MacArthur Fellow and Los Angeles Philharmonic violinist Vijay Gupta walks the streets of skid row in Los Angeles, Calif. on Oct. 18, 2018. Gupta, a violinist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, sees himself as an "art disrupter." His Street Symphony performs live concerts for the homeless on Skid Row and in county jails. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
MacArthur Fellow and Los Angeles Philharmonic violinist Vijay Gupta walks the streets of skid row in Los Angeles, Calif. on Oct. 18, 2018. Gupta, a violinist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, sees himself as an "art disrupter." His Street Symphony performs live concerts for the homeless on Skid Row and in county jails. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/TNS) Credit: Genaro Molina

Philharmonic Violinist Taking His Song To the Streets

Los Angeles— When Los Angeles Philharmonic violinist Vijay Gupta won a MacArthur fellowship this year for his social justice work, an award that came with a $625,000 no-strings-attached stipend, the obvious question was: What next? The answer: Gupta said that he will give up his seat as one of the orchestra’s first violins to focus on his activism, to teach and to develop his nonprofit Street Symphony, which since 2011 has been performing free concerts for Los Angeles’ homeless and in county jails.

Gupta, who joined the orchestra as a teenager in 2007 and was its youngest musician, said he’s also looking forward to “just having time to rest and reflect”

“I feel like the L.A. Phil saved my life when I was a 19-year-old kid. It was the way that I was able to continue being a musician and to continue growing as an artist” he said.

Not Into Bingo, 84-Year-Old Texas Woman Gets College Degree

Richardson, Texas — After raising five kids and retiring at age 77 from her secretarial job, Janet Fein couldn’t be blamed for finally relaxing, but that’s not her.

Fein, now 84, went to back to school and will accomplish a long-held goal this week when she graduates from the University of Texas at Dallas with a bachelor’s degree.

“I didn’t have anything to do in retirement and I didn’t think that playing bingo was up to my speed,” said Fein, who majored in sociology because she felt it was “substantial.”

She said she enjoyed all the reading and writing papers.

“With each class I already knew a lot, but then I also learned a lot,” she said.

As of 2015, people 65 and older make up less than one percent of U.S. college students or about 67,000 of about 20 million college students.

Next-Generation of GPS Satellites Are Headed to Space

Denver — After months of delays, the U.S. Air Force is about to launch the first of a new generation of GPS satellites, designed to be more accurate, secure and versatile.

But some of their most highly touted features will not be fully available until 2022 or later because of problems in a companion program to develop a new ground control system for the satellites, government auditors said.

The satellite is scheduled to lift off Tuesday from Cape Canaveral, Fla., aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. It’s the first of 32 planned GPS III satellites that will replace older ones now in orbit. Lockheed Martin is building the new satellites outside Denver.

GPS is best-known for its widespread civilian applications, from navigation to time-stamping bank transactions.

— Wire reports