MONDAY, DECEMBER 5.

PROGRAM # 6550  12:00 PM PT

PROMOTING HEALTH. For thousands of uninsured working families, community health workers, or  promotoras, are their only source of health education. Promotoras have also become essential for explaining the benefits and dispelling the myths about the Affordable Care Act as the reform law is rolled out. Community health workers join this edition to discuss how to access the public health benefits available to prevent and control diabetes, cholesterol, obesity, access prenatal care, vaccines, well-checks for children, and other care essential for Latino families.

Guests:   Melinda Cordero-Bárzaga,  Associate Director, Vision y Compromiso, Los Angeles, CA,  www.visionycompromiso.org; Alma Esquivel, Community Health Worker, Director of Community Health Worker Network in Southern California, Visión y Compromiso, Los Angeles, CA; Teresa Niño, Director, Office of External Affairs and Beneficiary Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Washington, D.C., www.cms.gov; Dr. Regina Benjamin, Surgeon General of the United States, Washington, D.C., www.surgeongeneral.gov .

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6.

PROGRAM # 6551   12:00 PM PT

SILENT RAID HITS IMMIGRANT WORKERS. Two hundred steel workers at Pacific Steel in Berkeley, California are being laid off after an employment eligibility audit conducted by the Department of Homeland Security. The audits have come to be known by some as “silent raids” because of their effect on working immigrants and their families.

Guests: Marielena Hincapie, Executive Director, National Immigration Law Center, Los Angeles, CA,  www.nilc.org; Ana Castaño, Former Pacific Steel Worker, Bay Point, CA; Joel Soto, Pacific Steel Worker, Richmond, CA; Ignacio de la Fuente, Oakland City Councilman and Vice President, Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics and Allied Workers International Union, Oakland, CA, www.gmpiu.org.

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7.

PROGRAM # 6552  12:00 PM PT

STOPPING CHILD ABUSE. The alleged sexual abuse by an assistant football coach at The Pennsylvania State University of eight young boys in a community service program has shocked the nation and spurred new legislation. An attorney and former lawmaker as well as a child abuse prevention advocate join this edition to talk about how to spot and prevent abuse, and about legislation to crackdown on child abuse.

Guests: Martha Escutia, Attorney and Former state senator of California, Los Angeles, CA; Sarita Hudson, Director of Public Engagement, Stop It Now!, Northampton, MA,  www.StopItNow.org; Lisa Fontes, Research and Psychologist, University Without Walls, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, www.lisafontes.com

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8.

PROGRAM # 6553  12:00 PM PT     

WORKER TAX CUTS. In a major year-end showdown, Republicans in Congress have blocked efforts from the White House to extend payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits. If Congress refuses to take any action soon, more than 160 million workers and middle class taxpayers will lose this relief next month, and taxes will go up for most of next year. Experts join this edition to discuss this critical debate.

Guests: Leticia Miranda, Associate Director Economic and Employment Policy Project, National Council of La Raza (NCLR), Washington, D.C., www.nclr.org;  Gabriel Villalobos , Guest Commentator,  Producer, Contacto Total, and Creative Director of Medios Hispanos, LLC, Onda 1190 AM KNUV, Phoenix, AZ .

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9.

PROGRAM # 6554   12:00 PM PT    

MEXICO EDITION. Another activist from the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity (MPJD) in Mexico was killed this week: peasant farmer Trinidad de la Cruz Crisóforo, a member of the Community Guard in Ostula, Michoacán. Twenty-seven people from the communities of Ostula and Cherán have died for defending their woods, which are being pillaged by armed groups. The citizen movement for peace MPJD plans to cover sculptures in Mexico City with black ribbons to denounce the assassination of social justice leaders. Meanwhile, Reporters Without Borders reports that 80 journalists have died and 14 have disappeared in Mexico in the last decade. Martha Elena Ramírez hosts Voz Pública from Mexico City.

Guests: Benoit Herviev, Latin America Director, Reporters Without Borders, Mexico City, Mexico; Balbina Flores Martínez, correspondent, Reporters Without Border, Journalist for Zócalo magazine, Mexico City, Mexico.

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Funds for Línea Abierta are provided in part by The National Endowment for the Arts, The California Endowment, the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, The Ford Foundation, The California Wellness Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The Conéctate Series was funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the California Emerging Technology Fund.