The Newsmaker Hour features speakers addressing local and national organizations on a variety of topics and current events. Local organizations regularly featured include the World Affairs Council of San Antonio, the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Free Trade Alliance San Antoino. Speakers addressing students and the community at local colleges and universities are also featured. The City Club of Cleveland is also featured regularly. The Newsmaker Hour is produced by Texas Public Radio's Ernie Villarreal.
Airs: Fridays at 7 p.m. on KSTX 89.1 FM
Peter Rogers on International Coffee Production
March 12, 2010 · Peter Rogers, is the coffee buyer for the Rogers Family Company. He was invited to speak at the University of the Incarnate Word H-E-B School of Business lecture series. He spoke on February 1, 2010. The Cafe Ole and Central Market coffee lines sold at H-E-B are produced by the Rogers company. Mr. Rogers during his presentation talks about the company's mission and international coffee production. He also talks about sustainability, organic and biodynamic farming. Introducing Mr. Rogers is Dr. Pat Burr, Distinguished Chair, in International Business at the University of the Incarnate Word.
¡Adelante U.S. Education Leadership Fund!
March 5, 2010 · Education is high on President Obama's priority list. That according to Juan Sepulveda, Director of the White House Initiative for Excellence in Hispanic Education who was the invited guest speaker at the ¡Adelante U.S. Education Leadership Fund! luncheon held on February 19, 2010 on the campus of St. Mary's University. He's responsible for engaging Hispanic students, parents, families, organizations and anyone who is involved with the education system as director of the White House initiative. In his remarks, Sepulveda spoke about an education crisis in the Hispanic community, how the future of the United States is tied to the success of Hispanics and the importance the Obama administration is placing on education. Introducing Sepulveda is Richard Perez, President of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce.
Community Conversation on Education
February 26, 2010 ·The Newsmaker Hour for February 26 focuses on education and a community's involvement to help our children stay in school. The discussion was held at a "Community Conversation on Education" presented by the African-American Reflections newspaper and held at the Second Baptist Church in San Antonio. The invited keynote speaker is Dr. Otis Johnson, mayor of Savannah, Georgia. Dr. Johnson is only the second African-American to hold that office. He is nationally known in the field of community building and youth development and currently serves as the Chair of the National League of Cities Council of Youth, Education and Families. Making some opening remarks and introducing Dr. Otis Johnson is Kathy Clay-Little, publisher of the African-American Reflections Newspaper.
KSTX Town Hall: Race
February 19, 2010 ·As San Antonio's population rapidly increases, it is also becoming more racially diverse. Each group contributes to the vibrancy of the community, but what are we doing to strengthen community ties across racial lines and embracing cultural differences to help move San Antonio forward? KSTX held a Town Hall on race and cultural diversity on February 9, 2010 at St. Philip's College. Moderating the discussion was TPR's Terry Gildea. Panelists included Matthew Anderson, Education Specialist, UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures;Gloria Pimentel; Chair, Department of Sociology, San Antonio College; Dr. Carey Latimore; Department of History, Trinity Univeristy; Dr. Mansour El-Kikhia — Political Science and Geography, UTSA.
Mayor Castro's State of the City Address
February 12, 2010 ·This edition of The Newsmaker Hour is the "State of the City" address by San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro. The event is hosted by the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, and held at the Marriott Rivercenter.More than 900 folks attended, making it one of the Chamber's largest State of the City luncheons. The Mayor touched on reinvestment of the downtown and city's core, job opportunities, the green economy and managing the city's issues including budget cuts. San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro made his remarks on January 28, 2010.
Texas Water Symposium
February 5, 2010 ·The 2009–10 Texas Water Symposium, created through the partnership of Schreiner University, Texas Tech University, Texas Public Radio, and Hill Country Alliance is a series of four free lectures and forums designed to inform and engage Texas citizens. The lastest Texas Water Symposium took place at Texas Tech University @ Junction. The topic was "Climate Change and Impacts on Floods, Weather and Drought in Texas:What Controversy?" On the panel was Robert E. Mace of the Texas Water Development Board, Todd Votteler of the Guadalupe River Authority and Katherine Hayhoe of Texas Tech University.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Citywide Interfaith Worship Service
January 22, 2010 ·A number of events honouring Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was held across the United States and San Antonio, February 17 and 18, 2010. One of the events in San Antonio was the twenty-third annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Citywide Interfaith Worship Service. The worship service was held on January 17, 2010 at the Second Baptist Church. Rabbi Barry Block of Temple Beth-El and Rev. Otis Mitchell, pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church and Chair of the City of San Antonio's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission were members of two of the faiths represented at the event. Delivering the commemorative message was Valerie Dana, an attorney and business owner in Denver, Colorado and a member of the governing body of the Baha'i National Spiritual Assembly.
Rabbi Barry Block, Temple Beth-El
Rev. Otis Mitchell, Mt. Zion Baptist Church
Valerie Dana, Baha'i National Spiritual Assembly
Dr. Vincent Fonseca, Chair of the Hispanic Chamber's Health Disparity Task Force
January 15, 2010 · Dr. Vincent Fonseca spoke at the 4th annual San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Healthcare luncheon. Dr. Fonseca is the former Texas state epidemiologist and is now chair of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's Health Disparity Task Force committee. Introducing Dr. Fonseca is Chamber president Ramiro Cavazos. The luncheon was held on December 4, 2009 on the campus of St. Mary's University.
Dr. Richard Carmona, former U.S. Surgeon General
January 15, 2010 · Former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Richard Carmona, was the keynote speaker at the 4th annual San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Healthcare luncheon, which was held on December 4, 2009 on the campus of St. Mary's University. Dr. Carmona, who served as the nation's 17th surgeon general from 2002 until 2006, is introduced by Linda Hummel-Alpin, Chief Executive Officer of Humana of Central and South Texas.
Michael Kaiser, President of the Kennedy Center
January 8, 2010 · San Antonio nonprofit arts organizations were able to hear from Kennedy Center's President Michael Kaiser about the challenges facing nonprofit organizations today in fundraising, building a more effective board of trustees, budgeting, ticket sales, marketing and audience development. He spoke at San Antonio's San Pedro Playhouse on December 2, 2009 as part of the Kennedy Center's "Arts in Crisis: A Kennedy Center Initiative" project. The program is in response to the emergency facing arts organizations across the United States. Mr. Kaiser will have travelled to all 50 states and have visited approximately 500 arts organizations by the end of the Kennedy Initiative tour. Opening the program is Felix Padron, Executive Director of the Arts and Cultural Affairs Department of the City of San Antonio.
The Man on Mao's Right January 1, 2010 · Ambassador Ji Chaozhu spoke to members and guests of the City Club of Cleveland on June 24, 2009. Ambassador Chaozhu was a foreign diplomat and is the author of the book titled The Man on Mao's Right.
KSTX Town Hall: Hunger
December 18, 2009 · Texas Public Radio continued the KSTX Town Hall series with a solutions-based conversation on hunger issues affecting the surrounding community. On the panel were Eric Cooper, Executive Director of the San Antonio Food Bank; Celia Hagert, Senior Analyst, Center for Public Policy Priorities; Patti Radle of Inner City Development; and Steve Saldaña of the Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of San Antonio, Inc. The conversation took place on the campus of St. Mary's University. Find out more about the issue on our Town Hall page.
Ed Whitacre, General Motors CEO
December 11, 2009 · Before being named General Motors' chairman in June 2009, Ed Whitacre was most recently chairman and CEO of AT&T when the company was headquartered in San Antonio. In between chairman positions, he served as Executive Professor of Business-in-Residence at Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, Texas. Whitacre recently spoke at Texas Lutheran University about the American automobile industry and the global economy. He also spoke about his decision to accept the chairman position at General Motors.
Pierre Vimont, French Embassador to the United States
December 4, 2009 · The Ambassador of France to the United States, Pierre Vimont, was the invited guest speaker of the World Affairs Council of San Antonio. He spoke on November 13, 2009 on current events and on the unique relationship the countries of the United States and France have had from the time the United States was formed until today. Introducing Ambassador Vimont is Nancy Shivers, World Affairs Council of San Antonio's Vice President of Programs.
End of Life Issues November 27, 2009 · Barbara Coombs Lee, President of Compassion and Choices, a non-profit organization dedicated to expanding and protecting the rights of the terminally ill, spoke on end of life issues on November 6, 2009 to members and guests of the City Club of Cleveland.
Texas Water Symposium
November 20, 2009 · The 2009–10 Texas Water Symposium, created through the partnership of Schreiner University,Texas Tech University, Texas Public Radio, and Hill Country Alliance is a series of four free lectures and forums designed to inform and engage Texas citizens. The second panel discussion in the series, held on November 12, 2009 at the University of Texas at San Antonio, was titled "Our Limited Groundwater Supply: For Whose Desired Future Conditions Are We Planning?" Moderating the panel was Robert E. Mace, Ph.D., of the Texas Water Development Board. The panelists included Mary Ellen Summerlin of the Headwaters Groundwater Conservation District, Weldon Hammond, Ph.D., of the UTSA Center for Water Research, and Gregory M. Ellis, J.D., Executive Director of the Texas Alliance of Groundwater Conservation Districts. Introducing the discussion was Tim Summerlin, President of Shriner University.
Dr. Haleh Esfandairi
November 13, 2009 · Nancy Shivers, Vice-President of Programs for the World Affairs Council of San Antonio introduces Dr. Haleh Esfandairi, Director of Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Dr. Esfandairi was the invited guest speaker of the World Affairs Council of San Antonio. She spoke on November 2, 2009. She was a journalist in her native Iran, where she was also deputy secretary general of the Women's Organization of Iran. Dr. Esfandairi spoke to members and guests of the World Affairs Council of San Antonio about her arrest by the Iranian security authorities in 2007 which is the basis of her book titled My Prison, My Home.
KSTX Town Hall: Transportation
November 6, 2009 · How can we keep San Antonio moving? The region is growing every year, putting additional strain on our transportation infrastructure. Clogged freeways, increased pollution and reliable public transportation are just a few of the problems we face as we try to get from one place to the other. So what does the future of transportation look like in San Antonio and the surrounding area? How can we continue to handle the region’s growth without slowing us down? Texas Public Radio's Terry Gildea led a dialog in which panelists discussed future plans for VIA Metropolitan Transit, the possibilities of light rail, highway improvements and the benefits of commuting by bicycle, as well as regional implications for our commuting decisions. This KSTX Town Hall was held at the Buena Vista Theater on the UTSA Downtown Campus and was part of the Green by Texas Public Radio initiative, a year-round focus on sustainability issues affecting San Antonio and the surrounding community.
Health Care is Broken: How Do We Fix It?
October 30, 2009 · The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio held a panel discussion whose title was "Health Care is Broken: How Do We Fix It?" It was the Frank Bryant Jr. M.D. Memorial Lecture in Medical Ethics of the UT-Health Science Center. The panel was comprised of nationally known experts on health care reform. On the panel are Stuart Altman, Ph.D. an economist and professor of national health policy at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University; David Hunt, M.D. chief medical officer at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Ana Malinow, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine; and Jeremy Lazarus, Speaker of the House of Delegates of the American Medical Association. UTHSC President Dr. William Henrich opens the program.
Marc Morial, President of the National Urban League October 23, 2009 ·The Newsmaker Hour for October 23 features Marc Morial, President of the National Urban League. He spoke to members and guests of the City Club of Cleveland on October 9, 2009. Morial is the eighth President of the National Urban League, being selected for that position in May 2003. Prior to being named President of the NUL, Morial served two terms as mayor of New Orleans; and prior to serving as mayor he served two years as a Louisiana State Senator. Introducing Marc Morial is City Club of Cleveland President, Jan Roller.
Jeffrey F. Addicott, Director
of the Center for Terrorism Law at St. Mary's University School of Law
October 16, 2009 ·The World Affairs Council of San Antonio invited Jeffrey F. Addicott, distinguished Professor of Law and the Director
of the Center for Terrorism Law at St. Mary's University School of Law, to speak to their members and guests. He spoke on October 8, 2009 at the San Antonio Country Club. Addicott says that out of the 200 law schools across the country, the School of Law at St. Mary's University is the only one with a terrorism law center. Professor Addicott is an internationally recognized authority on national security law, terrorism law and human rights law. Nancy Shivers,
World Affairs Council of San Antonio Vice-President of Programs introduces Jeffrey Addicott.
2009 Austin-San Antonio Corridor Growth Summit
October 9, 2009 ·Mary Peters, former Transportation Secretary under President George W. Bush, was the luncheon keynote speaker at the 2009 Austin-San Antonio Corridor Growth Summit. The summit was held at the Embassy Suites in San Marcos on October 2, 2009 and hosted by Austin and San Antonio Business Journals. The focus of this year's summit was transportation. It is one of the biggest factors to the corridor's success moving commerce and people along IH 35, as the region continues to grow. Introducing Secretary Peters is Joe Krier, former President of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, now with the law firm of Bracewell and Guilliani.
Gustavo Arellano of "Ask A Mexican"
October 9, 2009 ·Gustavo Arellano is the author of the column "Ask A Mexican", which appears in San Antonio's alternative newsweekly, the San Antonio Current. He is also a staff writer with the O.C. Weekly, an alternative weekly in Orange County, California. He is also a contributing editor to the Los Angeles Times, he's appeared on the Today Show, Nightline, The Situation with Tucker Gibson and the Colbert Report. In 2006, he won the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies award for best column in a large circulation weekly. Arellano says he'll mow lawns for $15, $10 if he gets a water break. Texas Public Radio's Ernie Villarreal spoke with Arellano at a reception held for him by the San Antonio Current in September.
The Newsmaker Hour features speakers addressing local and national organizations on a variety of topics and current events. Local organizations regularly featured include the World Affairs Council of San Antonio, the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Free Trade Alliance San Antoino. Speakers addressing students and the community at local colleges and universities are also featured. The City Club of Cleveland is also featured regularly. The Newsmaker Hour is produced by Texas Public Radio's Ernie Villarreal.