A big thank you to Dr. Leonard Moore, Vice-President, UT Diversity & Community Engagement, for his keynote address: “The Dream Realized”, at our 2009 MLK Day of Service, and for this inspiring interview about taking the time to mentor, and what giving back to our community means to him.

State Representative Dawnna Dukes, one of the speakers at our 2009 MLK Day of Service, talks about the history of the annual MLK Boulevard Cleanup, and why it was started. Representative Dukes also shares with us her thoughts on why community service is so important, and what this historic week means to her.

February 11 was National 211 Day. We caught up with Beth Wick, Program Manager of 211 Texas Information and Referral Network, which is under the Health and Human Services Commission of Texas. She told us a little bit about what 211 does in a disaster, the most recent example being Hurricane Ike, and also shared how 211 helps the community in the current economic crisis, and gave a great explanation of how 211 Texas and a local call center, like United Way Capital Area’s 2-1-1 in Central Texas, partner together to provide information and referral services.

Ray Benson and Willie Nelson were at the station recording the first episode of Austin City Limits’ 35th season. They were playing songs off of the album Willie and the Wheel. We were lucky enough to ask Willie and Ray a few questions for an upcoming docublog about medical marijuana, and they were kind enough to do a shout out for the show. Look for their interview in the new season of Docubloggers premiering this April! And catch up on our stories and past episodes on this site and on our YouTube channel.

New Years Eve Artwork on Town Lake.   The Artwork was made by Community Art Makers.

Film by Angela Wallace

One of the reasons I choose to live in Austin is I have the opportunity to work in television and in a community that is creatively active in the entertainment industry ie: film, television, and video games. And an added bonus is this town doesn’t carry the same crazy fast pace as Hollywood.  (more…)