Let's bring up the Austin bag ban and then get on with our lives

          As a young student I have many fellow peers who work in the retail biz and I swear to God, the stories I hear. So, in dedication to all my friends who spend hours in stores helping and listening to customers needs, I'm going to dish on the plastic bag ban in Austin. According to these employees, being forced to listen to every single comment or perspective of this very abrupt ban is like hanging out in the bird section of a Petsmart. Most of the what these people hear are either upset nagging about a 'huge' inconvenience, or loud praising about how Austin is saving the world. So basically a ton of loud squawking at someone who hears the same thing over and ever. Anyhow, I thought this would provide a wonderful opportunity to read into the ban and on some of the conclusions drawn from it.

          I stumbled upon a particular commentary Bag the Bans by Dustin Matocha and was very interested by the writing. Before diving in, the bag ban was approved by the Austin City Council and is another city in Texas to possess a ban on plastic and/or paper handleless bags (the first being Brownsville). This ban went into action on March 1st and has already ruffled some feathers, queue the blog by Mr. Matocha. A very conservative, right leaning blog gave me the quick and dirty on the ban by me simply reading the title. Matocha takes no time at all to introduce the ban as an a veil of conservation and waste management to limit liberties for both businesses and consumers. The writer provides a picture of a reckless city council who didn't let the public vote and ignored 'negative consequences', then introduces Republican State Rep. Drew Springer who filed HB2416 which would invalidate the ban on bags. The bill is pending, and the leftist are described as using 'local control' as a justification.

          While very conservative and very against the bag ban for the sake of our rights, I can understand the shock of a city as large as Austin getting rid of helpful and useful bags in an impromptu fashion. Matocha is merely a social media coordinator for Empower Texans, and I'm sure this ban bothers lots of businesses and customers, however at the end of the day this ban is something that is not a crippling handicap that the city can't overcome or deal with. Austin is a fairly environmentally friendly city and from most of my friends, people think the change is good even if it does require remembering to bring a reusable bag everywhere with them. Short story: Austin is choosing to try to give what lots of people in Austin want, litter control. Storter story: ban on bags isn't a very big deal and we'll see if this works in the long run for everyone.

The Plight of Mental Illness Sufferers

Mental illness can be an uncomfortable front for us to deal with and in our local community we are having to constantly face the consequences that our lack support for sufferers hands us. Ligon's working toward a stronger mental health system is a great commentary on our fellow citizens in Texas who are battling the poor system we have in place for the mentally ill. My mother is a TA for the Autism unit at an elementary school, and because of the conglomeration of some of the schools programs she also tends to the children who have severe behavior management. Some of her students in the past and present are dependent on medication and have difficulty behaving appropriately in class. Unfortunately in many cases, several students of hers between the ages of 7 to 13 have been admitted to the Austin State Mental Hospital. Upon reading this commentary I felt as though the renovations that Ligon called on for the system hit close to home as she argues for a more diligent mental health system with tighter preventative measures. By changing our attitude from condemning to caring, providing the opportunity for assessment and treatment, and expanding medicaid, it would lead to a positive son sequence in which 'everyone in Texas would benefit'. The article details the nuts and bolts of how large and who makes up those who suffer from mental illness in Texas, something that I find sad as I hear my mothers stories of our troubled future adults. The preventative measures that the Ligon suggest are those that are well calculated and developed with our prospective future in mind. The ideas of a larger budget  for those in need would be an incredible step, allowing treatment to be closer to hand would be heaven sent as Ligon describes how the majority of sufferers are adults who live in near poverty. Ligon, who hails from the center for Public Policy Priorities does an incredible job informing those of an underestimated problem in Texas, and with her credible position as servant for the community does an amazing job at coming up with some solutions. For the ssafey of the sufferers and those who live in the same Texas communities, I as a citizen who worries of the safety of my community as well as my mother who sees the constant presence of mental illness in children, find Ligon's concern and proposition overwhelmingly wonderful for the future.

UT of Austin Embraces Online Education to the Masses

As a friend to many educators and a follower online media, I was totally fascinated by Reeve Hamilton's article 'UT-Austin Announces Nine Massive Open Online Courses' in the Texas Tribune. The article is a basic but optimistic telling of the free educational courses that UT will offer starting in Fall 2013 due to the partnership between UT and Edx ( A provider of massive open online courses).This is news that I had been expecting for about three years when I began my adventure into higher education. How wonderful would it be for the public to grab hold of something that could seem very elusive? I know many people who struggle with the bittersweet demands of higher education, whether it's due to financial woes, time restraints, or family obligations. I can't help but think that it would be an amazing opportunity for those willing to grasp at the chance. However, I also can't  imagine the reconstruction of the entire educational system and the substitutions that would be set. While still in its baby stages of development, this progressive moment involving wider availability to students is one to follow closely. Even though the classes are few and preliminary I feel a storm-a-comin' as far as online education availability goes. I watched this TED talks a while back (highly recommended) which is a wonderful look into online education that pairs perfectly with this chunk of Texas news.