Car Raid

Having grown up as the eldest of three siblings, 53-year-old Treva Felps has learned to be prepared for anything that may come her way.

"They were a handful," Felps said.  "And while we did get along, it was still helpful to be prepared for anything they might do.  Pranks, tricks, whatever."

This mindset has carried all the way into her adult life.  In her vehicle, a 2014 Ford Taurus, Felps carries things such as a toothbrush, a sweater, pillows and blankets, and spare emergency change.

"I travel...prepared," Felps said.  "You never know, when you go someplace--somebody's house, or a business, or whatever--if it's cold.  I keep a sweater in my car so that I always have one to put on if I need it.  Same thing for the go-bag in my car with the blanket and pillow in it:  If I'm stranded, I'm gonna be comfortable."

This careful preparedness does not only apply to possible emergencies pertaining to everyday life; Felps keeps a table in the back of her car, along with an extra ink cartridge for her work printer.

"[The table in the trunk] is for work," said Felps.  "Because I have different places that I go to, I don't have an office at any of those places.  So I bring a table so I can have a place to set up my laptop and printers."

Along with having a stressful job that spreads all over central Texas, Felps is also a mother and grandmother.  Gum, mints, an extra phone charger, and a stray pink teacup have their places in her car because of the children in her life.

"When [my granddaughters and I] visited the grocery store, she had to take her tea cup with her," said Felps.  "Then she lost it, and we came to realize that it had rolled under the seat where she couldn't see it...The other people in my life definitely have a big impact on what I keep with me at all times."

Felps' head is occupied so largely by her job, family, and friends, that she and the granddaughter are usually more forgetful of the little things.

"You can sit anywhere in my car at any given time and see at least three half-full water bottles from where you may be sitting," said Felps.  "[My granddaughter and I] always bring water bottles into the car, drink a little and then forget about them, or get wherever we're going and don't remember to take them out.  I guess it just adds to always being prepared, even if that one is accidental."

A forgotten teacup sits in the backseat of Treva Felps' car.  Felps' young granddaughter lost it under the front seat weeks ago during a trip to the grocery store with her sisters.

Graffiti and Found Objects

Extra Credit HDR

Merger Photo Intro

1.  Shadows are definitely a problem while taking merger photos.  In this picture, the shadow is cut off at the head in one place and another doesn't have one altogether.

2.  Some place that's already in shadow, probably against a wall that has the sun on the other side (the side behind the wall).

3.  Not really.  Maybe tell a story, different expressions or body language in each photo.

4.  Clothes don't really have anything to do with this, unless it pertains to the story of the photo.

HDR Images

Explanation for this black and white one:  It's not particularly "creative," but I clicked on something and this happened--and it suddenly looked ominous, like a storm with smoke rising behind the trees like something terrible's about to happen (like the apocalypse), and it looked really cool and I couldn't bring myself to change it.

iPhone Photo Warm-Up

1.

2.  Uh, no.  It's phenomenal.

3.  Probably quite a bit, but apps usually don't do much for the quality and don't do anything for the contents of the picture itself.  It's all kind of breathtaking, the color and the quality and the contents all coming together to one nature-filled panorama that somehow means more to me than a picture on a screen.

4.  What tips?

Adobe Illustrator

This is extremely difficult.

HDR Photography Intro

1.  HDR images are just several pictures taken at different exposures and then mashed together--so the only changes made to the camera would be the ISO/Aperture.

2.  Most likely tripods and DSLRs.

3.  HDRs make images look better and more memorable.  The first website describes them as "National Geographic-worthy," or something along those lines.  Basically, they're prettier and cooler this way.  

4.  The differences will be the contrast between the light and dark aspects of the photo.  The lighting will be more obvious, and the different aspects of texture/architecture.

Final Exam Planning Warm-Up

This is all a huge honking "MAYBE."  Seriously.  The party has a huge possibility of being cancelled due to the birthday woman's and her boyfriend's work schedules.  If so, I'll most likely revert to something like my mom cooking a meal.

1.  I'll probably shoot the assignment this weekend; a birthday is happening, and I'll most likely be spending the whole weekend in Waco.

2.  At my aunt Tracy's house; she lives in the country, and there's a lot of space to play sports and there's a tire swing and it's beautiful.

3.  Probably just the weekend--starting from the morning, to traveling there, to blowing out the birthday candles and opening the presents and all the children frolicking in the fields, blah blah blah.  All the way to traveling back home.

4.  Just a camera.

5.  The still images will probably be of opening the presents, some of the videos will be the children running around (which is completely inevitable) and the blowing out of the candles.  More still images will probably be of the road (if we don't end up driving at night) and the scenery on the way there and back.  Will probably be during the still images in the beginning and end, if that's at all possible.

Infographics

Harry Potter Theatre Profit by the Movie
Create column charts

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Final Exam Preview Assignment

1.  iMovie is a program/application-thing that helps people put videos, still pictures, narration, and other things together into one presentation.  Video clips can be placed anywhere in the presentation.  (This is an unfinished summary to be finished in the very near future.)

2.  I didn't know anything before.

3.  Basically everything--the trimming, the adding of the photos and videos and narration and video effects and yeah pretty much everything.

4.  I'm highly technologically impaired.  My understanding of technology is limited to my phone and the Microsoft Word 2016 on my laptop.  No exaggeration, whatsoever.  So what I'm worried about is being able to understand and navigate iMovie itself without getting so frustrated that I can't function for hours after the attempt at making the assignment.

5.  I'm pretty sure I can get the photos and the videos done quickly, if I can figure out what I'm going to do it on.  That's another thing I'm worried about.

6.  :/

Opinion Story

A lot of high school students stress themselves out about their grades, and stay up very late to get all of their work done.  According to the gatherings of people, this is for two reasons:  one, a lot of pressure is put on students in high school; two, high school students get a seriously heavy workload.  We students sacrifice our mental health in order to get work assigned to us done, and it is completely unfair.

Missing one assignment, especially as you get further into high school, is the kiss of death for most students, whether in the teacher's eyes or the student's own.

Teachers tend to get insulted if a student does not finish or turn in a paper on time, and they have no right to.  Sometimes, students have so much work that they - in a literal sense - cannot get all of their work done.

I can understand where teachers come from, giving us all this work.  They believe it helps us learn, and helps us receive a better understanding of the concepts we are learning in class.  But giving us so much work hurts our brains us much as it helps us - with more work, we get less sleep, leading to more headaches and a whacked sleep schedule.  It also makes us constantly worried about getting everything done on time.

We do not like to disappoint our teachers, but our teachers constantly disappoint us.  Their attitude toward our workload seems to send the message:  "School is more important than mental health."  According to some students, maybe it is.

The thing is, though, our teachers should not decide this for us.  We should have the right to decide our own ratio of mental health to schoolwork.

This needs to be fixed.  Students should be able to regulate the amount of work they get everyday.  We are not able to assert any sort of influence in our schools, and the workload is never considered among things we should get a say in.  Yes, some people would say that students would just vote for no work at all, but not all students are like this.  There is a breaking point somewhere in the amount of workload we get, and all we would have to do is find it.

A survey could be created in order to find the approximate amount of work a teenager can do before they simply can't do any more.

Overall, the lessening of the student workload could help improve both their grades and mental health, while simultaneously creating an even better reputation for Bowie High School.

People are always saying that students need to enjoy their "high school experience," but how can we when we're constantly sat down poring over our work?  If the amount of work we get changes, we would finally be able to gather some enjoyment from these four years of our lives.

Opinions Writing Part 2

1).  The most helpful thing there for starting topic ideas is when he said, "Give them the opportunity to say, 'Ah! Yes.  I've never been there or done that, but I can relate to what the author's talking about.'"

2).  "Make the emotions real and specific by noting specifics and details that draw the reader into the experience, rather than just setting them aside as observers.

3).  Three I'll probably use as a write are:  Letting the reader walk away from the article with a good idea of why I felt the way I did about my opinion;  Write as evocatively as possible;  Avoid philosophical rants which make no connection to your reader's experience.


SNO ONLINE EXPERIENCE:

"Should School Start Earlier?"

1). Mahad Rehman

2).  Whether school should start earlier (in the day) or not.

3).  They think that, rather than pushing school to end later to give students more time for work, they should start earlier.  They also think that pushing the start or end time of school doesn't solve any problems - the real problem is the amount of work we get outside of school, thus affecting our sleep.  "Maybe instead of pushing school times back to give students more time to work, schools should work to minimize the amount of work that is necessary for students to do outside of school so that they can come to school with adequate rest and a better mindset geared toward learning."

4).  Yes.

5).  Sort of.  Their opinions are clear, but it changes a little at the end.

6).  No.

7).  Third.

"New Principal's Dress Code Emphasis Draws Mixed Opinions"

1).  Lindsey Fast

2).  The new dress code at Brazoswood assigned by the new principal.

3).  This person obviously is against the new dress code, but it isn't stated directly anywhere.

4).  Yes.

5).  The opinion isn't straightforward, but it's pretty clear...does that make sense?

6).  Yes.

7).  Third.

"Fear Should Not Breed Ignorance"

1).  Kaylin Jones

2).  Terrorists, and how we (teens) are ignorant to them.

3).  She thinks we're stupid to let our fear breed ignorance in ourselves, and our ignorance gets us hurt.  "As a direct result of this ignorance, innocent Muslims in America and around the world after feel the consequences of the extremists."

4).  No.

5).  No.

6).  No.

7).  Third.

Peer Review SoM

Their Student of the Month Story

Four paragraphs.  -0 points?
Three quotes.  -0 points?
The inverted pyramid was somewhat effective--the information got less and less important.  -25 points.
The quotes were done correctly, but not in separate paragraphs.  -5 points.

TOTAL = 30 points.

Opinions Writing Preview Activity

"Apple refuses to violate privacy of users"

1.  Editorial (anonymous, the opinion of the whole staff).
2.  Apple refusing to crack open an iPhone, which would compromise the security of all other iPhones.
3.  "This doesn't change our opinion about creating backdoors for anyone to gather information about iPhone users."
4.  Yes.
5.  No.
6.  No.
7.  First point of view.

"Drug dog investigations have students feeling as though their rights are being violated at school"

1.  Granger Coats
2.  Students feeling like their rights at school are being violated due to drug investigations.
3.  "I believe the DAEP should be a punishment saved only for severe cases such as students considered a threat to the school, the well-being of students, or themselves."
4.  Yes.
5.  No.
6.  No quotes except for the information sources from a website.
7.  First point of view.

"Social media, back at it again"

1.  Alicia Molina
2.  A piece about "Damn, Daniel," and how the people who became famous used their fame for good reasons instead of sucking up the fame and using it for their own benefit.
3.  "I think that it's great that people are using their fame for good and they are not keeping it all to themselves."
4.  No.  It was more story-mode, and it was enjoyable.
5.  No.
6.  They're contextual quotes, used in the middle of paragraphs to add an entertaining quality and also give insight on the people being written about.
7.  First point of view.

"Beyonce causes controversy"

1.  Fuaad Ajaz
2.  Beyonce causes controversy through her stance on police brutality.
3.  "But apparently people think that celebrating an organization that among other things fought for equal rights, provided breakfast for little kids, and protected their communities is wrong."
      --that one was extremely sarcastic and bitter, which indirectly stated his opinion very strongly.  Here is a direct statement:
     "She is trying to say that not all wealthy people are white, that there are wealthy people who aren't white and don't get noticed.  Sadly this is true in today's world.  If someone is white and rich they are known worldwide but if someone is black and rich, not many people know who they are."
4.  Yes, but not thoroughly--it was more with the quote above, where it was sarcastic and biased but still addressing the other side's argument.
5.  He felt very strongly about his opinion, so, no.
6.  There were quotes, but not from his own sources.
7.  A very strongly biased third point of view.  Like, third POV limited.

"Is the AP world history test worth it?"

1.  Mia Barbosa
2.  Whether or not the AP world history test is worth the time and money to take.
3.  "I think that the test is a great way for students to get ahead in the competitive race for college."
4.  She addressed the other side, but more as an issue to solve rather than a defense for an opposing opinion.
5.  No.
6.  No.
7.  First point of view.

Final Questions

A.  A major difference between a news story and an opinions piece is the structure--the structure of an opinions is much more free, while a hard news story, almost 100% of the time, has to be done in a very specific format.
    Another major difference between a hard news story and an opinions piece is the optional point of view.  Opinions pieces are allowed to be from first point of view, while hard news stories are required to be from third--no first point of view pronouns allowed, unless they're in a quote.
    The most significant difference between and hard news story and an opinions piece is the objectivity--an opinions piece is biased, and gives the opinion of the writer, shows what the writer thinks about a topic and why.  A hard news story is objective, and states the facts and only the facts.

B.  There aren't very many photos on this page because the people who write commentary or opinions pieces aren't required to go out and observe an event or interact with people to get interviews from them to use for a story.  There isn't something to take a picture of, because opinions are mostly given on a popular topic, not something that can easily be photographed.

C.  Having FIT all week, because ew; the new state policy making Bowie students have longer school days because elementary and middle schools weren't meeting requirements (even though we were); AP class workloads and expectations.

Earthquake Story

On Monday morning at 8:12 a.m., an earthquake hit the San Francisco Bay area.  It hit hardest at Hayward Hills, which is right over the "Hayward Fault."

"I was eating my breakfast when the room started rolling," Hayward resident Mike Beamer said.  "I dove under the table just as I heard an explosion outside and a chunk of cement flew through my kitchen window.  That's when the screaming started across the street."

Across the street, at McHenry's Auto Supply, two people were killed and six were injured (names of the dead or being withheld pending notifications of families).  Three of the injured people were bad enough to be hospitalized.

Jennifer Vu, a public information officer from the Hayward Fire Department, said they were hospitalized at Hayward General Hospital.  She also reported that no further injuries had been reported.

It was found that Hayward Hills was the epicenter of the earthquake.

"The epicenter of the earthquake, which had a magnitude of 6.4 on the Richter scale, was under the Hayward Hills," Penny Gertz, a scientist from the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, said.  According to her, it was a "strong one."

Directly after the earthquake and explosion, twenty-one fire personnel, twelve police, and five American Red Cross workers responded.  The firefighters used ropes to stabilize the building before conducting a search and discovering a gas leak.  The gas leak was immediately capped.

"People as far south as Los Angeles and as far north as Redding felt the quake," Vu said.

Huntington Story

At about 10 p.m. Wednesday, 53-year-old Janice Jones was shot in the leg while sitting in her motor home eating pork chops.  Her dog knocked her 9 mm handgun off a seat, and the weapon discharged, going straight through her leg and into the vehicle.

"It could have been worse," Rye said.  "The bullet hit two inches from the gas tank."

Jones was transported straight to Huntington Beach Hospital for treatment, and then to Irvene Medical Center.  Meanwhile, the dog, a Pomeranian named Tambo, was taken in by the Huntington Beach Animal Control officers, where it was discovered he was malnourished and had fresh cigarette burns on his head.

"It could have done with a little less abuse and a few more of those pork chops," Janet Ngo, one of the animal control officers, said.

Ngo suggested that her office would explore filing animal abuse charges against Jones.  It was also discovered that Jones did not have a permit for the handgun she had been carrying.

News Values

Human Interest.

The people involved in this article are involved in emotional struggles.  The right to same-sex marriage has been a long-going conflict, and it was finally resolved, but people are still going against it.

Found at Austin American Statesman.

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE 

Ky. clerk jailed; deputies to issue marriage licenses 

ByAdam Bean Associated Press 

   ASHLAND, KY. — A defiant county clerk went to jail Thursday for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, but five of her deputies agreed to end the church-state standoff in Rowan County, Ky. 

   U.S. District Judge David Bunning said he had no choice but to jail Kim Davis for contempt after she insisted that her “conscience will not allow” her to follow federal court rulings on gay marriage. 

   “God’s moral law conflicts with my job duties,” Davis told the judge before she was taken away. “You can’t be separated from something that’s in your heart and in your soul.”    The judge later tried to keep Davis out of jail, saying she could go free if her staff agreed to comply with the law and she agreed not to interfere. 

   But Davis rejected the offer. With that, the hearing ended, and gay and lesbian couples vowed to appear at the Rowan County clerk’s office yet again Friday to see if the deputy clerks keep their promises. 

   “We’re going to the courthouse tomorrow to get our marriage license and we’re very excited about that,” said April Miller, who has been engaged to Karen Roberts for 11 years. 

   As word of Davis’ jailing spread outside the federal courthouse, hundreds of people chanted and shouted, “Love won! Love won!” 

   But Davis’ lawyer, Roger Gannam, compared her willingness to accept imprisonment to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s sacrifices to advance civil rights, and said “everyone should lament and mourn the fact that her freedom has been taken away for what she believes.” 

   Laura Landenwich, an attorney for the plaintiffs, rejected the comparison. 

   “Ms. Davis is in an unfortunate situation of her own creation. She is not a martyr. No one created a martyr today,” Landenwich said. “She is not above the law.” 

   Speaking earlier from the bench, Bunning said it would set up a “slippery slope” to allow an individual’s ideas to supersede the courts’ authority. 

   “Her good-faith belief is simply not a viable defense,” Bunning said. “I myself have genuinely held religious beliefs ... but I took an oath.” 

   “Mrs. Davis took an oath,” he added. “Oaths mean things.” 

   Davis is represented by the Liberty Counsel, which advocates in court for religious freedom. Before she was led away, Davis said the U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage nationwide conflicts with the vows she made when she became a born-again Christian. 

   Miller and Roberts have been denied a marriage license four times by Davis or her deputies since the June ruling. Miller testified that one of the deputy clerks told her to apply in another county. 

   “That’s kind of like saying we don’t want gays or lesbians here. We don’t think you are valuable,” she said. 

   Rather than be fined, jailed or lose their jobs, five of the clerks told the judge they would issue the licenses. Her son, Nathan Davis, refused, but the judge said that wouldn’t matter and he wouldn’t be punished, as long as the others complied. 

   “I don’t really want to, but I will comply with the law,” said one of the deputies, Melissa Thompson. “I’m a preacher’s daughter and this is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life.” 

   Davis, an Apostolic Christian whose critics mock her for being a three-time divorcee, stopped issuing marriage licenses for all couples after the Supreme Court ruling in June. Many supporters and even some Republican presidential candidates have rallied behind her. 

   “People are calling the office all the time asking to send money,” Davis testified. 

   She said she hopes the Legislature will change Kentucky law to allow her to keep her job while following her conscience. But unless the governor convenes a costly special session, lawmakers won’t meet until January. “Hopefully our Legislature will get something taken care of,” she told the judge. 

   Until then, Bunning said, he has no alternative but to keep her behind bars. 

   “The legislative and executive branches do have the ability to make changes,” Bunning said. “It’s not this court’s job to make changes. I don’t write law.” 

   Davis served as her mother’s deputy in the clerk’s office for 27 years before she was elected as a Democrat to succeed her in November. As an elected official, she can be removed only if the Legislature impeaches her, which is unlikely in a deeply conservative state. 

   Former Republican President George W. Bush nominated Bunning for a lifetime position as a federal judge in 2001 when he was just 35 years old. 

   But Bunning has been anything but a sure thing for conservative causes, ruling against a partial-birth abortion ban and in favor of a gay-straight high school club. 

A man waves a gay pride flag in front of the federal courthouse in Ashland, Ky., on Thursday. As word of Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis’ jailing spread, hundreds of people chanted:“Love won! Love won!”TYWRIGHT / GETTY IMAGES 

Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis rejected an offer from a judge that could have kept her out of jail. 

Edgar Orea speaks to gay marriage supporters outside the federal building in Ashland, Ky., on Thursday. Rowan County deputy clerks agreed to issue licenses to same-sex couples. 

   TIMOTHY D. EASLEY / AP

Human Interest.

The person in this article is going through an emotional struggle at a young age--he was paralyzed from the waist down, and his hopes for a career playing football are null.

Found at Austin American Statesman.

HIGH SCHOOLS FOOTBALL 

JV player fights paralysis 

Sophomore from Stony Point injured on Wednesday. 

By Rick Cantu rcantu@statesman.com  

   A junior varsity football player from Stony Point High School was paralyzed from the waist down after breaking his neck in a game Wednesday at the school. 

   Jasiel Favors, a sophomore running back, lay motionless on the field for roughly 20 minutes after a helmet-to-helmet collision with an opposing player from Harker Heights, his mother, Debra, said Thursday. 

   Her son underwent surgery Thursday morning to have a metal plate placed near his fourth vertebra, she said by phone from Seton Medical Center Williamson. 

   She said her son might be transferred to TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston next week to begin rehabilitation. It’s too early to tell whether Jasiel will be able to walk again, she said. 

   Jasiel, 16, was resting in a hospital bed on Thursday, a breathing tube inserted down his throat. A headache he suffered from Wednesday had subsided, his mother said. 

   “I’m trying to stay strong for the whole family ,” said Debra, adding that Jasiel is the youngest of her five children. 

   Favors was injured during the opening kickoff of the second half, said Christine Wilson Driskell, who attended the game to watch her son play. 

   “Everybody was very somber, very quiet, worried,” Driskell said. “The officials and higher Stony Point authorities showed up. The ambulance came, and everyone was concerned.” 

   Favors, who said she was unaware her son had a game Wednesday, arrived at the field to find firefighters and paramedics on the scene. 

   “They were pinching him on his body, trying to get him to feel something,” she said. “All he could feel was a little tingling in his hands.” 

   Stony Point principal Anthony Watson and varsity football coach Craig Chessher were among several visitors who stayed at the hospital until midnight, Debra said. 

   “We all are being very supportive of Jasiel and his family,” Watson said. 

   Austin Community Newspapers reporter Nicole Barrios contributed to this story. 

   Contact Rick Cantu at 512-445-3953. 

   Twitter: @Rickyprep

Prominence and Human Interest.

Migrants were taken to camps when they boarded the train--unable to travel to Germany.  This is an unfair emotional struggle for the migrants, and it's prominent because their prime minister (who's anti-immigrant) is intending to make the borders of the country impassible for new arrivals.

Found at Austin American Statesman.

Hungary allows migrants on train 

Decision to take them to camps met with outrage. 

By Pablo Gorondi and Shawn Pogatchnik Associated Press 

   BUDAPEST, HUNGARY — Thousands of people desperate to reach Western Europe rushed into a Budapest train station Thursday after police ended a two-day blockade, setting off a wave of anger and confusion as hundreds shoved their way onto a waiting train. 

   But instead of taking them to prosperous Germany, where they hope to gain asylum, it tried to drop them off at a Hungarian camp for asylum seekers. 

   After the overloaded train halted at Bicske, site of one of the country’s five camps for asylum seekers, one man threw his wife and infant son onto the tracks, screaming in Arabic, “We won’t move from here!” Police surrounded the prone family, pulling the husband away and handcuffing him as he wailed. 

   Other migrants refused to budge, shouting their outrage and waving tickets they had purchased to Germany and Austria. 

   The scene of desperation was just one of many that unfolded Thursday as tempers flared in Hungary’s war of wills with the migrants, a showdown with consequences for the entire continent. 

   The nation’s anti-immigrant prime minister, Viktor Orban, warned that he intends to make his country’s borders an impassible fortress against new arrivals as his government struggled to coax its thousands of unwanted visitors away from the Budapest transportation hub that has become a squalid refugee camp for people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. 

   At a meeting Thursday in Brussels, Obran and European Union leaders hotly debated the question of how to manage the crisis. Orban’s chief of staff, Janos Lazar, said 160,000 migrants had reached Hungary this year, 90,000 of them in the past two months alone. 

   “We Hungarians are full of fear,” Orban said at a news conference, warning that the acceptance of so many Muslims from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere would erode Europe’s Christian bedrock. 

   Orban confirmed his government’s plan to send at least 3,000 troops to Hungary’s southern border with Serbia, where police patrols, razor-wire coils and a 13-foot fence are already in place to deter new arrivals transiting through the non-EU member. 

A man yells at others as migrants scramble to board a train at Keleti station in Budapest, on Thursday. The migrants poured into the station Thursday morning but were prevented from traveling to Germany, and were taken to camps instead. THE NEWYORKTIMES 

Prominence.

The shooting has an impact on the family and friends of the people killed, and the government is struggling to figure out what punishment to give to the shooter.

Found at Austin American Statesman.

SOUTH CAROLINA CHURCH SHOOTINGS 

Shooting suspect to face death penalty 

Killing of 9 people in a church called ‘the ultimate crime.’ 

By Meg Kinnard andJeffrey Collins Associated Press 

   CHARLESTON, S.C. — The white man accused of killing nine black churchgoers in what authorities said was a racially motivated crime during Bible study will face a death penalty trial, even though not all the victims’ families agree with capital punishment, a prosecutor said Thursday. 

   Solicitor Scarlett Wilson said Thursday that some crimes are so heinous they require the most serious punishment the state can give. 

   “This was the ultimate crime, and justice from our state calls for the ultimate punishment,” Wilson said, reading a three-minute statement outside her Charleston office. She took no questions. 

   Wilson filed paperwork saying she would seek the death penalty against 21-year-old Dylann Roof a few hours before her statement. Her reasons: More than two people were killed and others’ lives were put at risk. 

   Roof is charged under U.S. hate crime laws as well, and federal prosecutors haven’t decided if they will also seek the death penalty. Federal authorities have said Roof wrote online of fomenting racial violence and used racial slurs in a personal manuscript in which he decried integration. 

   Survivors also told police he used racial insults during the attack. 

   Wilson said she understands the desire of some victims’ families to forgive Roof and that some do not believe in the death penalty, but she said forgiveness doesn’t eliminate the consequences of Roof’s actions. 

   “Making such a weighty decision is an awesome responsibility,” Wilson said. “People who have already been victimized should not bear the burden of making the decisions on behalf of an entire community. They shouldn’t have to weigh the concerns of other people. They shouldn’t have to consider the facts of the case.” 

   Roof’s lawyers did not respond to Wilson’s decision. 

   Thursday’s motion doesn’t guarantee the case goes to trial. In a number of other murder cases in South Carolina, solicitors have filed notices to seek the death penalty and used them as bargaining chips to get a defendant to plead guilty in exchange for life in prison. Roof’s lawyers said in federal court July 31 that he would have been willing to plead guilty to the hate crimes charges, but he wanted to wait to see if prosecutors would want to put him to death. 

   In her filing, Wilson said she intends to present evidence on Roof’s mental state, adult and juvenile criminal record and other conduct, as well as his apparent lack of remorse for the killings. 

   Roof faces state charges including nine murder counts in the June 17 slayings at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. He is expected in court again on those charges in October. 

   Public pressure and media attention on the case likely made it impossible for Wilson not to seek the death penalty, said Colin Miller, an expert on criminal law at the University of South Carolina School of Law. 

   “This has to be understood as part of a continuum,” he said. “In this case, likely this was viewed as the only acceptable path that was to be taken by the solicitor.” 

   Relatives of shooting victims spoke out at Roof’s first court appearance, saying they forgave him for his actions and prayed God would have mercy on him. 

   Wilson said she has met many times with survivors and families of shooting victims. She said their desires played into her ultimate decision, but that she appreciated that they all respected her decision to seek the death penalty. 

   “It’s definitely something a solicitor will take into account — the wishes of the family and what they desire in terms of how the case is going to proceed,” Miller said. 

   Andy Savage, a Charleston attorney who represents some of the survivors and victims’ families, commended Wilson for considering his clients’ thoughts on whether Roof should face death. Some of his clients may oppose the death penalty for religious reasons but also understood the decision was up to the state, Savage said. 

Solicitor Scarlett Wilson announces her intention Thursday to seek the death 

penalty against 

Dylann Roof (at left) in 

the killing of nine people at the Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. 

   JEFFREY COLLINS / ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Proximity.

People (here in Austin) care about what's going on with their football team (which is the Longhorns).  Austin people wouldn't usually care about what's going on with a random college football team in North Carolina (unless they have an outside connection there).

Found at Austin American Statesman.

Eyes on Texas 

New world order on the radio for Longhorns 

Brian Davis 

   Texas officials really want to get the word out that Saturday’s season opener against Notre Dame will be on a different Austin radio station. Six of them, in fact. Eight, actually, if you speak Spanish. 

   If Tyrone Swoopes throws an interception against Notre Dame, change the station. He might score on another. 

   That’s right. UT football will be on eight Austin radio stations this fall as part of the new broadcasting agreement with Austin Radio Network. The flagship station is 104.9 The Horn, an FM signal that serves as the anchor for football, men’s basketball and other top events. 

   ARN won the broadcast rights away from iHeartMedia (formerly known as Clear Channel) by signing a seven-year deal worth $600,000 annually, according to multiple sources. ARN owners Jason Nassour, Eric Raines and Bob Cole are on the hook for about $1 million annually when factoring in all the broadcast-related expenses. 

   IHeartMedia also paid $600,000 in rights fees, according to a copy of the previous UT radio contract obtained by the American-Statesman through an open records request. Two sources said iHeartMedia lowered its bid in the new negotiations, thereby giving ARN an opening. 

   “Nothing has changed in terms of the planning or execution of the broadcast. It’s all identical,” said longtime play-by-play announcer Craig Way. “From our perspective, nothing we really do is that different.” 

   This may come as a surprise, but having UT football broadcasting on eight over-the-air radio stations isn’t the most intriguing aspect of this deal. 

   Cole, a well-known Austin radio personality, pitched UT officials on the idea of streaming games over the Internet. That means getting UT sports directly on your smart-phone. 

   It’s not the future, it’s the now 

   Edison and Triton Digital research found that 53 percent of monthly radio listeners across America listen via online streaming. That’s an estimated 143 million people, and the number is only growing. That just blows my mind. 

   Why worry about spotty FM or AM signals when the broadcast comes in crystal clear on your phone? 

   Cole convinced Texas and IMG officials they can get more bang from ARN’s bucks by streaming more Longhorns sports. The possibilities 

   — like broadcasting Olympic sports, football games with student announcers, archived Way calls — are endless. 

   “It would be fair to say we were looking to go to the next level,” said Steve Hank, chief revenue officer for UT athletics. “Where we’re headed with the development of our digital access and what we’re going to be doing, it’s going to be really cool.” 

   A specialized UT radio app is on the drawing board. For now, ARN gets its chance to show off its patchwork signal strength. Or listen online anywhere in the world. That’ll come in handy in Shanghai, China, this November with men’s hoops. 

   “This isn’t the future,” Cole said of UT sports via online streaming. “This is the now.” 

   What about Way? 

   Once iHeartMedia lost the UT radio broadcasting rights, it stood to reason that Way would leave 1300 The Zone for 104.9 The Horn. That hasn’t happened, and Way doesn’t appear to be moving anytime soon. 

   Asked specifically if he was moving his afternoon show, Way said, “I’m planning on doing the Longhorn games, and the plan right now is to continue as a contracted employee of iHeartMedia to continue doing my show.” 

   UT officials were upfront about their desire to keep Way on Longhorns broadcasts. Attorneys arranged for Way to appear on another station on game days. Way said at no point did IMG try to stop him from doing games broadcast on The Horn. 

   IHeartMedia has financial motivation to keep Way under contract and well paid for years. Advertisers pay thousands of dollars to have the UT play-by-play broadcaster read ads on the air. That money would also go to The Horn if Way moves across town. 

   Contact Brian Davis at 512-445-3957. 

   Twitter: @BDavisAAS 

Craig Way will continue as the play-by-play announcer for Longhorns games despite the athletic program’s shift to Austin Radio Network. AMERICAN-STATESMAN FILE 

Novelty.

People enjoy trying new things (such as new restaurants, or technology).

Found at Austin American Statesman.

Iron Sight Brewers to open Saturday in Cedar Park 

Arianna Auber Liquid Austin Twitter:@ariauber 

   When Twisted X moved into a much larger, scenic space in Dripping Springs a couple of years ago, the warehouse its brewers left behind in Cedar Park was still outfitted to make beer — making Robert Chaney’s transition from homebrewer to commercial brewer just a little easier. 

   That made all the difference considering the difficulty he and his brother-in-law, Grady Reynolds, have had turning their vision of IronSight Brewers into a functioning business. Like other start-up breweries these days, IronSight has faced permitting delays and other problems that the two co-founders, relatively new to the industry, couldn’t have anticipated. They’re putting all that behind them, though, with the arrival of a milestone: IronSight’s grand opening is just around the corner. 

   “Finally,” Chaney said. “After a long, hard road.” 

   On Saturday, Iron-Sight will open with a big bash offering visitors first tastes of the brewery’s four core beers and a few small-batch brews made just for the party. The grand opening celebration, which requires an RSVP to attend, will also have live music from Bear Creek Wilderness and food from Mission Dogs. 

   After that, the brew ery plans to offer taproom hours on weekends 

   — Friday nights and Saturday and Sunday afternoons — and eventually also will distribute the beers in kegs and cans. The kegged beer will probably come first, and it’ll be available in the Cedar Park and Leander area until Chaney, who handles the brewing side of the business, is able to expand production far ther into Austin. For the most part, he’s got all of the recipes ready to go. He and Reynolds are starting with a cream ale, an amber, a white IPA and an oatmeal pale ale because of their “drink-ability,” a factor they sought out when choosing the brewery’s main beers. 

   “We want beers that are easy to drink, something you can enjoy after mowing the lawn,” he said. “We were also wanting beers we knew were good. Each of the four beers we’re doing have won multiple awards” from homebrewing competitions. 

   The cream ale, he said, serves as a great introduction to craft beer because it’s lightly hopped, straddling the line between ale and lager (which it balances, Chaney said, because it’s made from an ale yeast that ferments at colder temperatures). The amber, made with a West Coast-style twist for extra hoppiness, is Iron-Sight’s darkest beer, but it stays sessionable at 5 percent ABV. The unfiltered white IPA is “sort of like a Belgian white, but with American hops” for a big fresh finish, he said. And the oatmeal pale ale, so called because about 25 percent of the grain bill is oats, isn’t overly bitter, but still has nice hop aroma and flavor thanks to late-addition Citra and Cascade hops. 

   The Iron Sight Amber isn’t the only beer in the lineup that keeps the ABV relatively low; the white IPA clocks in with the highest ABV at only 6 percent. 

   “I’ve worked really hard on these beers,” Chaney said. “The two homebrew clubs I belong to, I’ve learned a lot from both. I’ll take my beer and say, ‘Here, try this.’ Hearing feedback from people who have been brewing for 20, 30 years has really been valuable.” 

   Although he hasn’t been brewing for as long as some of the other members of the Austin Zealots or the Texas Carboys homebrewing clubs, he’s picked up a lot from them. He originally started because “I thought it would be something easy that I would enjoy,” he said. 

   Brewing hasn’t been easy, but he’s hooked. So is Reynolds. He works in the oil and gas industry in Wyoming but visits Austin as often as he can to help Chaneywith Iron Sight. His role with the brewery is to handle the legal and financial sides of the business, all of the paperwork, although he’s got a beer background, too. When he was an undergraduate in business administration at Texas State University, he used to work at the Tap Room Pub & Grub in San Marcos, purchasing all the bar’s beers. 

   The native Austinites — Chaney, a safety manager for a construction company, is married to Reynolds’ sister — developed their love of craft beer together, to the point that they couldn’t resist putting together an initial business plan for Iron-Sight. 

   “I was always adventurous with beer, and I guess I passed the craft beer thing on to him. I was always having him try something new,” Chaney said. 

   Neither of them anticipated how difficult it would be to open a production brewery. Throughout the past couple of years, they’ve had torebrand Iron Sight after realizing their original name was already taken; had to find a different location for the brewery and move it to Cedar Park; and had to re-apply for TABC permitting from a brewpub to a brewery license. And all of it, Reynolds said, was funded out of their own pockets. 

   “The ultimate goal is for us to brew full-time and quit our current jobs,” he said. “But honestly, I’m just happy we’re finally getting this thing off the ground.” 

   Contact Arianna Auber at 

   512-445-3630. 

IRONSIGHT’S GRAND OPENING PARTY 

   When: Noon to 4 p.m. Saturday 

   Where: 3200 Woodall Drive, Cedar Park 

   Cost: ›15-›20 

   Information and to RSVP: Search“IronSight Brewers” on Facebook 

Robert Chaney is the head brewer and co-owner of IronSight Brewers at 3200 Woodall Drive in Cedar Park. 

   LAURA SKELDING PHOTOS / AMERICAN-STATESMAN 

These are some of the grains that Chaney used to make IronSight’s four core beers and a few small-batch brews for Saturday’s grand opening, which requires an RSVP. 

Robert Chaney shows off three of IronSight Brewer’s offerings. The brewery plans to have taproom hours on weekends. LAURA SKELDING / AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Timelines and Prominence.

This is happening this weekend!  Also, "Hamlet" coming professionally to Austin and coordinating with the Austin Symphony is a big deal to people who care about this stuff (like me).
Found at Austin American Statesman.

NEW THIS WEEK 

   DANCE 

   “Hamlet” Ballet Austin presents Stephen Mills’ celebrated adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic, with the music of Philip Glass performed live by the Austin Symphony Orchestra. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday. ›16-›91. The Long Center, 701 W. Riverside Drive. 512-457-5100, balletaustin.  org  . CONTRIBUTED BYTONY SPIELBERF 

   ARTS 

   Big Medium “A Narrow Escape From History.”New large-scale works by Erin Curtis. Opening reception 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday. Noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday through Sept. 26. 916 Springdale Road, Building 2, No. 101. bigmedium.org  . 

   Yard Dog “Art and Music and 20 Years ofYard Dog”In celebration of its 20th anniversary,Yard Dog hosts a double-header with works from artists Jon Langford and Steve Wynn. Opening reception 7 to 9 p.m. Friday. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday through Oct. 11.Yard Dog Gallery, 1510 

   S. Congress Ave. 512-912-1613. yarddog.com  . 

   Gallery Shoal Creek “5 Decades”A exhibition of 50 selected works by gallery artists. Opens Friday. A evening with the artists 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 19. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.Tuesday-Friday, noon to 5 p.m. Saturday through Oct. 24. 2832 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Suite 3. 512-454-6671, galleryshoalcreek.com  . 

   WallyWorkman Gallery New works by Mallory Page. Opening reception 6 to 8 Saturday. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.Tuesday-Saturday through Sept. 26. 1202 W. Sixth St. 512-472-7428, wallyworkmangallery.com  . 

   THEATER 

   “Missionary Position: PleasureJourneys for the Intrepid Lady Explorer-Part 2” Award-winning writer and director Caroline Reck presents the second part of her satirical historical spoof that follows two Victorian-era women on a lecture tour about the first menstrual products for women. Opens 8 p.m.Thursday. Continues 8 p.m.Thursday-Saturday through Sept. 26. ›10-›26. Salvage Vanguard Theatre, 2803 E. Manor Road.  glasshalffulltheatre.com  .