The Sounds of the Chevrolet Volt

UDLA organizes march to halt crime, drugs(2)

Yonah Hong, who works with the CRA/LA, said it’s important to keep youth at risk at school. Equally keen is to keep them busy with productive and recreational activities to steer them away from crime and drug dealing.

“In ethnically diverse communities such as Koreatown, where we have Mexican Americans, Guatemalans, Salvadoreans, Korean Americans, African Americans and Caucasians, marches like this bring mutual respect and understanding among our communities,” Hong said. “We as citizens sometimes go to church, and we think the police will take care of all the graffiti problems, gangs, etc. We have to be partners with the police and be the eyes of the community.”

Hong said disabled residents are easier targets of crime from gang bangers, and others who want to damage the weakest in these communities. She said it’s important to be persistent to keep these neighborhoods accessible in lieu of the American with Disabilities Act, or ADA.

“I understand parking and traffic bureau officers are in charge to enforce ADA laws. Safety, access and availability of spaces for accessible cars are key.”

For his part, Jorge Salgado, who is blind, said this march helps to promote better communities, and sends a message of hope to many residents that crime and gangs are not welcomed in highly populated communities in metropolitan Los Angeles. Salgado lives in Pasadena, but said some of his friends are involved in gangs in south Los Angeles.

“This event is good to try to avert and finish violence, drug dealing and consumption, and all related activities. I believe jobs creation for youth would help to improve things, along with these events,” Salgado said.

The Los Angeles Daily News reported on Feb. 17. 2010 that crime in Los Angeles has fallen 10% in comparison to last year. The figures only include the period from Jan 1 to Feb. 12, 2010. The reported drop in crime follow a 50% historic reduction in the same field under the helmet of former police chief Bill Bratton.

UDLA organizes march to halt crime, drugs(1)

By Alfredo Santana

The Unification of Disabled Latino American (UDLA), along with Los Angeles Police Department officers, and city and community representatives, organized in Koreatown on June 12, 2010 a peaceful march to send a message to local communities that crime, drugs and graffiti activities must stop, particularly in low income and ethnically diverse neighborhoods.

The march, titled March Against Crime and Drugs, began in the Olympic Station of the LAPD, located at 1130 S. Vermont Ave. It headed north, and turned left on Olympic Ave, until it reached its destination at the Seoul International Park Auditorium, located at the corner of Olympic Blvd. and San Marino St.

There have been at least 25 similar marches against graffiti, drugs and violence organized by UDLA in past years. However, this is the first march after several years of absence held in streets of Los Angeles, in coordination with the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles (CRA/LA), and the Wilshire Center Business Improvement Corporation (WCBIC).

Organizers estimate that between 500 and 1000 people attended the event, which lasted from 10:15 a.m., until about 11:30 a.m. Four police units, a special bicycle police unit with four standing officers, and about five officers in regular bicycle units also joined the march. About 20 LAPD officers, and several cadets attended the event.

Ruben Hernandez, founder and director of UDLA, said the main purpose of this march is to spread the word to neighborhoods seized with gangs and graffiti, that their residents must take action to eradicate these problems, because most city dwellers do very little to improve the quality of life of gang and poverty-ridden communities.

That is, in part, how sustainable communities, and better quality of life can be achieved, he said.

“The worst thing amongst us is to become abstinent to take action against these social problems. Many see graffiti on a wall, and six, eight months after it was tagged, the marks are still there,” said Hernandez, who became blind after a stray bullet fired by a gang banger ripped through his skull about 30 years ago. “The cholito won the battle against all the very smart heads who live in our neighborhoods.”

Hernandez said a kind of civic response must grow out of necessity to improve the quality of life of many decadent neighborhoods. He said many have joined this movement after they see UDLA crews work to clean places such as East Valinda, where blight was common: bleak views of abandoned cars, furniture dumped in the sidewalks, and scrawled graffiti dotted the landscape both in the streets, and in backyards.

“After they see the difference, and they say ‘I want it, I can,’ everything starts falling into place. Things began to take good form.”

Fulbright scholarships focus on disabled applicants

Two webinars designed to introduce persons with disabilities how to apply for Fulbright scholarships, specialist program and English assistant program, offered in several countries abroad, will be conducted on June 17 and June 24, by the Institute of International Education and the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars.

The first webinar, titled “Fulbright Opportunities for Ph.D Faculty, Researchers, Artists and Professionals,” will take place Thursday, June 17, 2010, from 2 to 3 p.m., EDT. The webinar will provide advice for persons with disabilities interested in applying for the Fulbright Scholar and Specialist Program.

The second webinar, titled “Fulbright Opportunities for College Students, Recent Graduates and Professionals,” will be on June 24, 2010, from 2:30 to 4 p.m., EDT. This workshop will introduce persons with disabilities how to apply for the Fulbright Student and English Teaching Assistant Program.

Interested individuals can also learn more about participation of people with disabilities in the Fulbright Program by contacting Danielle Antonio, senior program officer, at dantonio@iie.org., or by contacting Jaclyn Assarian, senior program coordinate, at jassarian@iie.org.

HHS announces a $60 million fund for disabled, senior citizens

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that a $60 million special fund will be available until July 30, 2010 for people with disabilities who want to transition from nursing homes to independent, or family housing, and to support long-term health care.

Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of HHS, announced the $60 million program in Affordable Care Act grants for states and communities to help individuals and their caregivers better understand and navigate their health and long-term care options.

These funds are in lieu, and support the Affordable Care Act, HHS’ Administration on Aging (AoA) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). These agencies will work collaboratively to award funds for an integrated approach that focuses on the unique needs of seniors, disabled Americans and their caregivers as they seek health care and long-term care.

“The Affordable Care Act seeks to lower health care costs, improve the quality of health care and perhaps most importantly give people more control over their own care,” said Sebelius. “These new grants, authorized under the new law, will help seniors, individuals with disabilities and their families get better quality care and more control. We’ve also streamlined the process for states and people who rely on these funds.”

“We know how difficult it can be for caregivers and patients to try and deal with a sudden illness or chronic disease while at the same time trying to navigate through a complex health care system to figure out where you can get help. These new funds that we have bundled together will help promote better opportunities for coordination of health and long-term supports,” Sebelius added.

The purpose of this new grant program authorized by the Affordable Care Act is to create streamlined, coordinated statewide systems of information, counseling, and access that will help people find understandable answers they seek to meet their health and long-term care needs. AoA and CMS will administer the funding through separate allocations, but will coordinate implementation and monitoring through a single process.

Areas of focus will include assisting individuals who are underserved and hard to reach with information about their Medicare and Medicaid benefits, helping older adults and individuals with disabilities live at home or in settings of their choosing with the right supports, assisting people transition from hospital or nursing home back into the community, and strengthening linkages between the medical and social service systems.

“When it comes to long-term health care, each patient has a unique mix of complex medical and social needs that must be considered when seeking care,” said Marilyn Tavenner, acting CMS administrator. “Our health care system can offer many options to meeting those needs from traditional nursing home care to home and community-based services. Making patients and their families aware of these options will help them make inherently difficult decisions about long-term care. This integrated program will help families make informed choices and make sure patients have more control over their own care.”

AoA and CMS have provided grants to states for several years to develop person-centered systems of information, counseling and access to make it easier for individuals to learn about and access their health and long-term services and support options. This grant program through the Affordable Care Act strengthens and enhances the ability of states to truly integrate the medical and social services care models.

“AoA’s national network of community-based organizations has long served as the central place for individuals and families seeking information and help to address health and long term care challenges. This collaborative opportunity between AoA and CMS will further strengthen the network’s capacity to help people in a more coordinated and comprehensive way in the communities where they live,” said Kathy Greenlee, assistant secretary for aging.

Funds will be available to states, area agencies on aging (aaa’s), State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs) and Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs). Through the grant program, states and local aging and disability programs will receive funds to:

• provide outreach and assistance to Medicare beneficiaries on their Medicare benefits including prevention;

• use additional funds through a competitive process to provide Options Counseling on health and long-term care through ADRCs;

• use additional funds through a competitive process to strengthen the ADRCs role in Money follows the Person program and support state Medicaid agencies as they transition individuals from nursing homes to community-based care; and

• coordinate and continue to embed tested Care Transition models that integrate the medical and social service systems to help older individuals and those with disabilities remain in their own homes and communities after a hospital, rehabilitation or skilled nursing facility visit.

“CMS and AoA share a long-standing goal of expanding access to community-based care for the elderly and individuals with disabilities. The Affordable Care Act provides significant resources for state Medicaid agencies and providers to balance the nation’s long-term care systems and assure that individuals have a choice of where and how they receive their services,” said Cindy Mann, director of CMS’s Center for Medicaid, CHIP, and Survey and Certification.

The announcement combines funding opportunities from several provisions in the Affordable Care Act signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010.

It includes the Role of Public Programs (Title II, Sections 2403 – Money Follows the Person and 2405 – Funding for Aging and Disability Resource Centers) and Improving the Quality and Efficiency of Health Care (Title III. Section 3306 - Funding for Outreach and Assistance for Low-Income Programs).

These grants also complement President Obama’s “Year of Community Living Initiative,” which focuses on better serving those individuals with disabilities who need ongoing services and support programs in the community such as those provided by AoA, CMS and other HHS agencies.

The deadline for applications is: Friday, July 30, 2010. Grants will be awarded in September 2010.

For more information about this grant opportunity, please visit http://www.aoa.gov/AoARoot/Grants/Funding/index.aspx or www.grants.gov. To learn more about the Affordable Care Act, please visit www.healthreform.gov

"La Palabra" y desigualdes en América Latina(2)

¿Cuál es la magnitud de la concentración de medios en América Latina?

MB: Más de 82 por ciento de todas las actividades de información y comunicación están en manos de los cuatro primeros operadores, que, como esto es un promedio, cambian de país en país. La influencia de estos actores es desmedida.

A esto hay que agregarle que en América Latina, con la excepción a medias de (la estatal) Televisión Nacional de Chile, no hay medios públicos al estilo de la BBC. En este panorama no hay un equilibrio, una fuerza pública que pueda compensar la influencia de los grandes medios comerciales.

Esto habla mucho de las sociedades desiguales que construimos en América Latina, el subcontinente más inequitativo del planeta. Yo creo que si no estuviera tan concentrada la palabra, la situación de desigualdad de América Latina sería más cuestionada.

Usted menciona la agenda democratizadora que se discute hoy en la región...

MB: Sí, es una agenda heterogénea, porque los gobiernos y los movimientos políticos y sociales que la impulsan son distintos entre sí. La experiencia de Evo Morales en Bolivia y de Rafael Correa en Ecuador es muy distinta a la de (Luiz Inácio) Lula da Silva en Brasil y de Tabaré Vásquez (2005-2010) en Uruguay.

Pero estas cuatro experiencias, y podríamos mencionar también a la argentina, tienen en común que por primera vez en esos países se cuestiona la concentración y se plantea que los sectores sociales sin ánimo de lucro tienen el mismo derecho a poseer licencias de radio y televisión. Esta es una gran novedad.

¿Cómo analiza la situación de países como Argentina y Venezuela, cuyos gobiernos denuncian que los grandes medios actúan como verdaderos partidos de oposición?

MB: La situación es muy distinta. En Venezuela está la ley Resorte (Responsabilidad Social en Radio y Televisión) del (presidente Hugo) Chávez, con la cual estoy en desacuerdo porque se mete con los contenidos. La ley argentina, no, es muy liberal en cuanto a los contenidos, cada cual puede decir lo que quiere.

Hay muy pocos periodos en la historia argentina donde uno pueda encontrar reacciones tan duras del sistema de medios contra los presidentes. Esto significa que libertad de medios en Argentina hay.

En mi país los medios reaccionan mal, y es muy ineficaz periodísticamente porque reaccionan como partido político y rompen lo que (el intelectual argentino) Eliseo Verón llama el "contrato de lectura", la relación entre el diario y sus lectores.

"La Palabra" y desigualdes en América Latina(1)

El académico argentino Martín Becerra, quien presentó en Santiago de Chile su última investigación sobre los medios de comunicación en América Latina, dijo que “si no estuviera tan concentrada la 'palabra', la situación de desigualdad de América Latina sería más cuestionada".

"Los Dueños de la Palabra. Acceso, estructura y concentración de los medios en la América Latina del Siglo XXI", se titula el libro escrito por Becerra junto a su compatriota Guillermo Mastrini, publicado en 2009 en Argentina gracias al apoyo del no gubernamental Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, con sede en Lima.

Ambos académicos publicaron en 2006 Periodistas y magnates, la primera parte de esta investigación que pretenden actualizar cada cuatro años sobre las llamadas industrias "infocomunicacionales": prensa, radio, televisión abierta y por cable, editorial gráfica, fonografía, cinematografía, telefonía fija y móvil e Internet. Becerra respondio algunas preguntas en relación a su obra.

¿Quiénes son los "dueños de la palabra" en América Latina?

MARTIN BECERRA: Son pocos grupos con una influencia decisiva en las actividades "infocomunicacionales". Los más importantes son Globo, Televisa, Clarín, Prisa, Cisneros y el grupo del mexicano Ángel González, con gran presencia en América Central. En telecomunicaciones están Telmex y Telefónica.

El panorama latinoamericano se reproduce a escala nacional. En Chile, por ejemplo, tienes a la familia Edwards (dueña de la cadena de diarios El Mercurio) y a Álvaro Saieh (propietario de Consorcio Periodístico de Chile).

¿Tienen algún perfil común estos grupos y magnates?

MB: El origen de muchos de ellos está ligado a una figura patriarcal, de cacique, muy al estilo de los liderazgos políticos y empresariales latinoamericanos.

La figura del "Pater familias" (padre de familia) que se abre camino con métodos no siempre muy prístinos, como queda claro en investigaciones como "Los magnates de la prensa", de la periodista chilena María Olivia Mönckeberg (2009). La acumulación de sus fortunas, en algunos casos, está ligada a negocios con gobiernos dictatoriales.

En las últimas décadas se han reconvertido y diversificado. Hoy hablamos de conglomerados que tienen desde financieras hasta radios y cadenas de televisión. Antes eran empresarios de medios, ahora son enormes grupos económicos, que, para facilitar su acción en el resto de la economía, necesitan medios de comunicación que les sirvan de poder de lobby.

¿Qué mirada está representada por estos grandes medios? Mönckeberg dice que en Chile es la derecha neoliberal ultraconservadora...

MB: En general son de derecha. Porque defienden el status quo. Estos grupos no podrían haber alcanzado el tamaño que tienen, que, dicho de paso, estaría prohibido en países desarrollados, si no fuese por la complacencia de un poder político que en algunos casos estuvo en manos de dictadores.

El poder político los ha beneficiado con unos privilegios que se terminarían con cualquier reforma que aspire a democratizar el sistema de medios, que es algo que está en la agenda latinoamericana hoy.