NewsTaco

By Sandra Lilley, NBCLatino

A group of Texas Democrats say the state could turn blue sooner than many think, since the voters are already there, and they are mostly Latinos – the issue is no one is paying attention to them.

“The biggest problem is we are not asking them for their vote,” said Dr. Julie Martinez Ortega, vice president of  policy and advocacy for PowerPac, a progressive political action committee.  Ortega conducted a poll of over 2,600 randomly selected Hispanic registered voters.  According to the poll, 57 percent of Latino registered voters said Democrats best represent their views on social issues like same-sex marriage, religion and abortion, and 57 percent say Democrats best represent their views on jobs, economy and immigration.

And though Texas is considered a “red” state, only 23 percent of Latinos said they generally vote Republican, whereas 52 percent said they generally vote Democrat and 16 percent say they vote Independent.

One of the reasons why Republicans are still winning elections by about a million votes is that there are over 3 million Latinos “sitting on the sidelines,” according to Democratic state representative Trey Martinez Fischer and founder of One Texas PAC.   There are over 2 million Latinos in Texas not registered to vote, he says, and another million mostly Hispanic registered voters who are not voting.

Yet one of the poll’s findings was that only 54 percent of Latinos recall being contacted by a campaign in the last presidential election. “When pretty much half of Latinos didn’t even get a piece of mail, we have a problem,” said Martinez Ortega.  She added that while a third of Texas Latinos who voted for Obama also voted for conservative Republican Senator Ted Cruz, about a third of Latinos who voted for Senator Cruz did not know he was a Republican, according to the poll’s findings.  ”Here in Texas we didn’t make a concerted effort to educate Latinos on who Ted Cruz really is,” said Martinez Ortega.

Texas Republican Joshua Treviño takes issue with the Democrats’ contention that more Latino voters would turn Texas blue. “This is the old trope that gets trotted out, that demographic change in the state will go Democrat, and you hear this a lot these days from them,” says Treviño, who was a speechwriter for George W. Bush and is currently vice president of communications at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. “While there are partisan tendencies among groups, the fact is that as affluence and social integration occurs, political pluralism increases,” he says.

Treviño adds it is not a “safe assumption” that more Latino voters will translate to increased Democratic numbers and Democratic elected officials, though he does say current Hispanic voter participation does not represent the proportion of Latinos in Texas.

But Texas Democrats say a focus on 6 key counties in the state where the majority of Latinos reside can make a big difference in increased voter registration, turnout – and future Democratic victories.

“Some look at my district and think it should be functioning as a Republican district,” says Senator Wendy Davis, who represents an area that is 29 percent Latino, 19 percent African American and 47.6 percent non-Hispanic white.  ”But we’ve demonstrated that by talking and connecting with these voters – it will happen,” Davis said.  She adds that while many areas have been redistricted as “purely Democrat” or “purely Republican,” the strategy is to take a district approach and apply it statewide – “focus on places where you have the biggest potential gain,” says Davis.

Democrat Martinez Fischer stated he is not concerned whether Texas turns blue in 2016 or 2020 – “the key is not to be fast, but to be right,” he said.

This article was first published in NBCLatino.

Sandra Lilley loves being an active part of our “national conversation”, on everything from politics, education and the economy to the latest books and people in the news. Sandra started out in Telemundo-NY as a general assignment reporter and later News Director. She was also a Dayside Managing Editor at MSNBC and a Planning Editor for the NBC Domestic Desk. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Sandra studied history at Brown University, and currently lives in New Jersey with her family. Sandra hopes our site inspires and informs Latinos as they work toward their family’s “American Dream.”

[Photo by deege@fermentarium.com]

By Roque Planas, Huffington Post Latino Voices

They fought the law, and they won.

The Texas activist organization known as Librotraficante celebrated a victory last week over state lawmakers that wanted to put the squeeze on ethnic studies.

Conservative State Sen. Dan Patrick (R-Houston) raised a fury among Latino activists and professors with a proposal to exempt ethnic studies and other college classes from counting toward the fulfillment of state history requirements, but gained little support for the effort. With just two weeks to go before the Texas legislative session winds to a close, Senate Bill 1128 has yet to get voted out of the Senate High Education Committee.

“Logistically speaking, it would be very difficult for it to pass at this point,” Logan Spence, a spokesman for Patrick’s office, told The Huffington Post Monday.

Opponents had railed against the bill, likening it to a law in Arizona that was used to shut down a progressive Mexican American Studies class in Tucson.

“This is a warning to all far right legislators in any State of the Union, if you attack our History, our Culture, or our books, we will defy you,” Tony Diaz, one of the leaders behind the Librotraficante movement, said in a statement Thursday. “And we will win.”

Patrick filed SB 1128 in response to a report by the National Association of Scholars, a nonpartisan group that some Latino scholars describe as conservative, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

The NAS study, “Recasting History,” argued that U.S. history courses at the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University have shifted their focus toward race, gender and class rather than more traditional scholarly interests, like intellectual and military history.

The University of Texas at Austin opposed that interpretation when the bill was filed. In January, the university put out a statement saying the study “raises some important questions, but it also paints a narrowly defined and largely inaccurate picture of the quality, depth and breadth of history teaching and research at The University of Texas at Austin.”

The UT-Austin statement points out that scholars paid little attention to race, class and gender until the 1960s. “Rather than ‘diminish attention to other areas’ as the NAS report suggests, these areas of study have broadened the view on historical events and personalities,” the statement says.

Facing criticism for the bill, Patrick wrote a message on his Facebook in March, saying:

The reason I filed this bill is…

READ FULL STORY HERE

This article was first published in Huffington Post Latino Voices.

[Photo by The Brit_2]

By Texas Public Radio

President Obama brought a message of economic recovery when he visited Austin, the first stop in his “Middle Class Jobs and Opportunity Tour.” Latinos in the U.S., however, are trailing behind the national average in unemployment. So how are they’re doing when it comes to finding work in the home of the “Texas miracle?”

The Economic Policy Institute projects Latino unemployment will be at about 8 percent by year’s end in Texas. Employment here has consistently been above the national average. But according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the U.S., Latino unemployment is still around 9 percent. Doug Hall, director of the Institute’s Economic Analysis and Research Network, said even though that was a drop from last year, there’s little to celebrate.

Click HERE or on the picture to read the full story.

Picture by Joshua Jow/Texans for Obama]

By Dianne Solis, Dallas Morning News

Ana Reyes became the first Hispanic to win a seat on the Farmers Branch City Council in the new District 1 after historic single-member district balloting forced on the city by a federal judge. The 39-year-old Reyes maintained her 2-to-1 ratio in balloting throughout the night.

Reyes, the district manager of state Rep. Rafael Anchía, beat 48-year-old William Capener, a print shop manager with Tea Party ties.

Farmers Branch, a suburb of 29,000, has been a fount for litigation since 2006 when it passed an ordinance to bar immigrants in the U.S. illegally from rental housing. The measure led to shouting matches inside and outside of council sessions and a chain of litigation that has cost the city nearly $6 million. A federal judge ruled the latest version of the rental ordinance was unconstitutional and it has yet to be enforced. The ordinance is on appeal.

Click HERE or on the picture to read the full story.

[Photo courtesy voteanareyes.com]

By Yvonne Marquez and Lule Winkie, Dallas Morning News

Hispanics have passed whites as the largest ethnic group in Texas schools, making up almost 51 percent of public school enrollment.

The influx of Hispanic students, many from poor families, has brought about many changes in classrooms, with more expected as that population continues to grow.

Some schools already struggle with how to teach an increasing number of poor children who don’t speak English. Others are preparing for a day when their enrollment primarily is made up of low-income students, most of them Hispanic.

Click on the picture to read the full story.

[Photo By SCA Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget]

PRESS RELEASE

Verónica de Lafuente will serve as Associate State Director of Outreach for the Rio Grande Valley

With a membership of over two million and offices located in Austin, Houston, Dallas and San Antonio, AARP Texas proudly serves Texans 50+ as an advocate on the various issues that affect their communities. The newest addition to the team, Veronica de Lafuente, will extend AARP Texas’ reach into the Rio Grande Valley, bringing invaluable resources and partnerships to this work.

Ms. de Lafuente comes to AARP with extensive experience working with state agencies in various capacities. She has worked on behalf of county governments for years on critical issues such as indigent health care, transportation, corrections and development. In 2009, Ms. de Lafuente served as the South Texas Political director for former Houston Mayor Bill White as he campaigned for U.S. Senator and Texas Governor. Later, she founded a public strategies company that focused on public affairs and grassroots political campaigns in South Texas.

In her new role, Ms. de Lafuente will bring her 10 years of experience in government affairs to work closely with local Valley officials, non-profits and senior groups in the area. She will serve as the voice to champion issues important to older Americans in the community, such as health and long term care, transportation, Social Security and Medicare.

“My father was diagnosed with sarcoma cancer two years ago and I’ve fought hard to ensure he had the best medical care possible. Having to deal with the complexities of health care, Social Security, and Medicare has really made me more aware of how many other families encountered similar challenges and how many of those families slipped through the cracks. I feel like it’s really come full circle for me, because these issues hit close to home – they affect my family and my community. I want to work as an advocate for people who need a voice to help them through, and I think I can do that here in the Valley,” she says.

Based in Harlingen, Ms. de Lafuente will work within the community to develop partnerships that will help serve seniors in McAllen, Harlingen, Brownsville, Laredo and Corpus Christi.

“We’re proud to welcome Ms. de Lafuente to the team,” says Bob Jackson, AARP Texas State Director. “We look forward to working hand-in-hand with local groups and leaders in an effort to improve the lives of the 50+ population in the Rio Grande Valley.”

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By Andrew Romano, Newsweek/Daily Beast

Mayor Julián Castro is on his way to Austin. This wasn’t always part of the plan, or so I’m told. Castro was originally scheduled to spend the day in San Antonio, the sprawling South Texas metropolis over which he’s presided since 2009, so that he could smile and wave at a press conference for the city’s annual spring street fair.

By Michael Tackett, Bloomberg

The ultimate goal of Battleground Texas is to build enough Hispanic support for a Democratic presidential candidate to win the state. Without Texas, a Republican nominee would have almost no chance of reaching the White House given the current makeup of the Electoral College.

In the last decade, Hispanics accounted for 65 percent of Texas’s population increase. Mark Jones, a political scientist at Rice University in Houston, forecasts that by 2030 Hispanics will make up 43 percent of the electorate, while the white share will drop from about 50 percent to 39 percent.

“It’s just a question of time before the state turns Democrat,” says Lloyd Potter, Texas’s state demographer. He estimates it will happen between 2020 and 2025. “It could even happen before.”

Click on the picture to read the full story.

[Photo courtesy Battleground Texas]

Have you read an article you’d like to suggest for the NewsTaco community? Let us know at: tips@newstaco.com

By Wade Goodwyn, NPR

Like almost everything in the Texas, the construction industry in the Lone Star State is big. One in every 13 workers here is employed in the state’s $54 billion-per-year construction industry.

Homebuilding and commercial construction may be an economic driver for the state, but it’s also an industry riddled with hazards. Years of illegal immigration have pushed wages down, and accidents and wage fraud are common. Of the nearly 1 million workers laboring in construction here, approximately half are undocumented.

Click on the picture to read the full story.

[Photo by Jason Cato/Workers Defense Project]

Have you read an article you’d like to suggest for the NewsTaco community? Let us know at: tips@newstaco.com

By Bryan Weakland, NBCLatino

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Cumbia rhythms blaring from loudspeakers, a young singer taking to the stage belting out familiar lyrics and the crowd dancing the “washing machine” in the middle of a large Texas park. This is how fans remember the Queen of Tejano, Selena Quintanilla Perez. But even with all the music, singing and cheers, the silence is still deafening.  Eighteen years ago, Selena’s life was unexpectedly cut short and her voice silenced forever at the tender age of 23.

“We do this every year for Selena to keep her alive [in] our memory with her songs, her beautiful songs,” said Maria Reyes Matson, one of the organizers of this year’s memorial concert in Selena’s hometown of Corpus Christi.

“She was a beautiful young lady,” Matson added while choking up, visibly shaken and holding back tears.

Members of the Corpus Christi community, along with fans from across the United States as far away as New Jersey, gathered Sunday like they have done every March 31 for the past 18 years to celebrate Selena’s life.

The crowd of about one hundred was sprinkled with men and women, young and old. It was more like a big family reunion with people sharing their favorite memories of Selena and describing the impact she had on their lives.

“She has very good music and it just grows on you,” said Melanie Hudson from the neighboring city of Robstown.

For these fans, Selena’s memory is as alive today as it was nearly two decades ago before her sudden death and continues to live in the hearts of so many in this Texas city of 305,000 and fans across the world.

“My daughter is six and I really wanted her to get the whole feeling of this,” said Yvette Galvan of Robstown.

The day began with a moment of silence at Selena’s memorial statue called the Mirador de la Flor on the boardwalk of Corpus Christi’s beach. After the moment was observed, a round of applause broke out from the crowd.

“We love you Selena!” one woman shouted.

Fans then made there way to nearby SalinasPark where two Selena impersonators danced and lip synced to Selena’s biggest hits.

“We’re celebrating Selena’s life,” said Carolina Habibi, one of the Selena impersonators, who traveled from Elizabeth, New Jersey to participate in this year’s concert. “Today is a day of a tragedy but we celebrate her life. All the fans come together from everywhere and we come here to sing and dance to her songs.”

Aspiring Tejano singer Marisa Cortez, 12, also performed by singing a medley of Selena tunes.

“I loved her personality,” said Cortez, whose grandparents introduced her to Selena’s music as a little girl. “She was such a good person and had a good heart.”

A full mariachi ensemble from Jalisco, Mexico also entertained the crowd.

Why has Selena’s legacy endured with such intensity so many years after her death? Maybe it’s because of how she related to her fans, always taking time to sign autographs and take pictures with them. Maybe it’s because so many of her fans find it easy to identify with her and see themselves in her: a down-to-earth American girl with dreams and aspirations who loved life and lived it to the fullest.

“What struck me about Selena more than anything else… was her compassion,” Selena’s widower, Chris Perez, wrote in his recent memoir of their lives together. “Her compassion encompassed her friends, her family, her fans –especially those who were struggling in their lives with illness or poverty  — women in crisis, children, and even animals.”

A proud Texas native, Selena spent most of her youth on the road with her family, touring the state singing Tejano music. Although she ascended to fame singing in Spanish, she grew up speaking English and didn’t learn to speak Spanish fluently until just a few years before her death.

After conquering the male-dominated world of the Tejano genre, Selena’s goal was to break into the English language market. And she was well on her way. She was working on her first English language album when she was killed by her fan club president on March 31, 1995.

Selena’s death made evident the growing impact of the Latino community in music and pop culture in the United States. She is credited for helping open the door for other Latino artists, allowing them to break into the American mainstream. Not long after Selena’s death, the so-called “Latin Invasion” swept the nation, ushering in a new era of talent including Ricky Martin, Shakira and Enrique Iglesias.

Although Selena never directly got involved in politics, she did speak publicly about issues she held close to her heart. She often visited public schools, talking to students about the importance of education, graduating high school and staying drug free. That legacy continues today through the Selena Foundation.

For her fans, Selena’s legacy and memory will continue to endure.

“I love Selena,” said Reyes Matson. “I want her memory to live on.”

This article was first published in NBCLatino.

[Photo by skittleydoo04]

By Adam D. Young, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Republicans wanting to maintain their stronghold on politics in Texas and even the South Plains have a challenge in the state’s changing demographics.

And outreach and image control are top strategies to meet that challenge, Texas Republican Party Outreach Coordinator David Zapata told members of Lubbock’s newly formed chapter of the Federation of Hispanic Republicans during a strategy meeting Tuesday, March 26.

Click on image to read full story.

[Image courtesy Texas GOP Facebook page]

By Victor Landa, NewsTaco

On a typical day there aren’t many Latinos walking around in front of the Alamo in downtown San Antonio, TX. Aside from the Latino raspa vendors, it’s mostly tourists snapping pictures and basking in the myth of the cradle of Texas independence. But on a recent Saturday morning a group of Latino college students gathered with banners, signs, microphones and speakers to denounce a proposed law that they say will infringe on their right to learn about their culture.

Led by Tony Diaz, better know as El Librotraficante, the group denouced a Texas Senate bill that they say would have the effect of eliminating ethnic studies from all Texas colleges and Universities, and as a consequence, eliminate Mexican-American studies as a course of study. The bill, TX SB 1128,  ”Relating to curriculum requirements in American and Texas history at institutions of higher education,” was sponsored by state Senator Dan Patrick, of Houston.

We caught up with El Librotraficante in front of the Alamo.

The bill was introduced the Friday before Spring Break, so the students and community opposition had little notice or time to organize. That same Saturday Diaz walked three blocks from the Alamo to U.S. Senator John Cornyn’s San Antonio office to hand deliver a letter asking him to intervene on behalf of the Texas Latino community that wants the bill defeated.

By Dr. Henry Flores, NewsTaco

I know I have written several columns or essays decrying the dangers of guns.  But in light of the recent Senate debate, highlighted by our own embarrassing United States Senator from Texas, que desmadre that guy is!  But, anyway.  What really gets me is the debate going on in Texas right now.  Our esteemed (in the old days one of my camaradas would ask me if the vatos were steemed?)  Texas state legislature is contemplating legislation that would allow students to carry concealed weapons on campuses.

The other day I had one of the higher-ups on my university campus tell me about the epidemic of binge drinking and drug use that seems to have affected our student body this year particularly the freshman class.  I’ve been aware of police escorting youngsters to rehab straight from the classroom in the morning.  I don’t know what’s going through their young booze and drug addled minds but they are almost as bad as we were when we were in school!  ¿Que no? 

            The word in higher education is that drug use and heavy drinking are at all-time highs these days perhaps this youngest generation sees no future for themselves and we are experiencing the 1960s all over again.  There has been less interest in fraternities and sororities for sure and more in social justice issues.  So who knows what’s really going on with the 17-24 year olds these days?

I say all of this as back drop to the carrying gun hearings going on in Austin, Texas.  Our representatives even held the public hearings during Spring Break when UT was away at the beach.  You know you can carry concealed weapons into the state capitol; they even have an express entry through security for gun carriers.  Nice move guys, your scheduling kept all students from giving their perception on this issue!

Still, lets think about this for a moment.  Guns on campus.  If the Texas legislature, which Molly Ivins once described as useless as a bunch of old furniture, passes the law then every student would be allowed a permit to carry a concealed weapon onto campus.  OK, I can understand this.  But why would you want to allow students to do this in the first place?  Some super smart legislator will argue so that students can protect themselves against crazy drug addled students who amass large amounts of guns and ammunition in their dorm rooms!  So, we’re going to make it easier for more drug addled, heavy beer drinking students to have easy access to guns so they can protect themselves from other drug crazed, drunk students who decide to shoot up the campus on a Saturday night.

A couple of issues seem to rise to the surface.  If you allow all students to carry guns, we have yet to talk about the size of the guns or ammunition on campus, then you have a situation where the faculty and administrators begin feeling intimidated.  So, I think that our brilliant state legislature needs to add a rider to the legislation letting all faculty and staff to carry guns on campus as well.  We need to have the right to protect ourselves from all the drug addled students who are amassing guns and ammunition in their dorm rooms and who come to campus drunk or very “loaded” on something or other almost daily.

Oh!  Another thought just hit me.  If we are going to allow gun carrying on campus I would think that, particularly the more selective campuses, would have to insure that the students who matriculated were worthy of admission.  So, we need to consider changing our admission’s standards and make marksmanship and gun care and maintenance part of the requirements.  Now all admissions offices would have to open pistol ranges and create standards for shooting.  ¡Valgame dios!  We don’t just want to let any student carrying a gun into our campus.  We want good shooters who can take out a crazed gunman (they all seem to be men anyway).  If we really want to be selective we will have to give scholarships and additional student aid to the better shooters.  Oops, I forgot about affirmative action.  What of those students who cannot afford a gun do we give them grants?  How about those that show promise?  Do we create special summer shooting programs to develop their marksmanship and better their scores?   Just thinking out load here!

¡Mil disculpas!  Pero me olvide de los profesores.  What about faculty and staff?  Do we purchase guns for them or give them and extra $25 a month, added to their paycheck with the requisite deductions taken out, in order for them to buy an appropriate gun that will take out a crazed, drug addled student, wearing body armor?  How about gun training for the faculty and staff.  We can also make proficiency part of the tenure and promotion system.  So that any faculty not maintaining a good shooting record just won’t make the grade and will have to be let go.

Bueno, I think the Texas state legislature has their hands full and haven’t thought through the entire law but they better start soon because we want to be sure that all students, faculty and staff who have a right to carry gun in nice holsters (I like a shoulder holster myself makes me feel so John Waynish) when the new year begins.

[Photo by Andrew-Hyde]

By Juan Flores, La Fe Policy Research and Education Center

Every day, thousands of Texans’ lives are put in danger as a result of secondhand smoke exposure in the workplace. Texas Latinos, which constitute 41 percent of the state’s population, and 35 percent of the labor force, often work in the food industry where only one third of workers are protected against secondhand smoking.

Latinos are a complex and diverse community whose bienestar (well-being) is a reflection of their cultural values, socio-economic circumstances and environmental conditions. But their propensity to experience health and health insurance disparities, financial insecurity, and low educational attainment makes them a highly vulnerable population.

For Latinos in Texas, a disproportionate likelihood of being exposed to secondhand smoke in their workplaces and the lack of smoke-free regulations in their community makes this a worker’s right and safety issue. With tobacco use and exposure a contributing cause of most premature deaths, supporting policy and programmatic measures to reduce or prevent tobacco use and protect families from the dangers of second hand smoke will have positive impacts on health and financial outcomes for Latinos for generations to come.

Despite lower smoking rates and a stricter adherence to no-smoking policies in a household, Latinos are less likely to be covered by nonsmoking
policies and more likely exposed to secondhand smoke. About 38% percent of the Latino population remain uninsured and one quarter live in poverty and thus have less access to health insurance and primary care. This increases their risk of death form lung disease, heart disease and other chronic and fatal health effects from secondhand smoke exposure

Smoke-free policies not only improve the health and productivity of employees, but also decrease business costs for insurance, cleaning and
maintenance. There are some that say a smoke-free policy pushes otherwise paying customers away and makes businesses suffer financially. However, studies that analyzed the sales tax data after implementation of a smoke-free ordinance in four Texas cities found that smoke-free policies do not affect restaurant revenue or the sale of alcoholic beverages in bars.

As an ever-growing voice in Texas, Latinos now make up 20 percent of business owners and have a purchasing power of around $175.3 billion, an
increase of 429 percent since 1990. Texas Latinos are realizing the importance their power and opinion have and many have come together to stand in favor of a statewide smoke-free policy.

Most Texans know that smoking and secondhand smoke are a major cause of premature deaths, chronic health problems, and high health care costs and support making all workplaces, restaurants and bars in the state smoke-free.

Nationwide, an estimated 24,000 people die annually from smoking-attributable illnesses. Smoke-free policies are a non-costly implementation that would annually save the Texas economy more than $54 million in reduced health care costs, more than $71 million in reduced health care costs for smokers who quit as a result of the law, more than $77 million in productivity cost savings, and more than $16 million in medical costs that would be averted from low birth weights.

Let’s not add more chronic health problems and high health care costs to our State budget when there are simple solutions we can implement. Tobacco clean-air policies do not affect restaurant revenue or the sale of alcoholic beverages and immediately and notably improve heart health particularly in nonsmokers. While targeted smoking prevention programs are important and needed for our community, supporting policy and programmatic measures to reduce or prevent tobacco use and protect families from the dangers of secondhand smoke will have positive impacts on the health and financial outcomes for Latinos for generations to come.

Let’s make Texas a smoke-free state now.

Juan H. Flores  is the Executive Director La Fe Policy Research and Education Center. For Over 30 years he’s been engaged as Chicano health advocate, Administrator, Health Care Policy, Community Health Care, and Health Professions Development. He founded the Chicano Health Policy Development, Inc. (1978-1992) that served as a major catalyst for raising Latino/Chicano health concerns at the national and state level.

[Photo by Wonderlane]