With our network of signals, Sun Radio covers a lot of school districts, the largest of which – at 75,000 students – is the Austin Independent School District. This week on the Sun Radio Regional Report, Kevin Connor talks with AISD’s Eduardo Villa about the first week of school with a mask mandate in place and about a new federally-funded program that enables all students to enjoy a free lunch. (Image courtesy of...
Just a few blocks south of the new Sun Radio studios in South Austin is the Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center, a place that serves as a bridge from the streets to a home for people in Travis County. This week on The Sun Radio Regional Report, Kevin Connor talks with Mark Hilbelink, Lead Pastor and Director at Sunrise, about the services they provide and the homelessness situation in general here in Central...
The Musician Treatment Foundation helps to heal musicians suffering from the kind of repetitive stress injuries that make it harder, if not impossible, to practice their craft, including injuries to the shoulder, elbow and hand. Founded by Dr. O. Alton Barron in October of 2017, the non-profit MTF has already provided more than a million dollars worth of surgical and non-surgical care to area musicians. On the latest episode of the Sun Radio Regional Report, Kevin Connor talks with Dr....
This week on the Sun Radio Regional Report, Kevin Connor talks with Rowena Houghton Dasch, Executive Director at the Neill-Cochran House Museum in UT’s West Campus area. But the home predates the university by almost 30 years. It was out in the country when completed in 1856, constructed by skilled craftsmen who were also slaves. The topic of pre-Civil War race relations is addressed in the program, If These Walls Could Talk, which resumes when the museum reopens under appropriate safety...
Austin’s Shinyribs has released a timely, topical and terrific tune called, “Stay Home” (see below!) As Shinyribs frontman Kevin Russell says, “In situations like this, panic naturally ensues when daily routines are unprecedentedly interrupted. This is a lighthearted message but an important one. You don’t need more toilet paper. You don’t need to hoard supplies and food. You just need to stay put. This time is tough on all of us, but with everyone’s cooperation, we can slow the...
Homelessness has been such a hot-button issue around here this year. Everyone has an opinion, but few take action. Kevin Connor talks with someone who, for years, has actually been working quite effectively to help the homeless in Austin, Alan Graham. Alan runs Mobile Loaves and Fishes and Community First!, a growing master-planned community of formerly homeless people living and working east of Austin. Find out what Alan believes is the leading cause of homelessness and who he thinks should...
Downtown Austin’s Hike-and-Bike Trail got a workout the past couple of weeks. Usage of the trail increases by more than 300% during the weekends of ACL. That’s one of the things Kevin Connor learned during his conversation with Heidi Anderson, Executive Director of The Trail Foundation. Since 2003, the mission of TTF has been to protect, enhance, and connect the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail at Lady Bird Lake for the benefit of all. TTF contributes millions of dollars...
Homelessness has become a hot button issue in Austin since the city council rescinded aspects of the camping ban. There are people who are working to improve the lives of the homeless every day of the year. This week on the Sun Radio Regional Report, Kevin Connor toured the ARCH, the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless, which is operated by Front Steps, a non-profit organization under the direction of Greg McCormack. Find out about the services that Front Steps...
This week on The Sun Radio Regional Report Kevin Connor talks with director Jeff Sandman and club owner Joe Ables about Nothing Stays the Same: The Story of the Saxon Pub, which screens this weekend at the Alamo South Lamar. The film addresses the issue of affordability for neighborhood music venues (and the musicians who play in them) in today’s boomtown economy. When filming began, the Saxon was faced with rising rent and having to relocate further south. And then...
