companies as much.
However, those patients who can’t afford the upfront fee are not able pay for the concierge model - mainly those who rely on Medicare and health insurance. Faced with a possible 10 percent Medicare reimbursement cut, doctors are tempted to switch from the traditional model in order to survive.
This news was brought to you by the KVRX News team
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900 American Airlines are taking early retirement or going on leave.