News (Noticias) for Minnesota

Fresh from covering the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, last week, HITN, the first national Spanish-Language Public Television Network in the United States, continues to take the lead by providing historic, nightly, primetime coverage of the Republican National Convention through Thursday, September 4.

HITN’s live coverage begins at 7 p.m. (ET) directly from the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The telecast, with award-winning broadcast journalist Marlene Fernandez as anchor in Minneapolis, and award-winning journalists Malin Falu and Gerson Borrerro as anchors in HITN’s New York studios, is a special presentation of HITN’s Destination Casa Blanca 2008 cable television show. The show’s format includes guest interviews, analysis, commentary from community-based organizations, and live calls from the viewing audience.

A first in television history, Destination Casa Blanca 2008, the Latino Voice in the Presidential Election, provides an English-language, nation-wide news program focusing solely on issues of importance to the Hispanic community. “Our goal is to provide the Hispanic population with the knowledge necessary to understand issues that affect our communities and with knowledge that will ultimately empower our viewers to make choices and their voices heard in the electoral process,” said Jose Luis Rodriguez, Founder and President of HITN. “We want our audience to experience and understand the process that goes into the making of a President so that they can be educated voters. I am proud to say that HITN is the only network that has provided comprehensive coverage of both political conventions for two consecutive weeks,” he added.

About HITN: The Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network, Inc. (HITN) was established in 1983 as a non-profit organization. HITN’s mission is dedicated to the advancement of Hispanics by providing engaging educational entertainment that invites individuals and families to live fuller, richer lives and enables them to serve as an ever-growing engine of intellectual power and progress. HITN provides a unique source of educational, cultural news and public affairs programs to the homes of Hispanics in the United States and Puerto Rico. HITN is available on Dish Network; DirecTV; Time Warner Cable (NY, NJ, TX); Comcast (IL, CO); Charter (CA, NV, WA, GA); AT&T U-verse and Verizon FiOs nationwide.

For more information, log onto www.hitn.tv.

HITN: CELEBRATING 25 YEARS AS AMERICA’S FIRST PUBLIC TELEVISION NETWORK FOR LATINOS “

The Hispanic Leadership Fund today announced that it will hold a concert during the Republican National Convention featuring Latin recording artist and Reggaeton superstar Daddy Yankee. The Fiesta Americana Concert, co-hosted with The Latino Coalition and the Hispanic Alliance for Prosperity Institute, will be held on September 1, 2008 at 9:00 p.m. at MYTH nightclub in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Approximately 3000 convention delegates and special guests are expected to attend, including members of Minnesota’s rapidly growing Hispanic community.

This event will showcase the Hispanic community and demonstrate a clear message of support for key issues such as tough, but fair immigration reform, free trade in the Americas and prosperity through ownership. This event will also allow for an opportunity to highlight sharp policy differences between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama regarding these issues, and will kick off Convention week in great style.

Headline artist Daddy Yankee, chosen by TIME magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World,” is a rising star in Reggaeton – a music genre he helped create. In 2008, he won Billboard Latin Music Awards for Album of the Year and Reggaeton Album of the Year.

Throughout his career, Daddy Yankee has been involved in philanthropic activities and shown support for key issues affecting the Hispanic population. At a recent event with Senator McCain in Arizona, Daddy Yankee said: “I am here endorsing Senator McCain because I believe in his ideals and his proposals to lead this nation. And like I said before, he has been a fighter for the Hispanic community, and I know that for me personally, I chose him as the best candidate because he has been a fighter for the immigration issue.”

The Hispanic Leadership Fund is a non-partisan advocacy organization dedicated to promoting common-sense public policy solutions rooted in free enterprise, limited government, and individual freedom.

For press credentials please send an e-mail to presscred@hispanicleadershipfund.org. “

Michael González-Campoy is the founder, medical director and CEO of Minnesota Center for Obesity, Metabolism and Endocrinology (MNCOME) in Eagan. The practice is the result of González-Campoy’s longtime commitment to addressing some of this country’s most widespread and serious health threats— obesity, diabetes and related diseases.”*

Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN) hosted a Hispanic Health Care Forum at the Allina Commons, Midtown Exchange in Minneapolis. Ellison’s special guest for the evening was Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis (D-CA). Solis is the Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Task Force on Health and Environment and works on the Subcommittee on Health along with Congressman Ellison.

The main purpose for these forums are to increase awareness of health problem prevention; to generate more involvement and have more informed dialogue that empowers children and families without health care coverage.”*

At last weekend’s National Conference for Media Reform (NCMR), Anthony Advincula sounded dismayed as he opened the forum “The Fighting Press: Ethnic Media Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.”

“We’re competing with Arianna Huffington next door,” he said to an audience of about 30 at the Minneapolis Convention Center on Saturday. “Hopefully we won’t have outsider status next year.”

“It doesn’t seem like we’re being taken seriously—we’re not being videotaped,” quipped Edwin Okong’o, editor of Mshale, an African community newspaper in Minneapolis.”*

So one can imagine Kaehler’s surprise when Gov. Tim Pawlenty came out against bolstering trade with Cuba. In late April, the fiscally conservative, free-trade Republican vetoed a non-binding resolution urging the president and Congress to end the embargo.

It was all the more surprising to Kaehler given his experience with the governor. “I remember meeting with him and a few Cuban inspectors at the state Capitol in 2004,” says Kaehler. “He said he supported free trade and friendship with Cuba.”

Of course, the elephant in the room is Pawlenty’s Pennsylvania Avenue ambitions. The 58-year-old St. Paul native has long been included on the shortlist of John McCain’s potential running mates.”*

Two Hispanic men have sued the owner of a McDonald’s in downtown St. Paul, claiming the restaurant’s manager told them he wouldn’t hire them because they were born in America.

“Oh, I only want to hire Mexicans from Mexico,” the lawsuit quotes the unidentified manager as telling one of the job applicants. “When I hire Mexicans from America, they always quit.”"*

Perhaps a record number of Latina teenagers in Minnesota are getting pregnant today, and community leaders are working to reverse it.

Minnesota’s teen birth rate increased 7 percent between 2005 and 2006, according to the St. Paul nonprofit Minnesota Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Prevention and Parenting (MOAPPP). The organization reported that this increase is more than twice the increase at the national level.

Among Minnesota’s Latina teenagers, however, MOAPPP reported a considerable 13 percent increase in the teen birth rate from 2005 to 2006.”*

Teresa Ortiz is a poet, spoken word artist, community organizer, ESL teacher—and a mentor for writers through the Espejos program for the past two years. Espejos, a mentoring program for emerging Latino artists, will present this year’s artistic work June 5 at 7 p.m.

Espejos 2008
Gallery viewing starts: May 22
Opening Night Reception and Performance: 6-9 PM
Thursday, June 5, 2008.
Doors open at 6:00 PM, Performance from 7-9 PM
Intermedia Arts
2822 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis 55408
Free admission”*

In reviewing Indio for this week’s issue, Rachel Hutton makes an interesting observation about the growing influence of Latino culture on the Twin Cities’ foodscape:

In the not so recent past, most Twin Citians who didn’t grow up eating Mexican food knew it only in the form of Chi-Chi’s or Taco Bell, where “cooking” meant squirting guacamole out of something that looked like a caulking gun. But as the local Latino population has swelled in recent decades, authentic Mexican cuisine has flourished. El Burrito Mercado moved to its iconic Concord Street space; Mercado Central brought south Minneapolis a lively Latin American marketplace; and the local Scandinavian stock learned to enjoy Mexican food at places that didn’t tone down the spice or drown dishes in dairy.”*

Minnesota is becoming increasingly diverse and many local companies are trying to reflect that diversity in their workplaces. While some companies have had success recruiting professionals of color to the Twin Cities, they’ve sometimes had difficulty retaining them. Several area companies have joined forces to try to change that.”*

A group of about 50 immigrant rights activists rallied in south Minneapolis Friday afternoon to protest the arrest of nearly 400 people at a kosher meatpacking plant in northeast Iowa this week.

At least 390 people were detained on immigration charges at Agriprocessors Inc. in Postville on Monday.”*

Jose Torres participated in the first Day of the Immigrant three years ago, when the event sparked work stoppages across Minnesota and sent thousands of protesters into the streets to demand immigration reform.

On Thursday, he was among hundreds of demonstrators who marched to the State Capitol for a considerably smaller event taking place as a record number of Minnesotans are being deported.

This year, immigrants’ advocates didn’t ask businesses to close or encourage workers to walk off their jobs. A climate of fear has overtaken the immigrant community, so many people are afraid to be seen in a public demonstration, Torres said.”*

Gov. Tim Pawlenty has vetoed the Legislature’s resolution urging the president and Congress to end Cuban trade and travel restrictions. Many legislators figured the nonbinding resolution was a nice way to support state farmers and business people who’d like to see some economic opportunities with a nearby nation. “*

University of Minnesota, Morris senior Simon Franco, Maracay, Aragua, and Donna Chollett, professor of anthropology, are recipients of this year’s César E. Chávez awards. The awards were presented during a campus ceremony April 23.”*

It became clear at City Hall on March 5, at the Public Safety Committee meeting, that the term “human trafficking” is the new code term for rounding up Latinos and Hispanics for deportation. This will be the work of the Homeland Security agency ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), aided by the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD). This reverses a long-stated policy that the MPD would not be involved in the enforcement of immigration laws.

Serious concerns about the future relationships between the City of Minneapolis and the Latino-Hispanic community were immediately evident when Deputy Chief Val Woorsster made the announcement that the joint operations on the streets of Minneapolis were about to begin. In doing so she confirmed what I have written about on a number of occasions that the purpose of this new relationship, or alliance, was predicated upon security preparation for the National Republican Convention, September 1-4, in Minneapolis and St. Paul.”*

*From: http://www.tcdailyplanet.net
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish