SAN ANTONIO -- Achieving No Kill for dogs and cats CAN happen in San Antonio when we Talk About It! and act on this campaign’s three core elements – Care, Adopt, and Neuter.

The Talk About It! campaign, a bilingual, multi-channel grassroots effort, aims to make San Antonio a No Kill community by promoting spay/neuter, adoption and responsible pet care. The program is a collaboration of the City of San Antonio, Alamo Area Partners for Animal Welfare (AAPAW), and the San Antonio Area Foundation Consortium of Partners.

Focusing on the importance of individuals making personal choices to keep their pets healthy and safe, Talk About It! provides essential tools and programs that enable the community to succeed at permanently changing the way we treat our pets.

The San Antonio community will be exposed to the campaign’s message through neighborhood events held throughout the year and across the city, informational materials, social media, as well as TV, radio and print.

The campaign urges San... (more)

San Antonio … Karl Klose, director of The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) South Texas Center Emerging Infectious Diseases (STCEID), and Bernard Arulanandam, associate dean of research for scientific innovation in the UTSA College of Sciences, have been granted a U.S. patent for developing a process to create a vaccine for the deadly tularemia infection.

Tularemia, caused by the highly infectious bacterium Francisella tularensis, can cause serious disease in humans.  F. tularensis is carried primarily by animals such as rabbits and rarely causes human infections, but when breathed in through the lungs, the disease can be fatal.  Because of this, F. tularensis is considered a potential bioweapon.

“We developed what is called a ‘live attenuated vaccine,’ by removing Francisella’s IglD gene, which is critical for the bacteria to be able to survive and grow inside infected cells,” said Klose.  “In a series of studies over three years, we characterized... (more)

Special to University of Houston Law Center, courtesy Philip Vasquez

Dream job? Alum takes legal expertise to war zone

Philip Vasquez's Law Center degrees have taken him from Victoria, Texas, to Washington, D.C., and on to the war-torn streets of Kabul, Afghanistan – where he insists he is living "a dream."  In a capital city that reverberates with the suicide bombings and rocket attacks of the Taliban, Vasquez calmly dons body armor and travels via armored car to a heavily guarded compound to perform duties that he sees as vital to the future of Afghanistan. 

"I am actually living my dream," he writes via e-mail from Kabul.  "And what better place to do it than in a country where the world has placed its collective hope, and where our brave men and women serve."

Vasquez arrived in Kabul in May 2010 and now lives in a "guesthouse," which is about four miles from his office located across the street from the Presidential Palace in the city's fortified "Green Zone."  He works six days... (more)

Solar San Antonio joined ACE Technologies at Camp Discovery to help kids build an all electric vehicle with solar power. The camp is an annual event open to 150 children diagnosed with cancer. Campers spend a week having fun, learning new things, and developing as people.

This year, ACE Technologies introduced a new project to Camp Discovery. They are helping the kids build an all-electric solar powered vehicle to teach them about the benefits of alternative energy and the important role it will play in our future.

With support from the American Cancer Society and a host of other sponsors, ACE Technologies was able to obtain the materials necessary to build the vehicle.

Not only is this project an educational experience for kids, but once the vehicle is complete it will be auctioned off at the American Cancer Society's annual Cattle Baron's Gala.

Funds raised at the auction will be donated to cancer research to help children like those at Camp Discovery.

As an event partner, Solar San... (more)

On Saturday, July 24, the Westin La Cantera golf resort played host to the inaugural Hispanic Heritage Cup Golf Tournament benefiting the Hispanic Heritage Center of Texas.

Nearly $15,000 was raised to support the Center and its goal to educate, elevate and celebrate the Hispanic experience in Texas history.

Approximately 70 players were on hand including District 6 City Councilman Ray Lopez and Deputy City Managers A.J. Rodriguez and Pat DiGiovanni.   Participating teams included Valero Energy, UPS, SAWS, EPI Electrical Enclosures, the Westside Development Corporation and Central Electric.  Additional sponsors included Planto Roe Financial Services and TexasTejano.com. 

The Sam’s Club team took 1st place honors, followed by the 2nd place Farmers Copper team and the 3rd place Well Med team.

The Hispanic Heritage Center of Texas will be a world-class Hispanic historical and cultural tourism destination. It will consist of a world-class research library, museum, archival space,... (more)

SAAHJ, the San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists has awarded $26,000 in scholarships to 15 San Antonio students, who attend college in the Alamo City or elsewhere in the United States.  The awards ceremony took place last Wednesday, and scholarships ranged from $1,000 to $3,500.  Here are some of the recipients in a video presented the night of the awards.

Video courtesy: SAAHJ.org & Jerry Gonzalez

"All of the people who buy tickets for the event are sponsors of these scholarships -- from the Express-News and Well-Med to the individual ladies of 'IMAGE de San Antonio' who each spent $100 for a ticket. We are indebted to all of them!" Shared 2010 elect SAAHJ President and Express News journalist Elaine Ayala.

SAAHJ.org

During the 12th Annual Scholarships & Award Gala, SAAHJ also honored Martha Tijerina with the Henry Guerra Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in journalism, and Rosie Castro with the 2010 Community Service Award.

Mayor Julian Castro and State Representative... (more)

AlamoCityTimes.com"Your Community News Blog" has partnered with SPOT.us to generate community stories and the funding to publish them.

This is the first of many to come, and the stories are only possible with your support.  Please make a pledge today and support ACTimes Community Journalism in the public interest.

Funding covers the needed resources to investigate, produce, publish and distribute the story.  If you are a news organization, and would like to publish this report, you may also contribute with funding, and would be granted publication rights.

Sixty‐six scholarship funds help provide a bright future for 300 students

Thanks to the Methodist Health Care Ministries George Wray Memorial Scholarship Fund at the San Antonio Area Foundation, Carolina Robles is about to set in motion a life‐long dream – becoming a Registered Nurse.

Dr. Nan Clare, Barbara Trinkle, George Campos, Erick Akins, Bernice Uresti

“Because of this scholarship, I now have the chance to pursue my biggest dream!” Ms. Robles explains.

Fortunately for Ms. Robles, and 299 other students, the San Antonio Area Foundation takes an active role in providing for educational dreams and goals.

Thanks to the support of generous donors associated with sixty‐six scholarship funds, the Area Foundation is proud to announce $600,000 in scholarship awards for 2010 ‐2011 academic year.

For over 40 years, the Area Foundation has partnered with donors to award over $10.2 million in scholarships to approximately 6,000 students. This year students will... (more)

(July 13, 2010) … University of Texas at San Antonio Assistant Professor Doug E. Frantz in the College of Sciences’ Department of Chemistry has received the Max and Minnie Tomerlin Voelcker Fund’s 2010 Young Investigator Award which includes $450,000 over the next three years to propel Frantz’s medicinal chemistry research program.  This is the first time a UTSA researcher will be honored with the Voelcker Fund’s “Young Investigator Award,” which recognizes and supports promising medical research underway by a San Antonio assistant professor that has the potential to positively impact patient care.

“By supporting research in its own backyard, the Voelcker Fund is providing a great opportunity to San Antonio medical researchers and particularly UTSA,” said UTSA President Ricardo Romo.  “With the outstanding support and leadership of community partners like the Voelcker Fund, UTSA will achieve premier research university status at a much faster... (more)

San Antonio … The UTSA Office of the Vice President for Research and Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) jointly announce they will award $180,863 in 2011-2012 Connect program funding to UTSA College of Sciences Professor Arturo Ayón and Senior Research Scientist Diana Strickland in SwRI’s Applied Physics Division for their collaborative research proposal, “Fabrication and Analysis of Nanostructures for Two Applications: Hyperlenses and Chirality Sensors.”

The funding will allow Ayon and Strickland to develop the fabrication processes and the theoretical and numeric models to design and build advanced materials for two types of nanosensors, ultimately creating new ways to conduct microbiological and molecular research.

Connect is a pilot seed grant program that stimulates inter-organizational research between UTSA and SwRI in Advanced Materials, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Energy, the Environment, Security and Manufacturing.  Through Connect, UTSA and SwRI each commit... (more)

Our friends at StreetFire.net have a great video about the best and right way to wash your ride!

StreetFire.com

"We're sure you think you know how to wash a car, but chances are good that you're committing some pretty basic errors that can actually damage your ride's finish. Blake from Northwest Auto Salon shows us detail-shop-approved techniques"

This week we head out to the hill country going deep below and then high above the ground as we infiltrate the Natural Bridge Caverns with Moses Rangel.

Show Notes: Natural Bridge Caverns Website - NaturalBridgeCaverns.com

Today Frida Kahlo would have been 103 years old.  I hope you enjoy this video I found; it's from the History Channel, and it shows the real Frida with Diego.

There is also a scene where she is sitting in front of a mirror painting her self portrait. It is very soulful, enjoy.

And in case you didn't notice... did you see Google's home page today?

And here's my favorite Frida videos playlist:

Bernessa Jakle is AlamoCityTimes.com co-editor and Community Contributor. And founder of LatinWorksCo.com Latin Folk Art & Crafts. Follow her @latinworks and on facebook.

Welcome to AlamoCityTimes.com :) And now you can use Facebook to Log-In and post.  To do so just go to the login page and click on the Facebook connect button.  

Click on "f Login with Facebook" and it will ask you to Ok the connection... and you are in! In seconds, ready to go and ready to post and comment.  Enjoy and start sharing your community stories, photos, videos and more today! 

AlamoCityTimes.com is a community journalism project in the public interest.  And you can be an integral part of our team as a Community Contributor.   Join us today.

Best, Patricio

AlamoCityTimes.com

::NOTE: If you're already registered, and would like to start using your Facebook Login instead, just logout of your regular account, and log back in but this time click on Facebook Connect.

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_U1sK4s_Ek

A 4th of July tribute that I put together to honor America's freedom.

I was inspired to put this video together today and wanted to share my love of living in the greatest country in the world, the United States of America with my fellow American's.

May God Bless America Forever and Always!

I do not own any of the photographs and the song is sung by LeAnn Rimes and I do NOT claim any copyrighted material to the song it is being used for pure entertainment.

HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY THIS VIDEO AND HAVE A SAFE AND FUN 4TH OF JULY HOLIDAY! God Bless!

alpost579| Calendar of events for July 2010 American Legion Bicentennial Post 579. Come join us for some fun, food, music and dancing.

Roland De Leon from The Springtime65 Show attends The 7th Annnual Gay Pride SA Block Party and Parade.

Thousands line Main St to Show their Support During Gay Pride in San Antonio .

This video was made for The Springtime65 Show Saturdays 10:30 pm Time Warner Digita 20 and 19 Grande Cable and 99 AT&T Uverse for The San Antonio Public Access TV.

www.youtube.com/springtime65 www.facebook.com/thespringtime65show Twitter : springtime65

San Antonio … The University of Texas at San Antonio has joined 14 universities from across the nation to form the Naval Engineering Education Consortium (NEEC), an initiative to develop and train a pipeline of diverse and highly-qualified students at all levels to meet the Navy’s future workforce needs.  Over the next six years, UTSA is slated to receive $1.6 million from the consortium, dependent on the consortium’s receipt of $50 million from the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA).  NAVSEA designs and builds the Navy’s fleet of ships.

“We are very pleased to join the naval engineering community in this effort,” said Brent Nowak, associate professor of mechanical engineering and the principal investigator for UTSA’s NEEC initiative.  “UTSA has a strong tradition in education and research, and we are proud to have this opportunity to support the Navy.  We are eager to begin working with our partners to develop the next generation of naval... (more)

Roland De Leon from The Springtime65 Show attended The PrideFest in San Antonio.

What a Treat we parked at Pegasus and took a free shuttle ride to the festivities in Downtown San Antonio at The Hemisphere Tower Grounds.

It was HoTTTT... Other than that I had a BLAST such wonderful eye CANDY.

This video was made for The Springtime65 Show Saturdays 10:30 pm on Time Warner 20 and 19 Grande and Channel 99 AT&T U-Verse for The San Antonio Public Access TV . Executive Producer for The Springtime65 Show Roland De Leon ... Perfect song..:+)

Foundation grants support nonprofit operating costs and programming

SAN ANTONIO, TX (June 2, 2010) - The San Antonio Area Foundation, a leading partner for charitable giving and investing in the community for over 45 years, is proud to announce $1,789,419 in Community and Research grant awards to 83 nonprofit organizations serving San Antonio and South Texas.

Grants were presented to a range of organizations working in the areas of animal services, arts and culture, biomedical research, community and human services, education, environment, medicine and healthcare, visual research, and visual services. In an effort to significantly address the challenges nonprofit organizations are facing in this economy, the Area Foundation used the 2010 Community Grant Application process to provide bridge funding, or general operating support. The 2010 Research grants provided support to investigators working in biomedical and visual research.

An additional $105,000 in donor advised grants were awarded through the Partners for... (more)

(June 8, 2010) … Generously supported by a grant from the AT&T Foundation, The University of Texas at San Antonio’s Interactive Technology Experience Center is pleased to offer openings in summer robotics camps for middle and high school students.  The hands-on camps teach kids about science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in an engaging environment, helping them learn that STEM careers are accessible and rewarding.

Although UTSA’s two summer robotics camps for elementary students have reached capacity, space is still available for the middle school and high school summer robotics camps.  The open camps include:

June 28 – July 9: Summer Camp VEX for High School Students

Participants will be required to conceptualize, build and program two robots using the VEX Robotics System and Easy C programming software.

June 28 – July 9: Summer Camp NXT for Middle School Students (Level Two)

This camp is designed for students who have attended... (more)

Roland takes a tour of The New Phil Hardberger Park Located at 13203 Blanco Rd in San Antonio Texas. A Great Park for The whole family and yes it's a Dog friendly park for small and large dogs fenced in and Don't forget the playground for the kids and walking trails.

 

This video was made for The Springtime65 Show Saturdays 10:30 pm on Time Warner Digital 20 and 19 Grande Cable and 99 At@T U-Verse for The San Antonio Public Access Tv .

During my many walks and bicycle rides throughout Alamo Heights, I gasp whenever I see the signs that read "No Socialism", and feel disheartened, except, today, when I came across a sign very similar in color and font that read "No Socialites".  That is the best uplifting response to those other ridiculous signs, and in turn I did not feel alone in my convictions.  Thank goodness for that creative person.

This week ACTimes founder Patricio Espinoza has been part of a group of 2010 Fellows at KDMC, the Knight Digital Media Center at USC in Los Angeles.

www.alamocitytimes.com

"The News Entrepreneur Boot Camp from May 16-21, 2010, in Los Angeles was designed for 20 competitively selected digital entrepreneurs with great ideas for community news and information initiatives in the public interest."

www.knightdigitalmediacenter.org

As part of this effort, I put together a video last night to show your community generated content and efforts., and I wanted to share it.  The video was presented this morning to a panel of fellowship judges and industry experts.  I also wanted to take this opportunity to thank you, our community and contributors for your daily efforts and community contributors.  You made this possible San Antonio, and we hope our efforts and participation in programs like this at KDMC would help improve what together we do here in the public interest.  Best, Patricio<... (more)

(May 20, 2010) … Researchers at The University of Texas at San Antonio Neurosciences Institute are one step closer to understanding the physiology of dopaminergic neurons, the neurons in the brain that generally produce dopamine but die during Parkinson’s disease.

Typically, dopaminergic neurons fire fast bursts of electrical activity.  But how do they manage to fire such fast bursts?  Scientists widely agree a protein called the NMDA receptor, in the neuron’s outer membrane, has something to do with it.

UTSA Assistant Professor Carlos Paladini and UTSA Professor Charles Wilson in the Department of Biology set out to learn how NMDA receptors cause bursts of firing in the brain’s dopaminergic neurons.   Through a series of studies, the researchers observed that the NMDA receptor is highly sensitive to voltages.  When outer membrane’s voltage is more positive, the NMDA receptor channel opens and leads to a single spike of electrical activity. When outer... (more)