 Catch up and get ahead with the edge for the week of April 11th. Spurred in part by the volume of incivility and intolerance on the national political stage, more than 30 San Antonio civic and faith leaders gathered for an interactive conversation on how they can work together to create a more engaged and inclusive community. The March 16th conversation, titled Soul of a Citizen, was convened by the San Antonio Peace Center and San Antonio District 8 City Councilman Ron Nuremberg. Progress, the participants agreed, would be to find common ground and shared interest in humanity and bring more people together under the cause of community. I believe we all want a better San Antonio, a better, stronger San Antonio, a San Antonio that brings people to the table. And so with that, our hope or the hope is that when we are sitting at the table, when we are convening groups and making decisions, that my hope is that we would talk about the changes that we want to make for the common good, but also look at who's at the table making those decisions. But most importantly, who is not. Congressman Joaquin Castro visited the campus of University of Texas at San Antonio to talk to students about the importance of U.S. and Japanese relations. Castro talked about the relationship between the two countries, emphasizing the economic, technology and security benefits. He said coordination with the University of Tokyo would help UTSA toward Tier 1 status. Castro said students stand to benefit from studying the partnerships between the United States and Japan. And so to those of you that are studying the U.S.-Japan relationship, those of you that are going to engage in the U.S.-Japan relationship, I hope that you will be a generation of Americans who continues to build it, who continues to take it to new heights, because that relationship is only going to grow in importance and I think it can continue to grow in prosperity. The Community Interfaith Education and Literacy Opportunity Garden at the House of Prayer Lutheran Church on San Antonio's north side just celebrated its fifth birthday. This community garden has helped resettled refugees from around the world build social bonds in their new San Antonio home to become active participants in their neighborhood and acquire language and leadership skills. The garden is located in City Council District 8, which is home to the most population of refugees in the city. Air quality is always on San Antonio's radar, but for the attendees at the Regional Air Quality Strategy Session on April 5th was an urgent call to action. That's because San Antonio is about to be found out of compliance with Federal Clean Air Guidelines, requiring local organizations, government and business leaders to adopt new strategies to improve the air quality. One problem resulting from air pollution is asthma. Bear County already ranks highest in Texas on the rate of child asthma hospitalizations. Learn more about new strategies to improve air quality in San Antonio and find out what you can do to make a difference at home and at work. Go to nowcastsa.com for more on all of these stories. And, as always, thanks for watching The Edge.