SXSW 2010 at $300 - $900+ registrations, not everyone can get in. But I found the coolest thing you don't have to pay for to see. 

@espiblog

A FREE Cell Phone Solar Charging Station outside SXSW, on Trinity between 4th - 5th outside Austin Fire-Station No.1 BTW.

Shame on SXSW making this event where Social Media, Openness is king so inaccessibly expensive for those who actually make social media possible "The People!" Credit to http://www.SolDesignLab.com who makes the coolest SXSW gadget I've ever seen. Support Hyperlocal Community Journalism, VISIT: http://AlamoCityTimes.com for more.

The glitz and glam of the red carpet is coming soon to a “theatre” near you. On Saturday, April 24, 2010, Gridiron Heroes Spinal Cord Injury Foundation will be hosting the Season Four Premiere of NBC’s Friday Night Lights, at San Antonio Hill Country’s new JW Marriott. The festivities will begin at 6 p.m., with a reception followed by the screening.

The fourth season of Friday Night Lights has already aired on Direct TV, but the show’s original home, NBC (locally on 4WOAI TV), will air the new season beginning on Friday, April 30. Viewers who have had the opportunity to feast their eyes on season four have declared the upcoming season is the best one yet – a great reason to catch it a week early at the premiere event in San Antonio.

The list of reasons to attend this first-class evening continues…

The screening is going to be exclusive to the city of San Antonio, and proceeds for the event will benefit Gridiron Heroes, a national organization based in our own Alamo City.

The non-profit serves high school athletes...

Recently, in anticipation of an upcoming visit with my granddaughter, Eve, I began to reminisce about my own grandmothers.  I had read an article about the "grandmother hypothesis." This lengthy, biologically-based study concludes grandmothers directly impact the survivorship of their granddaughters. Genetically, grandmothers are close to their granddaughters.  Culturally, grandmothers can be instrumental in the development and subsequent success of their granddaughters.  I did not have to read this article to know the truth of it.  Though they have been gone from my life for many, many years, I feel my grandmothers' characteristics gently woven into the fabric of who I am today.

I grew up an Army brat and our family generally resided far away from my parents' hometown. Several times a year, my parents, my siblings and I piled in the family station wagon and traveled to Central Texas to share holidays and summer vacations with both sets of grandparents.  In their wisdom, my folks made...

San Antonio … The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) celebrates the grand opening of its New Venture Incubator (NVI), a facility with laboratory, office and meeting spaces to support technology start-ups in the greater San Antonio region.  The incubator, housed on UTSA’s Main Campus, will serve as a bridge between San Antonio entrepreneurs and the region’s research and development community.

Robert Gracy, UTSA vice president for research (left) and Cory Hallam, director of the UTSA Center for Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship (second) celebrate the grand opening of UTSA's New Venture Incubator with Ian Clements, president and CEO of ViroXis, the first company to occupy the incubator as it grows to commercialization. Drug developer ViroXis is working on a botanical product targeting human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes skins and genital warts and could lead to cervical cancer.

UTSA’s NVI provides a mechanism to connect world-class research in its labs with business partners that will...

S. David Ramirez, OLLU Lake Front Reporter

In the past three years, under the tutelage of professor of finance and accounting Sujata Venkateswar, the Students in Free Enterprise program (SIFE) has grown by leaps and bounds. This semester proves to be no different with the organization planning a rigorous calendar of events for students, faculty, staff and the entire community. 

SIFE is a program conducted through the School of Business and Leadership which allows students to gain real-world experience in project management and development.

“Ours is probably one of the most intense group you will ever find,” says Venkateswar, with a smile. “Most of the students end up with a few gray hairs at the end of it all, but they learn a lot,” she says.

Students take SIFE class as an elective and create projects that fall into one of six categories: Market Economics, Business Ethics, Financial Literacy, Success Skills, Environmental Sustainability, or Entrepreneurship. 

In the program,...

Big Brothers Big Sisters Announces Partnership

Last week, on the steps of City Hall, Big Brothers Big Sisters announced a partnership with three of San Antonio's African-American fraternities--Alpha Phi Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi, and Omega Psi Phi.

Big Brothers Big Sisters provides school-based mentoring for more than 3,000 of San Antonio's most at-risk kids.  Speakers at the press conference stressed the importance mentoring can make in a child's life and what that means for our community's future.  City Council member Ivy Taylor said:

"Our children are our future and our leaders for tomorrow, and our most precious resource.  They must be encouraged to stay in school and become self-sufficient." 

A representative from Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity addressed the challenge of volunteer time when he said, "We know your time is valuable, but making a difference in a child's life is priceless."

If you are interested in becoming a "Big," call Big Brothers Big Sisters at 210.225.6322.

ML Carter is an...

Join San Antonio's 20th Annual International Woman's Day March.

They march in solidarity to bring forth urgent and diverse issues affecting us, on the local, national, and global scales, such as access to health care, housing, environmental justice, and fair wages for everyone.

A thousand women marched last year and organizers are preparing for the numbers to be even bigger for 2010. This year's rally will include speakers and performers from San Antonio and from throughout the US representing various social justice movements and women led organizations.

These "mujeres fuertes" include Betita Martinez, Patricia Castillo, Petra Mata, Viola Casares, Vero Castillo and local Palo Alto College dancers.

Sent by Rachel Melendes

IADT-San Antonio offers three new Bachelor degree options

The International Academy of Design and Technology (the Academy)added three new bachelor degree programs to its curriculum in 2010:  Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in Fashion Design and Merchandising, Graphic Design, and Advertising Design.  The new bachelor degree programs expand the opportunities available in the Alamo City's fashion and graphic design industry.

"As we grow in San Antonio, expanding our education programs is essential," said local Academy President Brian Silvers, "Offering bachelor degrees is another step in becoming a leader in fashion and design education, not just in San Antonio, but throughout South Texas."

"Our bachelor degree programs will give our students a competitive edge in today's market, while at the same time providing very practical, hands on experience in their chosen discipline," Silvers continued.

About The International Academy of Design and Technology: www.iadtsanantonio.com

JC Flores interviews Gabriel Iglesias, Señor Fluffy himself, before the St. Valentine's Day show at the Majestic Theatre in downtown San Antonio.

Gabriel is on a super multi-city, sold out tour. You can get info on "The Fluffly Shop Tour" by visiting his website FluffyGuy.com.

210 TV, Internet Television for San Antonio

UTSA welcomes National Academy of Sciences member Bruce McEwen for Feb. 17 lecture

(Feb. 12, 2010) … The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) invites the community to attend “Sex, Stress and the Brain: From Serendipity to Clinical Relevance,” a technical seminar featuring National Academy of Sciences member Bruce S. McEwen.  The seminar, jointly hosted by UTSA and the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, will be held at 4 p.m., Feb. 17 in the University Center Retama Auditorium (UC 2.02.02) on the UTSA Main Campus.

McEwen will describe his groundbreaking research on how steroids, specifically sex hormones and stress hormones, can act on the brain to alter behavior and mood, regulate neuroendocrine activity and protect the brain from the effects of stress, aging and related disease processes.  His work has advanced our understanding of how the environment can affect resilience and vulnerability to disease.  His team of researchers employs a variety of interdisciplinary approaches, from cellular and molecular...

Nope, not the battle of the Alamo, read on to learn more...

Texas militia behind cannon in Alamo Plaza

Visitors and San Antonians know the famous Alamo Shrine for its part in the Texas War forIndependence.  Few know that San Antonio played an important role in the American Civil War and made national headlines on February 16, 1861.

Two months before shots were fired on Fort Sumter starting the American Civil War, General David E. Twigg, commander of the Department of Texas, was surrounded and asked to surrender. While cries in southern states rang out for secession, in Texas, members of the secession convention created the Committee of Public Safety to act on its behalf. While the state waited for a vote on secession, Calvary Colonel Ben McCulloch was tasked with raising a militia force to “persuade” General Twiggs to surrender. The Alamo at the time housed cannons, rifles, gunpowder, horses, and clothing, with a war looming it was decided that those assets would be vital to the upcoming...

My day walking around enjoying the sites and sounds of  our  Annual  Rodeo event In San Antonio Texas .

Event has concluded... but you can still follow the links and Help Holly :)

Social Media Club - San Antonio

The goal is to raise $80,000 to complete the funding Holly needs towards her much needed lung transplant.  ACTimes would like to help by Co-Webcasting the LIVE event and inviting you to tune in:

Time: February 7, 2010 from 7pm to 7pm
Location:http://ustream.tv/channel/the-other-half-time-show   or tune in to AlamoCityTimes.com
Organized By: Alan Weinkrantz, Jennifer Navarrete, John Navarrete & Luis Sandoval

FIND OUT MORE: http://theotherhalftimeshow.org / | SA Social Media Club |  donate here .

About Holly ( Re-print from: www.transplants.org/donate/hollyjulian)

I recently received a link to a story a colleague had posted about her personal story with heart disease.  Ada Alvarez is a fellow NAHJ, National Association of Hispanic Journalist student representative board member, and she shares her story as part of a national campaign of awareness and fund-raising effort call "Go Red For Women" described as a celebration of "the energy, passion and power of women to band together to wipe out heart disease and stroke. " 

And so, with her permission, here's a clip of Ada's story, and a link to the orignal article where you can share yours, as well as support the movement.  I'm also including a link here to article my Mom wrote in Spanish about "El Corazón Humano"

Surviving/living with heart disease

By Ada Alvarez, SOURCE: www.goredforwomen.org

 

I'm 23 and I have two open heart operations and an angioplasty and my heart is full of life!

I was born with Tetrallogy of Fallot (TOF) a condition that mixes up several malfunctions of the heart,...

Less than ten spots are available to remaining teams

(Feb. 2, 2010)—Teams of students between grades three through eight living in the greater San Antonio region have until February 21 to recruit their adult volunteers and register for the 2010 South Texas GEAR (Getting Excited About Robotics) Robotics Competition, scheduled for March 27 at The University of Texas at San Antonio’s Convocation Center.

Nearly 50 teams competed in the 2009 South Texas GEAR Competition.  Due to the popularity of the 2009 competition, however, the 2010 competition has been expanded to host a maximum of 125 teams. To date, only 10 spots are available for teams that have yet to register.

GEAR is an annual robotics competition for upper elementary and middle school students who are interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.  This year’s competition is organized by UTSA’s Interactive Technology and Experience Center (iTEC), a community outreach center housed in UTSA’s College...

Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas is located in downtown San Antonio at 202 Baltimore Street.

900 San Antonio school-aged kids are waiting for a Big Brother or Big Sister.

But, their work and their mission are located all over the city in more than 3,000 school-based mentoring relationships the organization manages each year.  

What is a mentor? A mentor is someone who lends a listening ear, gives encouragement and guidance and helps a youngster with some of life’s difficult choices.  Even more importantly, a mentor provides friendship. On a one-to-one level, a mentor helps an at-risk student find the best of his or her self.

Why should you be a mentor?  Mentoring an at-risk student has proven to positively impact that student’s performance at school. A mentor can help a child or teen develop a positive attitude and become more self-confident.  Or, we could say--for the simple joy of it.  

What would you think if I told you there were 900 children...

Locals and tourists experienced a cattle drive through downtown on a cold Saturday afternoon longhorn cattle, were stampeded down Houston Street annual San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo Cattle Drive

The Aids Health Foundation Van will Travel from State to State Offering free HIV Testing.

This video was made for The Springtime65 Show on Time Warner Digital 20 and 19 on Grande Cable and Channel 99 AT@T U-Verse for The San Antonio Public Access TV. Executive for The Springtime65 Show Roland De Leon. City Council -Jennifer V. Ramos and Philip A. Cortez..... AZUL MARES_DELGRASSO M.A. National HIV Testing Tour Manager AIDS HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION.

Location, location, location…But, that’s not the whole story. The soon-to-be-opened Hotel Indigo at the Alamo has more to offer than a fabulous location overlooking Alamo Plaza from the corner of Alamo and Houston streets.  

As a big fan of individualism, I was impressed when Director of Sales Andrew Boardman explained each hotel of the Hotel Indigo chain is different. In fact, each room in the Hotel Indigo at the Alamo is different.  

This new hotel is located in the Gibbs Building which was in erected in 1909 on the historic site of Samuel A. Maverick’s former residence. Hotel Indigo has done a great job of preserving the decor of the Gibbs, buffing much of it to its original beauty.

The hotel is smoke-free, pet friendly, and General Manager Holly Evans states there will be happy hour specials in the restaurant/bar where huge windows open up to a great view of Alamo Plaza.

I loved getting a first peek at the Hotel Indigo at the Alamo and look forward to meeting some of my downtown compadres in the bar...

iGoSA.com

Customers can now get broadband access practically anytime and anywhere.  Consumers in Austin and Corpus Christi markets will see the new service launched sometime in March.

IGoSA.com Ed Lozano reports on Thursday nights launch.

The [INFILTRATED] show is a show about our crew infiltrating local venues, businesses and events. We get the low down on what's popping sometimes become part of the story ourselves. In this episode we're kicking off a new season of the [INFILTRATED] show with a trip over to Club West for SA Nightlife's birthday party. Check out Nallely as we infiltrate the club scene.




210 TV, Internet Television for San Antonio

San Antonio … The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) announced today that it received $9.2 million in stimulus funding for scientific research and university recruitment during 2009.  The majority of that funding, from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, will support researchers in UTSA’s College of Sciences and College of Engineering.

“UTSA is in a race with six other schools to reach Tier One research status, so the opportunity to compete for stimulus funding couldn’t come at a better time for us,” said Robert Gracy, UTSA’s vice president for research.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, better known as the stimulus bill, is an economic recovery package adopted to help states stabilize budgets and stimulate economic growth.  The bill allocates approximately $111 billion in funds toward infrastructure and science, including approximately $21.5 billion through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and...

San Antonio's annual Martin Luther King, Jr. March, is scheduled for Monday, January 18, 2010. The march begins at 10 a.m. at the MLK Freedom Bridge, 3500 MLK Dr. and ends at Pittman-Sullivan Park, 1101 Iowa. (source: City of San Antonio)

Here's the map posted on SA's city website:

http://www.sanantonio.gov/mlk

Are you going to the MLK Parade Monday? Upload your video & photos here

Mari and Danielle with the 411 Show talk to youth at the 2009 Martin Luther King march in San Antonio TX.  The Alamo City is host to the largest march in the country. This video was produced for San Antonio Public Access TV.