FILNER REINTRODUCES BILL TO HONOR FALLEN HEROES FROM VIETNAM
Printer-friendly versionJanuary 28, 2009 (San Diego) — Congressman Bob Filner has reintroduced legislation to honor the service and sacrifice of many members of the United States Armed Forces who fought in Vietnam, the “In Memory Medal for Forgotten Veterans Act” (H.R. 671). The bill recognizes veterans who died as a result of their service in the Vietnam War but who do not meet the criteria for inclusion on The Wall of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund “In Memory” program raised money to place a plaque near The Wall. The plaque honors “those who served in the Vietnam War and later died as a result of their service.” No names are on the plaque, but all names are recorded in the “In Memory Book” at a kiosk near The Wall. Families can order a copy of the book. “Through introduction of this legislation, I hope to further honor our fallen heroes by presenting their families with the “Jesus (Chuchi) Salgado Medal” issued by the Secretary of Defense,” said Congressman Filner. “Chuchi Salgado was an outstanding individual who lived in my Congressional district and died after the war as a result of exposure to Agent Orange while serving his country in Vietnam. His family still resides in my community.” He added, “Because of the eligibility restrictions governing which veterans’ names may be placed on The Wall, Chuchi and many, many other Vietnam veterans are not honored in this manner. While we are working on improving care for our newest veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, we must also continue to do right by veterans of Vietnam, along with those of other past wars and conflicts. It is critical that we remember those who fought courageously and sacrificed their lives for our freedom.” Printer-friendly version
FRIENDSHIP PARK
Printer-friendly versionDespite Border Patrol Ban, Communion Celebrations Continue at Historic Border Park–”For Now (Karl W. Hoffman) Editor’s Note: Impacts of the border wall are important nationally and internationally, as well as for people in San Diego County. Each Sunday afternoon, Friends of Friendship Park gather at the historic venue to celebrate communion through the U.S.-Mexico border fence. Rev. John Fanestil, a pastor in the United Methodist Church and Executive Director of Foundation for Change, sent this poignant report to East County Magazine on closure of Friendship Park to the public. First lady Patricia Nixon dedicated Friendship Park in the 1970s as a symbol of bi-national goodwill. All U.S. laws were waived by former Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff to speed construction of the border fence. Now a coalition of elected officials has sent a letter urging President-elect Obama to intervene and save Friendship Park. Led by Congresswoman Susan Davis, other local elected officials who signed the letter include Congressman Bob Filner, State Senators Denise Ducheny and Christine Kehoe, Assembly members Lori Saldaña and Mary Salas, and San Diego City Council members Ben Hueso and Donna Frye. For now, U.S. citizens are resorting to civil disobedience to share communion with friends and family members through barred walls at the border. By Rev. John Fanestil Photos by Karl W. Hoffman Karl W. Hoffman This last Sunday, January 25, we celebrated communion across two different fences. Let me tell you why. As we do each Sunday, we gathered at 2:30 p.m. at the entrance to Border Field State Park and began our hike to the border. As we approached the border fence on the beach, we saw that there were four or five vehicles up on Monument Mesa, where usually there are only one or two. I felt my heart beat a tad bit faster and I began to think that this was the day that Customs and Border Patrol would begin to enforce the ban they have declared on public access to Friendship Park . As we climbed up on to the mesa, we approached the mesh fence that has been used to mark off Friendship Park as federal property. We were approached by a very cordial Border Patrol agent, a woman. She informed us — almost cheerfully — that the land inside the mesh fence was a construction zone and that our entry was not permitted. “We know you are good law-abiding citizens,” she said, “and we hope you will obey the law.” She also made a point to emphasize, “We have cameras trained on this area and your photographs will be taken.” She turned and headed for her vehicle, and then remembered she had forgotten to communicate one last thing: “If you climb over the fence or damage it in anyway, you could be charged with destruction of federal property.” (Karl W. Hoffman) I thanked her for the information, and I meant it. The previous Sunday the agents on duty hadn’t bothered to acknowledge our presence — they just let us celebrate communion and chose to look the other way. This had left us feeling a little uncertain, unsure of whether the ban on public access to Friendship Park was already in effect. The communication this Sunday was both polite and clear. It is now illegal to enter Friendship Park. We have also been told in no uncertain terms that when the construction project is complete, the ban on public access will become permanent. What has been for generations a celebrated meeting-place on the U.S.-Mexico border is now intended to be nothing more than an extension of the “enforcement zone” that is being created between double and triple walls across hundreds of miles of the border’s length. If Customs and Border Patrol have their way, no-one will enter this enforcement zone from the south and no-one will be allowed to enter it from the north, either. Excepting authorized law enforcement officers, it will become, quite literally, a “no-man’s land.” After thanking the Border Patrol agent for her clear communication, a number of us — with equal good cheer! –stepped around the mesh fence and into Friendship Park. Before doing so, however, I made clear to everyone in our company that this was an act of civil disobedience, and I emphasized that no one should feel obligated in any way to join us. (Across months of celebrating communion at Friendship Park we have established this as an important principle — no one is asked or expected to participate in anything with which they are not comfortable.) As I prepared to serve communion, it occurred to me we would have to be serving (Karl W. Hoffman) communion across TWO fences this week. As always, there were people on the Mexican side of the border fence. But this week, there were also a good number of people left behind the mesh fence at the cusp of the mesa on the U.S. side of the international boundary. I moved the communion elements closer to the intersection of the two fences –one fence made of steel, running east to west, marking an international boundary; the other fence made of mesh, running south to north, marking off a new patch of U.S. soil that has just been declared by the U.S. government off limits to U.S. citizens. I began: “On the night in which Jesus gave himself up for us, he took bread … En la noche en que se entregó por nosotros, Jesús tomó el pan …” Printer-friendly version
EAST COUNTY FAMILY YMCA BREAKS GROUND FOR NEW FACILITY IN RANCHO SAN DIEGO
Printer-friendly versionMcGrath Family Foundation, Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, and Dallas Pugh Foundation pledge $5 million for capital project;Construction t to begin February 2009 January 27, 2009 (Rancho San Diego, CA) — In a time where foundations and businesses are cutting back on financially supporting non-profits, three prominent organizations are fulfilling their pledge of $5 million toward the construction of a 35,000 sq. ft. full-service YMCA facility in Rancho San Diego. The McGrath Family YMCA, located at 12012 Campo Road, Rancho San Diego (91977), will meet the health, social and recreational needs of the under-served areas of Rancho San Diego, El Cajon, Jamul, Spring Valley and Casa de Oro. Construction on the new YMCA adjacent to the current McGrath Family YMCA Sports Complex will begin in February 2009. The $5 million pledge from The McGrath Family Foundation, Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, and the Dallas Pugh Foundation has put the non-profit East County Family YMCA at more than 80-percent of the financing needed for the capital campaign to construct the new branch. The announcement of these three major organizations supporting the East County Family YMCA was made at a recent “earth moving” celebration to break ground on the McGrath Family YMCA branch on Tuesday, Jan. 27. Nearly 100 community leaders, donors and YMCA members attended the celebration, which was not your typical “shovel in the dirt” groundbreaking ceremony. Representatives from the McGrath Family Foundation, Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, and the Dallas Pugh Foundation saddled up on earth movers to kick off the construction in a ceremonial fashion. There was also a designated marked area showing the entire footprint of the 35,000-sq. ft. branch. Also on hand were a dozen YMCA pre-schoolers playing in a sandpit with buckets and shovels, dressed in colorful clothing and construction hardhats. The McGrath Family Foundation pledged $2.5 million towards the capital campaign. Laurie McGrath, who sits on the board of management of the Mission Valley YMCA and is an East County resident, was active in facilitating the donation from the family’s charitable foundation. The McGrath Family YMCA is being built, in part, to honor her father, C.W. McGrath, founder of C.W. McGrath, who passed away in September of 2005. Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation has donated more than $1 million to name the 9,000 square foot wellness center at the YMCA. This is the first time Sycuan has supported a capital campaign off reservation land or Sycuan-owned property. The site of the existing McGrath sports fields is a former site of a Kumeyaay village, the Village of Jamacha. Structures cannot be built on this parcel of land because of its history and cultural significance. Sycuan has erected a memorial to mark this property. The McGrath Family YMCA building will include a Native American display to highlight the history of the site and its tie to the East County community and recognize Sycuan’s generosity. The Dallas Pugh Foundation has donated $1 million and has pledged to raise an additional $500,000 to name the 7,000 square foot Dallas Pugh Gymnasium. The foundation was established in memory of a young man named Dallas Pugh, who took his life at the age of 15. The Pugh Family Foundation is dedicated to suicide prevention and supports children and youth, in helping them build self-confidence, communication skills and athletic ability — all the things the YMCA stands for. The new building will expand the existing sports complex to include a 35,000-sq. ft. full service YMCA branch that will include a wellness/fitness center, gymnasium, multi-purpose and conference rooms and much more. The McGrath Family YMCA in Rancho San Diego is set to open in early 2010. The next phase of this project will include a full-service aquatics center. Donations are still needed to help complete the funding necessary to build this project. For more information, or to make a donation, please contact Steve Rowe, executive director/vice-president, East County Family YMCA, at 619-464-1323 ext. 8122, or visit eastcounty.ymca.org. The East County Family YMCA operates the John A. Davis Family YMCA in La Mesa and the Cameron Family YMCA in Santee, as well as the McGrath Family YMCA Sports Complex in Rancho San Diego. The new McGrath Family YMCA is set to open in early 2010. For more information, please visit eastcounty.ymca.org. Printer-friendly version
CONGRESS SENDS LILY LEDBETTER FAIR PAY ACT TO PRESIDENT FOR SIGNATURE
Printer-friendly versionBy Miriam Raftery Congressman Bob Filner (D-San Diego) with Jan Hedlun of Potrero. “This issue is as basic as it gets,” said Congressman Filner (D-CA), who voted in favor of the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which is now on President Barack Obama’s desk. ”You should not be paid less because you are a woman. You should not be treated differently because of the color of your skin or your religious beliefs. The Supreme Court has tried to roll back the clock on this issue of basic fairness, but Congress will not stand for it.” San Diego Congressional representative Susan Davis also voted for the bill, while Congressman Brian Bilbray, Duncan D. Hunter and Darrell Issa voted against the measure. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act would clarify that each discriminatory paycheck or compensation constitutes a violation of the Civil Rights Act. As long as workers file their charges within 180 days of a discriminatory paycheck, their charges would be considered timely. This was the law prior to the Supreme Court’s May 2007 decision. The Ledbetter decision has already been cited in hundreds of discrimination cases. Not only have pay discrimination cases been adversely impacted, but protections guaranteed by the Fair Housing Act, Title IX, and the Eight Amendment have also been affected. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act would apply to workers who file claims of discrimination on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin, religion, age, or disability. Lilly Ledbetter worked for nearly 20 years at a Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. She sued the company after learning that she was paid less then her male counterparts at the facility, despite having more experience than several of them. A jury found that her employer had unlawfully discriminated against her on the basis of sex. However, the Supreme Court said that Ledbetter had waited too long to sue for pay discrimination, despite the fact that she filed a charge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as soon as she received an anonymous note alerting her to pay discrimination. While Ledbetter filed her charge within 180 days of receiving discriminatory pay, the court ruled that, since Ledbetter did not raise a claim within 180 days of the employer’s decision to pay her less, she could not receive any relief. Under this Supreme Court decision, employees in Ledbetter’s position would be forced to live with discriminatory paychecks for the rest of their careers. Despite claims from critics, the Congressional Budget Office estimated in 2007 that since the bill would essentially return the law to where it stood before the Supreme Court ruling, the legislation will not lead to an onslaught of costly new litigation. Click here for the CBO estimate. “At a time when too many workers are seeing their jobs and wages slashed, we’ve got to make sure that all Americans are paid fairly for their hard work,” said Filner. “The new Congress is committed to rebuilding our economy and strengthening our middle class. This legislation is a critical start.” The bill is broadly supported by women’s organizations and labor groups, but has met opposition from some business groups wary of increased litigation. Obama has indicated his support for the bill, which is expected to be the first piece of legislation the new President will sign into law. Printer-friendly version