Volume XXVII Number 14 April 4, 2003

FrontPage Stories

La licencia de conducir: para que se respete el derecho al trabajo

Por: Emmanuelle Le Texier

La influencia política de las comunidades migrantes en los Estados Unidos tienen un potencial de presión cada vez mas fuerte sobre los gobiernos estatales estadunidenses. Apoyados de manera implícita por los gobiernos de sus países de origen, las comunidades mexicanas y guatemaltecas en particular han dado voz a muchas demandas para proteger y garantizar los derechos mínimos de los que se encuentran sin estatuto legal en los EEUU. La matrícula consular, éxito de la politica exterior mexicana está dando sus frutos para los Guatemaltecos, especialmente en San Diego donde vino el consulado móvil guatemalteco a expedir matrículas a sus conacionales. El poder obtener la licencia de conducir sin demostrar pruebas de estatuto migratorio es otra de las luchas que se han desarrollado desde más de un año en California, y en casi todos los Estados de la República americana.

En California, el gobernador Gray Davis ha vetado la propuesta de ley que hubiera permitido obtener la licencia de conducir sin requerimiento de prueba de estatuto migratorio legal. El veto ocurrió justo antes de las elecciones de noviembre 2002 y le quitó a Gray Davis el apoyo de muchos electores latinos y del Caucus Latino. No obstante, el senador Gil Cedillo (Demócrata- Los Angeles) acaba de introducir una nueva propuesta de ley, la SB60, que fue aprobada el 1ro de abril por el Comité del Senado de California. Para poder aplicar para una licencia de conducir, se requería que el aplicante tuviera un número de seguro social o un número federal de identificación individual de contribuyente (taxpayer). La presión ejercida por diferentes organizaciones latinas será imprescindible para convertir la propuesta en ley.

Follow this link for the rest of the story:

A breakfast honoring the legacy of César Chávez
 Dozens of people –the majority children— gathered last Friday to pay tribute to the memory of the farm workers’ leader
By: Pablo De Sainz
The Fifth Annual César Chávez Breakfast was celebrated last Friday March 28, at the San Diego Convention Center to honor the life and work of the campesino leader, César Chávez, who passed away on April 1993, at the age of 66.

Healing Trips to Ensenada
The Journey of UCSD’s Flying Sams
 By: Mariana Martinez
The Flying Samaritans began in 1961 when pilot Aileen Mellott and her passengers, had to make an emergency landing in El Rosario -a small rural town in Baja California, Mexico. The people of El Rosario generously offered their hospitality to Aileen and her crew, allowing the Americans to stay in their homes and providing them with food until they could return to the US.

Con Gran Éxito Se Realizó la 11ava Conferencia Anual “Adelante Mujer” Organizada Por la Asociación de Latinas del Condado Norte en el Colegio Palomar de San Marcos
 Por: America B. Feldman
El pasado Sábado 22 de Marzo se llevó a cabo con gran éxito la Onceava Conferencia Anual “Adelante Mujer”, en el patio del Palomar College en San Marcos, evento que la Asociación de Latinas del Condado Norte (NCLA) realiza cada año, y que se ha convertido en uno de los grandes logros de este grupo de mujeres sobresalientes latinas de nuestra sociedad, encabezadas por Minerva Gonzalez y una esmerada participación de cada una de los miembros de esta agrupación.
Stories

Court Orders State Board of Education to Immediately Cease Implementation of Underground Regulation 
 State Board Failed to Provide Notice and Obtain Public Input Prior to Excluding Alternative Bilingual Classrooms From Participation in Reading First Program
San Francisco, CA — At the request of parents and nonprofit organizations throughout the State, San Francisco Judge Ronald Evans Quidachay issued orders yesterday blocking the State Board of California and the California Department of Education from continuing their unlawful and exclusionary implementation of the federal Reading First grant program.

Ford Foundation Grant Leads to Border Journalism Conference in Tijuana
 With funding from a Ford Foundation grant, US-based Homelands Productions has been working collaboratively with Mexican journalists to create radio documentaries that are airing in both Mexico and the US. Besides producing the “Border Stories” series on various aspects of the US-Mexico border, the project has been an exploration of the possibilities and difficulties of transborder journalism. This aspect of the grant—transborder journalism—will be examined at the Border Journalism Conference in Tijuana, on May 15, 2003.

New C.A.M.P. Coordinator Sees Position as Chance to Make a Difference
 Jacqueline Azize-Brewer, Ph.D., whose participation in challenging scientific research projects, faculty interaction and classroom experiences as a transfer student at the University of California, San Diego led to her earning a doctorate in neurosciences at UCSD and to her desire to assist other students towards their research and academic goals, has been named coordinator of UCSD’s California Alliance for Minority Participation in Science, Engineering and Mathematics Program (CAMP).

EDD Honors César Chávez Everyday
 SACRAMENTO – As California celebrates the life and work of legendary labor leader Cesar Chavez with the 3rd annual “Cesar Chavez Day of Service and Learning”, the state Employment Development Department (EDD) honors Chavez throughout the year. A major responsibility of EDD is providing year-round services to migrant and seasonal farmworkers, who toil the fields everyday putting food on our tables.

Collateral Damage to Latina/o Immigrant Community After Sept. 11, 2001 Attack is Topic of April 11 Lecture at UCSD
 America’s heightened sensitivity to terrorism and the government’s crackdown on immigrant communities - specifically, the Latina/o immigrant community in the United States - is the topic of a lecture to be presented at noon April 11 in the Cross-Cultural Center at the University of California, San Diego. The event is free and open to the public.

Local Latina Non-Profit Awards 19 Scholarships
 San Diego MANA will award scholarships to 19 Latinas who are pursuing a college education. The 2003 Sylvia Chavez Memorial Scholarship recipients are each attending a community college, undergraduate or graduate course of study.

Female Aerospace Engineer From NASA Addresses GEM-SET Event at UCSD to Encourage More Girls in Science
 When Aprille Ericcson, an aerospace engineer at NASA headquarters/Goddard Space Flight Center and the first African American female to receive a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Howard University, first set out on a career in science, her desire to succeed was strong but the challenges were many.

LA COLUMNA VERTEBRAL
Por Diego Alvarez
Los costos de la guerra
Hoy, cuando el mundo entero se encuentra sumido y perplejo en una guerra frenética y sangrienta, en la que los medios de comunicación de cada bando se preocupan porque la opinión pública se convenza de cuál es la verdadera “realidad”; los costos de la guerra siguen remontándose a cifras astronómicas, en las que necesariamente debe incluirse el daño en la sociedad civil iraquí.

Scripps Memorial Hospital Chula Vista Host Mentoring Program
 Scripps Memorial Hospital Chula Vista in collaboration with the San Diego Border Area Health Education Center (AHEC) have established a “School-to-Health Career Mentoring Program” targeting high school students in order to provide youth interested in the health field with mentors.

Granger Students Spend Saturday in the Classroom
 Seventh Graders Experiment at Engineering and Science Day
Instead of spending a warm San Diego County Saturday at the beach or the park, 25 Granger Junior High seventh graders chose to go to school. The students were invited to attend the school’s Engineering and Science Day to dabble in physics and chemistry—and get the chance to win a free computer to take home with them at the end of the day.

El Fondo Sallie Mae Se Asocia con la Fundación Self Reliance Para Aumentar el Conocimiento Sobre la Educación Superior Entre las Familias Hispanas
 El Fondo Sallie Mae (Sallie Mae Fund) anunció el día de hoy su alianza con la fundación Self Reliance (Self Reliance Foundation -SRF) para transmitir programas educativos en español a través de la Red Hispana de Radio y así ayudar a incrementar el número de Hispanos que asisten a la escuela universitaria - college. Esta alianza logrará dicho incremento mediante el aumento de información y conocimiento sobre la accesibilidad y las posibilidades que ofrecen los estudios superiores.

Southwestern College Sponsors Career Expo Week
 CHULA VISTA — Looking for a job and don’t know where or how to begin? Southwestern College will have the answer to this and many other employment questions during its Career Expo Week which is taking place from April 7-10, 2003.

San Diego Youth@Work Partners With Nationally-Acclaimed Dance Troupe
 Empowering youth through a fusion of dance and scripture is the focus of a partnership between Adrian Ewing and The Steps of Praise and the San Diego Youth@Work (SDY@W) program. Through this relationship, the dance troupe will host weekly dance workshops for program participants. The workshops are part of the program’s mission to not only train youth for career success, but, to also encourage creativity and support the art of expression. The classes take place every Friday, 4-5:30 p.m., at the YO! Spot youth center, 4153 Market Street, Suite !.

Free Tax Filing Assistance to the Public
 City of San Diego and the IRS Partner to Offer Assistance on April 5th and 12th
The City of San Diego and the Internal Revenue have collaborated to offer free income tax assistance on Saturday, April 5th and 12th through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Volunteers trained by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will prepare the forms between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on both days.

Leanne Monzon-Alexis Gerard Abalos Exchange Marriage Vows
 It was two o’clock in the afternoon, on a bright sunny Saturday, the 22nd of March, when the Leanne Monzon –Alexis Gerard Abalos wedding party assembled on the main entryway to the Immaculate Catholic Church, located on the University of San Diego Campus. The time had come for the last unmarried child of Barbara and the late Leonardo Monzon to enter into Holy Matrimony with Alexis Gerard Abalos, son of Alex and Erlinda Abalos.

Editorials

Editorial
President Vicente Fox Fails to Act In Mexico’s Best Interest
 In choosing not to align itself with the United States, in the war against Iraq, Mexico failed to act in its own national interests. A cardinal principal in dealing with International politics is that Nation States should always act in the self-interest of the state and not personalities. Regardless of the form of government, that a Nation State has, it must, in the final analysis, do what is in the self-interest of the Nation and its own survival. It cannot vote on the basis of personal emotion, friendships or the cult of personalities. President Vicente Fox of Mexico, in our opinion, failed to vote in Mexico’s self-interest when it choose not to support the United States in its war against Iraq in the United Nations vote.

Editorial
 Chula Vista Elementary School Board Short Changes Student’s Education
 For the past three weeks all of our attention has been riveted on the war in Iraq. However, other equally important issues, such as those that impact on our schools have dropped below the public’s radar screen.

Commentary
Parents and Employees are Engaged in City Schools Budget Discussions
By: Ronne Froman
As San Diego City Schools, along with districts across the state, confronts one of the toughest budget crises in years, collaboration will become increasingly important to preserve and continue the gains we have made in improving student achievement.

Commentary
A Bad Idea That Just Won’t Die
 By Assemblywoman Patricia Bates
Sometimes bad ideas just won’t die. During the last session of the California Legislature, time ran out on legislation that would have mandated all private businesses who contract with the State to provide domestic partner benefits to all of their employees.

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

Se presenta una nueva propuesta artística
 Por: Paco Zavala
En el correr de la vida de todos los seres humanos se encuentran singularidades muy peculiares y diversas, que lo identifican como una persona de características únicas.

Cuerpos en transito
Muestra de Danza Contemporanea, Tijuana
 Por: Mariana Martinez
 Cuerpos en transito es el nombre de la ya tradicional muestra de danza contemporánea de esta frontera, caracterizada por convocar, tanto a bailarines de talla internacional como a talentosos de la escena nacional y local que se caracterizan por su impecable técnica dancística y novedosas propuestas en escena.

Jaguares’ ritual returns to Tijuana
 The Mexican rock en español band had a concert at the Municipal Auditorium in Tijuana, where almost 4,000 people gathered last weekend
Por: Pablo De Sainz
It was almost 6:30 in the afternoon when I arrived at the Tijuana Municipal Auditorium, thinking that the line wasn’t going to be very long. But, by mistake, I forgot that it was a Jaguares concert, which is the most popular rock en español band in Mexico. And I also forgot that raza from Tijuana is very fanatical about songs as “Matenme porque me muero” and “Afuera.”

Regresa a Tijuana el Ritual de Jaguares
 La banda de rock mexicana se presentó en el Auditorio Municipal de Tijuana, evento al que asistieron alrededor de 4,000 rockeros.
Por: Pablo De Sainz
Eran las 6:30 de la tarde cuando llegué al Auditorio Municipal de Tijuana, creyendo que la fila no iba a estar muy pesada. Pero, por error, olvidé que era un concierto de Jaguares, la banda de rock con más seguidores en el rock mexicano. Y también olvidé que la raza de Tijuana es muy fanática de rolas como “Mátenme porque me muero” y “Afuera”.

Organizan y Presentan el II Festival de Teatro y Danza en Rosarito y Tijuana.
 Por: Paco Zavala
En el marco de la celebración del Día Mundial del Teatro, que fué creado en 1961 por el Instituto Internacional del Teatro (ITI), que a partir de esta fecha se determinó para celebrarlo el día 27 de marzo de cada año por los Centros (ITI) y la comunidad teatral internacional.

19th Annual San Diego International Film Festival
 The 19th Annual San Diego International Film Festival (SDIFF) opens on Friday April 8 with the local premiere of renowned actor John Malkovich’s celebrated directorial debut of the thriller The Dancer Upstairs and closes on Friday April 18 with the acclaimed—and controversial, winner of two major awards at the Cannes Film Festival, the Palestinian comedy Divine Intervention.

16th Annual Santa Fe Market Displays Finest Southwestern Art and Handiwork
 The best of the Southwest will be on vibrant display when the 16th Annual Santa Fe Market, Friday – Sunday, April 11, 12 and 13, 2003 comes to the Bazaar del Mundo in Old Town State Historic Park.

Mosaico de Actividades Culturales en Tijuana
 Por Paco Zavala
En el periodo correspondiente a la primera semana de abril, se desarrollan una serie de eventos importantes en la comunidad.

Calendar of Events.....
 By Berenice Cisneros
Mexican Imagery on Paper
Back from Tomboctou Gallery and Imports will present “Mexican Imagery on Paper”. This is an exhibit showcasing original Volantes or broadsheets, Mexican Cinema lobby cards and old Cinema movie posters.

Spirit Open 2003 Season With High Hopes
 By John Philip Wyllie
The San Diego Spirit will hope the third time is the charm when they open their 2003 season on Saturday April 5 at 6:00 p.m. at USD Torero Stadium. After failing to make the WUSA playoffs again last year, the Spirit conducted an off-season house cleaning. Eleven players from their 2002 opening day roster have been dispatched. In their place, a lot of eager, new faces, a new coach, a new General Manager and more importantly a new attitude.

‘The Ghost’ Joins Hunt For Missing Modesto Woman
 By: Fiona Manning
Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero – the wiz kid southpaw featherweight prospect from Gilroy, CA is dedicating his next fight May 4 to the search for missing Modesto woman, Laci Peterson.