Volume XXIX Number 31 August 5, 2005

FrontPage Stories

Pat Aguilar fighting to perserve Chula Vista’s character

By Kelley Dupuis

Those who know Patricia Aguilar know her to be easygoing, soft-spoken... and absolutely determined to preserve the character of Chula Vista as she knows it, and cherishes it.

What they might not know is that Aguilar’s passion is firmly grounded in her own education. She is currently an investment advisor. However holds an M.A. degree in architecture and urban planning from UCLA. Although she never worked as an architect, she spent 15 years as director of planning at UCSD.

In other words, Aguilar is no stranger to that for which she campaigns with such vigor.

She will be the first to tell you that her educational background is key to her interest in how the Chula Vista develops in years to come. She is currently serving as president of Crossroads II, a grassroots group in the community whose mission is to see that whatever the city’s explosive growth does, it does not compromise the character of the city.

“I think the bureaucracy got to me,” she said of her years at UCSD, an experience that might have carried a hint of her future experiences with the City of Chula Vista. In any case, she struck out on her own in the early 1990s and studied to become a financial advisor.

It was during her time at UCSD that she met her husband Nick Aguilar, who today serves on the San Diego County School Board.

But it was when the Aguilars moved to the Rancho del Rey area off East H Street, around 1990, that Patricia Aguilar got her first chance to spar with the city over land use.

“This was before Costco was out there,” she said. “It was all vacant land. The city had zoned that area for a business park. But then out of the blue, I got a notice that the city wanted to change the zoning to allow an auto park there.”


Azucar Events’ second anniversary bash
By Luis Alonso Pérez
Chicos and chicas, it’s time to dance the night away with La Internacional Sonora Show at Azucar’s second anniversary bash, Thursday, August 11th. An evening to celebrate two years of nightclub events that has brought together a new generation of San Diego Latinos and Latinas to the dance floor.


Fiesta de segundo aniversario de eventos Azúcar
Por Luis Alonso Pérez
Chicos y chicas, llegó la hora de pasar la noche bailando con La Internacional Sonora Show en la fiesta de segundo aniversario de Azúcar, el jueves 11 de agosto. Una noche para celebrar dos años de eventos que han reunido a una generación de Latinos y Latinas en las pistas de baile de San Diego.


Remembering Freelance Reporter Steven Vincent — One of a Kind
By Sandy Close
Steven Vincent, a U.S. freelancer kidnapped and executed in Basra on August 2, was one of a kind. For Americans trying to make sense of the war in Iraq, that’s precisely the problem.



Stories

Congressional TriCaucus Pushes for Healthcare Equality
CHC, CAPAC, CBC Sponsor Bill to Fight Health Disparities
Washington, DC — Yesterday Members of the TriCaucus - made up of Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) - joined with House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi to introduce the “Healthcare Equality and Accountability Act,” ground-breaking legislation that addresses persistent healthcare disparities by providing access to quality medical treatment for patients from minority communities across the country.


México del Norte
Por Jorge Mújica Murias
Tan lejos de Dios
Bilar Damasceno es brasileño, y tenía una panadería en Brasilia, pero la vendió. En un asalto, le pegaron un tiro en la pierna, y el ladrón además le advirtió que si lo pescaban, volvería con major puntería, así que unos días después Damasceno remató su changarro, y voló a México con su esposa Adriana y su hija Yazmine.


“I’m not the ‘Gay Mayor’” – Padilla says he has no agenda
By Kelley Dupuis
When Chula Vista Mayor Steve Padilla went public this week with the fact that he’s gay, he insisted that he wasn’t really “going public” at all.


“No soy el ‘Alcalde Gay’” –Padilla dice no tener agenda personal
Por Kelley Dupuis
Cuando el alcalde de Chula Vista Steve Padilla hizo publico el hecho de que es gay, insistió de que en verdad no lo estaba haciendo “algo publico”.


HIROSHIMA: A MEDITATION ON THE HORROR
By Ronald Takaki
During the days before that fateful August 6, 1945, General Douglas MacArthur learned that Japan had asked Russia to negotiate a surrender. “We expected acceptance of the Japanese surrender daily,” one of his staff members recalled. When he was notified that an atomic bomb had been dropped on Hiroshima, the general was “livid.” MacArthur declared that the atomic attack on Hiroshima was “completely unnecessary from a military point of view.”


Homeland Security in 1846 or The Scary Summer of ‘46
by Albert Simonson
There were some jittery nerves in southern California when news arrived that President Polk had declared war on Mexico. At the time, this WAS Mexico.

LA COLUMNA VERTEBRAL
Por Luisa Fernanda Montero
La universidad: Un sueño posible para las familias hispanas
“No hay nada que pueda derrumbar nuestros sueños” dice Daisy Alfaro, una joven hispana que realizó su sueño de ir a la universidad;  lo dice con convicción y el tono de su voz tiene tal carga de positivismo y determinación que sería un disparate dudar de sus palabras.


Editorials

Editorial:
Luis Acle School Board Trustee Betrays Community
Luis Acle is a conundrum. As voters you assumed that when he ran for the seat on the San Diego Unified School Board it was to make a difference and to represent the district for a full term. It was also assumed that as the elected official of the San Diego Unified School Board, that was in such disarray, that he had the passion to be an agent of change and to fix what he and the community perceived to be wrong. Acle stated throughout his campaign, that he wanted to make a difference for his grandchildren. What you didn’t presume was that the person you elected was only looking at his School Board seat as a stepping stone to higher office.


Commentary:
Chula Vista at a Crossroad, which road will they choose?
By Patricia Aguilar
The debate over building heights in Chula Vista is really representative of a difference in visions for our city. We see two roads ahead of us. One road leads toward Oakland. Like Chula Vista, Oakland is a satellite city to a larger metropolitan center. The median age of its population is 33, exactly the same as Chula Vista. Both have roughly the same median household income (about $45,000). (All data based on the 2000 census.) Years ago Oakland took the road Chula Vista city officials seem to want to take now. They went about trying to attract pretty much any development developers wanted to build. Decades later, Oakland’s new downtown is mostly a collection of modern glassy buildings that bear no relationship to Oakland’s rich cultural heritage. And the world continues to view Oakland as a back-office, second fiddle to San Francisco.


Comentario:
El CAFTA-RD: Entre el Beneficio Económico y el Riesgo Político
Por Manuel R. Villacorta O.
Un cable de Associated Press fechado 29 de julio, emitido en Washington, expone que: “En una de sus victorias más importantes, Bush logró el miércoles en la noche el respaldo de la Cámara de Representantes a su Acuerdo de Libre Comercio con Centroamérica y República Dominicana (CAFTA-RD), que había sido aprobado anteriormente en el Senado por 217 votos a favor y 215 en contra”. Según el proceso establecido, el 1 de enero de 2006 el CAFTA-RD entrará en vigencia.


Commentary:
Protecting the Right to Vote on the 40th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act
By Congressman Bob Filner
In August, we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965-one of the most effective and crucial civil rights laws ever enacted. It worked to end techniques that had been used for decades to deny millions of Americans the right to vote.

Comentario:
Pesadilla en el Barrio Latino
 Por Humberto Caspa, Ph.D
El “gigante latino” ha despertado suena mejor para un anuncio amarillista que para una tesis analítica y rigurosa. El hecho de que la población de descendencia latina crezca en términos cuantitativos, no significa que las instituciones de poder, tanto en el gobierno federal, el estado y los gobiernos locales, estén teniendo una reconversión política significativa en los últimos años.


TEZOZOMOC SPEAKS:
 In one corner it is Donna Frye, in the other, Jerry Sanders, and both came out swinging. It really wasn’t a fair fight.


The Public Forum ... El Foro Público
Why Aren’t Shootings Being Investigated
We the Chicano/Mexicano indigenous people of this land are all for Homeland Security for our country. After all, we as indigenous people have been fighting terrorism ever since Christopher Columbus and millions of terrorist invaders came to our country illegally.


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

Para ‘lonchear’, las loncheras
Estos carros de comida son toda una tradición en nuestra comunidad.
Por Pablo Jaime Sainz
Esteban Duarte ya va tarde a la escuela de adultos en San Ysidro. Con la prisa, no tuvo tiempo de almorzar en su casa. Así que se sube al trolley con el estomago vacío.


Lucha de Leyendas: Illustration expo featuring superheroes versus Mexican wrestlers
By Luis Alonso Pérez
!Ladies and Gentlemen… In this corner… weighting 210 pounds… from planet Kripton… The Man Of Steel… Superman!... !And in this corner… weighting 245 pounds… directly from Mexico City… The Man with the silver mask… El Santo!


Lucha de Leyendas: Exposición de ilustraciones de luchadores contra súper héroes
Por Luis Alonso Pérez
¡Damas y caballeros… En esta esquina… pesando 210 libras… Desde el planeta Kriptón… El hombre de acero… Superman!... ¡Y en esta otra esquina… pesando 245 libras… directo de la ciudad de México… El enmascarado de plata… El Santo!.


Not Without My Bitches: ‘Hustle and Flows’ Biggest Hustle
By Sheerly Avni
Several critics, most recently The New York Times’ Kelefa Sanneh, have already tried to grapple with the troublesome questions at the heart of the new indie hit “Hustle and Flow,” the story of a small time Memphis pimp with big time hip-hop dreams. Sanneh calls it a “Hip-Hop conundrum”: How can a pimp be a hero? he asks. Can you make him sympathetic and still keep him real, especially according to the hip-hop ethos, which has transformed the word pimp from a job description to an all-purpose catch phrase for living out the American dream?


VAMOS AL CINE
La realidad venezolana en cubitos “Maggie”
“Secuestro Express” intenta matar cien pájaros con un tiro
Por Jose Daniel Bort
Jonathan Jacubowicz lo quiere todo. El cineasta venezolano acaba de terminar su primer largo de ficción, Secuestro Express, y en él pretende atrapar un pedazo de la complicada realidad de su país, hacer comentario social con las debilidades de sus clases en conflicto, empaquetarlo estilo MTV, adornarlo con humor escatológico y aun permitirse la posibilidad de romance entre personajes en conflicto directo entre ellos.


Entretenimiento en Casa
Por Latino Press Services
DVD de la semana
El mes de Agosto es de Ashton Kutcher en la pantalla pequeña de DVD. En este mes el actor estrena el DVD de la comedia romántica “A Lot Like Love” y la comedia interracial “Guess Who” con un elenco de primeras figuras cómicas, entre ellas Bernie Mac.


MACUILXOCHITL'S KIVA
Shy Tiziano Ferro speaks through his music
In times of media hyped prefab ‘stars’ and ‘reality’ shows essentially selecting the next big hit, a young man like Tiziano Ferro, is not just an anomaly, he approaches revolutionary status. This Italian man has his feet firmly planted in reality. Through his own efforts, his work, his art...his music, is selling records and making folks dance. He strives toward his own happiness and feeds off the response his compositions, sung mostly in Italian and Spanish, evoke.


Extraordinario Concierto con Joyas Musicales Mexicanas en las Fiestas de la Vendimia 2005
“Una velada musical muy mexicana con Encarnación Vazquez, José Medina y Aiko Yamada”
Por: Paco Zavala
Enmarcando las tradicionales Fiestas de la Vendimia en la ciudad de Ensenada el próximo jueves11 de agosto a las seis de la tarde, se presentarán en un concierto de música y de poesía, tres artistas que han recorrido el mundo, transmitiendo por medio de sus excelentes voces, dos de ellos y una al piano, parte de la riqueza musical del pueblo mexicano, entonando bellísimas joyas musicales. Los artistas en mención son: la mezzosoprano Encarnación Vázquez, el tenor tijuanense José Medina y la joven pianista Aiko Yamada.


3rd Summer Institute Features Musical Drama Mariachi Quixote
Broadway and film star Daniel Valdez is among the featured performers who will be working with students of all ages during the Sweetwater Union High School District’s 3rd annual Summer Institute beginning Aug. 18.


Chargers’ Castillo Living the American Dream
By John Philip Wyllie
Faced with difficult circumstances, people often wallow in self-pity and use their misfortune as an excuse for their own lack of achievement. Other people use that misfortune as a motivator and rise above it. San Diego Chargers first round draft pick, Luis Castillo, is a prime example of one of the latter.


Bullfight World
By Lyn Sherwood
Arruza Outstanding But The Judge Failed to Reward Him
Sunday, July 31st in Plaza El Toreo de Tijuana, saw a light crowd turn out to see Manolo Arruza, Eulalio López “El Zotoluco,” and Juan Antonio Adame deal with a herd of bulls from Marrón. According to Correspondent Gary Sloan, although El Zotoluco was the most triumphant matador, the plaza judge failed to properly reward the outstanding efforts of Manolo Arruza. The son of “El Ciclón” has just turned 50, is in excellent shape, and his toreo was outstanding.