Elenamary

“While no terror incidents occurred anywhere in the United States on Election Day 2004, Ohio Emergency Management Agency incident reports, obtained last month by The Enquirer, show a “terrorism threat rumor’’ in Tuscarawas County and complaints about people of “Middle Eastern descent’’ in Allen and Lorain counties.

The Lorain County incident turned out to be an international monitoring group photographing a polling place in Grafton. The Allen County incident was reported to the Defense Department as suspicious people in a gold minivan with California plates. It turned out to be four Latino males doing a film project, according to state EMA records.”

Cincinnati Enquirer

I went to the grocery store in the suburb of Grandview, Ohio, tonight. I saw two things that left me somewhere between puzzled, slightly offended, and amused.

I was looking to buy some tea which was right next to the Hot Chocolate. I noticed, that Hershey’s has what they call their “Cacao Reserve” line that includes both the “Spiced Aztec Blend” and “Classic Mayan Blend”. Great, Abuelita got bought by Nestle a few years ago. And now everyone is getting in on this Mexican Hot Chocolate. I can’t articulate why I dislike it so much. It isn’t just that since Nestle bought Abuelita the tablets don’t taste as good and are smaller. Part of it is that with time we get further and further away from Xocolatl and more owned and re-appropriated by the white dominate culture where it becomes bastaredized and cheap and no longer smells or tastes like mornings before school. And even if it did still stimulated the same senses, it is no longer ours.

After looking for my tea, I went by the “bakery” and saw something that made me burst out laughing. There were bags of white rolls and above them a sign that read: Bolillos - a typical Hispanic bread.

Hilarious! A definition for the mainstream dominant white culture of Grandview of a bread that we use as a moniker to define them…bolillos.

WNCI/Columbus Apologizes for Airing Mexican Parody
Clear Channel’s WNCI-FM/Columbus, OH, has apologized for airing a parody song considered offensive by some Hispanic listeners….The song…is about a group of 14 Mexicans misunderstanding orders at a fast-food restaurant, working as landscapers, traveling in “packs” and evading immigration authorities reports the Columbus Dispatch.

Mexican Market Burglarized In Dayton
WHIOtv.com - Dayton,OH,USA
DAYTON, Ohio — Dayton police are investigating after the manager of La Michoacana called 911 to report a burglary.

Politicians woo central Ohio’s immigrant votes for next election
WDTN - Dayton,OH,USA
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Politicians are wooing votes from central Ohio’s large Somali and Latino immigrant communities

Human trafficking often below radar in Columbus
Columbus Dispatch - Columbus,OH,USA
For instance, researchers considered cases in both cities of Asian or Latino women working and living in brothels posing as massage parlors or spas but …

Ohio continues to fall short in number of minority teachers
Cincinnati Post - OH,USA
Ohio’s highest concentration of black and Hispanic teachers are in urban districts, but the numbers are not close to matching student enrollments. …

Southwest Ohio sheriff’s immigration remarks anger Hispanic group
Akron Beacon Journal - Akron,OH,USA
The Butler County sheriff is under fire again for remarks on illegal immigrants, this time for blaming them for importing marijuana and cocaine for Mexican dealers when they enter the U.S

Ohio after bilingual workers
Cincinnati Enquirer - Cincinnati,OH,USA
The language preference is being posted as vacancies come up, she said. The state also is looking to identify positions in areas “where we know we have a large population of multilingual people or for positions like a dispatcher” where it might be critical to speak foreign languages.

Children Services looking for a few good foster homes
Columbus Dispatch - Columbus,OH,USA
Franklin County also hopes to recruit more prospective foster parents from the growing Somali and Latino communities. “We’re trying to stay ahead of the curve there,” Cobb said.

Ohio leaders dealing with immigration issues visit border
KVOA.com - Tucson,AZ,USA
He says he’s seeing large amounts of drugs coming in from the Tucson sector of the border, along with an increase in illegal immigrants in his county. He says they hurt the local economy…. “My intent is to go back to Columbus, Ohio and say ‘I’ve been there, I know what it is. And until you see it, you don’t have a clue,’” says Ohio State Rep. Courtney Combs

Employers accused of not paying Latinos
Columbus Dispatch - Columbus,OH,USA
Complaints that bosses are cheating immigrants out of pay are undoubtedly increasing, state officials say.  Some companies refuse to pay workers, expecting that they won’t complain to authorities. One Latino advocate said some subcontractors hurt by the housing slump are underbidding jobs, leaving them without enough money to pay workers.

State Hispanic commission to launch Web database
Bizjournals.com - Charlotte,NC,USA
A new online database set to launch in November will give Ohio Hispanic groups a new avenue to stay connected.  It’s also giving the group creating the database, the Ohio Commission on Hispanic/Latino Affairs, a high-tech opportunity to fulfill its own key mission.

Investors startled by sudden demise of Centro Mexicano
Columbus Dispatch - Columbus,OH,USA
A center that was to have been a gathering place and source of help for the Mexican community has filed for bankruptcy even before it opened, leaving those who invested in it feeling burned.  Many blame Centro Mexicano promoter German Trejo-Caballero.

More minority students graduate in Ohio’s big cities, analysis finds
The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com - Cleveland,OH,USA
Columbus — Black and Latino students in Ohio’s big-city high schools have a better graduation rate than minority students elsewhere in the state, a new analysis shows.

MUNICIPAL COURT Illness, ethnicity issues in election
Columbus Dispatch - Columbus,OH,USA
Joseph Mas says his 28-year law career and Latino background make him more qualified for a seat on the Franklin County Municipal Court than Judge Amy Salerno, a former state representative who has been on the bench for 2½ years.

He is fluent in Spanish and said Ohio courts need more certified court interpreters and bilingual lawyers to protect the rights of foreign-speaking defendants.  “The vulgar fact is there is only one Hispanic judge in the state of Ohio, and yet, Columbus has become an immigration destination city,” he said.  He noted that, as a judge, he would not be interpreting for defendants, but he said, “I would bring a sensitivity to that community.”

GOP losing battle to win Latino loyalty
Columbus Dispatch - Columbus,OH,USA
“The fact of the matter is that Latino values — God, family and country — line up best with the Republican Party. But we’ve gotten a lot of black eyes from this administration and Congress, and the immigration issue has really hurt us.”  Ohio Latinos are largely concentrated in northern and central Ohio, with second-generation Puerto Ricans dominating in the Cleveland region and Mexican-Americans in the Toledo and Columbus areas. Historically, they have tended to vote Democratic.

Fairfield County contains the suburbs of the city of Columbus, including Pickerington and Canal Winchester.

School districts changing to accommodate increasing Hispanic Population
Lancaster Eagle Gazette - Lancaster,OH,USA
There were 136 Hispanic students in the district during the 2003-04 school year, according to statistics from the Ohio Department of Education…

Multi-cultural festival held at Springfield ( Ohio ) USA
PunjabNewsline.com - Mohali-Chandigarh,Punjab,India
At Culture Fest the choices included Mexican, Greek and Italian foods; bluegrass, jazz and Andean music; and African, Indian and Celtic dancers…

Ohio students get solid marks in ‘nation’s report card’
The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com - Cleveland,OH,USA
Ohio’s public school students were near the top of the class in national reading and math scores released Tuesday. In addition, black and Latino students posted the largest gains in the state and significantly narrowed the gap between their test scores and those of white students.

Good test scores not good as ‘gold’
Columbus Dispatch - Columbus,OH,USA
“In eighth-grade reading and math, Ohio is one of the highest-performing states for Latinos,” Hall said.
However, the average score for Latino eighth-graders still ranked below NAEP’s definition of “proficient.”

Hispanics still low in leadership roles
Youngstown Vindicator - Youngstown,OH,USA
YOUNGSTOWN — Hispanics have made great strides when it comes to graduating from high school, but more needs to be done to help reverse a 45-percent dropout rate among Ohio’s Hispanic students.

Bad News: Hispanic Teens Hurt Least by Parents’ Marital Woes
Newswise (press release) - USA
New research suggests that Hispanic teens aren’t as affected by their parents’ marital disruption – including divorce and separation — only because they already face a host of difficulties and disadvantages before the breakup.

Divorce affects Hispanic teens less
United Press International - USA
COLUMBUS, Ohio, 18 (UPI) — Many Hispanic adolescents in the United States aren’t as affected by the divorce of their parents, because their life situation is already poor, a study found.

Ohio: Inappropriate E-Mails Probed
Forbes - NY,USA
“Would he give a female or a Hispanic a fair shake in his current position?” Evans asked during a June 5 interview with ODOT investigators. “I don’t know and I think this is why it is an ODOT issue.”

I hate it when local Police think their job is to investigate and enforce federal immigration laws, and I hate it even more that they decided to do it because someone didn’t speak English.

Police Arrest Three Illegal Aliens in Wheeling
WTRF - Wheeling,WV,USA
WHEELING — Wheeling police said they picked up three illegal aliens Saturday night at Wheeling Island Racetrack and Gaming Center. Authorities were called to the track about 10:30 p.m. on a report of a woman who could not speak English.

One of my favorite musicians, Envelope, has a song “I Am Not Poor (Just Broke)” where he states he isn’t poor in that he has a house to live in, isn’t starving and even can afford to buy some PBR now and again. That is how I feel. I am not poor, I got a house and running water, and electricity sure I don’t have health care but I’ve got enough to buy my mocha.

That said if I did have money I wouldn’t mind spending it on going out, but since I don’t , I hate spending money on shows.

For example, last week, my mami, Olga and I went to see the Ballet Folklórico at the Palace Theater. It was awesome, as it always is. My mother and Olga loved it.   I loved seeing Olga dance in her seat or her mouth drop open with awe and joy. But I refuse to pay for that stuff unless it is absolutely necessary. We stood outside of the show with a sign “We Need 2 Tickets”.  I don’t know why we used a sign that said 2 when we needed 3 but that isn’t the point. We were going to try and get cheap or free tickets. If we had bought tickets it would have totaled a minimum of $75.00. I just can’t do that.  We were able to get three tickets together from a wonderful man, whom I need to send a thank you note to.

It is easy to get into big shows for free. For example if you are going to a crew game, especially by yourself, stand near will call. People always pick up tickets for a party of four when only three of them showed up. You can ask them if you can have their ticket. Someone is bound to say yes. I am hoping to do this again October 12th when David Sedaris preforms with the Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus (this group is fantastic—I love going to their shows). Cheapest tickets are 32.50 before the additional fees, and I am not poor but I am broke. If you see me standing outside of the Palace Theater and you have an extra ticket, think of me.

The Migration of the Monarch butterfly from the US state of Ohio to the Mexican state of Michoacan has always been special to me as I have grown up in Ohio and my mother is from the State of Michoacan.

Jim Robey: Dawn of autumn is a great time to be outside
Dayton Daily News -Dayton,OH,USA
The monarch migration in Ohio peaks in early to mid-September and continues into October. These butterflies are migrating to Mexico.

The monarchs are migrating
Zanesville Times Recorder - Zanesville,OH,USA
The peak migration for Ohio monarchs is Sept. 8-26, with the butterflies arriving in Mexico in mid-November.

I went with my mom and Olgita to see the Ballet Folklorico last night. It was awesome.

Mexican troupe to share tradition
Columbus Dispatch - Columbus,OH,USA
Ballet Folklorico de Mexico will perform at 7:30 pm Thursday in the Palace Theatre, 34 W. Broad St. Tickets cost $20 to $30 at the Ohio Theatre box.

Ceremony celebrates Latino achievements
Bowling Green News - Bowling Green,OH,USA
Students were honored for their academic achievements and contributions to the Latino community during the 18th annual Diamante Community Awards Friday night.
The Diamante Awards were created in 1989 by IMAGE, a chapter of a northwest Ohio Latino nonprofit organization, in order to recognize Latino contributions

Spanish network signs on Nov. 1
Columbus Dispatch - Columbus,OH,USA
Azteca America, a broadcasting network based in Los Angeles, will begin broadcasting Nov. 1 on its new local affiliate, WCPX-TV (Channel 48). The station is designed to give central Ohio Latinos a local broadcast voice, said Orozco, who also is the general manager and part owner of WXOL (1550 AM), a Spanish-language radio station known as RadioSol. In Ohio, Latino buying power increased 247 percent from 1990 to 2006. As a result, advertisers increasingly look to media that can reach that growing demographic. The Latino population in Franklin County was 35,526 in 2005, up about 11,200 from five years earlier, according to U.S. census data. Central Ohio is home to at least five weekly and biweekly Spanish-language newspapers, a magazine and at least two radio stations.

This article was written in the most racist hostile offensive tone of any article I read this week regarding Latinos in Ohio.

Northern Panhandle police officers take crash course in Spanish
Daily Mail - Charleston - Charleston,WV,USA
MOUNDSVILLE — Friday was graduation day for 30 law enforcement officers who took a crash-course in Spanish to address the growing number of arrests involving illegal immigrants and undocumented workers in West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle… Sheriff John Gruzinskas said there have been “increasing incidents with Spanish speaking people whether they are legal or illegal.”… Traffic stops on Interstate 70, which runs though Burgoyne’s county, accounted for most of the arrests, but he said undocumented construction workers account for more arrests now…”I think the word is traveling around that 14-mile stretch of interstate in the Northern Panhandle wasn’t the best place to be traveling if you’re an illegal,” Burgoyne said.

Dear Ohio Democratic Party,


Wsup ya’ll old fogies? I am about to let you in on some secrets on reaching Latino voters in Ohio.


Let’s look at some background information first.


According to the 2000 census there were an estimated 217,123 Latinos in Ohio. Of those Latinos there were an estimated 93,622 Latinos under the age of 20. That is approximately 43% of Latinos in Ohio were 20 or under.


I do not know how many Latinos in the state of Ohio are eligible to vote in state or federal elections (for that matter local elections—we can get to that issue another day). What I do believe is that most Latino voters are potential voters. That is to say they, potential voters, are U.S. Citizens born to undocumented parents who are for the most part still too young to vote.


In 2004 I worked on and for Get Out the Vote Campaigns (GOTV). While I am a big fan of GOTV campaigns, I am not sure they work in the short term, and in the long term they don’t work at all. The same goes for registering voters. We can register Latinos who historically have voted democratic but unless Latinos are informed about the issues, that does not mean they will continue to vote, and more importantly vote informed.


Let me quote one of my favorite columnists Gustavo Arellano from his book “¡Ask A Mexican!” (can be purchased online at Tianguis)

Week in and week out, ¡Ask A Mexican! portrays Mexicans as perfect Republicans: homo-hating, Jew-baiting, Negro-bashing, chino-trashing religious fanatics who believe in free markets and self-determination and want to wipe Guatemalans off the map. Various polls identify this Mexican GOP gene. The most comprehensive, a 2003 survey by the Pew Hispanic Center, found 80 percent of Latinos disapprove of abortion, 40 percent think divorce is unacceptable, and 72 percent hate gays (by comparison, 60, 24, and 59 percent of gabachos felt the same regarding each respective topic).-pg 39

The National Council of La Raza found that:

Latinos remain highly discerning voters; they are much more likely to vote for a candidate based on issue positions than on simple party affiliation. This suggests that much of the Hispanic vote remains “up for grabs” in future election, and that, while outreach counts, policy matters more. Policy makers and party officials would be well-advised to keep this in mind in future policy debates.

The deal is then that we need to not just register Latino voters, and not just get out the vote expecting they will vote democratic. We have to inform the voter. Isn’t that what an ideal democracy has, informed voters?


And here is the thing, Ohio’s Latino population is still young and growing rapidly. Now is the time to reach our potential voters, if we reach our potential voters we can create a strong foundation for the democratic party.


We need to think progressively on reaching young Latino voters and potential voters, if we don’t think progressively we are going to end up having to figure out how to get people to change their minds or view the democratic party differently, rather than starting with the fresh slate of potential we have now.


Here is how we create informed democratic voters in the Latino community:


1. Reach out to young children with summer camps on democracy. The Ohio Center for Law Related Education offers awesome summer camps on law and citizenship. Why can’t Ohio Democrats offer a summer camp on government? Learn about your right to vote, about the role of the state legislature, local city governments? Teach youngsters about their civil rights when they get pulled over by the police while driving (and what the rights of their parents are!)


2. Support the DREAM Act. Advertise your support of it, on the local Spanish radio station.


3. Offer scholarships. The scholarships can be an exchange for volunteering to work on a democratic campaign. Volunteer for your local democratic candidate and get a $500 scholarship to an in-state university institution. When people volunteer on a campaign they have a feeling of making a difference and of being part of the difference, of being part of the institution. We want people to feel that the Democratic party is THEIR party. I bet odds are too that once you’ve worked on a campaign your more likely to work on another and stay politically active.


4. Show that the ODP is a party for women. While Latino society may have its dose of machismo it does not mean that women don’t have the final say-so. It is women who get men to work, the kids to school, and the family to church, it is women who have the final say-so. Make sure that women understand that democrats support them and their decisions. Find ways to reach women in grocery stores, doctors offices, and banks.


While Latinos may disapprove of abortion, divorce, and gays, the truth is they actually don’t. Huh? You see ask a Latina women if she disapproves of abortion and she may say yes, but you may find out she has had one. If it weren’t for Latina’s getting abortions I wouldn’t have a job. And I can only imagine that as these young Latinas become of voting age more will be pro-choice, especially when it comes to themselves. Latinas need and want good sexual health care and prenatal care. If we can let them know the democratic party supports safe sex based education, affordable health care (that means abortions too), and prenatal care we can win them over. Right now these women depend on organizations such as Planned Parenthood, the Columbus Health Department and Columbus Neighborhood Clinics. We’ve got to support health care and let it be known we support womens health more than republicans.


5. Work with banks. Offer classes with banks and workshops with banks on opening a bank account. Make sure you know why it is important to have a bank account. It is important for when buying airplane tickets back to your home country, it is required at the border when trying to bring a car into Mexico, it accrues interest, is safe, and you can deposit/cash your check without a huge fee as normally occurs with check-exchange stores and the Mexican groceries. Make sure that people know that the ODP supports them.


6. Open cultural centers in urban-Latino neighborhoods of Toledo, Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland and Dayton. These centers should have historical information and current resources. It should be a place where you can learn about People of Color who have been and are active in the Democratic Party. Their should be books on the Chicano movement, on the womyns movement. Their should be information about current races, candidates and issues. Their should be free talks from the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, League of Pissed off Voters.


I hope ODP, that you start recruiting potential voters now. Now! Not in a few years when the Republican party has won them over because Latinos were registered to be voters but never registered to be informed voters.


Here is looking to the future and growth of turning the Potential Latino Voter into the Informed Latino Voter!

-Elenamary

So the big news this past week was a raid in Fairfield, Ohio. I am tired of this stuff, and it hurts every time it happens. Reminds me of the 1930’s or last week. Here are the headlines for Latino happenings in Ohio:


160 immigrant workers arrested in raid on Ohio poultry plant
World Socialist Web Site - Oak Park,MI,USA

Early Tuesday morning, 300 federal immigration agents, aided by local police and sheriff’s deputies, descended on a poultry processing plant outside of Cincinnati, Ohio and arrested 160 immigrant workers.

I found this next one funny because it was written up by WorldPoultry.net located in the Netherlands?!

Ohio chicken plant raided for illegals
WorldPoultry.net - Doetinchem,Netherlands

Following a 2-year investigation, some 160 people were arrested in an immigration enforcement raid at a Koch Foods poultry processing plant in Fairfield, Ohio

Man seeking to cool off drowns in Ohio River
Kentucky.com - Lexington,KY,USA

A construction worker looking to cool off drowned in the Ohio River, Oldham County police said…Police have not released the man’s name, but said he was 38-years-old, Hispanic and from the Louisville area

.


US immigrants worry as families face deportation
Reuters Canada - Toronto,Ontario,Canada

A day after one of the largest workplace immigration raids in Ohio, the Hispanic community in Cincinnati’s suburbs was scrambling to track down missing family members and arrange care for children whose parents were caught up in the raid.

Increase in SAT participants is encouraging - an editorial
The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com - Cleveland,OH,USA

Just as impressive, this year’s group includes record numbers of Hispanic, black and Asian-American participants, as well as a much larger number of low-income test-takers.

Toledo, Ohio is also home to the Farm Labor Organizing Committe (FLOC) an AFL-CIO union in existence since the 1960’s it is our Midwest version of the United Farm Workers (UFW). FLOC has strong union roots in Ohio, Michigan, and North Carolina, particularly with pickles and tomatoes.

AFL-CIO’s Linda Chavez-Thompson in Toledo for Labor Day Parade
Toledo Blade - Toledo,OH,USA

The daughter of Mexican- American sharecroppers, she rose through the union ranks to become executive vice president of the AFL-CIO. She is the first Hispanic to hold the office.

The raid cost $4 Million dollars? To arrest 161 people? That is aproximately $24, 845 per person ignoring the fact that a lot of those people were later found to either legally be here or granted humanitarian stays.

Aid sought for raid detainees
Cincinnati Enquirer - Cincinnati,OH,USA

The federal raid on a Butler County company that led to the arrest of 161 suspected illegal immigrants Tuesday cost $4 million, a state official told more than 40 people who met Saturday to determine how to help families affected by the raid.

Raid Impacts Hispanic Community
WKRC TV Cincinnati - Cincinnati,OH,USA

One of the main concerns for Latino leaders is that amongst the people that have been detained and put in those buses, are parents of children who’s future right now, is uncertain. Jorge Neri, President of Lulac in Butler County: “Most of these kids are US citizens, they are in school right now, what is going to happen to those kids. A lot of single mom’s a lot of women work in this plant.”

Cincy Hispanic Community Not Happy With CC’s WLW
Streaming Magazine - West Palm Beach,FL,USA

Cincinnati’s Hispanic community says Clear Channel’s WLW-AM is guilty of “blatant racial discrimination against them” following the recent airing of a segment called “Speaking to An Illegal Alien,” which featured translations of Spanish phrases such as, “Be careful with those hedge clippers around the garden….The previous instance of offense came in May, when the station put up billboards featuring a Hispanic man and a donkey, called “The Big Juan.”

Cincinnati Hispanic Fest largest in region
Cincinnati Catholic Telegraph - OH, United States

Volunteers, exhibitors and, of course, guests, are invited to attend the annual Cincinnati Hispanic Festival, held at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds Sept. 8-9.

I am constantly shocked by the changes in my city and state. The change has been tremendous from the time back when my family got excited that Meijer grocery was selling chili peppers to today when I saw it. I stopped at a gas station on my way to work this morning, a gas station near the OSU campus. I say this because most Mexicanos in Columbus live on the West side of the city. So, there I was at a gas station in central Columbus and right by the cashier (not buried away in an “ethnic section”) was my favorite junk food, Sabritones! According to their website “a puffed wheat snack from Mexico that combines the authentic flavors of spicy chili with tangy lime”. At first I could never get Sabritones in Columbus. Then I could only get them at the Mexican grocery store. And now? Now they are at my gas station next to the mints. I am amazed. You Xicanos in Cali, and Chicago and in the Valley just don’t get it; This is amazing!