This community has been the epicenter of nationally-known citizen movements to resist dumping sites and hazardous power plants. Local leaders join this radio forum to discuss the way major presidential campaigns are addressing or failing to address pressing environmental threats facing Latinos in rural areas. 

The remote broadcast is aired on Monday, January 28 at 12 noon PST in collaboration with KERU 88.5 FM, a community-based station owned by Escuela de la Raza Unida.

This program, funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, is part of Línea Abierta on the Road, a special itinerant series originating from the home site of partnering stations such as KERU.

“Our visit to Blythe will give us the opportunity to help rural, remote voices become part of the larger national dialogue,” said Samuel Orozco, executive producer of Hacia el Voto 2008. “Environmental health is a top concern in these communities and we’ll gather these stories as part of our electoral coverage.”

Línea Abierta on the Road arrives to KERU at a moment when the Latino station prepares to expand its signal to the whole Lower Colorado River after securing a federal authorization to significantly boost its broadcast power. María Rivera, KERU’s general manager, said: “We are very excited we’ll soon be reaching growing populations in the Arizona/California desert with local community-oriented programming, and citizen journalism of the kind only Radio Bilingüe can provide.”

The Spanish-language program Línea Abierta is heard on the community-based radio network’s satellite system that reaches 100 affiliates throughout the U.S., Mexico and Puerto Rico as well as its own six stations in California. It is also available via webcast on Radio Bilingüe Internet: www.radiobilingue.org. Radio Bilingüe’s online service also features an election spotlight webpage with links to program audio archives, podcasting multimedia files, timely news transcripts, an election interactive blog, hyperlinks to relevant organizations and more.

Funds for Radio Bilingüe's news services are provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, The California Endowment, the James Irvine Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, Lumina Foundation for Education, and the Nathan Cummings Foundation.

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About Radio Bilingüe, Inc.

Founded in 1976 and taking the air in 1980, Radio Bilingüe owns six full-power FM stations in California, serves over 100 affiliate stations via satellite, and provides live webcast, podcast, and text news service through its Internet site. Radio Bilingüe provides audiences with news, information and cultural programming from its award-winning programs Noticiero Latino and Línea Abierta. The network also distributes selected programming acquired from partnering networks in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Europe and Latin America. Radio Bilingüe is available on HD and several major English-language public radio stations throughout the U.S. offer the bilingual programming on the second-channel service to its Spanish-speaking communities.

About KERU

KERU-FM is a 250-watt bilingual educational radio station owned and operated by Escuela de la Raza Unida, an alternative, community-based K-12 school founded in 1972 by Latino parents and students. Students, parents, staff, and volunteers operate the station, which airs programming that fosters cultural and linguistic pride in students and Latino audiences. Recently, the FCC authorized the station to increase its power to 7,000 watts.

RElATED LINKS

Corporation for Public Broadcasting 

Radio Bilingüe press releases

The line up for Jan. 28:

• 12 - 1 pm PST – “Hacia El Voto 08” inaugural show on Línea Abierta

KERU studio 137 North Broadway, Blythe, CA

• 1 p.m. PST – Media availability at KERU studio in Blythe, CA..

Línea Abierta Program Summary:

MONDAY, JAN 28