News

It was on a Summer morning in Mexico City that I heard the sad news of the passing of Herbert von Karajan. The notice was on the radio as I drove over to the Sala Nezahualcoytl, on the campus of Mexico's National University. I was on my way to play a matinee concert with the Orquesta de la Mineria.

Once I arrived, I immediately went to the dressing room of the conductor, Luis Herrera de la Fuente, to relate the bad news. He was alarmed. "Are you sure?" he asked. "I'm afraid so, Maestro," I replied.

A Special Court Martial begins today for another military training instructor at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland.  This is the sixth trial, which begins  as two more cases are revealed.

Staff Sgt. Christopher Jackson is charged with engaging in unprofessional relationships with two technical training students, and of obstruction of justice -- both violations of Air Force policy.

However, Joint Base San Antonio spokesman Brent Boller said a significant majority of the allegations are not for sexual assault -- as was the case in the other courts-martial.

Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan could face a more critical type of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of multiple deployments, and one noted psychiatrist and specialist on PTSD fears an increase of sufferers among today’s veterans.

Dr. Harry Croft literally wrote the book on PTSD among veterans. In his book titled, “I Always Sit with My Back to the Wall,” Croft outlines a seven-step program to recover from PTSD.

Only a year and a half after joining the ranks of the San Antonio Police Department, comrades gathered on a cold January morning to say goodbye to Officer Edrees Mukhtar.

For Police Chief William McManus, the final farewell to a fallen officer never gets easier.

"Very sad morning, very sad event,” he said. “It's nothing you ever, ever get used to."

Born in Afghanistan, McManus said Mukhtar came to the United States at a young age and lived in New York.

World record playing "Flight of the Bumblebee" on the Giant Tuba by Joerg Wachsmuth with Dresden Phil on Dec 31,2012. Don't want to be stung by this thing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HJDUp2PlT2s

The last year saw the rise of the Latino vote in the 2012 election and San Antonio local "Marathon Maniac" Larry Macon break the World Record for marathons in a year -- he finished with 157. So what will happen in 2013?

For many people the new year means a new start, and with it another chance to change.

"All women [want] to lose weight is my first one [resolution]" said Sandra Orendain, a native of Mexico and San Antonio resident. "And the second one is to be healthy and to do more exercises."

I suppose it is because I have largely made my living these past 20 years with my voice -- though certainly not as a singer -- that I have come to value the sound of a voice and what it reveals; both when the voice is alive, and perhaps more importantly, when that speaker is no longer with us.