Zane Hartman visits with Lamar, a black Lab puppy, at the Austin Humane Society.

I visited two pet adoption drives this past weekend. At both events, one at the Austin Humane Society  and the other at Austin Pets Alive,  I saw many people visiting the animals, caring for them, and adopting them.  Austin is definitely a pet friendly city. At both places, the workers, who are so dedicated to their cause to find these dogs and cats good homes, stressed the need to take special care of our pets at home during this exceptional heat wave in central Texas. If your pet does not stay inside your home, here are some tips to secure their well being during the day:

1. Provide some shade or cool area out of the sun

2. Make sure your pet has plenty of water to drink

3. Provide a small wading pool with water to cool off in, even freezing a jug ice to insert in the pool 

4. Avoid exercise during midday, best early or late in the day

5. Never leave pet alone in a parked car

Melissa Miller with Austin Pets Alive thinks the heat has definitely played a part in renewing interest in pet adoption recently. Concerned Austinites want to make sure pets are finding their way in to air conditioned homes, and staying out from under triple digit temperatures. The free adoption fees during the drives does not hurt either.

Check out the City of Austin Town Lake Animal Center’s Pet Tips here.

Check out KXAN’s coverage of the Austin Pets Alive adoption drive here on our YouTube channel.



 

(The Texas 4000 riders participate in the Ride Dedication Circle on the UT campus Friday morning. )

The longest charity ride in the world took off from the University of  Texas campus Friday morning.  The Texas 4000 ride  includes 45 bike riders committed to raising funds to fight cancer and raise awareness by making the long trek from Texas to Alaska. With a  police escort, they made their way through downtown Austin making stops at Livestrong headquarters, and Jack and Adam’s Bicycles shop. These young people are really inspiring as they accept the challenge of a 70 day ride without really knowing what lies ahead. As they prepared for the mental and physical challenge, they engaged in a Ride Dedication Circle, pictured above. Trading stories about why they are doing what they are doing and sharing their individual inspirations. Almost everyone of them without fault had someone close to them who had been impacted by cancer. I wish them all the best on their journey and hope their summer ride is safe and successful. Watch their story tonight on KXAN Austin News at  6pm with Jim Swift.

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/texas-4000-rides-again?ref=scroller&categoryId=20000&status=true

Gary Lavergne has written a book about Hemann Sweatt. (Ed Zavala/KXAN)

Tonight at 10pm, Jim Swift revisits the story of  Heman Marion Sweatt, the civil rights pioneer who opened the doors of the U.T. School of  Law to African-Americans in 1950.  I was present when we interviewed Gary Lavergne, a director of admissions at U.T. and the author of a recent book on the Sweatt saga, Before Brown.  The story comes in advance of the 25th Heman Marion Sweatt Symposium which starts Thursday, January 27th at the University of Texas. I have known about Mr. Sweatt for a few years now and of his importance to the civil rights crusade and of his Austin ties.  I remember covering the renaming of the county courthouse to the Heman Marion Sweatt Travis County Courthouse back in 2005.  What I did not know and found an interesting  factoid was that a house off 12th Street on San Bernard hosted Sweatt and his attorney,  ThurgoodMarshall, as they planned their strategy to take on the constitutionality of segregation all those years ago. Marshall of course went on to be a distinguished U.S. Supreme Court justice.  In retrospect, their meeting was a momentous occasion indeed, all done in a quaint, unassuming, wood-framed house in east Austin. I have driven all over this city covering news and I’m sure I’ve driven past this home more than a few times. Just goes to show that you never know where history lies. Catch the full story online now and the televised version tonight at 10pm on Austin News.

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/education/ut-celebrates-law-school-integration

We had a good turnout for the station’s first chili cook-off earlier this week. The weather cooperated with mild Fall temps so the sales parking lot was full with hungry onlookers. 15 entries were a lot of chili crock pots to wade through and to judge, but our tasters did fine. There was just a general sense of goodwill all around I think. It had been a while since we had all grouped together like this, outside of a regular staff meeting, so I believe everyone was looking forward to it. I know I was. An added bonus was that many of my fellow news photographers were able to take part. Early shoots, editing stints, and the perfectly time lunch break cooperated to give us a rare chance to eat together and enjoy each other’s company. Good times for sure.  Now, if we could only exchange all those recipes…

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  Dr. Faraz Kerendi examines heart patient, Richard Clark. (Ed Zavala/KXAN)

Capturing the Blue Lapis Light dance group in downtown Austin. (Ed Zavala/KXAN)

I look forward to shooting with KXAN reporter, Jim Swift,  from time to time because he so often spotlights the Austin arts community. Live music, community theater, new artists and photographers, artisans in craft work from knitting to glass, Jim has done it all. And I have been lucky enough to help him shoot his profiles occasionally. Wednesday saw us head to one of my favorite venues, the Long Center at Auditorium Shores. There, we were treated to a behind the scenes look at the Blue Lapis Light dance group’s latest production, One. It was hot at midday in downtown Austin. The breeze off  Ladybird Lake was welcome, especially with the random rain falling and making it more humid than it needed to be while we walked all over the Long Center’s Plaza. I followed Jim with the boom mic getting crisp audio of the music playing from the company’s MP3 player. For the majority of our shoot, maybe an hour, dark  clouds hung overhead and it seemed to work to set the mood for the company’s rehearsal. The long, flowing silks that descended from the familiar Long Center ring of columns billowed in the wind. The hanging silks were an odd contrast to the rope and steel harnesses needed to complete this aerial dance. It worked…boy, did it work.  The combination of the music and the graceful dancers going through their carefully choreographed moves was calming and beautiful…even in the harsh light of day with the din of construction and traffic giving no quarter.  I was impressed at how beautiful the sneek peek turned out to be, and I can only imagine how impressive the full effect will be at night with all the proper lighting and dress! I felt good about my morning shoot when I returned to the television station later that day. I was reminded why I still enjoy doing what I do and why I love living in Austin.   The Blue Lapis Light production of One runs at the Long Center from September 27 through October 3. Look for Jim Swift’s story previewing this latest production on Thursday evening. For more information, go to the following links:

http://www.bluelapislight.org/

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/Austin_music_community_mourns_Marsh