editorial 3

arm debate raises issues of race, class

   In the now-closed Austin dialogue about whether slaughterhouses should be allowed to operate in single-family neighborhoods, there was a rush to find refuge in euphemisms.    That particular conversation closed with a common-sense City Council vote to ban slaughtering in single-family neighborhoods — among other restrictions. The tenor and tone of the discussion did not comport well with the city’s carefully cultivated and cherished image of itself as one that fiercely protects its neighborhoods and embraces tolerance.    There was an unmistakable undercurrent of race and class issues that the city has trouble confronting directly; thus the search for semantic refuge.    Saying that animals are “processed” sounds a lot better than saying the city would allow animals to be slaughtered commercially in a residential neighborhood. Growing “sustainable food” sounds downright noble — much better than saying urban farmers engage in commerce. They grow products in order to sell them. Commerce is the lifeblood of any community, but restrictions on where that commerce is conducted usually apply.    It should not be lost on anyone that the urban farms seeking city approval to expand their activities were all located east of the interstate and in low-income neighborhoods. An ordinance passed in 2000 allows urban farms. And an interpretation of the ordinance by the city staff technically allowed slaughterhouses in any city neighborhood.    Only a fool would believe that residents in Tarrytown, Bouldin Creek or Allandale would allow a commercial slaughterhouse operation and the composting of animal remains anywhere in their neighborhoods.    It was a point opponents raised, but advocates countered that the soil was better — and thus more conducive to home-scale agribusiness — to the east. It was a counterpoint that conveniently used geography to tiptoe around demographic reality. People in poorer neighborhoods don’t have the economic and political resources enjoyed by those who reside in more affluent areas.    So, watching this debate unfold was Austin political theater at its best. Much sound and fury, righteous indignation and only an occasional concession to the struggle to determine which of two competing factions has the political muscle to influence a council outcome.    Had the urban farm interests not tried to push their envelope so aggressively in seeking to operate slaughtering and composting, the peaceful co-existence with their neighbors might have continued. We noted in previous editorials that we get the desire for locally produced fresh food. However, we shared the neighborhood’s objection to allowing commercial slaughterhouse operations in neighborhoods zoned for single-family residences.    The council’s vote last week was a vote to protect not only those low-income neighborhoods east of the interstate but a reaffirmation of its stated commitment to protect neighborhood integrity.    The process that led to the proposed ordinance recommended by the city’s planning commission was flawed and, despite protestations to the contrary, not inclusive.    Frankly, the council’s concurrence with the neighborhoods was something of a surprise. The city offered mediation to the two sides, and they agreed but failed to reach a compromise, raising the stakes for the Thursday vote.    The urban farm interests rallied an impressive show of support at the council meeting on Thursday, but in the end the council sided with the neighborhoods.    The vote ended this chapter, but there will be other disputes as demands for property for housing and businesses continues to turn east, where the land is not only tillable but cheap. Gentrification disputes have been an ongoing source of friction for longtime residents of Hispanic and African-American neighborhoods for the past 20 years. That tension raises the price of growth.    The city is growing, and we should all hope it matures as it grows. Growing up means confronting issues associated with growth squarely and talking about them directly.    Next time maybe we will, but don’t put a big bet on it. Austin has found a comfortable refuge in its euphemisms.

The Austin City Council voted not to allow chickens and other animals to be slaughtered commercially in residential neighborhoods. 

 

the statement of evidence is explain

editorial 2

thanksgiving transcends generations and cultures

   One extended family. Four generations. Four nationalities. Two friends. One disability, and an age range of 3 to 88 characterized those assembled to celebrate Thanksgiving at the Sanchez house last year.    In short, we were the quintessential embodiment of the traditional celebration of the centuries-old American holiday.    My husband, Hector, hails from Puerto Rico (of course I know he’s American, but hey, according to the rules of international sports, Puerto Rico is a country), my cousin-in-law from South Africa, one friend from Mexico, and the rest of us from various parts of the U.S. My oldest daughter has Down syndrome.    The jobs those assembled have held include full-time mother, business owner, college professor, executive director of the Dallas Bar Association, teacher, sales representative, construction worker, fast-food employee, attorney, librarian and engineer. In short, we were a diverse group.    Case in point, we had both delicious cornbread giblet stuffing to appeal to the Southerners as well as yucky (exposure to other traditions does not always translate into acquiring a taste for their food) sausage stuffing to appeal to the Northerners.    In defiance of my-side-of-the-family’s convention of artful turkey carving, Hector demonstrated his family’s preference for efficiency over form and hacked the bird to bits. As he began his assault, the spectacle began to draw a crowd who witnessed it with varying levels of horror and hilarity. My grandmother still laughs about it.    Although family gatherings generate a good amount of stress and earn their fair share of scorn in popular culture, they also convey great benefit. They offer an opportunity to practice tact and diplomacy, as well as to overlook human idiosyncrasies.    They offer the opportunity to network—to learn about Australia from the aunt who just visited or to figure out what to do about a misbehaving car from the auto enthusiast.    They offer youngsters the opportunity to see history come alive. I certainly took a greater interest in World War II in high school because my grandfather told the stories of his close calls while being a pilot and wing commander of a B-17 bombing squadron flying missions over Germany (such as the time he turned the radio back on because of a gut feeling— even though they were supposed to be silent— just in time to hear his tail gunner shouting “Dive, dive.” Because he did, he and his crew survived that mission.)    But holidays not only give us a connection to world history but also give us a connection to family history, and consequently, a better understanding of who we are. They cement our identity, creating a web of interconnected people with whom we share a story.    At Thanksgiving, young children hear stories from grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts and uncles that add the color commentary to their family history.    The news, however, flows both ways. The octogenarian gets to learn about Taylor Swift and the newest smartphone app, while the teenager gets to learn about Big Band music and party-line phones.    Counterintuitively, by interacting with the micro group that is family, we broaden our experience of the larger world.    The glass-half-empty side of Thanksgiving is the long lines at the airport, the congested interstate highways and the jacked-up prices for plane tickets. What fills the glass is millions of Americans, jumping through hoops, exerting time, energy and money to be with family. And for that we should be grateful.    Family remains the touchstone for millions of us. We might be pulled far from our family the rest of the year, either through geographic distance or the busy pace of daily life, but the fact remains that we will go to great lengths to reconnect with them.    Each gathering in turn contributes to the family lore. Although children might enjoy hearing about something nutty their mom did when she was little, they might also like to tell their own story of Thanksgivings past, such as the year Papi hacked the turkey to pieces.    A day dedicated to gratitude befits a country with so much for which to be thankful.    The effort millions of Americans make to be with their loved ones reflects the fact that for many of us, our family is the root of those blessings. 

the statement of evidence is entertainment :the spectacle began to draw a crowd who witnessed it with varying levels of horror and hilarity

i dont really agree with this statement. its more of just telling a story. it doesnt really fit into anything.

editorial-Warn

Hey, kids: Drop the pie. Get moving.

   Now that the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers are being finished off and attention has turned toward Christmas and its own form of holiday gluttony, let’s pause for a moment to consider our physical fitness, or specifically our children’s physical fitness.    Our kids might be able to do many things we could never do as a child, and they definitely have entertainment options we couldn’t imagine back in the day, but one thing they probably can’t do is run a mile faster than we could run one when we were their age. On average, our increasingly sedentary little angels are much less fit than we were.    That’s the troubling word out of the American Heart Association’s annual conference, held in Dallas last week. An analysis of 50 studies conducted over 46 years found that it takes today’s kids 90 seconds longer to run a mile than their counterparts 30 years ago.    It’s not surprising to hear that American children are less fit than American kids once were, given the rise in childhood obesity rates in the United States. It is harder to run when one is overweight or to do another endurance-building, aerobic exercise like cycling or swimming. Researchers who conducted the analysis said kids’ increased weight and body fat explains up to 60 percent or more of the declines seen in children’s fitness over the past few decades.    The new analysis was led by Grant Tomkinson, an exercise physiologist at the University of South Australia. He and his team looked at data collected from 1964 to 2010 on 25 million children ages 9 to 17 in 28 countries. The studies focused on children’s running times and endurance, which are good measures of cardiovascular health. It’s no comfort knowing that it’s not just the fitness of American kids that has declined over the decades, but the fitness of kids worldwide: 20 million of the 25 million children in the studies were from Asia, and particularly sharp drops in fitness were noted in China.    In addition to rising obesity rates, the reasons that explain why children worldwide are slower and less fit than an earlier generation of children are familiar to Americans. Too much time is spent watching television, using electronic devices and playing video games. Suburbanization encourages the use of cars rather than encouraging people to walk or bike. And schools are placing less emphasis on physical education.    In the United States, health experts say children 6 and older should get 60 minutes of moderately vigorous exercise or active play a day, something only about a third of American kids currently get. Children used to get a good chunk of their much-needed exercise time at school, but not so much anymore. The Austin school district, for example, requires its students to take physical education, but the requirement is not a daily one.    Children who are aerobically fit are more likely to score higher on standardized tests, studies show, and to be fit as adults. Being unfit as an adult leads to serious health problems like heart attacks or diabetes and contributes to rising health care costs for everyone.    How much more schools could do to encourage fitness is limited by budget cuts and an always tightening focus on testing and academic achievement. The fact is, there is no more sedentary a role model for kids than their parents. Children may have been more fit 30 years ago, but many of those children have grown up to be physically unfit adults.    Granted, the modern world demands sedentary people who sit for eight to 10 hours a day staring at a computer screen. Several studies have pointed out the health risks associated with sitting for hours at a time, even for the very fit.    These studies offer no solution, only a conundrum: Sit and endanger your health; don’t sit and endanger your job and bank account.    There are societal and educational solutions to be found for achieving a more fit world, but the simplest solution always will be an individual one. There is more time to exercise than many of us think. Turn off the electronics and television. Lace up the shoes. And encourage the kids to do the same.

Participants in the Marathon Kids physical fitness program in 2012 celebrate the final mile at the Burger Center. Today’s children are substantially less fit than their counterparts were 30 years ago, according to a major new study of 25 million children in 28 countries. 

statement of evidence:50 studies conducted over 46 years found that it takes today’s kids 90 seconds longer to run a mile than their counterparts 30 years ago.

i agree with this statement. kids should get some exercise instead of sitting around all day.
sheltering yourself can lead to psycological damage as well

national listening day

my favorite story was the one about growing up in harlem in the 1970s
it was about a kid and his mom being very poor and the kid would hustle people to get money and his mom would work 2 jobs but it all paid off

opinion notes

a column expreses the personal viewpoints of an individual
includes research and facts
should be fair and accurate in the information they use
includes point of view on subjects
news colums: focus on a recent news event
Profile columns: focus on an outstanding individual
fashion and fad columns:focus on trends
club columns: focus on activities of campus clubs
newsmaker columns: highlight prominent students, teachers and administrators

Do:
vary your subject
look for oddities
use an offbeat style
keep it sort and to the point
admit when you make a mistake
have a genuine interest in your readers write for your readers instead of yourself

Donts:
embaress anyone without a real reason
assume that you always know best
claim all the credit
overuse the word I
assume that your ideas and experiences are always fascinating to others
hesitate to give both sides of the story

news ethics

layers of lies were layed down like blankets is what i was getting out of that video, the reporter was making interesting stories that were fake and making him go deeper into the ocean of lies he had created to make a story popular. the lies the reporter was telling got to much and he was cuaght by his superior at his job.

Current events

HEADLINE OF ARTICLE:Idling buses, cars outside schools dangerous

NAME OF PUBLICATION:

NAME OF WRITER:Mark Wert

DATE PUBLISHED:November 4th 2013

WHO:school students

WHAT:dirty air from buses and cars

WHEN:when they are going into school

WHERE:schools

HOW:exaust from cars and buses

WHY:particles damage lungs

Using Quotes Notes

if a source expresses opinion, use a quotation
 a major or complex story needs more than one quoted source

information that contains facts should normally be used as unquoted material
make sure the speaker of all quotations is properly identified use said as the verb to attribute the quote

direct quotes
the exact word for word account of what a source said enclosed in quotation marks and attributed to source

indirect quotes
a summary of what the speaker said reworded by the reporter

partial quotes

a combination of a adirect quotation and a paraphrase

fragmentary quotes
a single word or short phrase used by a source that is included in  a paraphrase enclosed in quotation marks and attributed to the source

use direct quotations to express a speakers unique point of view personality or manner of speaking
usin idirect quotes when you need to rephrase what the speaker said to make it more clear to the reader

use partial quotes to make colorful or memorable words stand out but overuse can make writing seem jumpy and too cute

Tyler Hamilton Interview

1.It was an interrogation, the reason for the interview was to get answers about lance and tyler

2.maybe he feels guilty for letting his teammates and himself get away with using performance enhancers

3.some of them are more hostile towards lance armstrong, but other than that no

4.The interviewer does put pressure on hamilton, so yes

5.by asking an open ended question then a follow up question

6. "I remember one time, after a race, he offered me a drop of oil"
the oil that he is talking about is testosterone

Arnold swarzchenegger interview

1.were you afraid maria would leave you while you were governer?

2.do you take care of your child?

3.how did you feel about this?

4.when did maria find out it was your child?

5.would you do it again?

6.he appears uncomfotable, he studders alot and has really long explanations for his answers

Practice Interview Questions

Barack Obama-When do you think another government shutdown will occur?
Daniel Girard-Why did you make teachers work through their lunch periods at bel air?
Adolph Hitler-Why do you want to kill jews?
Tyler Hamilton-What made you want to be a cyclist?
Lance Armstrong-When did you start using performance enhancers?


Barack Obama-has NSA surveillance ended?
Daniel Girard-do you like akins high school?
Adolph Hitler-would you take back what you did?
Tyler Hamilton-have you ever used perfomance enhancers?
Lance Armstrong-do you still cycle?

types of question

closed ended question: a question that allows the interviewee to answer with a yes no or one word answer
open ended question: a question that forces the interviewee to answer with more than a yes-no answer
follow up question: a question that originates from listening to something the interviewee says

Akins eagle eye evaluation

for the first time Akins will begin offering a park ranger internship program this year

what:Akins, Park ranger internship
who:students
why:so students could have jobs
when: this year
where:akins high school
how:major in environmental science
5.one sentence is in the lead
6.the lead is interesting
7.i want to read more of the story because i want to be a park ranger
8.this is the first year akins is offering this
9. no there was no personal opinion in the story

60 minutes

the name of the interview subject is the 9/11 museum

this is know because of the terrorist attack on the twin towers

"people need to know the whole story"

should the museum display everything they have?

 i learned the flight paths of the planes that hit

Lead Writing

Thirteen year old boy causes head on collision with elderly couple today while driving  the wrong way on the road.

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