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Lackland Courts-Martial
8:53 am
Fri February 15, 2013

LeBlanc Acquitted Of Sexual Assault, Sentenced For Other Charges

Staff Sgt. Craig LeBlanc
Credit Eileen Pace / Texas Public Radio
LeBlanc was held in pre-trial lockup for 77 days due to continued misbehavior. That time will be deducted from his 30 month sentence.

(Update: 02/15/2013): The judge sentenced LeBlanc to prison for 30 months, reduced his rank to E-1 and issued an order for a dishonorable discharge. Seventy-seven days will be subtracted from his sentence, which LeBlanc has spent in pre-trial lockup due to continued misbehavior.

(Original Post: 02/14/2013): Staff Sgt. Craig LeBlanc was acquitted Thursday on charges of aggravated sexual assault of a female trainee who had just graduated boot camp, but the former military training instructor is facing punishment for 11 other offenses.

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Joint Base San Antonio
7:35 am
Fri February 15, 2013

JBSA-Lackland Hosts International DOD Journalism Competition

Credit U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Tori Hight
Mr Lance Cheung (via Skype), photographer for USDA, and Mr. Kin Man Hui, photographer for San Antonio Express News, discuss photo entries for the U.S. Air Force Public Affairs 2012 Media Contest.

Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland has been hosting the global Thomas Jefferson Award competition in the U.S. Air Force division for the past two weeks. The program recognizes top military and civilian employee journalists for furthering Dept. of Defense Internal Information objectives.

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Solar Energy
2:41 pm
Thu February 14, 2013

San Antonio & Austin Generate Four Times More Solar Energy Than Rest Of State

Credit Environment Texas
A graph generated by Enviroment Texas shows the solar energy generation in some of Texas' major cities.

According to one nonprofit company, San Antonio and Austin generate the vast majority of solar energy produced in the state. As the expansion of solar moves across Texas, both cities are emerging as solar front runners.

San Antonio and Austin combined for 85 percent of the state’s solar energy installations. That’s according to a report from Environment Texas.

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KPAC Blog: Metropolitan Opera
12:31 pm
Thu February 14, 2013

Verdi's 'Rigoletto' Set In Las Vegas Showtime

Credit Metropolitan Opera
This production of Verdi's "Rigoletto" is staged in 1960's Las Vegas

Lasting works that are so much a part of our lives and the general culture have often had the most improbable origins; it is one of music's greatest ironies.

The arduous birth of Wagner’s "The Ring" is the stuff of legends, and decades of work, sacrifice and immense debt. Berlioz' "Les Troyens" was a desperate, singular throw of the dice urged on by his correspondence with Liszt's mistress and his lifelong love of Virgil. But what about Verdi’s overwhelmingly popular "Rigoletto"? What happened there?

Ever evolving...

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Fronteras Desk
12:09 pm
Thu February 14, 2013

Call For More Border Drones Despite Questionable Track Record

Credit Hernán Rozemberg
One of 10 Predator B drones that DHS uses to patrol the U.S.-Mexico border. This plane is based in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Fronteras: The immigration proposal senators are crafting calls for an expanded use of border drones, we look at how effective they have been along the border so far. We hear the story of an American veteran's two-year quest to get an Iraqi family to the safety of U.S. soil. Finally, a San Antonio surgery resident talks about his immigration experience so far, and the hurdles immigrant doctors face to work in the U.S. even though there are doctor shortages.

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Pianoing Across America
12:04 pm
Thu February 14, 2013

Just A Man, His Piano And A Journey Across America

Credit Paul Flahive
The back of Dotan Negrin's van, complete with piano

Visitors to the Alamo were greeted by some mid-day busking (street performing) yesterday morning.  Dotan Negrin has been hauling his upright piano all across the country for more than two years, performing on streets from New York to here in San Antonio.

Parked illegally next to the Alamo, Negrin unloaded his Baldwin piano from a fire-engine red van.

The compact upright piano has a laminated map velcroed to one side showing all the places Negrin has gone on his travels.

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Bexar County Valentines
11:21 am
Thu February 14, 2013

Sullivan Keeps Marriage Ceremony Civil, But Same-Sex Supporters Asked To Stand Aside

The midnight Valentine’s marriages at the courthouse went off without a hitch, except that a small group of equal rights supporters received a not-so-loving greeting from Bexar County deputies providing security.

This year’s marriage of lovebirds at the steps of the courthouse follows a controversial ceremony last year, when a video recording captured Pastor Joe Sullivan remarking that the same-sex couples in attendance would have to deal with God, and then urged them to leave.

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San Antonio Arson Bureau
10:35 am
Thu February 14, 2013

500 Fires Investigated By Arson Bureau Last Year, 260 Set Intentionally

Credit Joey Palacios / Texas Public Radio
Captain Chris Casals, head of SAFD's Arson Bureau, speaks to the media on the role of the department.

The San Antonio Fire Department held an open house to the media this week to detail what it does to determine whether or not a fire is considered an act of arson.

The fire department has 17 arson investigators, who the past two years have been called out to more than 1,200 fires.  Captain Chris Casals, with the San Antonio Fire Department's Arson Bureau, said his division exists to determine the cause and origin of a fire.

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Flood Control
7:45 am
Thu February 14, 2013

S. Flores Bridge Re-Opens, Flooding Eased

Credit Eileen Pace / TPR
Bexar County Commissioner Chico Rodriguez cuts the ribbon to re-open the S. Flores Bridge along Sixmile Creek

After a year-long flood control project had roads torn up along Sixmile Creek, Bexar County has re-opened the South Flores Bridge. With seven low-water crossings, the poor drainage around the area was a threat to nearby homes and properties during heavy rains.

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Lackland Courts-Martial
5:09 pm
Wed February 13, 2013

Testimony: Instructor Bragged About Being Suspected In Lackland Sex Scandal

Credit Eileen Pace / TPR
The court-martial of Staff Sergeant Craig LeBlanc has taken several twists in the last week.

Attorneys for Staff Sgt. Craig LeBlanc at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland initiated a vigorous defense Wednesday, but the military judge denied the motion for a directed verdict on LeBlanc’s aggravated sexual assault charge.

The defense said the government had not proven the alleged victim was in fear of losing her military career. But the government successfully argued that the environment in which LeBlanc placed the woman conveyed fear: The room was almost completely dark and he was sitting in a chair, patting his leg to get the woman to sit on his lap.

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