NEIGHBORHOOD MARKET ASSOCIATION OPPOSES TODD GLORIA MINIMUM WAGE PROPOSAL
Mark Arabo speaks on behalf of NMA’s 700 San Diego small business owners, says stores may stage a “Todd Gloria Tax Day” protest By Miriam Raftery June 11, 2014 (San Diego)– On the heels of Todd Gloria’s minimum wage hike, Neighborhood Market Association President & CEO Mark Arabo has announced NMA’s opposition to a $13.10 minimum wage proposal. In addition, NMA leadership is considering the proposal of a Todd Gloria Tax Day, where “our member stores implement sales prices that would accurately reflect that of the minimum wage hike,” Arabo stated in a press release. “The Neighborhood Market Association, and all of our 700 San Diego member stores stand in firm opposition to Todd Gloria’s `solution’ to kick start our local economy. No one working full-time should ever have to live in poverty. But the approach take by Councilman Gloria is an oversimplified solution to a complex issue. What we are asking is to not put small businesses out of business. It is our job to ensure that our local economy is handled fiscally responsible, and the type of legislation we see here is quite the opposite. Lets take a reasoned approach to bettering San Diego’s small businesses, and middle-class families,” said Arabo. The NMA sees numerous viable options to consider that would benefit both the whole of San Diego, and small businesses in the city, Arabo concluded, adding, “This is round 1 in the NMA’s continued fight against legislation whose final victims will be not simply small business, but working class families.” The minimum wage raise has been supported by Council Democrats and by labor groups, who contend that the living wage needed to cover essential living expenses in San Diego is substantially higher than the current minimum wage. Advocates contend that in cities that have raised their minimum wages, workers had more money to spend, much of which flowed back into local businesses to offset their higher cost of doing business. San Francisco and Seattle are two examples of cities with minimum wages higher than their state minimum wage or the national level.
PRESIDENT SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER LIMITING STUDENT LOAN DEBT
By Miriam Raftery June 11, 2014 (Washington D.C.)– Students graduating from college today face an increasing burden of debt. The average undergraduate student must borrow $30,000 and for graduate students, the burden is many times worse. The high cost of tuition, even at public colleges and universities, has made college unaffordable for many students. Aiming to help students, President Barack Obama signed an executive order on Monday requiring that people paying off student loans will not have to pay more than 10% of their monthly incomes. The measure will be retroactive, extending this benefit to millions of borrowers. The President also called on Congress to pass legislation that would provide even more reforms to help students. The bill is expected to be debated in the Senate this week, but it faces significant opposition from fiscal conservatives. In his weekly address to the nation, the President said that graduation is a time for students and their families to celebrate achievements. But he added, “For many graduates, it also means feeling trapped by a whole lot of student loan debt. And we’ve got to do more to lift that burden.” The President noted that higher education is the most sure pathway into the middle class—since the unemployment rate for workers with a bachelor’s degree is just 3.3 percent – about half what it is for high school graduates. And the typical graduate of a four-year college earns $15,000 more per year than someone with just a high school degree. But despite an increase in student loans available under the Obama administration, the cost of college has continued to rise. Over the past three decades, the average tuition at a public four-year college has more than tripled. The president stated, “ I’ve heard from too many young people who are frustrated that they’ve done everything they were supposed to do – and now they’re paying the price.” A bill introduced by Senate Democrats would help young people save money by allowing them to refinance their student loans when interest rates drop, just as homeowners can refinance their homes at lower rates to reduce their payments. The President said , “We’d pay for it by closing loopholes that allow some millionaires to pay a lower tax rate than the middle class. That’s the choice that your representatives in Congress will make in the coming weeks – protect young people from crushing debt, or protect tax breaks for millionaires.” This country has always made a commitment to put a good education within the reach of all who are willing to work for it,. That’s what made us an economic superpower. That’s what makes us special.,” the President concluded. “And as long as I hold this office, I’ll keep fighting to give more young people the chance to earn their own piece of the American Dream.”
TYPE-O BLOOD DONORS NEEDED
By Miriam Raftery June 12, 2014 (San Diego)–If your blood type is O-positive, the San Diego Blood Bank wants your blood. The Blood Bank announced this week that it has a shortage of O-Positive, the universal donor blood type which is the only blood that can safely be given to trauma patients when there is no time to test for blood type. “O-negative donors are urgently needed to give blood immediately at San Diego Blood Bank donor centers and bloodmobiles,” said Jackie Vella of the blood bank. “This shortage is being caused by a patient suffering from severe trauma and low donor turnout over the last few weeks.” To find out the location of a blood mobile or blood bank donor center near you, you can visit www.sandiegobloodbank.org, or call (800) 469-7322.
READER’S EDITORIAL: DOES WAR HAVE A FUTURE?
By Lawrence S. Wittner June 12, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)–National officials certainly assume that war has a future. According to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, world military expenditures totaled nearly $1.75 trillion in 2013. Although, after accounting for inflation, this is a slight decrease over the preceding year, many countries increased their military spending significantly, including China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia. Indeed, 23 countries doubled their military spending between 2004 and 2013. None, of course, came anywhere near to matching the military spending of the United States, which, at $640 billion, accounted for 37 percent of 2013’s global military expenditures. Furthermore, all the nuclear weapons nations are currently “modernizing” their nuclear arsenals. Meanwhile, countries are not only preparing for wars, but are fighting them sometimes overtly (as in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan) and sometimes covertly (as in portions of Africa and the Middle East). Nevertheless, there are some reasons why war might actually be on the way out. One reason, of course, is its vast destructiveness. Over the past century, conventional wars (including two world wars) have slaughtered more than a hundred million people, crippled, blinded, or starved millions more, consumed vast stores of nonrenewable resources, and laid waste to large portions of the globe. And this enormous level of death, misery, and ruin will almost certainly be surpassed by the results of a nuclear war, after which, as Nikita Khrushchev once reportedly commented, the living might envy the dead. After all, Hiroshima was annihilated with one atomic bomb. Today, some 16,400 nuclear weapons are in existence, and most of them are far more powerful than the bomb that obliterated that Japanese city. Another reason that war has become exceptionally burdensome is its enormous cost. The United States is a very wealthy nation, but when it spends half of its annual tax-collected budget on the military, as it now does, it is almost inevitable that its education, health care, housing, parks and recreational facilities, and infrastructure will suffer. That is what the AFL-CIO executive council–far from the most dovish institution in American life–concluded in 2011, when it declared: “There is no way to fund what we must do as a nation without bringing our troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan. The militarization of our foreign policy has proven to be a costly mistake. It is time to invest at home.” Many Americans seem to agree. Furthermore, a number of developments on the world scene have facilitated the abolition of war. One of them is the rise of mass peace movements. Many centuries ago, religious groups and theologians began to criticize war on moral grounds, and non-sectarian peace organizations began to emerge in the early nineteenth century. Even though they never had an easy time of it in a world accustomed to war, these organizations became a very noticeable and, at times, powerful force in the twentieth century and beyond. Drawing upon prominent figures like Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russell, sparking new thinking about international relations and world peace, and mobilizing millions of people against war, peace groups created a major social movement that government officials could not entirely ignore. Another new development¾one originally proposed by peace organizations¾is the establishment of international institutions to prevent war. The vast destruction wrought by World War I provided a powerful incentive for Woodrow Wilson and other officials to organize the League of Nations to prevent further disasters. Although the League proved too weak and nations too unwilling to limit their sovereignty for this goal to be accomplished, the enormous carnage and chaos of World War II led government officials to give world governance another try. The resulting institution, the United Nations, proved somewhat more successful than the League at averting war and resolving conflicts, but, like its predecessor, suffered from the fact that it remained weak while the ambitions of nations (and particularly those of the great powers) remained strong. Even so, the United Nations now provides an important framework that can be strengthened to foster international law and the peaceful resolution of international disputes. Yet another new factor on the world scene–one also initiated by peace activists–is the development of nonviolent resistance. As staunch humanitarians, peace activists had pacifist concerns and human rights concerns that sometimes pulled them in opposite directions–for example, during the worldwide struggle against fascist aggression. But what if it were possible to battle for human rights without employing violence? This became the basis for nonviolent resistance, which was not only utilized in dramatic campaigns led by Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., but in mass movements that, subsequently, have challenged and toppled governments. Indeed, nonviolent resistance has become a new, powerful, and more successful tool for people to drawn upon in conflicts without slaughtering one another. In addition, the modern world has produced many other alternatives to mass violence. Why not expand international exchange and peace studies programs in the schools? Why not dispatch teams of psychologists, social workers, conflict resolution specialists, mediators, negotiators, and international law experts to conflict zones to work out settlements among the angry disputants? Why not provide adequate food, meaningful employment, education, and hospitals to poverty-stricken people around the world, thus undermining the desperation and instability that often lead to violence? Wouldn’t the U.S. government be receiving a friendlier reception in many countries today if it had used the trillions of dollars it spent on war preparations and destruction to help build a more equitable, prosperous world? Of course, this scenario might depend too much on the ability of people to employ reason in world affairs. Perhaps the rulers of nations, learning nothing since the time of Alexander the Great, will continue to mobilize their citizens for war until only small bands of miserable survivors roam a barren, charred, radioactive wasteland. But it’s also possible that people will finally acquire enough sense to alter their self-destructive behavior. Lawrence Wittner (http://lawrenceswittner.com), syndicated by PeaceVoice, is Professor of History emeritus at SUNY/Albany. His latest book is “What’s Going
OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TAKING MEASURES TO DEAL WITH INFLUX OF IMMIGRANT MINORS
By Trevor Hill June 11, 2014 (San Diego’s East County)–This year, the number of minors illegally crossing the border north through Mexico into the United States has increased to approximately 48,000 (92% higher than last year) and is projected to reach over 60,000 by the end of the 2014 fiscal year. The vast majority of these children is not coming from Mexico, but in fact is fleeing Central American countries like Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. To deal with the influx, immigrant minors and adults alike are being shipped to warehouses and other facilities in order to hold them until they can be deported or granted a green card. About 700 minors are currently being held in a warehouse Nogales, Arizona, where living conditions have become deplorable due to overcrowding and lack of supplies. Fortunately, this is only a temporary housing for the children who will spend only enough time in Nogales to receive vaccinations and be checked medically before being sent to facilities in Ventura, California; San Antonio, Texas; and Fort Sill, Oklahoma. This overcrowding is due to a lack of legal representatives willing and/or able to represent these children in Immigration Court. Because courts are not required to fund lawyers for the children, they must find a legal representative through advocacy groups or pro bono law programs. If these children (approximately 17% of whom are below the age of 13) cannot find a lawyer, they must represent themselves in court. According to a thinkprocess.org article, “One pro bono lawyer told the Los Angeles Times that children in the courtroom are often ‘confused and frightened,’ like the child who carried his teddy bear for comfort and another who wet his pants when he faced the judge.” In response to the lack of lawyers available to these minors, the Obama Administration has started a program that will distribute $2 million in federal grants to approximately 100 lawyers and paralegals in order to enroll them to represent the immigrant minors being faced with trials in Immigration Court. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. supports this resolution. “We’re taking a historic step to strengthen our justice system and protect the rights of the most vulnerable members of society,” he said in an official statement. “How we treat those in need, particularly young people who must appear in immigration proceedings — many of whom are fleeing violence, persecution, abuse or trafficking— goes to the core of who we are as a nation.” The $2 million will be allocated to nonprofits in 29 US cities with large numbers of immigrants. It would then be used by said nonprofits to recruit the lawyers and paralegals needed to represent the immigrant minors in court. Each enrollee will be expected to serve in the program for roughly a year. To compensate for their service, each lawyer and paralegal will receive a stipend of approximately $24,200, as well as an award for around $5,700 which can be used toward tuition or paying off student loans. In addition, after being prompted by Obama Administration officials, emergency task forces have opened up facilities on two different military bases which will be used to house up to 1,800 kids. House Republicans are attributing the influx of immigrant minors from Central America to lax border policies set in place by the Obama Administration. They point to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a memorandum written by President Obama in 2012 which granted adults who came to the US as minors over 5 years ago increased immunities from deportation, as the reason for the sudden increase in immigrant minors. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) disagrees with Republicans. Harkin is the chair of the subcommittee in charge of the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education bill, which will determine the budget for the Health and Human Services department (HHS). The HHS is responsible for housing, feeding, and caring for the minors after they have been processed by border officials. Harkin stated that, “From everything I’ve read, it’s economics, it’s violence.” Harkin, as well as White House officials, attributes the influx of child refugees to the declining economy in Central America. They believe that it is highly unlikely that children in poverty-stricken areas in Central America are as well-versed in US immigration policy toward minors as Republicans claim they are. “The problem is that the border is not going to get secure on its own,” said Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Florida), a GOP advocate for a discussion on immigration in Congress. “All these issues that are coming up, all these things are under the current system. If you are satisfied with the status quo, leave it exactly as it is.” Diaz-Balart expressed that he is reluctant to make a push for a GOP-backed immigration bill because of his increasing distrust of President Obama in general. He has doubts that the President would be willing to compromise with Republicans by enforcing tougher border policies, which would have to be included in any immigration bill that House Republicans back. “It’s no secret that nobody trusts President Obama,” he said. Although immigration reform is being halted by gridlock in the House over ideologies concerning border security, the President and his administration are making sure that the needs of the undocumented child immigrants are being met and that they will not be subject to the detestable conditions of the temporary housing facilities for much longer.
FRIDAY: HEAR OUR INTERVIEW WITH BEN KALASHO ON ESCALATING VIOLENCE, HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN IRAQ
Listen to our interview: https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/audio/2019/August/KalashoBen-FINAL-Iraqwithmusic.mp3 June 13, 2014 (El Cajon) — A terrorist group that splintered off from Al Qaeda has taken the city of Mosul in Iraq, where several other cities have erupted in violence. East County Magazine interviewed Ben Kalasho, president of the East County Chaldean-American Chamber of Commerce on the escalating hostilities and humanitarian crisis, as well as the impacts on members of the Iraqi community in El Cajon — home to our nation’s second highest population of Iraqi Chaldean immigrants. This show originally aired on KNSJ 89.1 FM on June 12, 2014. You can listen to the East County Magazine Show Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 5 p.m. on KNSJ.
HEAR OUR INTERVIEW WITH SUPERVISOR DIANNE JACOB ON COUNTY’S ALZHEIMER’S PROJECT AND AGING SUMMIT
June 11, 2014 (San Diego) – Last week, our interview with Supervisor Dianne Jacob aired on KNSJ radio. You can now listen online to the full interview by clicking here: https://www.eastcountymagazine.org/sites/eastcountymagazine.org/files/audio/2019/August/Jacob-Alzheimers-FINAL.mp3 Supervisor Jacob discussed the County’s new regional initiative to tackle the Alzheimer’s epidemic, which has reached epidemic proportions locally. She also shared details on the County’s Aging Summit coming up on June 12. Scroll down to read the County’s press release on the Alzheimer’s project spearheaded by Supervisor Jacob, which aims to bring together top researchers to seek a cure, as well as bringing help to caregivers and patients. COUNTY LAUNCHES REGIONAL INITIATIVE TO TACKLE ALZHEIMER’S EPIDEMIC With Alzheimer’s disease reaching epidemic levels in the region, San Diego County officials on Tuesday (5/6) launched an ambitious new initiative to fight the growing public health menace. The Board of Supervisors, at the urging of Chairwoman Dianne Jacob and Supervisor Dave Roberts, approved the creation of The Alzheimer’s Project, a collaborative effort to address the impact of this deadly disease and to boost local efforts to find a cure. “Alzheimer’s disease is taking a growing toll on the region, from our homes to our hospitals, and it’s time for a call to arms,” said Jacob. “The Alzheimer’s Project allows us to join forces and take on this epidemic together so no family has to deal with it alone.” The initiative will bring together health care experts, leaders of the Alzheimer’s Association, world-renown researchers and others to craft a strategy aimed at improving local care and developing a cure. “We plan to pull everyone together, so that the best and the brightest San Diego has to offer can work in partnership to fight this terrible disease,” said Roberts. “If we can be a catalyst for care, early intervention and seeking new treatments, then we have achieved our goal.” The death rate from the Alzheimer’s in San Diego County is among the highest in California. More than 60,000 local residents have the disease. That number is expected to double by 2030. “I lost three close family members — my mother, an aunt and an uncle — to Alzheimer’s and it’s absolutely devastating, but I believe this initiative holds the promise of a better future for other families,” said San Diego philanthropist Darlene Shiley, one of the nation’s leading supporters of Alzheimer’s research. As part of the initiative, researchers from Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, Scripps Research Institute, UC San Diego, Salk Institute and other organizations have agreed to collaborate with county health officials. They will explore ways to boost research funding, increase public involvement in clinical trials and consider other measures linked to finding a treatment or cure. Clinical neurologists, home care providers and other experts will work with the county to create a public awareness campaign and will develop recommendations to improve services for those with dementia and their caregivers. “Alzheimer’s not only claims lives, but puts incredible emotional, financial and physical strain on those who love and care for them,” said Mary Ball, president and chief executive officer of the local Alzheimer’s Association. “With more than 80 percent of those living with Alzheimer’s being cared for at home by a family member, we applaud the county’s leadership to identify more resources and support until a cure is found.” Project participants are expected to bring their recommendations to the Board of Supervisors before the end of this year. Alzheimer’s claims about 500,000 lives nationwide each year, a figure that is expected to grow as more Americans live into their 80s and 90s. Women over 65 are roughly twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s as elderly men, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Women in their 60s are about twice as likely to develop the disease as they are to develop breast cancer. The epidemic is also taking a high financial toll. The annual nationwide cost of caring for people with Alzheimer’s exceeds $200 billion. San Diego County government is the region’s lead public health agency. In recent years, the county’s Health & Human Services Agency has stepped up efforts to improve the health and safety of residents through its “Live Well San Diego” initiative. Chairwoman Jacob announced the idea of creating The Alzheimer’s Project in her State of the County address earlier this year.
COUNTY HOSTS FREE AGING SUMMIT JUNE 12 IN SAN DIEGO
June 11, 2014 (San Diego) – The public is invited to a free Aging Summit hosted by the County of San Diego. This year, the primary focus will be on Alzheimer’s and related dementias. The event will take place on June 12 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Town and Country Hotel Convention Center. For more information, visit http://www.alz.org/sandiego/in_my_community_62650.asp
VERGARA V. CALIFORNIA VERDICT: TEACHERS TO LOSE TENURE PROTECTIONS
Teachers’ union vows to appeal By Trevor Hill June 11, 2014 (Los Angeles) — Judge Rolf Treu of the Los Angeles Superior Court delivered his ruling this Tuesday, June 10th, on the highly controversial Vergara v. California trial, which sought to determine the constitutionality of statutes which grant teachers tenure, complicate the teacher layoff process, and value seniority over skill when determining which teachers must be laid off. Treu ruled these statutes unconstitutional, stating that, “evidence has been elicited in this trial to the specific effect of grossly ineffective teachers on students. The evidence is compelling. Indeed, it shocks the conscious.” The plaintiffs were nine California students. Their legal battle was funded by Silicon Valley executive David Welch. In opposition was the State of California and two teachers’ unions; the Teachers’ Federation of California, and the California Teachers’ Association. The first witness called to the stand during the eight week trial was John Deast, the super intendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District. He said Tuesday after the ruling that, “this is a truly historic day for our education system. Today’s decision is a call to action to begin implementing, without delay, the solutions that help address the problems highlighted in the Vergara trial. Every day that these laws remain in effect is an opportunity denied. It’s unacceptable, and a violation of our education system’s sacred pact with the public.” Jim Finburg, the lawyer who represented the teachers’ unions in the trial, is confident that the evidence is on their side. His party plans on appealing the decision when it is finalized next month. “I don’t think this opinion reflects the substantial evidence presented at trial,” he said. “We believe the statutes do work well and serve an important government interest.” In the past, the San Diego Unified School District (one of the top performing urban school districts in the state) has rejected attempts to do away with tenure and protections for experienced teachers. San Diego’s schools have flourished under this system. Once union statutes that protect teachers are done away with, each school district will be allowed to make its own guidelines concerning tenure and teacher layoffs. Because of San Diego’s consistent and momentous success under the unions’ system, it is unlikely that regulations for San Diego schools will change as a result of the Vergara trial.
AB 2325 TO ESTABLISH LANGUAGE ACCESS TO MEDICAL PATIENTS
By Nadin Abbott June 9, 2014 (San Diego) Imagine if you will, going to the doctor and not understanding what your doctor is telling you. Worst, imagine if you will, an EMS crew taking you to the Emergency Room, a life or death situation, and again you are not being able to understand what language the EMS crew, or later the hospital, is speaking. When your family comes, and this is a worst case scenario, they also do not fully understand what medical personnel are telling them. This makes both decision-making and medical care challenging, with at times very negative outcomes. These include the young Somali refugee who has to fight with her mother’s doctor, who tells her mother that if she does not take her medications correctly, she will die. Her mother does not understand the full set of phrases and understands this as she is going to die. This leads to unnecessary fear and panic. Part of the problem is that the translator, when present, speaks a form of Somali that the immigrants do not necessarily understand. AB-2325 “requires DHCS to establish the CommuniCal program to provide and reimburse for certified medical interpretation services to LEP Medi-Cal enrollees. It requires, beginning July 1, 2015, CommuniCal to offer medical interpretation services to Medi-Cal providers provide services on either a fee-for-service or managed care basis.” http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/13-14/bill/asm/ab_2301-2350/ab_2325_cfa_20140421_162116_asm_comm.html According to Amanda Ream, the Policy advisor for this political campaign from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, would be funded using Federal dollars that have already been assigned to programs like this. The only thing missing is Governor Jerry Brown requesting these funds. In her opinion, the Governor has not done that out of a fear that this might be construed as a new program. But the Federal funds are there for the taking. Council Member Marti Emerald pointed to the people behind her, a small representation of the large number of immigrant and refugee communities that have settled in San Diego. She said that “in city heights, one of the neighborhoods I represent, there are approximately sixty languages and separate dialects spoken in our schools, in our stores, in our doctor’s offices.” She added that there are very few translators to help these refugees understand what their doctors are telling them. Or worst, “explain to their doctors what their symptoms are.” According to Emerald this this a problem, not just in San Diego, but across the state. After the Press Conference was over, we talked about the El Cajon Chaldean community. She told ECM that she intends to write another letter to the Governor, but that the problem is extensive. Carl Li, a businessman and immigrant said that when his father was in the hospital, before he passed, it was difficult for him to communicate. He also said “we are getting together every day, every night to get this bill passed.” He added that volunteers are making sure they reach to every group, every language group, “down in San Diego, all the way to Sacramento.” This is an effort to put pressure on the Governor, and to make him realize that “we mean business.” He added that if the Governor does not agree, then they will continue to work until he does.