LINEA ABIERTA | THIS WEEK | PREVIOUS PROGRAMS

Linea Abierta Programs for August 2006

Tuesday, August 1st

PROGRAM # 4874 - 12:00 PDT
IMMIGRATION EDITION – LONGER WAITING TIME. For many Mexican immigrants, residency applications may take more years to be processed. Married children of U.S. citizens will have to wait 25 years to apply for legal residency. Attorney Rosalba Piña, host of this edition from Chicago, reports on the new rules and provides practical advice.

FAVORABLE VEREDICT AND A TESTIMONY. A pro immigrant rights leader talks about a recent verdict by an immigration judge that allows “one year of grace” to avoid deportation proceedings for 15 workers detained during workplace raids last April. Flor Cristostomo was one of the 26 raid victims at IFCO Systems in Chicago.

Guests: Emma Lozano, president, Centro Sin Fronteras, Chicago, IL; Flor Cristostomo, member, Centro Sin Fronteras, raid victim at IFCO Systems, Chicago, IL.

Wednesday, August 2nd

PROGRAM # 4875 - 12:00 PDT
TEXAS EDITION – ALCOHOL AND GREEN CARDS. The summer season is a time for barbeque parties and cold drinks. But non-citizens beware. Too much alcohol could bring more than a hangover. Green-cards may wake up to face the reality of a permanent loss of residency in the U.S. Attorney Carlos Spector-Calderon, host of this edition from El Paso, talks about the impact of DUIs and other alcohol-related behaviors on the status of immigrant residents. Spector also answers listener’s questions on immigration procedures.

Thursday, August 3rd

PROGRAM # 4876 - 12:00 PDT
MEXICO EDITION. Martha Elena Ramírez hosts this edition of the Voz Pública series from Mexico City. The civic journalist brings a full report on the mass gathering in Mexico City’s main plaza demanding a new count of the ballots in the presidential election. Listeners comment on the massive demonstrations and traffic stoppages headed by the opposition presidential candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Friday, August 4th

PROGRAM # 4877 - 12:00 PDT
MEXICO EDITION. Martha Elena Ramírez hosts this extended edition of the Voz Pública series at the time marked by political tension after the announcement by the federal electoral tribunal, TRIFE, to resolve the possibility of an election recount within the next 24 hours. Analyst Alberto Arroyo provides possible scenarios of either a full or a partial recount. Listeners talk about their perceptions on what could or should happened after the TRIFE offers its verdict.

Monday, August 7th

PROGRAM # 4877 - 12:00 PDT
SIMULCAST WITH MICHOACÁN: LAND EROSION AND PESTICIDES. The massive deforestation of the Mexican Northern Sierras has caused vast soil erosion in the region. This lack of productive land to grow any kind of crops has expelled many farm workers out of their homeland. The farm workers tend to migrate to the north and into the United States, in which fields of modern agriculture they find the abundant use of pesticides.

This is a simulcast with the twelve-station network of Radio Michoacán in Morelia.

Invited guests: Isidro Baldenegro López, 2005 Goldman Prize winner, member, Fuerza Ecologista, Chihuahua, Mexico; Angus Wright, professor of environmental studies, California State University, Sacramento.

Tuesday, August 8th

PROGRAM # 4878 - 12:00 PDT
IMMIGRATION EDITION. Chicago-based attorney Rosalba Piña provides details about the latest immigration issues in the nation, including the upcoming immigrant rights lobbying day in early September. Piña also answers listener calls.

Wednesday, August 9th

PROGRAM # 4879 - 12:00 PDT
TEXAS EDITION – ROSA ROSALES. Host Carlos Spector-Calderón interviews the newly elected president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, Rosa Rosales. The long-time grassroots activist, a former unionist, talks about her agenda in pressing areas such as immigration policy and workers rights, as the new head of the oldest Latino Organization.

Thursday, August 10th

PROGRAM # 4880 - 12:00 PDT
MEXICO EDITION. Martha Elena Ramírez hosts this edition of the Voz Pública series from Mexico City. She provides news and analysis on the challenged results of the Mexican presidential election and the civil disobedience acts called by opposition candidate López Obrador.

Friday, August 11th

PROGRAM # 4881 - 12:00 PDT
MEXICO EDITION. Martha Elena Ramírez hosts this extended edition of the Voz Pública series from México City. The program offers an outlet for listeners to express their views and concerns on the tense political scenario awaiting the final decision of the courts on the challenged presidential elections, more than a month after the race. Opposition candidate López Obrador charges the voting was rigged with fraud, while hundreds of thousands have gathered during the past few weeks in Mexico City’s main plaza urging a vote recount. Analysts are being invited to comment.

PROGRAM # 4882 - 13:00 PDT
PUERTO RICO EDITION. Wanda Colón Cortés, the host in WRTU, Radio Universidad in San Juan de Puerto Rico, comments on current news developments in the Caribbean basin.

Monday, August 14th

PROGRAM # 4883 - 12:00 PDT
““THE DIRTY DOZEN”.

The U.S. House of Representatives is considering legislation to change criteria on which chemicals and pesticides should be banned from the market. The debate revolves around changing the actual health-risk oriented regulations to cost-benefit standards. Under the new legislation, states would have to ask federal government’s permission before phasing out any of these toxic chemicals. Republicans argue that this is to comply with an international treaty to phase out 12 super toxic chemicals called “The Dirty Dozen”. Environmentalists warn that the health of the environment, farm workers and consumers is at high risk under this bill.

Guest: Congresswoman Hilda Solis, Democrat, Los Angeles.

DRIFT-CATCHERS.

Homemakers from rural communities in California’s central valley are catching dangerous pesticides in their neighborhoods. They are trying to measure how many of these toxics live in their air and in which quantities. The results will eventually be presented to the authorities to ask them to ban the use of these chemicals around their communities. Some of the homemakers share their first findings, while others relate how they are preparing to start their work.

Guests: Sandra García, farm worker, Lindsay, CA; Teresa Avina, Lideres Campesinas, Huron, CA; Ricardo Hernandez, farm worker, Huron, CA.

Tuesday, August 15th

PROGRAM # 4884 - 12:00 PDT
MMIGRATION EDITION - IMMIGRANT MOM RESISTS DEPORTATION: LIVE BROADCAST. Host Rosalba Piña broadcasts live from the Adalberto United Methodist Church in Chicago, sanctuary of Elvira Arellano, an immigrant mother who faces deportation and is fighting to stay in the U.S. Arellano was arrested in 2002 immigration sweeps while working at the Chicago airport. She later became a well known activist. After being required to report to be deported, Arellano announced that she will be living in the church, where deportation agents could find her. Piña talks with Arellano as the activist begins her action of civil desobedience.

Guests: Elvira Arellano, founder, United Latino Family, a group that advocates for undocumented parents of children who are U.S. citizens, Chicago; Emma Lozano, executive director, Centro Sin Fronteras, Chicago.

Wednesday, August 16th

PROGRAM # 4885 - 12:00 PDT
TEXAS EDITION – GOP’s NEW IMMIGRATION BILL. Host Carlos Spector-Calderón, from El Paso, talks about a new immigration bill by two Republican members who say to be looking for consensus between both Houses of congress. Is this bill a new viable proposal or just another one that will further polarize the discussion?

DELAY’S SEAT IN NOVEMBER. Former U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader Tom DeLay has withdrawn from the race for re-election. Delay is fighting a state money-laundering indictment and was facing a tough re-election race. After failing to remove Delay’s name from the November ballot, the Republican Party in Texas is faced with finding a suitable write-in candidate in order to keep the former Majority Leader’s seat in Congress. Will this be the opportunity Democrats need to take over DeLay’s seat?

Guest: Lydia Camarillo, Vice president, South West Voter Registration and Education Project, San Antonio, TX.

Thursday, August 17th

PROGRAM # 4886 - 10:00 PDT
ARELLANO GETS SUPPORT FROM DOLORES HUERTA: LIVE BROADCAST. Host Rosalba Piña broadcasts live from the Adalberto United Methodist Church in Chicago, where Elvira Arellano, an immigrant mother, is challenging orders of deportation. Dolores Huerta, the veteran farm worker and civil rights leader, paid a visit to the church to express public support for Arellanos's fight to stay in the U.S. Piña provides a live account of developments in the third day of Arellano's act of civil desobedience.

Guests: Elvira Arellano, founder, United Latino Family, a group that advocates for undocumented parents of children who are U.S. citizens, Chicago; Dolores Huerta, pioneer of the civil-rights movement, Chicago; Emma Lozano, executive director, Centro Sin Fronteras, Chicago.

PROGRAM # 4887 - 12:00 PDT
MEXICO EDITION. Martha Elena Ramírez hosts this edition of the Voz Pública series from Mexico City. Listeners comment on an interview with Sen. Dulce Maria Sauri, a top leader of Partido Revolucionario Institucional. Sen. Sauri calls on President Fox to show restrain and moderation when dealing with protests by the opposition movement. She criticized the use of police force against demonstrators who staged a sit in in Congress.

Friday, August 18th

PROGRAM # 4888 - 12:00 PDT
IMMIGRATION, GLOBAL WARMING HEATS UP GOVERNOR'S RACE. The green agenda and immigration control and reform top the issues in California governor's race between the two main candidates, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and State Treasurer Phil Angelides. Topics in these interviews include control of green house gases, the fight against smog and asthma, and the role of California in the current immigration debate.

Guests: Sam Rodriguez, political director, California Democratic Party, Sacramento, CA; Arnoldo Torres, senior adviser, Join Arnold Campaign, Sacramento, CA.

ALSO, ANOTHER CHURCH DECLARED SANCTUARY. This is a news interview with Rev. Steve Niskanen, parish priest of Our lady of Los Angeles Catholic Church in downtown Los Angeles. He talks about how his church has decided to declare itself sanctuary for immigrant families that refuse to become separated by deportation orders.

PROGRAM # 4889 - 13:00 PDT
PUERTO RICO EDITION. Wanda Colón Cortés, the host in WRTU, Radio Universidad in San Juan de Puerto Rico, comments on current news developments in the Caribbean basin.

Monday, August 21st

PROGRAM # 4890 - 12:00 PDT
NEW FARM WORKERS’ RADIO STATION. A new non-profit radio station goes on the air in Woodburn, a farm working community in Northwestern Oregon. Leaders of the new station talk about the efforts that culminated in the opening of this educational medium and their plans to serve migrants and other unserved audiences in this agricultural area.

Guests: Ramón Ramírez, president, Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste, Woodburn, OR; Oscar Morales, program director, KPCN-LP, Woodburn, OR.

ALSO, DAY LABORERS AND POWERFUL UNIONS JOIN FORCES. The largest federation of unions and a national network of day labor centers formed an alliance to help influence immigration reform and advocate for worker rights. Under the agreement of the AFL-CIO and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, day laborers in the construction industry will be recruited to become full-fledged union members.

Guests: Renee Saucedo, La Raza Centro Legal, Day Laborers Program, San Francisco, CA; Ana Avendaño, Immigrant Worker Program, AFL-CIO, Washington, DC.

ALSO, HAZLETON: CRACKDOWN. Residents of Hazleton sued the Mayor and City Council seeking to stop one of the harshest anti-immigrant laws in the nation. An ordinance in this Pennsylvania town punishes landlords, market owners and employers who do business with undocumented immigrants and declares English the official language.

Guest: Cesar Perales, Executive director, Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, New York.

Tuesday, August 22nd

PROGRAM # 4891 - 12:00 PDT
HEALTH CARE AND THE MEDIA. Radio and TV airwaves are often filled with advertising promoting miraculous weight loss pills, skin care treatments, herbal remedies, and cure-all products. Spanish-speaking audiences are a top target of frequent fraudulent promotional medical advertising. News stories reported on the air are sometimes also influenced by pharmaceutical interests. How is the media influencing the medical choices made by consumers? What's the corporate media's ethical and rlegal responsibility? This program is broadcast in conjunction with the series Health Dialogues of KQED in San Francisco.

Guests: Alex Nogales, President, executive director, National Hispanic Media Coalition, Los Angeles; Dr. Aliza Lifshitz, physician, host of nationally-sindicated radio and TV talk shows, Los Angeles, CA.

Wednesday, August 23rd

PROGRAM # 4892 - 12:00 PDT
TEXAS EDITION – MASS-IMMIGRATION DETENTION BUSINESS. Immigration bills in Congress would significantly expand the immigrant detention centers and build a huge high-tech fence for hundreds of miles along the border. Who are those influential contractors who stand to profit from this booming business? Carlos Spector Calderón hosts this edition from El Paso, TX.

Guest: Alexis Mazon, organizer, Coalition for Human Rights, Tucson, AZ.

Thursday, August 24th

PROGRAM # 4893 - 12:00 PDT
MEXICO EDITION. Martha Elena Ramírez hosts this edition of the Voz Pública series from Mexico City. The civic journalist brings news and analysis on a teacher and citizens revolt in the southern state of Oaxaca. Demonstrators have been killed and injured in recent days.

Guests: Maestro Alvaro Ricardez, analyst and sympathizer, APPO, Oaxaca City; Benito Miron Lince, Undersecretary of Labor and Social Services, Mexico City.

Friday, August 25th

PROGRAM # 4894 - 12:00 PDT
BORDER HEARINGS AND HEALTH. House Republicans are holding hearings across the country seeking public support for a harder border security bill. Some hearings have focused on the costs of providing healthcare and social services to the immigrant population. This program discusses the findings of the Republican hearings and examines a recent study that found lower rates of emergency-room use and hospital access by the uninsured and immigrants. The program begins with audio excerpts from Rep. James Sensebrenner, head of the House Judiciary Committee, and Kevin Burns, Chief financial officer of University Medical Center in Tucson, AZ recorded during a recent public hearing in San Diego.

Guests: Congressman Raul Grijalva, Democrat, Tucson, AZ; Jose Aguilar, president, Alianza de Comunidades de Tarrant, Fort Worth, TX.

PROGRAM # 4895 - 13:00 PDT
PUERTO RICO EDITION. Wanda Colón Cortés, the host in WRTU, Radio Universidad in San Juan de Puerto Rico, comments on current news developments in the Caribbean basin.

Monday, August 28th

PROGRAM # 4896 - 12:00 PDT
HYBRID CARS. Hybrid car buyers qualify for a number of incentives around the country from tax credits to single use of carpool lanes to free parking. In some states, important exemptions are about to expire. Learn about how the purchase of a hybrid car could benefit your pocketbook and help clean the air.

Guests: Hugo Morales, owner of a hybrid car, executive director of Radio Bilingüe, Fresno, CA; Luis Cabrales, Coalition for Clean Air, Los Angeles, CA.

ALSO, FLEXIBLE FUEL CARS. Flexfuel vehicles run on both regular gasoline and ethanol, an alcohol product primarily obtained from corn. Consumers who are not interested in buying these vehicles point to the limited number of fueling stations, while those consumers who are interested in buying flexfuel cars say they expect better fuel economy. Are ethanol-fueled vehicles more efficient and cleaner on the air?

Guest: Javier Sierra, Sierra Club, Washington, DC.

Tuesday, August 29th

PROGRAM # 4897 - 12:00 PDT
IMMIGRATION EDITION – WALKING FOR REFORM. Host Rosalba Piña talks with leaders of a protest walk that begins in Chicago and ends at the office of Rep. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the House. Organizers call on U.S. authorities to halt raids and deportations and get to work on comprehensive immigration reform.

Guest: Jorge Mújica, March 10th Movement, Chicago, IL; Attorney Jackie Herrera, Illinois Coalition for Immigrants and Refugee Rights, Chicago, IL, www.icirr.org

Wednesday, August 30th

PROGRAM # 4898 - 12:00 PDT
TEXAS-GUADALAJARA EDITION – This is a simulcast in conjunction with the three-station network of Sistema Jalisciense de Radio y TV in Guadalajara. This program includes the following topics:

ZERO TOLERANCE ZONE. Undocumented immigrants that are arrested in the area between Del Rio and Eagle Pass in the Texas-Mexico border are prosecuted and sent to prison, instead of sending them back to Mexico. Javier Martinez, host of Town Talk Live at KWMC-AM Radio in Del Rio, TX provides news and comments on the ramifications of this campaign.

ALSO, SI SE PUEDE. This is a conversation with seasoned investigative journalist Sanjuana Martinez about her new book "Si Se Puede," a timely chronicle of the recent immigrant rallies and an extensive reportage on Latino immigrants' contributions to the U.S.

ALSO, THE VIEW FROM JALISCO. This is a roundtable to comment on the failure of the Mexican government to create opportunities to prevent mass migration to the north and proposals to ensure that the human rights of migrants are protected in the U.S.

Guests: Congressman Julian Orozco, Committee of Interparliamentary Relations and International Affairs, State Legislature, State of Jalisco; Marco Francisco del Rosario Rodriguez, director, School of Law, Panamerican University, Guadalajara; Roberto Miranda, professor, School of Political Science, University of Guadalajara.

Thursday, August 31st

PROGRAM # 4899 - 12:00 PDT
MEXICO EDITION. Martha Elena Ramírez hosts this edition of the Voz Pública series from Mexico City. Ramírez interviews Pedro Hernandez, librarian of Mexico's National University and union member of STUNAM. He comments on the convening of his influential union, a highly-active organization that advocates for social programs and recently has endorsed the call for a new count in Mexico's presidential election.

To tune in to this news service, check our Affiliate Stations page to find your nearest station. Also, the audio of these news stories will soon be available live in this same website.

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