by Teshima Walker

Today's program excites me. It's a great mix of conversations — political, social, cultural — I hope you're listening and liking what you hear. Write and let us know. Don't send complaints, though! (Kidding.)

So, what's up for next week?

Well, many news organizations are noting the 40th anniversary of when Neal Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin Aldrin landed on the moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission. On Monday, Michel talks with Dr. Bernard Harris. He was the first African American to walk in space. He's trying to get young people interested in science, technology and mathematics.

Does he have his work cut out for him?

I'm not a science whiz — that's my baby sister's domain. Anyway, Dr. Harris' story about becoming an astronaut is amazing. He began preparing for his career at the age of 13 when he watched the moon landing.

Also ...

Next Friday, the minimum wage increases to $7.25 and we want to know how that will affect you. Is the increase enough? And if you're a small business owner - will it break your bank? Let us know.

Finally, here's a note from our Planning Editor, Luis Clemens.

Thanks, Teshima.

Earlier this week, Michel had a conversation about the Spanish-language media coverage of the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor. She talked with three prominent Latino journalists: Gerson Borrero of New York's leading Spanish-language daily - El Diario/La Prensa. He is a political columnist known for his independent streak. Lori Montenegro, a veteran correspondent at the Spanish-language Telemundo network's Washington bureau. And Maria Elena Salinas who co-anchors the evening news on Univision, which is the country's largest Spanish-language media company. Columnist Gerson Borrero chose to drop out of the conversation. We called to find out why and Mr. Borrero said this: he felt he wasn't given a chance to fully explain his viewpoint and was treated rudely. He then opted to hang up. Some of you thought we were censoring Mr. Borrero.

That was definitely not the case and it was not our intention to be rude. We were most definitely not censoring Mr. Borrero. For the record, we planned to hear more from him after the break. We wanted to hear his viewpoint. In fact, we still want to hear from Mr. Borrero and have invited him to return to our program. He has graciously agreed to talk to us in the future.

Thanks, Luis...

Have a good weekend.

Tags: Sotomayor