While The Good Life was first published in October 1997, our archives begin in January 2002 with one feature article per issue. We currently post the issues in their entirety and are working on updating the archives to include the whole issue beginning in January 2006.
Archives 2002
December
2002
Blind
Ambition
Before losing her sight in 1993, Lisa Fittipaldi had never painted
anything. Today, when she's
not traveling abroad or in the United States to demonstrate
her painting technique or address audiences, Fittipaldi is at
her easel eight to ten hours a day, producing works that sell
for thousands. by Diana Erbio
November
2002 Fun
Fall Festivals
The fine fall weather makes you want to go out, have fun,
and get into the holidays. by Ken Martin
October
2002 Waiting
to Inhale
Maybe you haven't heard, but Austin's air quality is not all
that great. We're not just talking about the haze that seems
to hang over the city more and more these days. The main culprit
is called ozone. State and local government agencies and some
private companies have been trying to fix the problem, but
more needs to be done, much more. A Special Report by Ken Martin
September
2002
Community
Radio
In a world increasingly dominated by media mergers that put
control of our airwaves in the hands fewer and fewer major corporations,
Austin's community radio stations are more important than ever.
KOOP-FM 91.7, KVRX-FM 91.7, and KAZI-FM 88.7 give voice to the
voiceless. These stations are local treasures, reflecting the
diversity and flavor of Austin. by John PIpkin
August
2002 Beyond
Limits
In 1967, when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Public
Broadcasting Act into law, the recommendation to establish a
separate trust fund to finance the system was not enacted. The
result has been a system of federal funding that keeps public
broadcasting at the mercy of prevailing political winds. Nevertheless,
Austin's locally owned, nonprofit KLRU-TV has been able to survive
for forty years. KLRU not only airs programs purchased from
the Public Broadcasting Service but also produces high-quality
programs in-house, including the national treasure, Austin City
Limits. Station managers are now working to meet the May 2003
deadline to begin digital broadcasting. Meanwhile, they are
studying how to serve the region even better, to move KLRU-TV
beyond limits. by Ken Martin July
2002
The
Life & Death of Barton Springs
David Frederick promised that no species would go extinct
on his watch as Austin field supervisor for the US Fish and
Wildlife Service. He sifted through the scientific evidence
of what's happening to the Barton Springs salamander and concluded
that bold new protective measures were needed. He butted heads
with the uncooperative US Environmental Protection Agency
and lost. In military parlance, he's been relieved of command,
yanked out of the front lines and sent to a desk job at regional
headquarters in Albuquerque. His regional director got the
boot even sooner. Federal judges have ruled in the past that
political interference was overriding the intent of the Endangered
Species Act, to the detriment of the salamander. From all
appearances, politics are still overruling good judgment.
If we don't get our act together, it won't be long before
the last salamander has croaked from the pollution caused
by development over the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards
Aquifer, and Barton Springs Pool will be renamed Barton Springs
Cesspool. And the 50,000 people who depend on the aquifer
for drinking water will find out it's unsafe to turn on the
tap. A Special Report: by Ken Martin
June 2002
Woman
with a Mission
Singer-songwriter Sara Hickman fronted her first band at age
ten, landed her first paying gig at age fourteen, and put out
her first recording in 1989. She soon signed with a major record
label and played on national television shows. When the major
label deal soured she took control of her destiny and flowered
into not only a savvy businesswoman but a respected community
activist. by Patrick Cosgrove
May 2002 Bringing
Order to Chaos
As medical director of the Austin/Travis County Emergency
Medical Services System, Ed Racht, MD, oversees the quality
of medical care given by some seventeen hundred providers.
It's a tremendous responsibility, but by all accounts Racht
is one reason that the system is a model, cited among the
five best EMS systems in the United States. While he's a practical
joker by nature, when it comes to taking care of folks in
need, Racht is all business. Come along. Take a ride with
the top doc as he hits the streets on a rainy night. by Karen Leach
April 2002 Bravo,
Toni Bravo
She may be the hardest working and most prolific dance-maker
in Austin. But to Toni Bravo, it's not labor. It's love. Despite
detractors who think that her dance style does not sufficiently
honor her Mexican roots, and a public arts funding bureaucracy
that seems, to some artists at least, to be about almost anything
but the art itself, Toni Bravo forges ahead. Whether teaching
immigrant first-graders or working with fellow professionals
on new works, Bravo finds satisfaction that can't be summed
up on a financial balance sheet. If you're never seen her dance,
keep your eye out for future performances. by Shermakaye Bass
March 2002 Who
We Are
Chances are you think you know what Austin's all about. Chances
are you're wrong, unless you've studied the vital statistics.
Why are middle-class blacks abandoning the city? Who's filling
the houses they left behind? Why is Austin's Asian population
skyrocketing, while neighboring metropolis San Antonio sees
no Asian influx? How did more than 100,000 people wind up in
poverty? by Ken Martin
February
2002 Fighting
Eviction
No doubt about it. Council Members Jackie Goodman, Beverly
Griffith and Daryl Slusher are in a tight spot. Eight years
ago, Austin voters okayed term limits. We said you can serve
our city six years. Then it's thank you, good-bye. Unless
you really want a chance to get reelected again. In that case,
get more than 21,000 signatures from registered Austin voters.
Then we'll put your name on the ballot again. If your signatures
pass inspection. by Ken Martin
Campaign Finance II
Until 1997, Austin's small town politics was big business
in election season. The business community ponied up hundreds
of thousands of dollars to elect biz-friendly candidates.
Their opponents mooched crumbs from the political equivalent
of bake sales, and Rock-'n'-roller Don Henley occasionally
favored an underdog with a mega-check to even things out a
bit. Reformers put up a system that works better. But it's
flawed. Reformers are back with a new plan: Partial public
funding for qualified candidates. It'll be on the ballot May
4. by Ken Martin
Rewriting the Charter
Our City Charter is powerful. Crucial changes are on the table:
how we run our electric utility, the cash cow that keeps property
taxes low; who gets to okay new debt; how we elect our leaders;
how long they can serve; who pays for candidate campaigns;
who supervises the new police monitor. Important stuff! by Ken Martin
January
2002
Gwen
Crider
The executive director of the Austin Children's Museum is nearly
half way through her initial two-year contract. With the blessing
and backing of the Museum's board of directors, big changes
are in store for the facility that educated and entertained
some two hundred thousand visitors last year. The new initiatives
are all part of Gwen Crider's vision: "Our goal is to be
the most all-out absolutely phenomenal children's museum, bar
none!" With Crider's three years experience at the Smithsonian
national Ait and Space Museum and four years as president of
Atlanta's SciTrek Museum, this tall order just might be filled-which
would be terrific news for the families of Central Texas. by Shernakaye Bass
