SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4.

PROGRAM # 6602   2:00 PM PT  

DROPOUT CRISIS: THE MACARTURO TAKE (FIRST HOUR). Too many Latinos are underperforming in the school system and end up dropping out of school. This means that as Latinos become a majority in California and other states, their communities will be faced with a deficit of highly skilled workers, educated citizens and public leaders. In this first hour of a three-hour live forum before a live audience in downtown Fresno, CA, artists, activists, and thinkers convene a Spanish-language panel to discuss the factors at the root of this crisis and their vision to turn dropout factories into temples of knowledge. Guests include Latino recipients of the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship award. This special edition is simultaneously broadcast on KIQI, 1010 AM in San Francisco and 990 AM in Sacramento.

Guests: Pepón Osorio, Installation Artist; Carlos Bustamante, Population Genetecist; Ruth Behar, Cultural Anthropologist; Baldemar Velasquez, Farm Labor Leader; and Rueben Martínez, Bookseller; MacArturo Reunion, Fresno, CA. Samuel Orozco, News Director of Radio Bilingüe, moderates the panel in Spanish.

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PROGRAM # 6603   3:00 PM PT   

DROPOUT CRISIS: THE MACARTURO TAKE (SECOND HOUR). In this second hour of a three-hour live forum in Fresno, California, more Latino recipients of the MacArthur Fellowship award discuss the dropout crisis in English. The panel includes writer Sandra Cisneros and other “ MacArturos,” who share their own experiences in the school system and ideas for turning the dropout crisis around. This special edition is simultaneously broadcast on KIQI, 1010 AM in San Francisco and 990 AM in Sacramento.

Guests: Sandra Cisneros, Writer; Guillermo Gómez-Peña, Writer and Interdisciplinary Artist; Amalia Mesa-Bains, Artist and Cultural Critic; John Jesurun, Playwright & Director; and Joan Abrahamson, Community Development Leader. Marcos Gutiérrez, Ed.D., Executive Producer and Host of Hecho en California of KIQI, moderates this English-language panel.

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PROGRAM # 6604   4:00 PM PT

DROPOUT CRISIS: THE COMMUNITY RESPONDS (THIRD HOUR). After two hours of live panel discussion among Latino recipients of the MacArthur Fellowship award, the microphones are open to the public. Community leaders, DREAM Act students, high school teachers, and parents join the conversation on the dropout crisis. This special edition is simultaneously broadcast on KIQI, 1010 AM in San Francisco and 990 AM in Sacramento.

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6.

PROGRAM # 6605   12:00 PM PT    

DROPOUT CRISIS: THE MACARTURO TAKE (FIRST HOUR). Too many Latinos are underperforming in the school system and end up dropping out of school. This means that as Latinos become a majority in California and other states, their communities will be faced with a deficit of highly skilled workers, educated citizens and public leaders. This is a repeat of the first hour of a three-hour live forum held in downtown Fresno, CA, in which artists, activists, and thinkers convene a Spanish-language panel to discuss the factors at the root of this crisis and their vision to turn dropout factories into temples of knowledge. Guests include Latino recipients of the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship award.

Guests: Pepón Osorio, Installation Artist; Carlos Bustamante, Population Genetecist; Ruth Behar, Cultural Anthropologist; Baldemar Velasquez, Farm Labor Leader; and Rueben Martínez, Bookseller; MacArturo Reunion, Fresno, CA. Samuel Orozco, News Director of Radio Bilingüe, moderates the panel.

Listen to the full program!

PROGRAM # 6606   1:00 PM PT   

DROPOUT CRISIS: THE MACARTURO TAKE (SECOND HOUR). In this second hour of a three-hour forum in Fresno, California, more Latino recipients of the MacArthur Fellowship award discuss the dropout crisis in English. The panel includes writer Sandra Cisneros and other “ MacArturos,” who share their own experiences in the school system and ideas for turning the dropout crisis around. This is a repeat of the second hour of a three-hour live forum held in downtown Fresno, CA.

Guests: Sandra Cisneros, Writer; Guillermo Gómez-Peña, Writer and Interdisciplinary Artist; Amalia Mesa-Bains, Artist and Cultural Critic; John Jesurun, Playwright & Director; and Joan Abrahamson, Community Development Leader. Marcos Gutiérrez, Ed.D., Executive Producer and Host of Hecho en California of KIQI, moderates this English-language panel.

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7.

PROGRAM # 6607   12:00 PM PT   

IMMIGRATION EDITION: DISCRETION FOR WHOM? A 22 year-old woman who had attempted suicide twice in detention was deported to Mexico, where she has no immediate family and has not lived since she was a child. The case of Yanelli Hernández has DREAM Act activists asking why Obama’s recently announced prosecutorial discretion was not used in this case. This edition offers a discussion of how prosecutorial discretion is being applied. Attorney Rosalba Piña, an immigration law expert, hosts this edition from Chicago. Piña also answers listeners’ questions about how to apply for residency and naturalization.

Guests: Juan Escalante, Student and DREAM Act Activist, Tallahassee, FL, www.dreamactivist.org; Mark Silverman, Director of Immigration Policy, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, San Francisco, CA, www.ilrc.org.

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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8.

PROGRAM # 6608   12:00 PM PT   

PRIMARIES SWEEP THE SOUTHWEST. Republican frontrunners Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich vie for the Southwestern states of Nevada and Colorado. This edition includes interviews with political analysts about the results of both primaries, and the importance of these swing states, with large Latino populations.

Guests: Ryan Call, Chairman, Colorado Republican Party, Greenwood Village, CO, www.cologop.org; María Cardona, Democratic Party Strategist, Dewey Square Group, deweysquare.com/maria-cardona; Ernesto Sagás, Associate Professor, Ethnic Studies Department, Political Scientist, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, www.colostate.edu.

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9.

PROGRAM # 6609   12:00 PM PT   

HEALTHY LUNCHES FOR KIDS. The Obama administration’s new guidelines for school lunches require more whole grains, fresh fruits, dark green and yellow vegetables, and less sodium and fat. But pizza with tomato sauce is still considered a vegetable. A top Department of Agriculture official has been invited to this edition to discuss the new lunch rules, as well as a leading parent advocate for healthy food in schools.

Lisa Pino, Program Administrator, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., www.fns.usda.gov; Rosa Ram írez , Go for the Gold Campaign Manager, Healthy Schools Campaign , Chicago, Illinois , healthyschoolscampaign.org .

ALSO, FRESH FOOD IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. First Lady Michelle Obama recently visited California to celebrate the California FreshWorks Fund, which is helping retailers open and expand stores to offer affordable healthy food in communities with a lack of fresh produce stores. Northgate Gonzalez Market, a family-owned grocer, was among the first to respond to the call to prioritize healthy food retailing in low-income communities and help mitigate “food deserts.”

Guest: Veronica Saldaña , Manager , California FreshWorks Fund , Los Angeles, CA , http://www.cafreshworks.com/ .

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10.

PROGRAM # 6610   12:00 PM PT   

MEXICO EDITION. Residents of Mexico City look to the upcoming presidential elections in Mexico with skepticism and disenchantment. They expect the possible return of the PRI party, citing the increase of unemployment, insecurity and the number of poor people under the PAN party. In Cherán, Michoacán, however, residents are filled with hope, after a federal elections court recognized the Council of Communal Government, which was elected by methods of traditional customs by 2,900 small farmers or campesinos. According to a spokesperson from the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity, the Cheran people opted to constitute an autonomous government after they had to organize themselves to defend forests and natural resources, because their elected officials were doing nothing.

Guest; Ignacio Suárez Guape, Member of Coordinating Commision of Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity, Cuernavaca, Morelos.

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11.

PROGRAM # 6611   12:00 PM PT   

HEART OF THE BARRIO. The Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts celebrates its 35^th anniversary in style, with live bands, a Carnaval dance class, and silkscreening. Chelis López hosts this edition live from the center, which has served as the “Heart of the Barrio” in San Francisco’s Mission District for 35 years.

Guests: Jennie Rodriguez, Executive Director, Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, San Francisco, CA, www.missionculturalcenter.org .

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PROGRAM # 6612   1:00 PM PT   

TWITTER EN ESPAÑOL. At the age of 10, Laura Gómez crossed the border, hidden in a compartment of a van. She went on to receive a master’s degree in Latin American Studies and become a bilingual health educator. Today, she is a top language specialist at the social media, micro-blogging site, Twitter, helping expand the site into more world languages. This edition offers a live interview with Laura on location at the Mission Cultural Center’s 35^th anniversary celebration in the Mission District of San Francisco.

Guest: Laura Gómez, Manager, International Localization and Support, Twitter, Inc., www.twitter.com.

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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.