This week the media reported several polls that said president Obama’s numbers are down and how much of a concern this was. The polls tell us his numbers are at the lowest they have been since he took office. The truth is the economy has taken a toll on the country. I believe he told us the truth when he said things were bad and it was going to take time. It has been a year. I have never been an Obama apologist, but some of the talk out there is not very thoughtful. It’s more of a … [Read more...]
Rabbit’s Lounge, a bar where time slows down
By Dulcenea Garcia The Austin Times Staff Located on East Sixth Street, Rabbit’s Lounge is truly a bar where everyone knows your name. Owner Rosalio “Rabbit” Duran has been serving ice cold beers to East Austin since 1969. Growing up in Austin, Rabbit has seen the lounge’s location change from a washeteria to a pizzeria. Always having a love for sports, Rabbit got his nickname because of his incredible speed as a fullback at Austin High. Years later, after working in the ceramic tile … [Read more...]
Mark McGwire finally admits using steroids
NEW YORK – Finally willing to talk about the past, Mark McGwire sobbed and sniffled, giving the missing — and unsurprising — answer to the steroids question. Ending more than a decade of denials and evasion, McGwire admitted Monday that steroids and human growth hormone helped make him a home run king. "The toughest thing is my wife, my parents, close friends have had no idea that I hid it from them all this time," he told The Associated Press in an emotional, 20-minute … [Read more...]
Pregnancy spacing matters: Family planning
If that little bundle of joy has had such a profound impact on your life that you just can’t wait to have another, take a breath. A new study suggests that you might want to wait at least six months before getting pregnant again, and that more than 11 months could be even better. The study found that when the interval between pregnancies was less than six months, the chances of the baby dying, being born prematurely, having birth defects or having a low birth weight were … [Read more...]
Environmental justice in East Austin
By Beth Cortez-Neavel The Austin Times Staff Along East Cesar Chavez Street on the front of a blue-gray one-story house there are three signs hanging. Next to a muffler shop and across from a small hair salon, this house looks nothing out of the ordinary for East Austin. “¡Si Se Puede! Feed. Teach. House & Employ.” “Protect our children/relocate Pure Casting/build affordable housing!” and “PODER’s Young Scholars for Justice” the signs read. This is the home base for the People … [Read more...]
College Degrees More Expensive, Worth Less in Job Market
Employers and career experts see a growing problem in American society - an abundance of college graduates, many burdened with tuition-loan debt, heading into the work world with a degree that doesn't mean much anymore. The problem isn't just a soft job market - it's an oversupply of graduates. In 1973, a bachelor's degree was more of a rarity, since just 47% of high school graduates went on to college. By October 2008, that number had risen to nearly 70%. For many Americans today, a trip … [Read more...]
Peligrosa All-Stars: The Renegades of Latin Funk
Trey Lopez, Orion Garcia, and Patrick Murray, better known as the Peligrosa All-Stars, have been heating things up on dance floors throughout Austin over the years with their mix of cumbia, merengue, salsa, reggaeton, and Latin funk sounds. Fresh off the blue stage at Fun Fun Fun Fest and having played along side Monte Negro, Ozomatli, and John Speice, percussionist for Latin funk band Ocote Soul Sounds and cumbia rock outfit Kanko, it has been a busy year for Peligrosa. They ended 2009 with … [Read more...]
Invictus
Morgan Freeman as Mandela in South African movement By Donna Bryson South Africans say a new Hollywood film about sport, race and Nelson Mandela will tell the world about the country’s history of struggle and triumph despite some criticism that the lead roles are played by American actors. Clint Eastwood’s “Invictus” depicts Mandela, South Africa’s first black president, as a strategist for racial reconciliation, working to bring whites and blacks together after the end of … [Read more...]
Acclaimed trumpeter Marsalis composes Blues Symphony
Acclaimed trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, arguably the world's most prominent jazz musician, is set to premiere a major new project -- composing a Blues Symphony for orchestra. In keeping with a career that spans jazz, classical music, band leadership and high-profile advocacy for the arts, Marsalis' symphony is epic in scope -- to celebrate American history from Revolution to the present through the blues. The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at Morehouse College in Atlanta will … [Read more...]
