FrontPage Stories

“We want a fair contract!”

Children’s Hospital San Diego employees had a demonstration this week. They demand better wages and benefits

By Pablo Jaime Sainz

Although Maria Ramirez has been working for 36 years in maintenance at Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego, she only makes $11.41 an hour.

The 62-year-old woman hasn’t received a raise in nine years.

“I can’t retired because I haven’t been able to save enough because I can’t make it with my salary,” said Ramirez outside the hospital last Wednesday when a group of about 200 workers held a demonstration demanding better salaries and health insurance.

“Bosses don’t recognize our service to the hospital and our dedication to the children,” she said. “Some of my colleagues are surprised by how long it’s taken us to get a contract, but I’m not surprised. Hospital owners don’t care about us.”

For two years, these workers have been trying to negotiate a contract with the hospital’s top-level administration with no success.

“Workers are demanding higher minimum wages, more affordable health insurance and job security,” said Lucila Conde, a translator at Children´s Hospital and one of the most outspoken workers in the matter.

Originally, the workers, represented by the Service Employees International Union, had planned to hold a picket line outside the hospital.

But, according to Vaishalee Raja, SEIU representative, “Children’s Hospital has relied on legal maneuvering to delay a picket workers, in an effort to stop employees from publicly discussing the poor working conditions they are trying to change”.

Tom Hanscom, the hospital´s spokesperson, said on Wednesday that the petition that the Union made to the Federal Mediation Conciliation Service, which handles permits for public protests and strikes, contained many errors.

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“¡Queremos un contrato justo!”
Empleados del Children’s Hospital de San Diego tuvieron una manifestación esta semana. Exigen mejores salarios y prestaciones
Por Pablo Jaime Sainz
A pesar de que María Ramírez tiene 36 años trabajando en la limpieza del Rady Children’s Hospital en San Diego, sólo gana $11.41 dólares por hora.

The Debate Right, Left and Center
By Frank Sharry
WASHINGTON, DC — I’m a participant in the nation’s controversial immigration policy debate. I work in Washington, DC for a pro-immigrant organization trying to convince lawmakers to enact bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform.

Victorian Heights es ahora un mejor lugar para familias
Por Pablo Jaime Sainz
Cuando las mujeres quieren empezar una nueva vida con sus hijos después de vivir a través del infierno de la violencia doméstica, ellas necesitan un lugar seguro y confiable donde vivir.

Victorian Heights is now a better place for struggling families
By Pablo Jaime Sainz
When women want to start a new life with their children after living through the hell of domestic violence, they need a safe, reliable place to live.

Stories

La Intolerancia Como División en el México Poselectoral
Por: Enrique Davis Mazlum
A escasas dos semanas de la elección presidencial, y en medio de una de las crisis políticas poselectorales más importantes de los últimos tiempos, este pasado domingo 16 de julio se reunieron, según la Secretaria de Seguridad del Gobierno del Distrito Federal, más de un millón cien mil personas en apoyo a Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

México del Norte
Por Jorge Mújica Murias
La fuerza de los números
Como si fuera una de esas encuestas estilo Fecal (Felipe Calderón) o de las del Prep del IFE, donde los números se acomodan solitos como por arte de magia y justifican exactamente lo que quiere el que las mandó a hacer, el movimiento en favor de los inmigrantes en México del Norte acaba de recibir dos series de números favorables. Es algo así como tratar de ganar la presidencia con estadísticas en vez de votos.

Study on Minority Advertising to Determine Equality on Federal Outreach for Minorities
Despite an executive order and a bill enacted into law by Congress designed to aggressively take steps to direct resources towards minority owned media, historically the federal government has not allocated a proportionally fair amount of resources to promote federal programs directed towards minorities in minority owned and minority consumed media. A study on minority advertising requested of the General Accounting Office (GAO) would determine the effectiveness of the current administration in addressing this issue.

Farmacia gratuita de Tijuana Clamor de Salud: Un proyecto altruista en riesgo de desaparecer
Por Luis Alonso Pérez
Hace cinco años dos médicos de Tijuana que se encontraban como invitados en el programa de radio “Clamor de salud” le comentaron al conductor, Dante Néstor Domínguez, que en Tijuana se morían aproximadamente 20 personas al mes ya que no tenían el dinero suficiente para comprar medicinas.

The scientists of the future are here
The EXPORT Training Lab encourages Latino and African-American students to pursue careers in science.
By Pablo Jaime Sainz
Nicole Gomez always wanted to be a doctor.

LA COLUMNA VERTEBRAL
Por Luisa Fernanda Montero
Vivir con epilepsia, más allá de los mitos y las mentiras
Aunque es cierto que millones de personas en el mundo viven con epilepsia – 2,8 millones en Estados Unidos – es cierto también que miles de personas trabajan para alivianar la carga que implica vivir con esta condición, y hacer posible que quienes tienen epilepsia lleven una vida normal, tranquila y feliz.

Political and Community Notes:
Michael Dalla Seeks to Bring Renewed Trust, Accountability and Optimism to National City
Michael Dalla, a five-time former Councilmember currently serving as City Clerk, has announced his candidacy for National City Mayor. Dalla is a candidate to replace Nick Inzunza, who announced he would not seek re-election.

Editorials

Editorial:
The Most Racist City in America – Hazleton, PA
On July 12th, the Hazleton, Pennsylvania City Council voted to approve an Illegal Immigration Relief Act, creating one of the strictest Anti-Immigrant laws in the United States. This Relief Act will impose severe penalties on landlords who rent space to illegal immigrants, suspend the licenses of businesses that employ them and declared English the city’s official language.

Commentary:
Afterthoughts on UCSD’s purchase of the Herman Baca Collection
Jorge Mariscal
The purchase of National City activist Herman Baca’s collected papers by UCSD was celebrated last Saturday by San Diego’s Chicano community and rightly so. One chapter in the history of San Diego’s Chicano community has been saved for our collective memory and the archive will be an important resource for scholars and students. Saturday’s celebration was a huge success.

Commentary
Now That My Friend Is Dead, The Iraq War Hits Home
By Christine Ferrer
SAN FRANCISCO—On June 29, Army Spc. Christopher D. Rose, 21, was out on a regular day on patrol in Baghdad when he stopped near the entrance of his base to remove some barbed wire. As he grabbed the wire, he stepped on an improvised explosive device and it killed him.

Commentary:
The New Culture War
By Rinku Sen
In the ongoing battle over immigration, conservative rhetoric continues to escalate. It’s racist, and it gets results. This year, more than 30 states have passed 57 laws banning the undocumented from receiving social services or pledging National Guard troops to patrol the southern U.S. border. Earlier this week, House Republicans in Washington talked about “cracking down” on undocumented immigrants. Republicans have been told to move ahead but avoid pissing off Latinos — their lesson from Proposition 187 in California — but a little decoding of the symbols, soundbites and economic arguments they use, exposes their fear of a browner nation.

Comentario:
Desequilibrio en el Medio Oriente
Por Humberto Caspa, Ph.D
Los problemas en el medio Medio Oriente se intensifican día a día. Más allá de transformarse en un conflicto global, como algunos analistas de la política ya empezaron a conjeturar, el enfrentamiento entre musulmanes chiitas de Beirut e israelitas todavía mantiene su carácter regional. No tiene visos de globalizarse mientras Estados Unidos y alguna de las potencias mundiales antagónicas decidan entrometerse en uno y otro país. De momento, no creo que eso suceda.

Commentary:
Welfare rule changes hurt states, the poor
By Premilla Nadasen
President Bush recently signed a bill making it harder for states and participants in welfare-to-work programs to get the help they need.

Etc. Etc. Etc.
Entertainment, Reviews, Sporting news, and other tid bits

Los Bilingual Writers un paso más cerca a la publicación
Grupo literario local publicará su primera antología en diciembre
Por Pablo Jaime Sainz
Cuando le preguntan por qué creó un taller literario para gente joven, a Irene Márquez le gusta citar al poeta mexicano Octavio Paz.

Los Bilingual Writers one step closer to publishing
Local writing group will publish first members’ anthology in December
By Pablo Jaime Sainz
When asked why she created a literary workshop for young people, Irene Marquez likes to cite Mexican poet Octavio Paz.

Don’t miss “On the edge”, a new documentary about the femicide in Ciudad Juárez
Luis Alonso Pérez
When Steev Hise, a video-grapher, activist, and artist joined the International Caravan for Justice to Ciudad Juarez in the fall of 2004, he planed to shoot a short video about the delegation, but when he got there and learned first hand about the brutal rapes and assassinations poor working-class women are exposed to, he realized that there was something he had to do about it.

Visita Tijuana la Rutilante Estrella del Cine Mexicano Elsa Aguirre
Por: Paco Zavala
Elsa Aguirre, la bella actríz mexicana, cuyo nombre verdadero es Elsa Irma Aguirre Juárez, bellísima, exitosa y rutilante estrella del cine mexicano de la época dorada, estará de visita por Tijuana, para participar en el marco del 6to Festival de Alternativas: Salud, Arte, Cultura y Tradición, que se realizará los próximos días sábado 22 y domingo 23 de julio, en el Teatro del Instituto Tecnológico de Tijuana.

Romantic Comedy with Heart present by the Latino Film Festival
The Media Arts Center San Diego is proud to present AVELLANEDA’S MOON (LA LUNA DE AVELLANEDA), an audience favorite at film festivals around the world, for the July installment of Cinema en tu Idioma. The romantic comedy which follows a group of lively Argentines who keep the spirit of their social club alive despite the country’s economic collapse will enjoy a one-week exclusive run at UltraStar Mission Valley Cinemas at Hazard Center July 28 – August 3, 2006.

El Festival de Cine Latino Presenta Una Encantadora Comedia Romántica
El Media Arts Center San Diego tiene el orgullo de presentar “LA LUNA DE AVELLANEDA”, película favorita por la audiencia en festivales alrededor del mundo será presentada dentro del marco del programa Cinema en tu Idioma del mes de Julio. Es una historia entrañable y romántica que narra la vida de una comunidad Argentina que hace todo por mantener vivo el espíritu de su club social en el cual han dado lugar los momentos más importantes de sus vidas y ahora se ve afectado por el colapso de la crisis económica del país. No se pierda la oportunidad de disfrutar de esta maravillosa película en los Ultra Star Misión Valley Cinemas en Hazard Center del 28 de julio al 3 de agosto.

VAMOS AL CINE:
En la búsqueda de su propio mito
Natasha Pérez tiene las mismas urgencias que su director en Lady in the water
Por Jose Daniel Bort
En la nueva película “Lady in the water”, su director M. Night Shyamalan actúa un personaje podría tener mucho de autobiográfico. Se trata de un escritor luchando con sus propios bloqueos artísticos. La película en si misma se siente como la última transmutación de las propias barreras personales, al lograr el autor la historia que estaba buscando.

VAMOS AL CINE:
Clerks II es mucho mejor que lo que su nombre presenta
La actriz latina Rosario Dawson se destaca con un personaje sin plumas ni lentejuelas
Por Jose Daniel Bort
Si alguna película podría argumentar la razón por las que las historias debieran ser revisitadas en el cine es definitivamente en esta comedia mucho más dulce que agria que el creador Kevin Smith lleva a las carteleras este fin de semana.

Escalona Excited to Participate in Cal State Games
By John Philip Wyllie
Although she is only a teenager, Escondido’s Lorronishae Escalona can trace the beginnings of her swimming career back to 1968.

U.S. looks for different kind of team
By Jared A. Taylor
Recognizing that the “Dream Team” concept has come and gone, USA Basketball officials have hatched a new procedure to select the squad that will represent America in the Olympics.

Bullfight World
By Lyn Sherwood
A Great Weekend for Tijuana Aficionados
The first “mini-feria” of modern times was celebrated, last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, in Plaza El Toreo de Tijuana Three bullfights in three days! For aficionados, it was a dream come true.

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