FrontPage Stories

Swimming for gold

Local teen hopes to make it to the Olympics

By José A. Álvarez

His fastest swim is nearly 2 seconds slow in the 50-meter freestyle compared to the world record holder. In his second specialty event, the 100-meter freestyle, he is more than three seconds behind the world’s fastest swimmer.

In the swimming world, the time difference could be considered an eternity. However, Ismael Díaz de León believes that if he maintains his discipline and concentration he could have a shot of being part of a team in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.

“If I try really hard and don’t get distracted, I know I can do it,” said Ismael, a 14 year-old freshman at San Diego High School. “I really want to go to the Olympics,” added Ismael, who trains daily at the Memorial Park Swimming Pool in Logan Heights and will be swimming in his junior Olympic meet this weekend at Rancho Bernardo High School.

Ismael’s passion for the water started at age 4 when he began swimming lessons at the pool where his older brother was a lifeguard and instructor. The lessons did not go well.

“He failed me,” said Ismael, the 5th of eight children. “I thought he was going to pass me because he was my brother. I was mad.”

Ismael gave up on swimming entirely and would not jump back in the pool until six years later. He was now 10, bored, and tired of just sitting at home.

“I started swimming for fun. I was just at home doing nothing,” added Ismael, explaining that his goal was to swim faster than the brother who failed him. Ismael surpassed his brother’s record two years later.

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Memorial residents want violence to stop
By Pablo Jaime Sainz
Ramiro “Ray” Rojas has been living in the Memorial Park area for the past 15 years.

Los residentes de Memorial quieren que termine la violencia
Por Pablo Jaime Sainz
Ramiro “Ray” Rojas ha vivido en el área de Memorial Park por los últimos 15 años.

That’s not a naked woman; that’s my wife!
Car museum gives lowrider image a buff and shine
By J.D. Hawk
When a car show became hesitant to showcase a lowrider car with a nude woman painted on it, Dr. Denise Sandoval asked the car’s owner why he had never brought it to her attention before. “That’s not any woman,” he said. “That’s my wife.”

Stories

The Travails of Mexican Journalist Lydia Cacho:
Corruption and Impunity in Mexico’s Now Famous Press Freedom Case is One More Stain on the Fox Presidency
By Michael Lettieri
As Mexico launches itself into the most heated presidential campaign season in the country’s history, controversial issues of the past will loom large.

Salarios políticos en la frontera
Por Luis Alonso Pérez
México y Estados Unidos viven realidades económicas tan contrastantes que desde varias décadas atrás incitaron un éxodo de la fuerza de trabajo mexicana hacia el prospero país del norte. Un fenómeno que inició con la fuga de mano de obra campesina y obrera, pero que durante las últimas décadas ha llevado también a profesionistas mexicanos a buscar mejores empleos en el país vecino.

México del Norte
Por Jorge Mújica Murias
Un Muro más
En la historia del mundo, hay Muros y hay paredes. Allá en el 122 después de Cristo, el emperador romano Adriano hizo construir el muro que lleva su nombre, en Britania, para defenderse de los Pictos. Londres tiene uno, para defender los puertos del Río Tamesis en el Siglo XIII, y en Escocia está el Muro de Antonino, otro romano dedicado a marcar fronteras. Es más, el Offa’s Dyke divide completamente a Inglaterra y Wales.

They too deserve to be honored!
By Pablo Jaime Sainz
Carlos Quintana, 85, received the Purple Heart after he was wounded in the Pacific front during World War II.

Assembly Democrats Focus On Education In Bond Package
Speaker Proposes Infrastructure Improvements to Upgrade Schools, Public Transit, Housing, Flood Control and Hospitals
SACRAMENTO – Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, in response to Governor Schwarzenegger’s $68 billion dollar bond proposal, detailed a bond proposal of approximately $30 billion that focuses on building and modernizing the state’s public schools and community colleges. The Assembly Democratic plan, designed to be spread over two election cycles, also includes proposals to improve the state’s mass transit and highway systems, levees, air quality, and protect the state’s hospitals from earthquake damage.

Legislators Go After Remittance Monies
Targeting the $20 billion-plus dollars in remittances that flow from the United States to Mexico, state legislators in Arizona and Texas are considering taxing electronic money transfers to pay for what they contend are immigration-related border security and social service costs.

LA COLUMNA VERTEBRAL
Por Luisa Fernanda Montero
El presupuesto de Bush - más de lo mismo
El presupuesto presentado por el presidente George W. Bush al Congreso no hace otra cosa que reafirmar las políticas impuestas por la Casa Blanca durante los últimos 5 años.

Community Notes:
Clear View Charter School Receives $2,500 Award
Clear View Charter School in the Chula Vista Elementary School District announced today that Best Buy has awarded a $2,500 Te@ch award to the school for integrating interactive technology into the curriculum. The funds will be used to enhance the technology benchmark projects that students create.

Program Increasing Diversity in San Diego’s Health Care Work Force to Expand
A program to integrate internationally trained health professionals into San Diego and Imperial counties’ health care work force was given a financial boost to expand the program’s reach, The California Endowment announced. The statewide health foundation awarded a two-year, $769,224 grant to Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District which will use the new funds to replicate the integration of the program at local universities, colleges and regional adult schools. In addition, funds will be used to help eliminate the systemic barriers that prevent the successful integration of these health professionals into California’s health care work force.

Editorials

Editorial:
San Diego Mayor Says Violent Crime is Down in Our Town!
Having a strong Mayor form of government must be paying off! At least, that must be the perception that the newly elected Mayor, Jerry Sanders, wants to project the citizens of the City and throughout the Nation! It must be part of the new Mayor’s job to package the City in a new light that will make it appear as being a safe place to do business in, hold conventions, and attract thousands of tourists to our shores!

Editorial:
Take the Politics out of Education
Eight years ago, the State of California found itself in a polarizing battle over the education of non-English Speaking students, in the form of Prop. 227, the English Immersion Proposal sponsored by Ron Unz. (R). Prop. 227 passed which meant that English learners had to be “overwhelmingly” taught in English and then be transferred to an English-only classroom after a year. There was one caveat, parents could go to the school and request that their child be placed in a bilingual program.

Commentary:
We Must Defend Our Nation’s Principles
By Barbara Lee
When I cast the lone vote against the September 14, 2001, Use of Force Resolution, I believed, as I do today, that Congress had no business authorizing an unspecified war against an unspecified enemy for an unspecified period of time, and I was worried that the over-broad authority of the resolution was vulnerable to abuse.

Commentary:
Property Must Be Protected From Seizure For Profit
By Jon Coupal
In some countries the use of eminent domain can be a life or death issue.

Comentario:
Política Migratoria Acrecenta Polémico Debate
Por: Manuel R. Villacorta O.
Durante los últimos meses han surgido varias propuestas para la implementación de una nueva política migratoria en Estados Unidos, curiosamente las tres más importantes han ido evidenciando posiciones más radicalizadas en el orden de su aparición.

TEZOZOMOC SPEAKS
Pos where are all my Raza Skiers? Hocky Pucks y Skaters ? Pos este Indio missed not seeing all our Hot Rodders laying rubber on the slopes at Turin! Pues we did see Jennifer Rodriguez, from Miami in the 1500 Long Track Speed Skating event. Didn’t win but she came in 8th! Other Hispanics seen around the Town Square in Turin were Davis Parra. Guess our Amigos Los Italianos didn’t let anyone know that they would have tacos and enchiladas for all the Raza Skaters! Pos este Indio can’t stand the ice and snow… NI MODO... I rather swim in Can Cun!

Political Notes:
North County Unity Coalition Mardi Gras Casino Night
The North County Democratic Unity Coalition is hosting a major annual fundraising event Saturday, March 4 beginning at 6:00PM. The entertainment for the evening is a “Mardi Gras” casino night, and will be held at the beautiful Lake San Marcos Country Club, located at 1750 San Pablo Drive, in the Lake San Marcos resort. The event is open to the public, and participants are asked to choose from 3 available contributor levels in order to support the Coalition’s 2006 electoral efforts.

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

Point of View
Shot caller
By Al Carlos Hernandez
By default, it was my turn to take our Bichon pup Miss Sally for her one year or 12,000 miles shots. She was very trusting thinking we were probably going to the park or for a cruise. She started to get nervous when we got to the pet hospital, no doubt tripping after the, getting spayed incident. Maybe she was sensing my patronizing prudence.

Reseña:
Nuevas Ediciones Editoriales
Por: Paco Zavala
La Masonería
El desconocimiento de un tema es suficiente para emitir opiniones erróneas, por falta de información adecuada o por otras razones. Sobre el tema de la Masonería, mucho se ha opinado o se ha escrito. El origen legendario de la Masonería, no tiene una fecha definida, existen muchas versiones sobre su origen. Hoy día se sabe que la Masonería, cuenta con ritos a los que tiene acceso cualquier mortal y ritos a los que únicamente sus miembros tienen acceso.

Pintura infantil en Tijuana
Por Luis Alonso Pérez
La expresión creativa de más de 100 niños tijuanenses se encuentra en exhibición en dos de los centros culturales más importantes de la ciudad. Se trata de las exhibiciones “Color, amor y esperanza” e “Imagina” que actualmente se exhiben en la Casa de la Cultura de la colonia Altamira y en el Centro Cultural Tijuana (CECUT).

MACUILXOCHITL'S KIVA:
CD Reviews
By Francisco H. Ciriza
Marta Gomez
Entre Cada Palabra
Chesky Records
Chesky Records’ organic approach is a well-suited to Columbian-born singer/songwriter, Marta Gomez’s simple, uncluttered, delivery. Boasting no overdubs, compressors, multi-tracking, or even large mixing boards, producers David and Norman Chesky allow Entre Cada Palabra’s music to literally speak for itself.

God and the Border Star in Recent Films
By Elena Shore
PARK CITY, Utah—Even as Congress considers building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border to keep immigrants out, it is clear that cultural shifts have already made their impact on American identity. Just look at the movies from this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where the major awards went to films about faith and immigration.

Raul Julia’s Films to Be Boycotted and Burned
The latest buzz around Mexico’s Latin community is that Latin America’s college activist groups plan to boycott and burn Raul Julia’s films in response to defamatory allegations by the late actor’s widow.
Hollywood — The latest buzz around Mexico’s Latin community is that Latin America’s college activist groups plan to boycott and burn Raul Julia’s films in response to defamatory allegations by the late actor’s widow.

VAMOS AL CINE:
Corriendo de las salas
Running scared presenta serios retos al espectador
Por Jose Daniel Bort
De vez en cuando llega a las carteleras una de esas películas que es tan mala que hay que verla. Running scared es definitivamente la película a batir por esa corona.

Primera Carrera Ceremonial por la Dignidad Indígena en el Estado de Baja California
Por: Paco Zavala
Después de abandonar por muchos años algunas tradiciones estos hermanos pertenecientes a las etnias de la Baja California. Del próximo 23 de febrero al 11 de marzo se realizará nuevamente una carrera que antiguamente se llevaba a efecto, participando muchas etnias o razas autóctonas del estado de Baja California o del país azteca. Pero por diversas causas dejó de realizarce. Se retoma este evento y con la participación de 17 etnias se realizará en estas fechas la “Primera Carrera Ceremonial por la Dignidad Indígena” en el estado de Baja California.

SUPERFIGHTER: truly a “Heavyweight” event! June extravaganza set to rejuvenate the sport of Boxing
By Mike Indri
For the longest time the talk within boxing has been revolved around the sad state of the heavyweight division; and its’ inability or unwillingness of the division’s four champions (IBF: Chris Byrd, WBA: Nicolay Valuev, WBC: Hasim Rahman, and WBO: Lamon Brewster) to step up and unify the title. In a sense, restore the pride, luster and respect to what was once the most revered and cherished title in all of sports…being know as the world heavyweight champion!

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