MONDAY, DECEMBER 12.

PROGRAM # 6555  12:00 PM PT

BREAKING AWAY FROM THE BUDGET CRISIS. In a few days, the December 15 deadline for tax revenues that California set for itself will determine whether more budget cuts will go into place in the new year. Top budget thinkers join this roundtable discussion to hash out ways to break away from the cycle of budget crisis and budget cuts and better involve citizens in the process.

Guests: Cruz Reynoso, Former Associate Justice of the CA Supreme Court & the Third District Court of Appeal, Leadership Council of California Forward, Davis, CA, www.cafwd.org; María Blanco, Vice President of Civic Engagement, California Community Foundation, Los Angeles, CA, www.calfund.org; Francisco Rodríguez, Vice President, California Federation of Teachers, Watsonville, CA; www.cft.org .

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13.

PROGRAM # 6556   12:00 PM PT

IMMIGRATION EDITION: BIPARTISAN IMMIGRATION BILL. The House of Representatives passed a bill that would remove the cap on employment-based green cards and increase the percentage of family-based green cards. The legislation is being hailed by some advocacy groups as a sign that Republicans and Democrats can work together for immigration reform. Attorney Rosalba Piña, an immigration law expert, hosts this edition from Chicago. Piña also provides advice and encouragement for permanent residents to take the step to become citizens.

Guest: Carlina Tapia-Ruano, Member and Past President, American Immigration Lawyers' Association, Chicago, IL, www.trgpc.com

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14.

PROGRAM # 6557  12:00 PM PT

OCCUPY HOMES. Occupy Wall Street protesters have moved away from camping in public parks and begun staking claim in foreclosed homes or homes at risk of foreclosure. The tactic is one that had already been used on a smaller scale by community organizations nationwide in last-ditch attempts to help homeowners with no other recourse to save their homes.

Guests: Rubén Tapia, Correspondent, Noticiero Latino, Los Angeles, CA; Arturo de Los Santos, Former Marine and Homeowner, Riverside, CA; Rose Gudiel, Homeowner, La Puente, CA; José Vega, Collaborator, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), Pittsburg, CA, www.calorganize.org

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15.

PROGRAM # 6558  12:00 PM PT     

MARIACHI NAMED TREASURE OF HUMANITY. The United Nations educational and cultural agency, UNESCO, has added mariachi music to the list of “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.” Some of the celebrations planned include a 24-hour mariachi fiesta in countries around the world. Mariachi musicians and historians join this edition to discuss what the designation means for mariachi music and musicians the world over.

Guests: José Hernández, Director, Mariachi Sol de México, South El Monte, CA, www.soldemexicoonline.com; Jonathan Clark, Mariachi musician and historian, Livermore, CA; Jesús Jáuregui, Anthropologist, Author of the book El mariachi: símbolo musical de México, Mexico City, Mexico.

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16.

PROGRAM # 6559   12:00 PM PT    

MEXICO EDITION. A student from a rural college in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero, tells how a violent crackdown by federal swat teams of their protest urging for more funding for education ended in the death of two demonstrating students Meantime, in Mexico City, the Mexican government formally apologized to Valentina Rosendo Cantú, an indigenous woman from the Me-phaa people who was raped almost ten years ago by Mexican troops.  The Inter-American Court of Human Rights decided against the Mexican government and ordered a public act of admission of responsibility in presence of the victim. Valentina thanked human rights advocates for helping her find justice abroad. Finally, one year after the murder of activist Maricela Escobedo, who was executed in front of Chihuahua's state government house, her exiled children call for an exhaustive investigation from El Paso, Texas. Martha Elena Ramirez hosts this edition of the Voz Publica series from Mexico City. 

Guests: Recordings of interviews with a college student from Ayotzinapa, Guerrero; plaintiff Valentina Rosendo Cantú, Me´phaa indigenous community, Mexico City; Juan Fraire Escobedo, son of late activist Maricela Escobedo, El Paso, Texas.

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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17.

PROGRAM # 6560   14:00 PM PT   

ALABAMA: VOICES FROM THE SHADOWS. Leaders from the nation’s top civil rights organizations convene in Alabama to advocate a repeal of the state’s immigration law. At the same time, the United States Civil Rights Commission is analyzing whether state immigration enforcement laws, like the one in Alabama, increase discrimination, hate crimes, or racial profiling. The Chairman of the Commission joins this edition to hear testimony directly from Alabama listeners. This edition is simulcast on the Radio Bilingüe network, the three-station network of La Jefa Radio in Alabama, and KIQI in the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento, and marks the anniversary of International Migrants Day.

Guests: Martín Castro, Chairman, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Chicago, IL, www.usccr.gov; José Antonio Castro, Program Director and Host, Radio La Jefa, Montgomery, AL, www.aquimandalajefa.com ; Gerardo Guzman, News producer, La Jefa Radio, Montgomery, AL

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PROGRAM # 6561  15:00 PM PT

ALABAMA: CIVIL RIGHTS SUMMIT. This is the second hour of a special program simulcast in Alabama and on Radio Bilingüe, with testimony from civil rights leaders whon attended a pro-immigrant summit in Montgomery and radio colleagues from Alabama on the effects of Alabama's immigration law, the harshest in the country. This edition aires on the Radio Bilingüe network, the three-station network of La Jefa Radio in Alabama, and KIQI in the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento.

Guests:  José Antonio Castro, Program Director and Host, Radio La Jefa, Montgomery, AL, www.aquimandalajefa.com; Gerardo Guzman, News producer, La Jefa Radio, Montgomery, AL; Dagmara Lopez, Coordinator of program to support migrant families, ICIRR, Chicago, IL and Montgomery, AL; Maria Alejandra Salazar, Community organizer, ICIRR, Chicago, IL and Montgomery, AL; Artemio Arreola, Political Director, ICIRR, Chicago, IL and Montgomery, AL.

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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.