SciGirls Super STEAM Fair

Join KLRN’s SciGirls this Saturday, November 23 from 10 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. at the Robert. L.B. Tobin Studio at KLRN for our SciGirls STEAM Fair Meet Up. It’s all about Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM)! UTSA’s Center for Archeological Research Legacy Program, the Edwards Aquifer Authority, Interactive Technology Experience Center, ThePlayhouse, UTSA’s Prefreshman Engineering Program, Palo Alto College’s PAC Robotics and Screaming Chickens Robotics Explorer Post will be on-site providing activities and resources for attendees so they can learn about various local organizations that are all about STEAM. We’ll also conduct a panel discussion with a few of our invited groups so our SciGirls can ask questions. RSVP is required to attend the event. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Jennifer at jherrera@klrn.org or 210.208.8404.

If you’re unfamiliar with SciGirls, we’re a program for girls between the ages of 8-13 years old. SciGirls is comprised of STEAM-loving girls, who meet on a monthly basis to share ideas, do fun experiments, and get together for special activities with other girls who share similar interests. SciGirls is free to join, and is available to girls within our KLRN viewing area.

If your child is not a SciGirl but would like to attend, contact Jennifer for a permission form. We hope to see you Saturday at our STEAM Fair!

THE STATE OF ARIZONA | Program Review

When you see a smoky-dark wall snaking over parched hills, the line is clear. On one side is Mexico. On the other is the U.S.

But when you start looking at people, things aren’t so clear. They’re scary, painful and even mean.

For Arizona rancher Duncan Blair, the tall border wall stops at the edge of his property and becomes a barbed-wire fence with holes snipped long ago, which U.S. officials ignore. He feels like he’s stuck in the middle of a funnel between “gringo tokers” and the “Mexican cartel,” and things have gotten nasty in recent years. He carries a gun when riding certain pastures.

“It got mean because it got complicated,” he said. “There’s just a sense that nobody cares.”

Carlos Garcia, a leader with the Puente Movement, lives daily with uncertainty. Born in Mexico and brought to the U.S. at 5, he has received his documentation. But his family, like so many working and living for decades in a land of opportunities, is mixed. Many remain undocumented. With Arizona’s recent crackdowns, Garcia’s afraid to drive his grandpa to the store, or even have his family over for dinner.

“They’re able to charge me,” he said.

With Arizona’s illegal immigration population quadrupling to 460,000 in a decade a half, the state has tried a number of measures. It was Senate Bill 1070, calling for local officers to ask for documentation from suspected illegal immigrants during routine stops, that dialed up the heat and rocketed the issue to the national stage. This is a focus of "The State of Arizona," a film KLRN is screening this Thursday.

Jorge Martinez, who owns a home and an ice-cream truck, drives more than 100 miles a day and sees a lot of people detained along the route. He faces an upcoming deportation proceeding himself, which could split his family of 16 years. He has no idea what to do in Mexico. His family is scared and confused.

“We are thinking, what to do if he is going to Mexico,” said his business partner and mother of his son. “Yesterday I asked my son, what you think about they send your dad to Mexico. And he said, 'I don’t know but I don’t want to go to Mexico.'”

As officials raid a restaurant they suspect employs illegal immigrants, two construction workers stand at the curb and lament losing bids to companies hiring illegals. Yet, things aren’t always so clear, one says.

“It’s a hairball,” he said. “Because I know people here that their parents are illegal, but they’ve been raised here their whole life. What are they supposed to do? Are you going to send their parents back to Mexico and leave them here? It is a big mess.”

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Join KLRN for a Community Cinema screening and panel discussion of this film on Thursday, November 14 at 7P.

-Written by Patrick Driscoll, KLRN Staff Member

THE GRADUATES | KLRN Staff Review

FILM REVIEW BY KLRN STAFF MEMBER JESUS FONSECA
INDEPENDENT LENS  |  THE GRADUATES "THE BOYS HOUR"

Growing up in a border city and being the first generation college graduate in my family really allowed me to identify with The Graduates Los Graduados. Although the focus is on the Latino community, educational barriers will always exist regardless of race. Whether it would be gangs, bullying, or even poverty, obstacles will always be present. The solution as stated in the film is engaging students and properly mentoring students down the correct path. 

I personally believe sports are what kept me out of trouble growing up. There were always negative influences such as gangs in my neighborhood but it never really interested me. Almost all the neighborhood kids growing up would play street football, basketball, and even sand lot baseball year around. I played sports throughout middle school and high school and believe that it helped shape me as a person. Channeling energy towards something positive really helped. It doesn’t have to be sports, it could be dancing, art, acting or helping other people.

I had a mentor in high school who helped to guide me in the right direction. Mr. Ramirez, my career counselor, asked me one day what I was planning to do after high school. I had never really given it much thought. I could relate to the characters in The Graduates because I really had no idea of how to apply for college, much less pay for it. I couldn’t ask my parents because they had no clue since they had never gone to college. Much like Gustavo and Eduardo’s parents, my parents were always at work trying to provide for me. Mr. Ramirez was a huge influence in my life. He helped me apply for schools, apply for financial aid, and he even took me on several college tours. 

As mentioned in the film, education is fundamental in securing America’s future. I could not agree more with this statement. The key is engaging students to do something that interests them and giving them that sense of “belonging.” The Graduates hit the nail on the head regarding Latinos and the current issues in our educational system.

JOIN KLRN FOR A FREE SCREENING AND PANEL DISCUSSION

COMMUNITY CINEMA | OCTOBER 17  | SANTIKOS EMBASSY 14

          WATCH PREVIEW

KLRN Staff Review SERVICE | When Women Come Marching Home

One program through the eyes of KLRN Staff Member, Rachel R.


The documentary film Service: When Women Come Marching Come Home describes the life of the modern, female, U.S. veteran. We are introduced to the individual women who have undergone challenge, injury and trauma in the line of duty. As they recount their personal experiences it becomes clear that many of these women have been poorly repaid for their contributions.

Although the U.S. continues to debate when and how females should serve in the military, these women have their own opinion on the matter. Whether interacting with civilian women and children, or forming enduring and supportive friendships, it is clear that in many ways they feel they have an edge over their male counterparts.
Yet, despite any advantages, they continue to struggle in their transition to civilian life. This was, for me, one of the most revealing aspects of the film: the strain placed on these individual daughters, wives and mothers as they attempt to reintegrate themselves into their families and previous lifestyles.

Another eye-opener was the shocking way that rape cases were handled by the military. The lack of support, and in fact ostracism, described by a number of the women interviewed is a call for action and perhaps legislation.

It is clear however, that not all legislation made in support of these veterans has had an impact. For example: the laws protecting a disabled veteran's right to bring their service dog into stores, restaurants and other businesses is largely unknown and therefore frequently ineffective.

One of this documentary’s strengths is that it indicates a number of such flaws in the current support system. It offers viewers a very subjective overview of critical weak points. In my mind the next step would be to more concretely and objectively define how that system needs to be reworked.

Service: When Women Comes Marching Home begins an important discussion by questioning how we support our veterans and repay their sacrifices. It presents a conversational and direct picture of these individual women and their personal experiences.

The program airs Monday, May 6 at 10pm on KLRN.

Reception Issues?

Last week, KLRN experienced problems at our transmitter and within hours, our engineers were assessing the situation and fixing the problems. WHEW!  There were a few hours where we were not broadcasting to our viewers who watch our channels over-the-air. At our studios, our signal strength was restored and all was fine in the world---with the exception of the many viewer e-mails notifying us that even after a normal "re-scan" our signal did not appear.

If you are one of those people who still are having problems, please try the following instructions. This is called a "double re-scan" which helps to clear out any memory of channel reception, and can possibly be the answer to your reception issues after work is performed on our equipment.

Try it and let us know if you are still having issues dtv@klrn.org.
Your feedback helps us to serve you better.

Many thanks and we appreciate your patience.



DOUBLE RE-SCANNING

Many consumers already know about the need to run the “scan” function on their digital converter  
boxes or digital TV sets periodically following the June 12 digital TV transition. Scanning searches for and “remembers” the available digital broadcast channels.

But in some cases where stations moved their digital frequencies on June 12, simple scanning may not be enough. There is a procedure – sometimes called “double re-scanning” – that can clear your box’s memory of saved channels. These earlier scans may have saved channel information that is now incorrect.

There are five simple steps to a double re-scan for a converter box or digital TV, which are as follows:

1. Disconnect the antenna from the box or digital TV
2. Re-scan the box or digital TV without the antenna connected. As with any scan follow the on-screen instructions or owner’s manual for your device
3. Unplug the box or digital TV from the electrical outlet for at least one minute
4. Reconnect the antenna to the box or digital TV and plug the unit into the electrical outlet.
5. Rescan the box or digital TV one more time.