LINEA ABIERTA | THIS WEEK | PREVIOUS PROGRAMS

Linea Abierta Programs for February 2007

Thursday, February 1st

PROGRAM # 5038- 12:00 PDT
ABU GHRAIB. A conversation with renowned Colombian painter Fernando Botero on his exhibit Abu Ghraib. His paintings graphically depict the abuse and torture of Iraqi detainees by American prison guards. Shown first in Europe, Botero’s paintings were not welcomed by U.S. museums but are now on display at a prestigious college in Berkeley, CA.

ALSO, THE CLASH ON IRAQ. In this taped interview, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutiérrez comments on President Bush decision to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq’s war zone, and the plight of the two million refugees displaced by the war. This program also includes opinions from listeners on a report by the Pew Hispanic Center that found that Latinos’ opposition to the war in Iraq is stronger than the rest of the population.

Friday, February 2nd

PROGRAM # 5039 - 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 Mexican developments.

PROGRAM # 5040 - 12:00 PDT
PUERTO RICO EDITION. In this pre-taped edition from San Juan, PR, WRTU’s Wanda Colón Cortés, brings news and analysis on major developments in the Caribbean basin.

Monday, February 5th

PROGRAM # 5041 - 12:00 PDT
OBESITY IN THE BARRIOS. Latinos are disproportionately affected by obesity due to poor eating and physical activity habits. This is aggravated by the fact that Latinos live in communities with many fast food outlets, stores with limited fresh produce and healthy food, and few safe playgrounds for children. A coalition in California is mobilizing to establish community health promotora programs and healthy-food supermarkets in low-income barrios.

Guest: Lupe Alonso-Díaz, executive director, Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, Sacramento, CA. www.lchc.org

ALSO, DISEASE RISK – CUIDAR SU SALUD. A prestigious college has developed Internet tools in Spanish to help Latinos find out about their risks of developing some of the most devastating diseases and provide personalized tips to prevent them. Guest: Dr. Joaquin Barnoya, Consultant for Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard University, Research director, Cardiovascular Surgery Unit, Guatemala. www.yourdiseaserisk.harvard.edu/spanish

Tuesday, February 6th

PROGRAM # 5042 - 12:00 PDT
IMMIGRANT ROUNDUPS. Federal Customs agents are conducting a wave of arrests and deportations around the nation. Immigrant advocates say the federal agency violates its own rules by targeting people who are not on the list of fugitives. This program also includes a news story by Zaidee Stavely on reports about roundups in the Central Valley, including the arrest of an underdressed elderly woman.

Guests: Renee Saucedo, La Raza Centro Legal, San Francisco, CA.

ALSO, RACIAL PROFILING ON GUATEMALANS. Juan García, with Inmigrantes en Acción in Rhode Island, talks about an ACLU-sponsored lawsuit against the state police claiming it detained a group of Guatemalan immigrants while driving under Brown.

ALSO, BORDER CARAVAN. An interview with Enrique Morones, director of the group Angeles de la Frontera in San Diego, on his caravan from one end to the other of the Mexico-U.S. border. Morones wants to raise attention to migrant deaths at the border and the need for comprehensive reform.

Wednesday, February 7th

PROGRAM # 5043 - 12:00 PDT
TEXAS EDITION: IMMIGRATION REFORM. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency raises fees for green cards and naturalization procedures; the U.S. Senate begins plans for a new immigration bill; and advocacy groups around the country urge Congress to draft a new policy for immigration reform.
These are talking topics for this program hosted by Carlos Spector-Calderón from El Paso.

Guests: Congressman Raul Grijalva, Democrat, Tucson; Elba Rodríguez, spokesperson, Sen. John Cornyn, Republican, Texas.

Thursday, February 8th

PROGRAM # 5044- 12:00 PDT
CLIMATE CHANGE CENSORSHIP. Top Democratic legislators accuse the White House of deliberately distorting federal research about global warming and pledged to curb greenhouse gas emissions, in an imminent policy clash with the White House.

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

ALSO, PORT TRUCKERS AND AIR POLLUTION. Truck drivers in the ports of Los Angeles and Oakland are joining forces with community and environmental groups to deal with substandard working conditions and fix air quality problems. Diesel cargo trucks are considered one of the largest sources of pollution but low-income truck drivers find it hard to keep up with truck upgrades and air quality regulations.

Guests: Luis Ceja, spokesperson, United Truck drivers, Los Angeles; Patricia Castellanos, co-director, Campaign for Better Ports, Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, Los Angeles.

ALSO, CLEAN AIR BY 2013. This is a live report by reporter Zaidee Stavely from the site of a public session by the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. Valley air authorities are proposing a plan that would meet federal air quality standards more than ten years after the current requirements. Grassroots advocates propose a plan that would bring health costs savings and avoid costly delays.

Friday, February 9th

PROGRAM # 5045 - 12:00 PDT
MORATORIUM ON DEPORTATIONS. Legislators from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua visit Capitol Hill asking the U.S. Congress to suspend deportations to give a chance to immigration reform. Civil-rights pioneer Dolores Huerta and Emma Lozano, president of Chicago’s Centro Sin Fronteras, join this special edition to report on their meetings with Latino congressmembers and to call for a mobilization for children and family unity on April 29.

PROGRAM # 5046 - 12:00 PDT
PUERTO RICO EDITION. In this pre-taped edition from San Juan, PR, WRTU’s Wanda Colón Cortés, brings news and analysis on major developments in the Caribbean basin.

Monday, February 12th

PROGRAM # 5048 - 12:00 PDT
MICHOACÁN – THE RIGHT TO VOTE FOR ÉMIGRÉS. This week, Michoacán’s state Congress approved a law allowing émigrés to cast absentee ballots to vote in elections for governor. Michoacan will become the first Mexican state with such a law. Also, on the eve of Gov. Lázaro Cárdenas Batel State of the State address, a cabinet official comments on plans to fight poverty and develop migrant communities. Émigré communities in the U.S. are reported to send back home so much money that remittances almost equal Michoacan’s state budget. This is a simulcast with the twelve-station network of Radio Michoacán in Morelia.

Guests: Victoria Chávez, president, Federación de Clubes Michoacanos en Los Angeles, Los Angeles; Carlos González Martínez, voting-rights consultant for the United Nations, former state elections board member, Morelia; Raúl Silva López, undersecretary for social development, State of Michoacán, Morelia.

Tuesday, February 13th

PROGRAM # 5049 - 12:00 PDT
IMMIGRATION EDITION – ELVIRA ARELLANO. A delegation of Mexican Congressmembers and prominent U.S. civil-rights activists gather on Capitol Hill asking the U.S. Congress to stop deportation proceedings against Elvira Arellano, the activist who is resisting deportation and received refuge in a church in Chicago. They also ask for a national moratorium on mass deportations. Host Rosalba Piña provides a live interview with Elvira Arellano, who has been in seclusion for six months.

Wednesday, February 14th

PROGRAM # 5050 - 12:00 PDT
TEXAS EDITION – DREADFUL DETENTION CAMPS. The Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security found serious health, safety and civil rights violations on the treatment of immigrant detainees imprisoned at five U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement facilities. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security was not able to join the show. Immigrant advocates comment the report.

Guests: Patricia Mejia, attorney, immigration law, Tucson, AZ; Christopher Nugent, member, Detention Watch Network, Washington, DC.

Thursday, February 15th

PROGRAM # 5051- 12:00 PDT
CLEANING THE AIR NOW. The San Joaquin Valley’s dangerous pollution level has prompted federal authorities to require the region urgent plans for cleaning up the air. Valley air authorities say their task is huge, costly and will need more time. This week, community advocates replied with a study revealing the soaring health care costs of current air pollution and proposing a plan for a faster clean up. The narrative is available at www.issrc.org.

Guests: Maricela Velazquez, spokesperson, San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, Fresno, CA; Enrique Medina Ochoa, City manager, Arvin, CA

Friday, February 16th

PROGRAM # 5052 - 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 Mexican developments.

PROGRAM # 5053 - 12:00 PDT
PUERTO RICO EDITION. In this pre-taped edition from San Juan, PR, WRTU’s Wanda Colón Cortés, brings news and analysis on major developments in the Caribbean basin.

Monday, February 19th

PROGRAM # 5053 - 12:00 PDT
BIRTH AND NON-CITIZEN WOMEN. An inflamed anti-immigrant policy atmosphere gains ground in several states, where intense efforts are under way to deny services to undocumented immigrants. How is this climate impacting services for pregnant women? What services are available for uninsured non-citizen women? Are they visiting the doctor for prenatal care and other reproductive health services? How is the climate of fear impacting birth outcomes?

Guests: Ligia Rivera, Coordinator for Community Mobilization, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, New York, NY; Dr. Flavia Mercado, Pediatrician, Hospital Grady, Atlanta, GA; Nayamin Martinez, former community educator for prenatal care, Frente Indigena de Organizaciones Binacionales, Fresno, CA

Tuesday, February 20th

PROGRAM # 5054 - 12:00 PDT
HISPANIC LEGISLATIVE DAY. Hundreds of community activists and civic leaders travel to Olympia, Washington’s state capital, on charter buses to meet with state legislators and advocate for health care reform, farm worker housing, and funding to prevent students from dropping out from high school, among other issues.

Guests: Rep. Phyllis Gutierrez-Kenney, District 46, Seattle, WA; Carlos Jimenez, president, Hispanic Legislative Day, president Grupo Mexico, councilmember for North Highline, Seattle, WA; Magdalena Peraza, organizer, community networks, Yakima, WA.

Wednesday, February 21st

PROGRAM # 5055 - 12:00 PDT
TEXAS EDITION – “FROM CRADLE TO CAREER.” Researchers ranked U.S. states according to the chances for success for their children. The report gave Virginia high marks claiming that in that state children are most likely to become well-educated adults with high-paying jobs, while children born in New Mexico would be least likely to succeed. Texas is also at the bottom of this list. This program takes a look at education and other services that help improve chances for children to succeed in life.

Thursday, February 22nd

PROGRAM # 5056- 12:00 PDT
A WORLD WITHOUT ARMIES. Costa Rica is inspiring peace activists around the world to push for initiatives to demilitarize their countries. Costa Rica abolished their armed forces in 1949 and currently maintains the highest living standard in Central America. A delegation of Costa Rican human-rights activists visit the U.S. promoting their dream.

ALSO, ADRIÁN VILLANUEVA. A conversation with Bolivian musician and traditional instrument maker Adrián Villanueva on his quest to craft the “magical charango.” Adrián is the maker of coca-leaf charangos presented by President Evo Morales to Chilean President Michelle Bachelet. He also made the coca-leaf charango offered to Condoleeza Rice after discussions on U.S.-promoted coca eradication policies in Bolivia.

Friday, February 23rd

PROGRAM # 5057 - 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 Mexican developments.

PROGRAM # 5058 - 12:00 PDT
PUERTO RICO EDITION. In this pre-taped edition from San Juan, PR, WRTU’s Wanda Colón Cortés, brings news and analysis on major developments in the Caribbean basin.

Monday, February 26th

PROGRAM # 5059 - 12:00 PDT
HEALTH CARE FOR ALL. California has joined Massachusetts in the effort to fix the broken health care system. Republican Gov. Schwarzenegger and Democratic legislators Fabian Núñez and Don Perata have unveiled competing reform plans that propose universal health care coverage. Will universal care really be extended to all Californians? This program provides two views on the issue.

Guests: Francisco Castillo, spokesperson, Office of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sacramento, CA; Sen. Gil Cedillo, Democrat, Los Angeles.

Tuesday, February 27th

PROGRAM # 5060 - 12:00 PDT
IMMIGRATION EDITION. Attorney Rosalba Piña comments on news developments, including the organizing of a march to commemorate the first anniversary of the March 10th demonstration in Chicago that sparked a season of pro-immigrant rallies around the nation. She also interviews Nora Sandigo, executive director of Federación Nicaragüense in Miami, on a Supreme Court motion to hear the case of citizen children of undocumented parents.

Wednesday, February 28th

PROGRAM # 5061 - 11:00 PDT
SPECIAL EDITION – AFTER THE FREEZE. Thousands of farm workers who were displaced last month by the freeze in the citrus crops in California’s
Central Valley face hunger and uncertainty. Citizen reporters give up-to-date information on the problems thousands of farm workers are facing to receive emergency aid. Also, representatives from relief agencies join this program to answer questions from listeners in need.

Guest: Jesús Quevedo, Vecinos Unidos, Cutler, CA; Betha Díaz, Vecinos Unidos, Orosi, CA; Jesús Gamboa, Proteus, Tulare, CA; Marco Lizárraga, deputy director, La Cooperativa, Sacramento, CA.

PROGRAM # 5062 - 12:00 PDT
AFTER THE FREEZE. Federal emergency relief has been approved for California counties affected by the citrus freeze – but the money is to help farmers,
not farm workers. Sacramento promised displaced farm workers money to pay their bills, but applicants complain about hurdles at the “one stop centers”. These and other issues are discussed with a member of the Schwarzenegger administration, and an NGO leader.

Guests: Diana Telefson, Director, United Farm Workers Foundation, Los Angeles; Judy Nevis, Chief deputy director, California Department of Housing and Community Development, Sacramento, CA; Mayra López de Victoria, director of public relations, FEMA, Washington, DC.

PROGRAM # 5063 - 13:00 PDT
AFTER THE FREEZE. This is an update on lobbying efforts in Sacramento and Washington to secure funding for freeze relief in California’s Central Valley. A number of bills are pending, including some to create new jobs for displaced citrus workers, more aid for unemployed workers, and help affected residents to pay utility bills.

Guest: Assemblyman Juan Arámbula, Democrat-Fresno, CA.

Funds for Línea Abierta are provided in part by The California Endowment, the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Community Technology Foundation of California, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

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.

LINEA ABIERTA | THIS WEEK | PREVIOUS PROGRAMS