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View the story “Afternoon Shift #288: Brass tax” on Storify]
Afternoon Shift #288: Brass tax
We continue our Front and Center series with a look at the economics of guns. We’ll hear from Tony Arnold about firearm manufacturers, speak with two gun lobbyists and find out how it all effects local law enforcement Then we hear about U of I’s new supercomputer and talk with cabbies about the job.
Storified by · Tue, Apr 09 2013 12:09:37
Gun manufacturers: The Afternoon Shift continues its weeklong examination of gun laws with a look at the role that gun manufacturers play in shaping policy. WBEZ statehouse reporter Tony Arnold sheds light on the OTHER gun lobby: the manufacturers. Bill Spain, a former reporter for CBS Market Watch, talks about Illinois’ gun economy. Cook County Commissioner Jesus Garcia, a former Illinois state senator, and Todd Vandermyde, the National Rifle Association’s legislative liaison to Springfield, discuss the relationship between Springfield and the gun lobby. Andrew Molchan, director of the National Association of Federally Licensed Firearms Dealers, explains why some arms manufacturers are threatening to refuse to sell weapons to police forces in states that impose restrictions on the second amendment.
How Illinois’ gun manufacturers keep winning the regulations battleThere’s one interest group that’s keeping a particularly close eye on the debate over guns: firearm manufacturers. As more of…
U of I supercomputer: Last week Blue Waters, the supercomputer hosted by the University of Illinois, became fully operational. It is the world’s most powerful supercomputer on a university campus and has the capacity to more accurately predict climate change and unlock the mysteries of the cosmos. Thom Dunning, the director of U of I’s National Center for Supercomputing Applications, explains the hype.
U of I supercomputer debuts at 11.6 quadrillion calculations per secondAfter years of work, one of the most powerful computers in the world has launched at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Rese…
U of I supercomputer Blue Waters promises to better model the world bizjournals.com/chicago/news/2… via @ChiBizJournalISTCoalition
Cabs: Later this month, Truman College is hosting a taxi driver recruitment day. Jason Garcia is a licensed truck driver looking to become a cabbie. WBEZ North Side reporter Odette Yousef and retired driver Dmitry Samarov are hoping to dissuade him and talk about what it takes to make it in the taxi business. If you drive a cab, what’s your advice to would-be drivers? To join the conversation, call 312.923.9239 or tweet using #AfternoonShift.
I’ll be on @WBEZ #AfternoonShift at 3:30pm talking about cab life. Tune in.Dmitry Samarov