A Major Tragedy Struck

...and instead of heading the other way, these folks stuck around and did what needed doing. They're Dr. Ruth Berggren and Dr. Tyler Curiel. They're a couple of intelligent, well-known doctors, and a married couple to boot.

Besides medicine, another of life's aspects they share is an odd proximity to tragedy. They were there when dikes failed and the waters drowned much of New Orleans. The two doctors stayed with patients too sick to be moved, day after day, wondering if the world had forgotten them. Finally, Sanjay Gupta and Anderson Cooper shone the national spotlight on the hospitals that rescue efforts seem to have forgotten, and the choppers arrived to ferry patients and doctors out safely.

Ms. Berggren was raised in Haiti, and returns there often to care for the sick and teach UT Health Science Center students medical ethics. She'd only been back to San Antonio from such a trip for 36 hours when the earthquake nearly leveled Port Au-Prince. Feeling the call of duty and a tug on her heartstrings, she headed back to the tropical country, joined shortly thereafter by husband Tyler.

They sat down recently with Texas Public Radio's David Martin Davies to relive their experiences, and tell south Texans that what they know about Haiti...isn't the Haiti these doctors know at all. Their stories are fascinating and well-told, their pictures beautiful and revealing.

We invite viewers to spend an hour tonight at 8 with two of San Antonio's most interesting people. I can guarantee that you'll learn something you didn't know, and you'll feel just a little better about the world.

This Is Why You Need KLRN:

We’ve just put the finishing touches to the show we at KLRN call Politithon. It’s the marathon political program wherein we invite everyone who’s running for local, area and national office, from County Clerk to U.S. Representative. The League of Women voters collaborate with us to bring south Texas voters a two and 3/4-hour, in-depth talk with those who want your vote in the March 2nd Primary.

No other local station does this.

Millions of Americans’ identities are stolen every year, costing untold billions and heartache to its victims. With this in mind, the Texas Lyceum approached KLRN to shoot, produce and edit one in their Great Debate Series at San Antonio’s Empire Theater. Moderated by the Express-News’ Bob Rivard, the forum on Cyber Security didn’t just make for great TV. It gave viewers an hour’s worth of information they likely haven’t heard anywhere else to protect them and their families.

No other local station does this.

The KLRN production crew recently descended on the Foundry Coffee House to shoot its 5th annual College Call-In. This program helps students and parents navigate the confusing and choppy waters of getting into and paying for college. Hosts Chuck Cureau and Karen Grace invited parents and students to ask representatives from most local colleges their most pressing questions, and have them answered right then-n-there. KLRN commits to getting all calls, e-mails and tweets answered so that everyone who wants to get into college can do so!

No other local station does this.

Coming soon:
Conversations--a revealing Conversation with Dr. Ruth Berggren, the woman who stayed with her New Orleans patients after Katrina, and whose big heart took her back to Haiti after the earthquake.
Also: Judge Nelson Wolff takes us to the south side and reveals why the rebirth of the San Antonio River at the Mission Reach might even be greater than the wildly successful Museum Reach.

No other local station does this.

This is what you deserve from your local PBS station, and that’s precisely what KLRN will continue to do for you. Thanks for watching, and supporting, KLRN.

Don't Believe Me; I've Got a Dog in This Hunt

But San Antonio's Express-News Entertainment Writer Jeanne Jakle doesn't, and she sure did like what we call "The River Walk Doc." Its real title is Paseo Del Arte: Expanding the San Antonio River Walk.

Jakle's review is glowing, and to be honest, so are we. We put a lot of heart and soul (and photography and editing) into this doc and it's very satisfying to have it recognized. It airs 9PM Tuesday night the 10th of November--tomorrow at this writing--and I hope you get a chance to see it.

Pictured above is Donald Lipski's F.I.S.H.. Why in the world did he pick that particular variety of fish to build? The answer is in the River Walk doc...tune in to find out!

They Absolutely Didn't Have to Do This

But they did. They took an overgrown, trash heap wasteland section of the San Antonio River and gave it a radical makeover. They dredged it out, widened the river channel, built elaborate stonework walls and walkways, and secured artists to conceive and install wildly creative, bizarre and even subtle works of art. And now San Antonio has an outdoor linear art gallery that's like nowhere else in the world. The picture above is Donald Lipski's F.I.S.H. under the I-35 bridge, with San Antonio Museum of Art in the background.

They--the city, the county, the San Antonio River Authority, and the San Antonio River Foundation--had an uphill battle to fight. They had to convince a skeptical public that an area of town that, to put it kindly, has seen better times, could become a showplace for the Alamo City. And now, with a lot of corporate support, those governmental entities have done precisely that.

Almost a year ago the River Foundation contacted KLRN to document the creation of what's come to be called the Museum Reach portion of the new River Walk. We've interviewed dozens of people, including all the artists, former mayors, all the movers-n-shakers. And we've spent time along the river shooting beautiful high-def video of all the artists' wondrous creations. We've cruised in River Barges, night and day, to capture the experience of this fabulous new stretch. And we've put all that into a lively, half-hour documentary that we've named Paseo Del Arte: Expanding the San Antonio River Walk. If you'd like a preview, go here. It airs Tuesay the 10th at 9PM on KLRN, and we sure hope you'll watch.

If you watch, you'll see how much neater a town we can be, how much more interesting a society we become...when we do that which we don't have to do, but which will make us all a little happeer.

A Conversations Special

We're heading out now to UTSA's main campus to shoot a Conversations Special tonight at the University Center theater. First off at 5 they'll be screening The Wall documentary, and afterwards we'll record a Conversations program about the documentary.

The DOC is all about a wall that's being built along the Mexican border in an effort to cut down and/or eliminate illegal immigration. Whether you're a supporter of the Wall or don't like it at all, the documentary's a fascinating look at what's happening there.

Former WOAI Trouble Shooter Jeff Coyle is hosting the Conversations record, and The Wall director Ricardo Martinez is the subject. A live audience will be asking questions and this will all be turned into a Conversations Thursday night the 8th of October. If you can't join us for the live taping, please join us for the program playback.

So What's KLRN Done for You Lately?

Katrina's back with a great big passel of fun stuff that KLRN's been up to...and even a little mystery for you to solve. But why write about it when you can see it for yourself?

Thursday Night's Conversations

If it looks like they're having fun, maybe it's because they are. The THEY are Juan Sepulveda, Julian Castro and Ricardo Romo and we brought them together to discuss the hurdles South Texans have to clear to get a higher education. Juan's new post with the Obama Administration's Initiative on Excellence in Education leaves him well qualified to speak, as do the resumes of San Antonio's new Mayor and UTSA's President.

This Conversations program was recorded at UTSA's downtown campus right after a gathering of educators and government folks had hashed over the high hills and deep ruts of south Texas' education landscape. The lively half-hour program runs the gamut on education, from TAKS test troubles to where they think the biggest hurdle to clear for getting a good education lies: and it’s probably not where you think! Check it out Thursday night at 8.

KLRN Update: Our first Video Blog entry

Katrina and Jack recently produced our first Video Blog with highlights from recent projects and a glance ahead at a couple of events and programs coming soon!

Let us know what you think of our first entry and stay tuned for more!

And as always, you can get frequent news and programming tips from KLRN on Twitter and Facebook!

This is One Slick Guy

Tom Slick was born to wealth and could have lived out his days burning through it all without a care in the world. Instead though, he cared a lot. This San Antonio native cared enough about people that to help fight disease, he established the Southwest Biomedical Foundation to research cures. He established the Mind Science foundation to research the unknown complexities of the mind. He wrote a book on World Peace before he was 30.
Tom Slick hungered for knowledge from the four corners of the world, so he traveled that world in searches for the Abominable Snowman, for the Loch Ness Monster, and even Bigfoot.
While he never found those creatures, he did find his biggest passion: Modern Art. Now, a McNay Art Museum Exhibition at the Stieren Center celebrates the man through his private collection in Tom Slick: International Art Collector.
Host Jeff Coyle speaks with Dr. William Chiego, John C. Kerr and biographer Catherine Nixon Cooke as they tell surprising, revealing and downright amusing stories about one of South Texas’ most accomplished, most fascinating men. Tune in to KLRN Tonight at 8 for a preview of his collection, plus a peek at the twisted, yet hilarious Edward Gorey exhibit currently showing at the McNay.

Say Goodbye To An Old Friend

That still at left was nicknamed Old Blue, and is what we in the biz call an ID, short for an "identification." Originally broadcast on September 1st, 2004, Old Blue's function was to tell you what station you were watching, and its point of origin--San Antonio. But a closer look reveals the letters DT, which stands for digital television. KLRN was trying to put digital television on peoples' radar screens by way of their television screens way back in 2004, so that they'd be ready by the time analog's power was pulled and digital was powered up. Computer programs track the runnings of these things and I can report that this ID ran 68,619 times. Wow!

The digital transition happened at the stroke of midnight, June 12th, and we're hoping you've made the digital leap with us. If you're getting this e-mail, but not our signal, go here for help. Maybe we can get this figured out together. You can also call 270.9000 to speak to an actual human about it.

As to the NEW ID at right--as yet un-nicknamed--it's not bound to one look. We travel around town, the hill country, and points south and west, shooting video, then augmenting that video with what we call the co-brand: the KLRN and PBS logos side-by-side. The 9.1 San Antonio tells you you're watching our main channel, not 9.2, 9.3 or 9.4. You do know we broadcast four 24-hour channels, right? A quick look on our home page can show you complete schedules for all four channels at bottom left. You'd be amazed at all the great programs we offer.

Regarding those new IDs, we create 24 of these each month that feature our fair city and its environs from daybreak through dark. We hope you get a kick out of them, and that you are reminded how lucky you are to live in the area.

And as to Old Blue--he served us well and I can report that he's happily out to pasture, and enjoying watching the new IDs along with the rest of us.

Blazing Gavels Auction Drama!

The Winning bidder on this year's Blazing Gavels Dash For Cash races between two fish tanks, one filled with nickels, dimes and quarters, and the other, he gets to take home. It's a simple monetary transaction: scoop from the one tank, and shovel into the other. And everything he grabbed and put in the 2nd tank for :45 was his to take home. The crowd counted him out for the last :10 and applauded wildly.

Heavy on drama, heavy on action, heavy on fun. But that's what KLRN's Blazing Gavels Auction is all about.

If that's just a little too wild for your taste, head over to the Blazing Gavels website for Auction action that's all controllable by you. You can plan a vacation by searching our Trips of the night. You can search for affordable jewelry for that special someone. Or you can even buy a 1950 Studebaker. Really! Check it out.

The Entire Museum Reach Project in 1/2 Hour!

You've probably heard of the Museum Reach, that fabulous new River Walk project, running from the Lexington Street Bridge all the way to the Pearl Brewery. That's a lot of ground to take in, so instead of you researching it on foot, why not let us do the heavy lifting? In fact, we've already done so, and with camera in hand.

Thursday night at 8 Conversations reveals the soup-to-nuts details on what's surely South Texas' largest public works/public art installation in the last...oh, I'd say bazillion years. The San Antonio River Foundation (SARF) has combined the creativity of Artists, the backbreaking work of hundreds of skilled workers, and labor-saving machinery to create a landmark project through the city's old industrial northeast downtown area.

Candidly, this was not a garden spot. Abandoned Warehouses and overgrown lots were the norm in this corner of the city that time seemed to skip over. But it had one major thing going for it: the San Antonio River runs through it. So a wise group of people who think we ought to be proud of what we leave those who come after decided to do something BIG.

And the diamond they spotted in the rough...has now been shone to near perfection. It's taken 12 years, a handful of mayors, a small passel of city managers, a collaboration between the city, Bexar county and the San Antonio River Authority to make it happen. And they've succeeded. Mightily.

Tanji Patton hosts a half-hour look at the breath-taking project, with Kim Abernethy representing SARF, Thursday night the 7th right here on KLRN.

PBS Unveils Its Fabulous New Video Playback Site

So what happens if you look up and it's 10 o'clock on Tuesday night and you realize you forgot to watch Frontline? Or you got home late on Sunday and missed the Masterpiece Theater you had intended to watch. Now you'll be out of order on that fabulous 6-part series you've been watching. What the heck can you do?

Do this: watch it online. PBS has now unveiled their new video portal. It's really quite fabulous, with searches by subject matter, title, even topics. If that layout looks a little familiar, it bears a certain resemblance to what you might find in your ipod. I'd file that under "Why Re-Invent the Wheel?"

If you're wondering whether KLRN programming will be there, yes it will. The PBS portal is still in its test phases. Once it passes those tests, we'll be back to add KLRN Productions to the PBS mix.

And a last-minute reminder: KLRN's Fresh Cut 2009 high school student documentary contest is still taking votes online through midnight this Sunday night--that's the 26th. You can watch the top 14 entrants now by clicking on the above link. Vote for your favorite and give that high school "doc jock" some positive re-enforcement. 'Til next time...

A Conversation about your brand spankin' new River Walk!

That's one of San Antonio's most-revered TV personalities, Tanji Patton at left, and Kim Abernethy at right. You may not know Kim, but she plays a major role in a project that's going to put the Alamo City on the Art Map like never before. She's raising the money for the Extreme Makeover that the San Antonio River is undergoing. The phase nearing completion is the Museum Reach portion of a fabulously huge project that will change the face of San Antonio forever.

I won't detail what's in the show, but I'll invite you to watch it instead: Catch it Thursday, May 7th at 8PM on KLRN. Can't remember when Conversations is on? Then check out the KLRN web site and look at bottom left where you see the words KLRN schedules. Our entire schedule is there, including those hard-to-find program details that you find handy. Hint: you could mark it as a favorite and zip there daily to see if what we're showing is must-see TV. If you do, I think you'll be surprised at how much you'll feel you must see!

Reminder: Tomorrow night's Conversations with Father David Garcia, and next Thursday night's with Filmmaker Ken Burns. Great stuff!

Who Deserves Your Vote?

Dozens of candidates are running for San Antonio City Council...but which of them deserves your vote? Well...you could spend hours-n-hours online, reading all their positions (and that's not so bad an idea). Or you could just watch tonight's City Council Candidate Forum here on KLRN.

Will you see the next dynamo of the city council? A future Mayor taking his or her first dive into the public policy pool? Well, we can't promise anyone will break out in song and wow Simon Cowell...but we can promise a lively, substantive look at those who want to represent you. Drop by at 8 tonight for your glimpse at the city's future.

This Just Isn't Cool

It's crazy cool! It's the Grotto, by Camden and Newel Streets, well over halfway done, yet fully fabulous. For more detail, click on the picture and make it big.

It's time to use your imagination just a bit: Imagine where the white pickup is parked that 4 feet of San Antonio River is there instead. Imagine walking in from screen right, underneath a waterfall from the upper level, into that cave-like Grotto, walking by a pool at center left, underneath yet another waterfall, then up a set of stairs to get to street level. In just a couple of months you'll be able to do that.

This is just one of the many art installations now fully underway as part of the Museum Reach River Walk extension. For more, check out Karen Adams' River Blog about the project. KLRN is working with the San Antonio River Foundation to create a documentary about the landmark project, and bridge by bridge, artist by artist, we'll keep you informed as it comes together!

What in the world is THIS?

Well, it's The Grotto, of course! It's emerging from the riverbank of the San Antonio River at Camden and Newell Streets right next to the elevated I-35 freeway. The Grotto is the work of San Antonio artist Carlos Cortes, known for carrying on the Faux Bois work of his famous great uncle Dionisio Rodriguez.

The Grotto will feature a pair of waterfalls, a cave and much more. It's part of a 1.2 mile River Improvement project detailed in Karen Adams' River Blog. Artists from San Antonio and around the world are creating new works of art in the Museum Reach section of the river, and KLRN has partnered with the San Antonio River Foundation to create a documentary for the city's landmark project. We'll keep you informed of the project as it becomes a fabulous new reality for the city.