tag:newamericamedia.org,2009-04-06://19 2012-02-09T18:37:45Z New America Media is a nationwide association of over 3000 ethnic media organizations representing the development of a more inclusive journalism. Founded in 1996 by Pacific News Service, New America Media promotes ethnic media by strengthening the editorial and economic viability of this increasingly influential segment of America's communications industry. tag:newamericamedia.org,2012://19.8558 2012-02-09T18:00:00Z 2012-02-09T18:37:45Z

Latinos will turnout in record numbers in the next Presidential election, with at least 12.2 million casting ballots, according to projections released today by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund. This analysis also reveals...

NALEO ]]> http://publisher.namx.org/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id=19&id=103
According to NALEO Executive Director Arturo Vargas, “Latinos continue to reshape the nation’s political map, and the Latino electorate will play a decisive role in Election 2012.” The NALEO Educational Fund projects that the Latino vote will increase 26% from 2008, and Latinos will account for at least 8.7% of the country’s voters.

California, Florida and Illinois are likely to see the greatest percentage increase in turnout since 2008. In three states – California, New Mexico, and Texas – at least one in five voters will be Latino, with the Latino share of the electorate in New Mexico reaching 35%.

Mr. Vargas continued, “While the Latino vote continues to increase with each Presidential election, much work needs to be done to fully engage Latinos in our country’s electoral process. In 2008, 19.5 million Latinos were eligible to vote, but half did not cast ballots, because they were not registered or did not turn out. The Latino electorate must make faster progress if America’s democracy is to thrive.”

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]]> tag:newamericamedia.org,2012://19.8556 2012-02-09T17:00:00Z 2012-02-09T17:54:24Z

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. However, the court allowed it to remain in effect while the case follows its course of appeals and decisions that until now have opposed banning gay marriage.From the...

Staff ]]> http://publisher.namx.org/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id=19&id=103 The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. However, the court allowed it to remain in effect while the case follows its course of appeals and decisions that until now have opposed banning gay marriage.

From the beginning we considered this a subject that must be seen from a point of view devoid of religious beliefs and traditions. This is even truer when it involves imposing a series of strictly personal values on the rest of society.

Not to mince words: In this case, a majority is deciding what is inappropriate for a minority. Traditional marriage, between a man and a woman, is not in danger because no one wants to change it. But some people are trying to make this the only acceptable option.

Some believe being gay is a sin; they are within their rights to think so. But this is an individual religious value that cannot be imposed on everyone in a diverse society like ours. This is a prejudiced attitude. In many cases, it comes from a lack of understanding about homosexuality and its scientific explanation.

Tuesday's court ruling was clear: A majority may not take away a minority's rights without a legitimate reason. Proposition 8 does just that by establishing a strict definition of marriage, a ban for no other reason than personal distaste. That is not a valid reason.

Therefore, it is frustrating that despite repeated legal rulings against this ballot initiative, the ban is still in effect. This will have to wait for the appeal of Tuesday's ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The history of Proposition 187, the 1994 voter-approved measure that punished undocumented immigrants, is another case where having a majority of votes in favor of a proposition does not mean it is automatically legal. That was not the case for Proposition 187, and we think it won't be either for Proposition 8.


]]> tag:newamericamedia.org,2012://19.8552 2012-02-08T23:00:00Z 2012-02-08T23:59:22Z

Univision ]]> http://publisher.namx.org/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id=19&id=103
"Changing the law will take an average of $1,800 out of the pockets of parents who don't have a social security number, who make an average of $21,000 a year or about $10 an hour," Janet Murguia, president of the National Council of La Raza (NLCR), said in a press release.

The legislation aims to cut the tax credit to those who use Personal Identification Numbers (ITIN). It would require people who claim the federal credit to have Social Security numbers to prove they are legal workers.


]]> tag:newamericamedia.org,2012://19.8549 2012-02-08T18:00:00Z 2012-02-08T19:39:06Z

WASHINGTON -- As the story of sexual abuse at an elementary school in Los Angeles continues to shock the nation, Spanish-language media is reporting another tragic development. Parents of some Miramonte Elementary School children are afraid to go to informational...

America’s Voice Education Fund ]]> http://publisher.namx.org/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id=19&id=103 WASHINGTON -- As the story of sexual abuse at an elementary school in Los Angeles continues to shock the nation, Spanish-language media is reporting another tragic development. Parents of some Miramonte Elementary School children are afraid to go to informational meetings or talk to the police because they worry that contact with the authorities could lead to deportation.

According to the Associated Press, “Parents of Miramonte school students . . . told The Associated Press that they aren’t talking to authorities because they are afraid that the Sheriff’s Department, which is in charge of the investigation, will refer them to immigration through the Secure Communities program” (translated from the Spanish by America’s Voice Education Fund). Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca is a vocal supporter of Secure Communities, a controversial federal program that facilitates the deportation of some immigrants who come into contact with state and local police. According to the AP, the school is 98 percent Latino, and many of the children come from immigrant families.

“The parents and children of Miramonte are going through an unspeakable nightmare. The fact that many of them are afraid to work with law enforcement only adds to their tragedy. This is exactly why programs that blur the line between police and immigration enforcement are dangerous. They put enforcement of paperwork violations ahead of protecting the community from real crime,” said Lynn Tramonte, Deputy Director of America’s Voice Education Fund.


]]> tag:newamericamedia.org,2012://19.8528 2012-02-06T18:05:00Z 2012-02-06T18:35:22Z

The participation of the Los Angeles Latino community in the process of redistricting has been extremely low. The absence of their voice either through private channels or public hearings will have long-term negative repercussions over the next 10 years.The Redistricting...

Staff ]]> http://publisher.namx.org/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id=19&id=103
The Redistricting Commission that is in charge of redrawing the political landscape of Los Angeles to reflect demographic changes that have taken place in the past decade has now released the borders of the map. It is now the public's turn to make its opinions heard so that needed corrections will be made in the final map.

The danger is that the current draft doesn't reflect the growth of the Latino community, which today is close to half of the city's population, yet, only five of 15 districts are represented by Latino council members.

The new map holds the possibility of creating a sixth Latino-majority district. The problem is Latinos don't seem to support the idea.

The absence of Latinos at previous commission public hearings was startling whereas the participation of other groups with interests in the new map – be they ethnic or geographic groups or especially neighborhood councils - was very active.

It is possible that this pattern of absence of Latinos could continue into the new round of public hearings. That would be completely inacceptable.

There are many Los Angeles-based organizations that advocate for the interests of Latinos, whether they are voters, documented or undocumented immigrants, business people, workers, the unemployed, or women and children. What they hold in common is that they all are residents of this city.

This is why we must ask, why aren't the many pro-Latino organizations that thrive in Los Angeles participating in the redistricting process, giving voice to a geographic priority that should unite them across the broad range of important causes they fight for on a daily basis.

One of the most repeated comments made by our readers is about the disunity among the Latino community. In many cases, the idea of unity is more of an ideal than a reality given the very real differences that exist in such a diverse community. Other times, it is individual egos that get in the way.

Political power for Latinos is the way for the concerns of our community to be heard and solutions sought for these problems. It should be a goal in common for us all.

Start participating in the process by attending one of the hearings or use the Internet to make your opinions heard.


]]> tag:newamericamedia.org,2012://19.8521 2012-02-06T08:35:00Z 2012-02-04T01:49:35Z

Susannah Nesmith ]]> http://publisher.namx.org/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id=19&id=103 Photo: Miguel Abreu, 10, prepares an inflatable mattress to sleep on in the living room of his aunt's apartment. (Photo by Mike Kane/Equal Voice News)

MIAMI--When it’s time for bed, 10-year-old Miguel Abreu retrieves a deflated air mattress wedged between a bookcase and the wall in his aunt’s tiny apartment in Florida City, south of Miami. He quietly unfolds it in the middle of the dining/living room and hooks up an electric pump.

While the pump is inflating the bed, he gets sheets and pillows out of a stack of plastic bins in the dining room where his family keeps their possessions. He hands his parents pillows and bedding so they can prepare beds in two recliners while he makes up the air mattress he will share with his sister Jennifer, age 13. His younger sister, Maribel, 6, will share a bed with her aunt.

Like thousands of children nationwide, who have no guarantee of where they will sleep on any given night, the Abreu children are homeless.

1.6 Million Homeless Children

According to America’s Youngest Outcasts, a report by the National Center on Family Homelessness, 1.6 million children in the United States were homeless at some point in 2010, the most recent statistics available.

During the recession, from 2007 to 2010, child homelessness spiked 38 percent nationwide.
According to the 2011 Council on Homelessness report, Florida’s public school districts identified over 49,000 Florida school-age children as homeless during the 2009-2010 school year.

In Miami-Dade County alone, school officials identified and assisted nearly 4,000 homeless children last year.

This school year, officials have already helped 4,920 in only the first four months. More than 2,300 of those students were living in shelters, with another 2,400 doubled up in apartments with friends or relatives. A handful lived in cars and parks.

Miami-Dade County has a policy of never letting a child sleep on the streets and pays for shelter space for families, and for hotel rooms when the shelters are full. Last year, Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust paid the hotel bill of three or four families a month, according to Trust Chairman Ron Book. This year, there are often as many as 60 families in hotel rooms.

Book blames the ongoing grind of the sluggish economy, but also sees other factors for the sudden and dramatic rise in the number of local families needing assistance. Federal “rapid re-housing” funds designed to quickly put families back in homes dried up early in 2011.

In addition, Florida’s foreclosure crisis has unfolded differently from other areas of the country. That’s because, in Florida, it can take up to two years to foreclose on a homeowner in default.

“It takes time to evict people. It takes time to foreclose. Our foreclosure process has dragged on longer than in other parts of the country. So many people stayed in the status quo for a while,” Book said. “That’s now catching up with us.”

Many Roads to Homelessness

Every family’s road to homelessness is different. For many, the simple lack of jobs is at the heart of it. A family that was getting by, with parents able to find work during boom times, can be easily pushed to or over the edge of poverty when unemployment spikes and then remains stubbornly high for months on end.

The Abreus moved to South Florida at the beginning of the school year. Yasmir, 41, and his wife Marleny, 44, both worked as housekeepers in Las Vegas casinos when a friend urged them to leave their jobs and come with him to Miami to start a business.

Their friend promised better jobs, a better apartment, even a house. For a while, the family stayed at a modest hotel in Miami Beach. Everything seemed to be going well.

The kids started school and made new friends quickly. They adjusted well and made good grades. The two younger children even earned student-of-the-month awards in October.

But it all came crashing down. The friend disappeared, according to the Abreus, taking money he had borrowed from Yasmir’s brother-in-law, who is now facing foreclosure.

Yasmir stopped paying the loan on his van first, saving the money for the hotel. The van was repossessed. When the Abreus ran out of money for the hotel, they stayed briefly in Marleny’s father’s van. They pulled the kids out of one school and moved them to another school farther south, where Yasmir hoped he could find work.

“We weren’t millionaires, but we lived like normal people. To go from that to this in three months, it’s hard,” Marleny said, brushing back tears. “We had jobs. We had health insurance. Every year, they got a lot of stuff under the tree because we were working.”

According to a report released this week by the Corporation for Economic Development in Washington D.C., 43 percent of families would fall below the poverty line within three months if they lost their jobs or became ill and couldn’t work.

In Florida, 48 percent of families don’t have savings to last three months.

Shelter Was “Like a Jail”

After a few nights in the van, Yasmir and Marleny asked school officials for help. Through its Homeless Trust, Miami-Dade officials were able to get the Abreus a tiny motel room.

“It was filthy, but it was better than the street,” Yasmir recalled.

And it was better than what was to come. As soon as space in a shelter opened up, the Abreus were told to leave the hotel. But they didn’t last one night in the shelter.

“She just cried and cried. She was so scared,” Marleny said of young Maribel. “It was like a jail.”
Near hysterics, Marleny called her sister, Mayra, who lives on a disability pension and isn’t allowed to have anyone other than her teenage son live with her in her rent-subsidized apartment.

“But I can’t leave them like that,” Mayra said. “We’re family.”

Yasmir and Marleny worry about how their situation is affecting the kids. They try to enforce a family routine, with 8 p.m. bedtimes on school nights for the children, even if that means the adults must go to bed too.

“You know, a child who doesn’t sleep well doesn’t study well,” Marleny explained. She added, “But this is hard for them.”

Studies have found that homelessness can have deep and lasting effects on children.

One-third of children who experience homelessness repeat a grade in school, eight times the rate for children who have never been homeless, according to the America’s Youngest Outcasts report.

The study also noted that children who experience homelessness have higher rates of physical disabilities than impoverished children in stable living situations and nearly double the level of emotional or behavioral problems.

Bleak Outlook

The outlook for families like the Abreus is bleak. Nationally, the average length of unemployment was 40 weeks in December, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Each day, Yasmir walks to the local unemployment office to apply for work. So far, he’s gotten only one call back--from Pizza Hut, which needed drivers. But he doesn’t have a car anymore. Miami-Dade’s unemployment rate is improving, but at 10.2 percent in December, it still outpaced the rest of the country.

Each night, as the children get ready for bed, Yasmir worries where he will take his family if Mayra’s landlord finds out about them.

“I don’t see how I’m going to get out of this,” he said. “As soon as they find out we’re here, we’re back to the street.”

2012 Copyright Equal Voice News



]]> tag:newamericamedia.org,2012://19.8524 2012-02-05T17:21:22Z 2012-02-05T17:40:58Z

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Last year, my grandson Rickey took his first steps into a transitional kindergarten classroom. When he was in preschool, Rickey, a fall baby with a November birthday, was among the youngest in the class and I...

Sylvia Gonzalez ]]> http://publisher.namx.org/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id=19&id=103 SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Last year, my grandson Rickey took his first steps into a transitional kindergarten classroom. When he was in preschool, Rickey, a fall baby with a November birthday, was among the youngest in the class and I noticed him avoiding leadership roles, as well as fine motor skill activities such a coloring. As a grandmother, I believed in his intelligence and abilities, but I knew that the gift of time was just what he needed to foster those invaluable learning traits.

That’s why I’m confounded by Gov. Brown’s budget proposal calling for the elimination of transitional kindergarten. Last year, California Senate Bill 1381 was passed to gradually change the kindergarten birthday cut-off date from December 2 to September 1, over a three-year period, from 2012 to 2015. Transitional Kindergarten is a one-year pre-k program created under the bill to continue to educate children whose admissions are delayed.

The extra year it afforded Rickey was simply a great opportunity, giving him the time to mature and develop the readiness skills necessary to thrive in school. His experiences within the walls of this classroom have shaped his current success in kindergarten and these benefits will no doubt continue to stay with him in later grades. It is difficult to imagine young children like my grandson being denied the right to the same kindergarten opportunity.

As a San Diego teacher, elementary school principal and administrator for 32 years, I have seen bright and capable children like Rickey, whose birthdays fell later in the year, struggle to meet the rising demands of kindergarten. For these students, transitional kindergarten acts as a bridge, inculcating in them the groundwork for later success through a developmentally appropriate curriculum.

Resembling the kindergarten classrooms of a generation ago, transitional kindergartens today feature kitchenettes, dress-up areas, and centers for coloring, painting and block building. But don’t let appearances fool you. Offering the right learning environment, this extra one year of school gives children an opportunity to learn from a credentialed teacher in a hands-on, interactive way that supports their development, while still maintaining the high-standards of kindergarten.

We have already seen the positive impact of transitional kindergarten programs in several communities, including some here in San Diego. Other school districts throughout the state have been offering transitional kindergarten for years.

This is especially important for California Latinos, who account for more than half of all children age 5 and under across the state but who make up only 14 percent of children enrolled in high-quality early learning programs. In San Diego, where Latinos account for 40 percent of the overall child population, less than a quarter of three-year-olds and four-year-olds are enrolled in publicly contracted programs.

Already lacking affordable preschool options, Latino families may be squeezed even further by impending state budget cuts to child development and other critical programs for young children.

According to the original plan, when fully implemented transitional kindergarten will benefit 125,000 children – of which 40 percent are English language learners and 62 percent are from low-income schools – since it ensures all age-eligible children, regardless of family income, access to a public school program. Doing so gives these kids a head start on learning, allowing them to absorb and master fundamental skills, and helping to reduce the likelihood of retention in later grades.

San Diego County, which currently has 10 transitional kindergarten programs in place, plans to offer 105 classrooms serving more than 2,000 early learners by 2015.

Today, Rickey is a confident leader in the classroom and has found new enjoyment in coloring. The social-emotional, pre-literacy, pre-math and school readiness skills I have seen my grandson learn have assured me that transitional kindergarten was the right choice for him. I know it will offer the same wonderful benefits to all our children here in San Diego and across the state.

Sylvia Gonzalez is director of Early Childhood Education Programs for the San Diego Unified School District.
]]> tag:newamericamedia.org,2012://19.8523 2012-02-04T09:00:00Z 2012-02-04T02:05:17Z

Governor Jerry Brown recently announced that midyear budget cuts could include a reduction of school transportation budgets by $1.5 million throughout California. The news was met with horror by students, parents and community members in the eastern Coachella Valley, an...

Alejandra Alarcon and Rogelio Montaño ]]> http://publisher.namx.org/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id=19&id=103 Governor Jerry Brown recently announced that midyear budget cuts could include a reduction of school transportation budgets by $1.5 million throughout California. The news was met with horror by students, parents and community members in the eastern Coachella Valley, an agricultural region overlapping Riverside and Imperial counties where small towns are separated by miles of highway and the oppressive heat of the desert sun can make walking or biking long distances feel like a death sentence.

“In this district, transportation is a must,” said Linda Aguirre, director of transportation for Coachella Valley Unified School District (CVUSD). “A lot of these kids would not be able to get to school without transportation, which means there will most likely be a higher drop-out rate.”

Although a final decision on the budget cut is still pending, many in the community have been left to wonder what the fallout would be for students and district staff.

“Rumors are flying,” said Steven Young, student transport specialist at Coachella Valley High School (CVHS), who explained that $1.5 million is equivalent to cutting 10 bus drivers. “This is going to affect us big time.”

Inland Congregations United for Change (ICUC), a community based advocacy group in the east valley, is representing local residents who are worried about these looming transportation cuts.

“(The cuts) would leave the youth stranded,” said Allex Luna, a community organizer for ICUC. “How’s this going to affect them academically?”

Transportation cuts could lead to a chain reaction that affects families and students, said Luna, ultimately leading to a drastic decline in school attendance and a vicious cycle that could lead to even more budget cuts.

“Every time [a student] is in that seat, the school gets paid,” said Luna, meaning that a decrease in school attendance will lead to even less funding for local schools.

According to Luna, more than three-fourths of the district’s student population currently takes the bus.

Some students, such as Yesenia Isidoro, say that even if transportation budgets are cut, they’ll do whatever it takes to graduate high school.

“I wouldn’t want to let my parents down,” said Isidoro, a senior at Coachella Valley High School (CVHS). “I think I would buy a bike so I could get to school every morning.”

Others, like Diana Reza, a sophomore at CVHS, said it’s hard to imagine making do with less, since the district’s school buses are already being stuffed to the max. “The bus already (has) three people per seat. I’m pretty sure all the bus doors would break because everyone just shoves and rushes in to find a good seat.”

The situation could be even worse for students living on the far eastern edge of the school district, in communities like Mecca and Thermal that tend to be poorer and more isolated.

“Transportation is already an issue. I couldn’t imagine how much more affected the students would be if bus routes were completely cut,” said Berenice Venegas, a junior at Desert Mirage High School. “I live in Mecca, [which] doesn’t have many resources.”

Safety is also a concern in east valley communities such as North Shore and Oasis, which do not have sidewalks or street lights, making it difficult and often dangerous for students to making the long walk to and from rural schools.

“It’s important to keep in mind that parents or guardians aren’t always going to have the opportunity to drive students to school every morning, due to their jobs or simply because they don’t own a vehicle,” added Venegas.

Despite the already challenging conditions faced by families in the east valley, district officials can only hope to maintain the status quo.

“Things are operating as normal, but for now we are just waiting for a decision,” said Linda Aguirre, director of transportation for CVUSD.

“Normal,” to some bus drivers already means carrying double loads and making several trips back and forth across the valley until every student arrives home.

“Buses have always been packed. In order to have one driver for one bus stop, we would have to hire more drivers, and unfortunately we don’t have that luxury,” said Aguirre.

As administrators await the official decision from the school board, ICUC has been proactive, researching the potential impact by having community organizers interview valley residents, and organizing group meetings with teachers and parents. They also plan to mobilize the community with press releases, phone calls and social media.

“In this district, transportation should be a right, not a privilege, because our district is very rural,” said Aguirre. “It is not safe to walk home.”

To join ICUC’s efforts, contact Allex Luna at (760) 398-0877 or at allex@icucpico.org.
]]> tag:newamericamedia.org,2012://19.8520 2012-02-04T01:00:00Z 2012-02-04T02:10:16Z

NEW YORK--When I was 16, a health educator came to my high-school gym class, corralled the girls in the locker room and talked about breast health. My experience that day proved fateful for me, and those memories came back this...

Jessica González-Rojas ]]> http://publisher.namx.org/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id=19&id=103 NEW YORK--When I was 16, a health educator came to my high-school gym class, corralled the girls in the locker room and talked about breast health.

My experience that day proved fateful for me, and those memories came back this week with the unsettling news that the Susan G. Komen Foundation would end its support of Planned Parenthood clinics. The foundation then recanted that decision on Friday, a victory for thousands of women who rely on Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screenings.

The news of the Komen Foundation’s reversal draws attention to the underlying issue—the need for widespread access to breast cancer screening, especially by low-income women.

“My Heart Sank”

That day in school, we learned how to do a breast self-exam, and the health educator made us practice on the spot. When I asked about a hard knot I found in my right breast, she examined it briefly and said, “You should see a doctor.” My heart sank—could this be breast cancer? I am too young!

As a young Latina whose mother was a secretary with union benefits at a New York City hospital, I had access to premier health care. I quickly saw a doctor who was alarmed by the size of the lump, and before I knew it, I was laying on an operating table.

The surgeon removed a fibrocystic nodule from my right breast and, after a biopsy, I was relieved to learn it was benign. Thanks to very early detection, my breasts are healthy, and I am cancer-free.

As I look down on the scar on my right breast every day, I am thankful I had the education and the access to health care to remove the lump before it was too late. However, this is not the reality for most Latinas.

Latinas face some of the most serious challenges to accessing preventative health care, with potentially deadly results. Research conducted at the University of Louisville revealed that they are 20 percent more likely to die from breast cancer than white women, illustrating the dismaying health disparities that continue to plague Latinas.

Breast exams are therefore a particularly important aspect of preventative care for Latina women.

That's why we at the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH) were so alarmed to learn early this week that the Susan G. Komen Foundation had succumbed to anti-choice pressure and halted funding of Planned Parenthood’s breast-cancer prevention programs.

Free or low-cost clinical breast exams offered by providers such as Planned Parenthood are often the only health care services available to Latinas, and to low-income and ethnic women in general.

Latinas Twice as Likely to Die

Not only are Latinas more likely to die from breast cancer, but they are also twice as likely to be without health insurance. Nearly 40 percent of Latinas have no health insurance, while nearly 17 percent of white women are uninsured.

Breast-cancer screening rates for Hispanic women are also lower than for whites—69.7 percent compared to 72.7 percent—according to a recent study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That difference may seem small, but each percentage point represents many lives.
On Friday, the Komen Foundation rightly reversed course and announced it would continue to provide funds to Planned Parenthood health centers.

With Komen funds, those centers have provided more than 170,000 breast-cancer screenings in the past five years. These funds will continue to support preventative care for thousands of the most vulnerable women across the United States, offered through the health centers they trust.

While the rate of breast cancer among Latinas is alarming, we are not sitting idly by. NLIRH recently launched its “¡Soy Poderosa!/I am Powerful!” campaign, which provides opportunities for the Latina community to organize and amplify our voices through nationwide civic engagement in 2012.

All women deserve access to breast-cancer screening services, and collectively we must be proactive in tearing down the barriers to care.

NLIRH continues to encourage Latinas to be powerful, as well as to seek preventative care and regular cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood or other health centers. Taking those steps could be lifesaving--I can personally attest to that.

Jessica González-Rojas is the executive director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, based in New York City, the only national organization working on behalf of the reproductive health and justice of the 20 million Latinas, their families and communities in the United States.



]]> tag:newamericamedia.org,2012://19.8516 2012-02-03T17:00:00Z 2012-02-03T17:53:46Z

Zaineb Mohammed ]]> http://publisher.namx.org/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id=19&id=1440 SAN FRANCISCO--Women are recovering from the recession at a slower rate than men according to a new report by the California Budget Project (CBP) published in partnership with the Women’s Foundation of California.

The report, titled, “Falling Behind: The Impact of the Great Recession and the Budget Crisis on California’s Women and Their Families, " was released on Feb. 1.

In a telephone briefing with the media on Thursday, Jean Ross, CBP's executive director commented, “The Great Recession hit single mothers particularly hard and contributed to a sharp increase in poverty among female-headed families with children.”

Ross added, “Older women faced a rise in poverty, as well. The recession eroded women’s retirement savings, causing them to remain in the workforce to rebuild their savings.”

Slow to Share in Economic Recovery

As the economy gradually recovers in California, Ross noted, women have been slow to share in areas such as job growth.

“California’s job market is slowly recovering, but recent data suggest that women have not shared equally in the state’s modest employment gains,” said Ross during the briefing.

Ross emphasized in an interview with New America Media, “Single moms have not fared well in this struggling recovery. When people say you need to get a job faster and work more hours, that just doesn’t reflect what’s available in this labor market. Workweeks are shrinking and jobs are scarce.”

Judy Patrick, the president and CEO of the Women’s Foundation of California, commented during the briefing, “We have to have a public system for when the economy isn’t working well enough to support these populations.”

However, Governor Jerry Brown’s 2012-13 budget proposal outlined cuts to public programs that have alarmed advocates for children, elders, minorities and others vulnerable groups. Ross said women would also be among those most negatively impacted.

Reductions facing CalWorks, which assists economically struggling families, and childcare programs were among the budget cuts that concerned Ross the most.

Ross observed that the state has made cuts to CalWorks multiple times since 2008, reductions totaling $3.3 billion. Those include funding rollbacks for services meant to help parents find and keep jobs.

“These cuts mean that low-income families will have a harder time keeping a roof over their heads and making ends meet,” said Ross during the briefing. “Everybody understands that childcare is critical to a single parent’s ability to remain in the workforce, to be productive at the job, to know his or her children are well taken care of.”

Cuts Pull Rug From Under Families With Children

In an interview, Ross explained that federal and state welfare reform laws implemented in the mid-1990's limited the time people could receive benefits and required them to find work eventually.

But those laws also recognized that the jobs typically available for people on cash assistance programs usually don’t pay enough to support a family or enable them to afford childcare. So the state promised those parents a safe place for their children to go while they were at work

“When you cut those programs, you’re pulling the rug out from under families, who assumed that their part of the bargain was to get a job and in exchange they wouldn’t have to worry about where their kids were,” said Ross.

According to the “Falling Behind” report, cuts made in the 2011-12 budget are expected to eliminate care programs for over 35,000 children. Proposed cuts for 2012-13 would eliminate 62,000 more spaces in state-supported childcare programs.

Cuts to healthcare programs, such as Medi-Cal, will also disproportionately affect women, who make up two-thirds of those on the state’s Medicaid program.

Ross was particularly concerned with the impact of Medi-Cal cuts on women because more than half of the women in the program are in their peak reproductive years, and many others are seniors with very low income.

College Cuts Hit Women Hardest

During the media briefing, Ross noted that budget cuts to higher education have also affected women disproportionately.

“Higher education is critical to providing pathways to opportunity. In the past three decades, the hourly earnings of women with a B.A. or more have increased by 37 percent. Those women with just a high school degree have risen by 2 percent,” said Ross.

She pointed out that increasing student fees and declining course offerings haave caused the number of California high school graduates attending a college or university to decline, most significantly at community colleges.

The report found that from the 2007 to 2010 fiscal years, enrollment in community colleges dropped by approximately 130,000 students, and women accounted for 82 percent of that reduction. The most substantial drops were among young women, ages 19 or younger, and older women, 35 or older.

Asked who has been hardest hit by the recession, Ross responded, “Single mothers with children--in terms of everything, increased poverty, poor employment prospects.”

She also stressed that because ethnic women of color are more likely to go to community colleges and tend have low incomes, the education reductions especially affect them. For example, Ross said, half of the population served by CalWorks is Latino.

Patrick, of the Woman’s Foundation of California, also expressed her concern about older women because of steep reductions in the In-Home Supportive Services program and other services for seniors and people with disabilities.

When discussing possible solutions to avoid these cuts and improve the prospects for women, Ross affirmed the need for more revenue.

“We’ve encouraged lawmakers to look at ineffective tax breaks. There always are ways to do things differently,” she said.

Ross also mentioned the need to make choices based on what is happening in the economy at large and emphasized not placing unrealistic expectations on families.

“Budgets are always about values and choices, and these clearly are tough choices,” she declared. “The easy cuts have all been done.”

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Valeria Fernández ]]> http://publisher.namx.org/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id=19&id=103 PHOENIX --Lisa Marie Cookingham, an OBGYN doctor at several hospitals in Maricopa County, often sees cases of incarcerated patients being shackled to their beds during labor—a practice, she said, puts women and their unborn babies at risk.

“I experience first-hand the harmful practice of shackling prisoners,” she testified at Arizona’s Senate Public Safety and Human Services Committee in support of a bill to ban the practice statewide.

Mother’s, Baby’s Care Compromised

Cookingham testified that as recently as two weeks ago correctional officers refused to take the shackles off a woman in labor delaying the delivery of the baby by making it difficult for the mother to push.

“It was clear that the patient’s care and the care of the baby was being compromised,” she said. Eventually, the shackles were removed. “This, unfortunately, is not a unique situation, it has been repeated many times,” she added.

The physician said the use of restraint was “excessive” and didn’t take into consideration the “overall safety and health of the patients.”

Senate Bill 1184, sponsored by Arizona Sen. Linda Gray, a Republican, would prohibit correctional facilities from using restraints on a pregnant inmate in a baby’s final trimester (three months) of gestation or during labor, delivery and postpartum recovery.

The bill provides an exception for the use of restraints at the request of medical staff or if a correctional official believes the woman presents a flight risk. An amendment approved by the committee would still allow for the use of “tether chain” attached to the bed frame or a detainee’s ankle “during postpartum recovery,” if there are safety concerns. But Gray wants to ensure that the tether is long enough to ensure the woman can move.

SB 1184, which has the support of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), found a strong advocate in Gray who is known for her pro-life stance.

Gray said she became aware of the issue through the American Civil Liberties Union and read a story in the Arizona Republic about Miriam Mendiola, who was shackled before and after her Cesarean section, by detention personnel from the sheriff’s office.

“I want to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” said Gray.

She describes Mendiola’s treatment as “inhumane.”

Miriam Mendiola’s case came to notoriety first in 2009. But when she filed a lawsuit last December stating she was subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, the issue resurfaced in the public eye.

Support Across Political Spectrum

“Because this bill is trying to ensure safer delivery conditions for mother and baby, this is an issue that tends to appeal to people on all points of the political spectrum,” said Anjali Abraham, ACLU of Arizona’s public policy director.

Abraham said that pregnant inmates are a vulnerable population, and the current practice puts their children at risk.

“These inmates by and large are focused on delivering their child,” she said. “In order to ensure the safety of mothers and babies we want to have a statewide standard.”

Gray said she was glad to work together with the ACLU. “We have a couple of issues we have agreed upon,” she said.

A similar bill is moving through Arizona’s House of Representatives, sponsored by Republican Cecil Ash. That bill did not get a hearing last year.

The practice of shackling prisoners in Arizona, especially those in the custody of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office came into public scrutiny when 2008 media reports surfaced in Spanish about the case of Alma Chacon. She alleged that a sheriff’s officer shackled both her arms and legs during labor.

Chacon was an undocumented immigrant, who was pulled over during a traffic stop by sheriff’s deputies in the town of El Mirage.

Joy Bertrand, Mendiola’s attorney, said the use of shackling would affect any pregnant woman, but she believes undocumented women are more vulnerable to the practice because state law requires that undocumented immigrants be kept in the jail without bail.

Bertrand doesn’t think that they legislators are connecting immigration policy with women giving birth, but the public does. “People saw what happened to Miriam and said: ‘What if it was my daughter that was arrested? What if it was my wife?’

No Arizona Standard

At least 14 other states have legislation banning the practice of shackling. Arizona has no uniform standard on the use of shackles.

For example, The Arizona Department of Corrections, which oversees state prison inmates, initiated a policy in 2003 requiring that a pregnant woman will not be restrained in any manner while in labor, while giving birth, or during the postpartum recovery period.

In 2008, the Federal Bureau of Prisons barred the shackling of pregnant inmates in federal prisons except when it was necessary for security concerns.

Also, the practice of shackling women during childbirth is frowned upon by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

During the hearing, Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office deputy chief Ray Churay--who is not opposing the bill--maintained that his agency only uses a long chain to restrain prisoners after a mother’s postpartum recovery. But Cookingham said she often sees instances of women’s ankles being restrained with a “short shackle” that would prevent them from moving.

There’s no data of how often the practice of shackling prisoners occurs in Arizona, but the bill would require correctional facilities to keep a publicly available record when they have to use shackles due to flight risk.

“One of the reasons we can’t say how often this happens is because there’s no reporting mechanism,” said the ACLU’s Abraham. But she said the multiple complaints her office has received show “it’s happened enough to be a real concern.”

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New America Media ]]> http://publisher.namx.org/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id=19&id=103 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad officially launched HispanTV, a Spanish-language satellite TV network, on Tuesday, saying the station would help end the West's "hegemony" of the airwaves.

The launch of the station comes on the heels of Ahmadinejad's tour of Venezuela, Cuba and Ecuador in an attempt to build stronger ties in Latin America.

The station is available on satellite, the Internet and mobile devices. The Miami Herald reports that on Tuesday it ran programming reporting that U.S. citizens were not in favor of Iran sanctions, as well as content from TeleSur, the Latin American network launched in 2005 with the backing of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

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National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health ]]> http://publisher.namx.org/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id=19&id=103 The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation’s decision to discontinue funds to Planned Parenthood health centers for breast cancer prevention, screenings and education is "potentially deadly for Latinas, the uninsured and low-income women across the country," according to Jessica González-Rojas, executive director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health.

"Latinas make up a substantial percentage of Planned Parenthood patients and often have no other health care options," she said. "We are incredibly saddened that the Komen Foundation buckled to political pressure rather than stand by the women most in need of services."

Planned Parenthood provided more than 170,000 breast cancer screenings in the past five years.

Hispanic women are 20 percent more likely to die from breast cancer when compared to non-Hispanic white women when diagnosed at a similar age and stage, according to recent research, and twice as likely to go without health insurance, according to U.S. Census data. Nearly forty percent have no health insurance, compared with just under 17 percent for white women. Screening rates for Hispanic women are also lower than for Caucasians – 69.7 percent compared to 72.7 percent – according to a study recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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This year at South By Southwest (SXSW) Latinos in the digital media space will have their very own lounge, party, and award ceremony highlighting their innovative work in social media and beyond. The events, wrapped into the name The Social...

Sara Inés Calderón ]]> http://publisher.namx.org/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id=19&id=103 This year at South By Southwest (SXSW) Latinos in the digital media space will have their very own lounge, party, and award ceremony highlighting their innovative work in social media and beyond. The events, wrapped into the name The Social Revolución, are being put together by Cultural Strategies, the communications firm in Austin, Texas.

The Revolucionario Awards, which will be awarded in three categories: The New Americano, The Mobilizer and The Innovator. The idea is to celebrate the work of Latinos online, whether they are independent or part of larger organizations, and consequently help open doors for even more Latinos in the digital space.

This event is important because, although Latinos are overpopulated on social networks and social media use, they are not always represented at conferences like SXSWi. Thus far several hundred people are expected to participate, and The Social Revolución has partnered with several other organizations, including News Taco.

Read more


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José Luis Sierra ]]> http://publisher.namx.org/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&blog_id=19&id=103 MONTEBELLO, Calif. - Hispanic gym goers in Los Angeles are about to flex their legal muscle against a nationwide fitness chain they claim deliberately failed to maintain proper health standards in clubs where a majority of members are Latino.

“The health conditions in this place are terrible,” says Abraham Mendoza, who since 1989 has been a member of the L.A. Fitness gym in Montebello, a mostly Latino neighborhood. “There is no soap, there is no toilet paper, machines are all dirty… an activity that should be healthy has turned hazardous.”

Mendoza and about half-a-dozen others stood outside the entrance to the gym, owned by the Irvine-based Fitness International LLC, gathering signatures for a petition to be used as part of the suit. He says some 200 disgruntled L.A. Fitness members have already signed.

The move comes on the heels of several similar suits filed in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Chicago, claiming that Fitness International violated consumer fraud regulations by not recognizing lifetime membership contracts with the Chicago-based Bally Fitness, also named in the suit and which late last year sold 171 of its gyms to the California company for $153 million.

L.A. Fitness is the second-highest grossing fitness center in the country, according to Club Industry’s “Top 100 Clubs” list, with annual revenues topping $1 billion. A discrimination suit was filed in 2010 against top-grossing 24 Hour Fitness by a Hispanic employee who claimed he was passed over for promotions because of his ethnicity.

The attorney representing plaintiffs in the L.A. Fitness case in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, Mark Guralnick, was quoted in media reports last week saying that he has received additional inquiries for possible lawsuits from California, Texas, Minnesota and Illinois.

“We have people coming to us from all over the country,” Guralnick said, anticipating several hundred more customers will add their names to the complaints that contend L.A. Fitness “failed to accommodate Bally members at their clubs” and that some L.A. Fitness clubs now are so crowded “as to deprive Bally members of the…benefits of their memberships.”

Some of those members, who paid upwards of $1200 for lifetime contracts, were informed after the deal with Fitness International that they would now face renewal fees and be limited to a single gym. Others say they were encouraged to sign contracts just days ahead of the sale and were told not to expect any change in the conditions.

The Los Angeles suit would add charges of racial discrimination to a list that in addition to consumer fraud also includes breach of contract and violation of the state health club services act.

“I am sure this wouldn’t happen in Irvine, or higher income areas,” says Guillermina Yakimowich, who has been a member of Montebello’s L.A. Fitness gym for the past 17 years. The Mexico native joined Mendoza outside the Montebello gym, which she says is just a five-minute drive from her house. “I know they have better gyms, but I can’t afford the time and the driving expense to go to a better area,” she said.

Others have complained of being turned away for membership, of a failure to give notice of pending rate increases, and a gradual decline in the number of trainers available.

“In this gym, water leaks in the steam room and overall sanitary conditions are terrible,’’ says Tony Marquez, who pays $100 a month to use the facilities at the Montebello center. “We report the problems but nothing happens,” he adds.

Calls to Fitness International for comment on the pending litigation went unreturned, though the company recently provided a membership status update on its website saying it has simplified access rules, including allowing Bally “local” members access to L.A. Fitness clubs and acquired Bally clubs.

With the November deal, L.A. Fitness now owns some 500 centers nationwide, including 40 former Bally centers in Southern California.

And while the decision to ease access rules may go some way in addressing earlier complaints, Hispanic members in Los Angeles say the problem runs much deeper.

Rosario Vigil attends the L.A. Fitness gym in the city of Alhambra, west of Los Angeles. She says the facilities at her gym are new and that the “services are good,” though she acknowledges there “may be some truth” to the complaints lodged against other centers. As an example, she notes that the gym nearer to her home in Pasadena lacks many of the features found at the Alhambra gym, including a pool.

According to members from the Latino community, the reason has to do with demographics.

“We contacted gym goers in different areas,” says Javier Rodriguez, a Bally Fitness member since 1987 and one of those filing the suit. He says based on the information gathered, “the quality of service and maintenance of the installations had much to do with the income level of the people who live in those areas.”

“This,” he added, “is why we believe there is racial profiling involved.”

Rodriguez and the others say they plan to continue with the signature gathering campaign, adding they are also hoping to bring pressure on the Los Angeles County Health Department, which they say should be responsible for enforcing hygienic and sanitary conditions at local gyms.

No date has been set for when they will file the suit.

Correction: An earlier version of this story mistated the cost of gym membership at the Montebello center as $100 a year. The correct figure is $100 a month.

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