WMUK News: Free Clinic of Kalamazoo to close November first
WMUK News: Kalamazoo Public Library begins reducing hours
This Friday on Arts and More
Classical First Listen with Estonian composer Arvo Part
NPR Special News Series on Gaza
Guest Line-up for this week’s Q on HD2
Grassroots Show and Concert Calendar
Classical Music with Cara Lieurance on Twitter!
WMUK is onTwitter and Facebook
How to listen on-line

The Free Clinic of Kalamazoo is scheduled to close its doors by November first. The First Presbyterian Church of Kalamazoo opened the clinic in 1993 to provide free medical care for people without health insurance who don't qualify for Medicaid. The church ended its involvement two years ago and the current free clinic was organized. The chairman of the free clinic's board of directors Rick Russell says when it opened, those who started the clinic thought it would be a great day when it wouldn't be needed anymore. But he says it's tough to close the clinic even though it is the right time. Russell says the recent expansion of the Family Health Center changed the situation in Kalamazoo. Hear Gordon Evan's coverage of this story and an extended interview with Rick Russell at WMUK's news website.

Top

Beginning Wednesday, a new schedule is in effect for the Law Library at the Kalamazoo Public Library. The changes actually don't affect Wednesday's hours, but the law library will close four hours earlier on Monday and Tuesday, and won't be open on Sundays. As the library makes a series of changes to reduce costs, they are preparing for some reduced hours at its branches beginning in December. WMUK's Gordon Evans speaks with KPL Director Ann Rohrbaugh. You can hear this news story as well as an extended interview with Ann Rohrbaugh at our news website.

Top

Join WMUK each Friday morning at 7:50 a.m. for Arts and More, your local coverage of cultural events in and around the Kalamazoo area. If you miss the on-air broadcast of this week's feature, you can also find it on WMUK's news website: www.wmuk.org.

This week we have a preview of the Arts Alive program in Allegan County. Area residents have been registering support for their favorite arts organizations one dollar and one vote at a time. Voting is not yet complete, but Allegan County Community Foundation executive director Theresa Bray says the program has already been a success. We'll also take a visit to the Kalamazoo House Bed and Breakfast. The inn is one of nine stops on this month's Kalamazoo Historic Home Tour.


The Arts Alive banner


The parlour, from the Kalamazoo House Bed and Breakfast, courtesy of www.thekalamazoohouse.com

Top

Currently in WMUK's music widget is Estonian composer Arvo Part's newest classical release, Cantique. You will have the opportunity to hear the album in its entirety until its release on September 21. To listen to the album, just click on the 'Classical' button on the lower right hand side of our home pagein the music widget box.

Since finding his artistic voice in the late 1960s, Arvo Part has opened a window into a world of spiritual ideals and aspirations, and attracted many fans along the way. The music on this new disc -- released to coincide with the composer's 75th birthday and conducted by longtime family friend Kristjan Jarvi -- represents three decades of Pärt's journey through social change, musical and personal (r)evolution.

Top

Tune in to All Things Considered on WMUK all this week for this special NPR News series. Gaza has been under an Israeli and Egyptian blockade for over three years and suffered a war with Israel and a takeover by the militant group Hamas, which now controls the coastal enclave. With a population of one a half million people -- nearly two-thirds of which are under the age of 25 -- Gaza has an interesting future ahead. How do young people living in what has been called "the world's largest open air prison" see Israel and Hamas? How secure is Hamas's control of Gaza and what is their rule like? This five-part report from NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro begins Monday, August 30.

Monday, August 30
For the first time in years, Israel now allows goods to flow into Gaza, easing its economic blockade imposed after Hamas militants seized Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, still in captivity. But 18 months since Israel's war in Gaza which devastated the local economy, there has only been limited reconstruction.

Tuesday, August 31
Israel's three week winter war in 2008-09 was meant to weaken the militant group Hamas, but its grip on Gaza seems tighter than ever. Hamas collects taxes and imposes its own laws, and its foray into new business makes Hamas Inc. an even more entrenched organization. Analysts say the threat to Hamas is now no longer from Israel but rather from a radicalized population linked to international jihadi organizations that view the militants as too soft. How long can Hamas prevent their rebellion?

Wednesday, September 1
Gaza's young population is faced with severe restrictions, but there is an underground art and music scene. Much of what these young Palestinians express speaks to a traumatized and trapped population with no future prospects and seeking no contact with Israel. NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro reports on a group of children who clear rubble near the dangerous Gaza-Israel barrier and teenagers who are trying to break out of the confines of their lives through both healthy, and unhealthy, means.

Thursday, September 2
Two friends, Dana and Mohammed, met 14 years ago in the United States at a Seeds of Peace encounter for teenagers and became fast friends. Then Mohammed went back to Gaza and Dana to Israel. They still talk on the phone but their lives couldn't be more different. Neither of them is interested in peace anymore, reflecting a wider divide that has developed between Israelis and Palestinians. Both say they never talk politics because if they did, their friendship would disappear.

Friday, September 3
Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit has been in captivity in Gaza for four years, and his plight remains a touchy subject for Israelis. The 2008-09 war against Hamas militants in Gaza had overwhelming public support. Ordinary Israelis have become increasingly uninterested and disengaged from the plight of the Palestinians, and in particular Gaza, which they see as an aggressive neighbor whose rulers are bent on their nation’s destruction.

Top

Every Monday evening at 9 p.m., WMUK is excited to air the CBC's liveliest arts, culture and entertainment radio magazine, Q, on our HD2 program stream. Hosted by Jian Ghomeshi, with his trademark wit and spontaneity, Q covers pop culture and high arts alike with forays into the most provocative and compelling cultural trends. From The Kids in the Hall Reunion to an intimate in-house concert by Martha Wainwright; Salman Rushdie on pop culture; CNN operas; to the branding of politicians... Q brings you big names, big ideas, and those paving the way in Canada's cultural community.

This week's line up on Q:
On Monday Jian speaks with actor Adrian Grenier on his new documentary, Teenage Paparazzo.  From the Q Vault: actress Claire Danes and documentarian John Kastner on Life with Murder. Tuesday takes look at the American Ballet Theatre's return to Cuba. And from the Q Vault: Former NHL player Theo Fleury on his memoir, Playing with Fire, and Jonathan Demme talks about his concert documentary, Neil Young Trunk Show. This Wednesday Salman Ahmed on the reaction to the floods in Pakistan.  From the Q Vault: Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy, and musical theatre actor Harvey Fierstein. On Thursday Jian sits down with Canadian Olympian Clara Hughes. Wrapping up the week on Friday is another gem from the Q Vault: A feature chat with Somali-Canadian hip hop star K'naan.

Remember that even if you do not yet own an HD radio, you can always hear our HD2 (and HD1) stream with the player on the top right side of our home page.

Top

Each weekend on Grassroots, Lorraine and Mark share the Grassroots Calendar with WMUK's radio listeners. Now you have the opportunity to get that calendar for yourself. Post it to your wall calendar or refrigerator and never miss any of the great live folk, bluegrass and roots music opportunities that our communities have to offer.  The calendar is a simple listing, by date, of the live shows with their venues and show times. We've made it in a pdf format so that anyone with an Adobe Reader can access it. To get the Calendar, simply click on THIS LINK to open the pdf document.

Top

Have you ever talked back to the radio?  Who hasn't?  We think Twitter is an ideal medium for listeners to interact with on-air music hosts.  Now, anyone with a twitter account can join Cara Lieurance every weekday morning between 9-11 a.m. as she spins inspiring pieces from the last 600 years of western classical music, and tweets about them!  She'll also tweet about upcoming interviews with musicians, and preview concerts in West Michigan. For fans of classical music, this is a great way to share your passion, ask questions, and celebrate beautiful performances.  Twitter is free to join; be sure to follow ClassicalCara at www.twitter.com.

And of course you can also follow WMUK News on Twitter by following wmuk1021.

Top

WMUK has strengthened our presence on the Web with pages on Twitter and Facebook. Follow our Twitter stream, or become our fan on Facebook. These more mobile formats allow us another platform on which to bring you the best local news coverage, classical music and jazz.

Top

The radio image beneath our banner is a web-based audio player that will allow you to listen to either our HD-1 or HD-2 service. Just click on the HD-1 or HD-2 buttons to listen to the respective stream. This will open a new collapsible window that will stay active until you 1) close the window or, 2) click the green "ON" button (which then turns dark and switches off). If you prefer using your own media player, you'll see links to connect to either stream in the player's window.

The "Weather Advisories," "School Closings" and "Special Coverage" lights will be bright when conditions warrant. Click on the text next to the light to open a new window with weather updates, school closing information, etc.

Below the radio is a second frame that identifies what's currently playing on HD-1 or HD-2. Beneath that information there are two other widgets. The one with the NPR logo lets your hear the latest NPR hourly newscast. The lower button will start an on-line only music stream that is described in the small window to the right of it. These special music streams change weekly and come to us from NPR. They offer First Listens to new albums, live concert material, and holiday music mixes.

Top