Renowned local artist Rex Hausman was commissioned to create one of his trademark cinematic paintings of the iconic Mission Espada to raise money for the Mission Heritage Partners.
now, there are police at every single exit to every single road. i m not just talking highways, there are police there on side streets they have a definite presence. never been a feeling of insecurity down here. up in the mountains and i talked about this yesterday, you have soldiers in the woods in the hunting blinds, it s offputting when you see them but they are ever where. the only difference today, there was a helicopter circling the mountains constantly. in terms of appearance, there s an omnipresent presence of security. another story line leading up to the games, the issue of gay rights. the u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon spoke before the international olympic committee, urging activists and protesters to continue making their voices heard. take a list rn. we must all raise our voices against attacks on lesbians and
tell you, sochi feels safe. there are police presence everywhere, undercover, military, the most fascinating thing coming up into the mountains where they have military outposts camouflaged like hunting blinds all the way through. not like one or two, every quarter mile. this place is absolutely blanketed with security. great stuff. of course, talking about the toilets where there s two side-by-side with no separator in between. i don t have that. i don t have that. you don t, but we ve been seeing pictures in the west. brian shactman, thank you so much. great stuff as always. in sochi, russia. stay tuned to the networks of nbc, the 2014 olympics begin tomorrow. the opening ceremony takes place this friday, of course, you can watch it right here with us. don t smoke them if you ve got them on capitol hill. it s time for the poly side bar. several lawmakers want a ban of electronic cigarettes on capitol grounds, say there s no.