Oregon

After 25 years of assistance to the Metro area’s Latino community, El Programa Hispano, a leading social service organization, has moved to a larger Gresham facility and is expanding its efforts.

The mission of the nonprofit, which is part of Catholic Charities, is to increase self-sufficiency among Latinos. The bilingual and bicultural services it provides include advocacy, domestic violence and sexual assault assistance, mental health and addiction treatment and counseling, educational support for youth and adults, gang prevention, anti-poverty services, skill building and outreach to elderly Latinos.”*

Bilingual author, actress and screenwriter Maria Amparo Escandón said she started writing at the age of 7 by taking that piece of her grandmother’s advice to heart, explaining that the art of writing is “trying to trick people into believing what you say.”

Escandón, 50, is a creative writing instructor at UCLA. She came to Salem for two days in February from her home in Los Angeles to speak as part of the Salem Public Library’s Modern Voices Author Series.”*

OCP and St. Anthony Catholic Church are partnering to host Encuentro de Coros, a group of workshops for Hispanic pastoral musicians. The all-day event will take place on Saturday, May 31, at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Tigard, Oregon.

Raul Velazquez, director of Hispanic ministries for the Archdiocese of Portland, will preside at Morning Prayer to start the day. Next on the schedule is “Musicians at the Service of the Community and the Liturgy,” a keynote presented by Pedro Rubalcava, director of Hispanic ministries for OCP.

“Encuentro de Coros is an event for Hispanic pastoral musicians to come together to pray and learn from each other,” says Rubalcava. “It’s a great opportunity to increase and improve knowledge and skills that will help pastoral musicians serve their community and lead them more effectively in sung prayer. Participants will learn more about the liturgy and music’s role in it, add new songs to their repertoires, and improve vocal, guitar or percussion skills.”

Attendees can choose which workshops to take throughout the remainder of the event. Estela Garcia-Lopez, senior music editor for OCP, will lead two sessions, “Vocal Techniques for the Choir” and “Techniques for the Psalmist, Cantor and Animator.” Rodolfo Lopez, music editor for OCP, is set to lead a morning and afternoon workshop on “The Guitar in the Liturgy.”

In addition to his morning keynote, Pedro will present a morning and afternoon session, “How Do I Select the Best Songs for My Community?” Rounding out the workshop schedule are morning and afternoon classes with veteran percussion performer and educator Tony Gomez of Seattle. He will reveal the keys to “Giving Flavor to Liturgy with Percussion.”

Registration is $20 per person or $15 per person for parish groups of four or more people. Groups must register by May 27. Lunch and a resource showcase are included in the cost. For more information on this unique day of music instruction, please contact St. Anthony Catholic Church at (503) 639-4179, ext. 125 or email MaryJoQ@ocp.org.

About OCP
OCP, a not-for-profit publisher of liturgical music and worship resources based in Portland, Oregon, has been in operation for more than 80 years. Worship programs produced by OCP are used in two-thirds of Catholic churches in the United States and are distributed worldwide. More information is available at 1-800-548-8749 and ocp.org.”*

Ramon Ramirez, the president of PCUN, the state’s largest farmworker union, made the announcement Wednesday, citing Obama’s commitment to improving the lives of farmworkers and Latino families in Oregon and across the nation as the reason for the endorsement.

“Barack Obama has been standing with the Latino community for more than 20 years in public service, beginning with his days as a community organizer fighting for neighborhoods devastated by steel mill closings on Chicago’s South Side,” Ramirez said in a statement. “Senator Obama will be a president who fights for the rights of workers and Latinos.”"*

Dropout rates increased for all subgroups except Hispanic students:

* Asian 3.2%
* Native American 7.0%
* African American 7.4%
* Hispanic 7.9%
* White 3.6%
* Total 4.4%

Even with the increases in the Oregon’s dropout rate, it continues to be significantly lower than the very high dropout rates of the mid-1990’s. A decade ago, the statewide dropout rate stood at 7%, and the Hispanic rate was about 18%. The African American rate was nearly 12% and the Native American rate about 10%.”*

*From: http://www.salem-news.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

A group of local Latina women is planning to start a child care business in Clatsop County in an effort to meet the needs of Astoria’s growing Hispanic community.

Their facility may start as a registered family child care home but could expand to a certified center, said Andreina Velasco, who over the past year has facilitated meetings of the group, funded by Forest Grove-based organization Adelante Mujeres, or Onward Women.”*

*From: http://www.dailyastorian.info
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

Tony Gonzalez doesn’t like running, which makes him a true sprinter.

Asked to list in order his favorite of the three sports he participates in at McKay High School, he puts football first, then wrestling and finishes with track and field.

“I mean, it’s fun hanging out with the kids,” Gonzalez said. “I don’t know, it’s just too much running for me.”

Sprinters run the shortest races possible so they don’t have to run as much, and Gonzalez’s legs have brought him much acclaim in his first three years of high school.”*

*From: http://159.54.226.83
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

Political leaders might want to look at a town in Oregon with a population of 20,000 to see how the city deals with race, labor and immigration issues.

The city is one of few places in Oregon where the white population is the minority, and the community has dealt with rapidly changing demographics in recent years. At least one University researcher hopes to learn something from the unique situation.

University geography professor Lise Nelson studied Woodburn, a Willamette Valley town 82 miles north of Eugene in Marion County, to research farmworker housing there. “*

*From: http://media.www.dailyemerald.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

Melecia and Alejandro Torres have good reason to fear gang violence — there have been four gang-involved shootings near their Northeast Portland apartment in the past three years. They don’t want their children swept up in that world.

So they’re making sure their children know that the police are ready to help and that gangs are no good.

The Torres family is participating in the nation’s first Gang Resistance Education and Training program for families presented in Spanish. Portland Officer Angel Ocasio leads it, with help from five county social workers.”*

*From: http://www.oregonlive.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

A local man recently saw a dream come true when a trade magazine covering his profession published a feature story about him.

Joaquin Varo was featured in the March/April 2008 issue of the magazine, Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) Today, published by the American Association of Medical Assistants. Varo is the program coordinator/translator at El Centro de Ayuda, a local non-profit organization that provides support and educational services to low-income families, and where clients receive free interpreting services.
“It was a dream of mine to be in that magazine,” Varo said. “When I was a student at Portland Community College (PCC) they showed us the magazine with our package of introductory materials and I said to my professor ‘One day I’ll be in that magazine.’”"*

*From: http://www.newportnewstimes.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

When school officials talked with Hispanic parents last fall about how the Phoenix-Talent School District has been supporting English- language learners, they heard reports that some pupils were being harassed on school buses.

“There was a perception that discrimination was going on in both ways between white people and Hispanic people,” said Teresa Sayre, Phoenix-Talent schools instructional services director.

Officials in the district serving about 2,700 students — nearly 15 percent of which are English-language learners — wanted to find more ways to promote cultural understanding among staff and students and make the campuses more welcoming. School buses seemed like a good place to start, they said.”*

*From: http://www.mailtribune.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

Oregon’s first organization dedicated to helping Latino students graduate from high school, learn English and become community leaders decided this week to close its doors because it didn’t have enough money to support its programs.

The Oregon Council for Hispanic Advancement conducted some of the first research about the presence and needs of the fast-growing Latino population in Oregon. The council served more than 1,000 Latino students throughout the state last year.”*

*From: http://www.oregonlive.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

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A rivalry between two local Hispanic bakeries has gone guerrilla, with one business alleging the other stole its prized recipes.

In a lawsuit filed Monday in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Saul Hernandez-Mendoza, owner of Tienda y Panaderia Santa Cruz on North Lombard Street, accuses two former employees of taking his recipes to a rival business.”*

*From: http://wweek.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

An outreach group in Washington County that’s become a second home to many Latinas is about to open its doors to a new generation: Latinitas, or young Latina girls.

Toward the end of this month, Adelante Mujeres or Onward Women will add a miniversion of itself with Adelante Chicas — Onward Young Girls. The program will cater to girls, ages 9 to 13, at three Forest Grove schools, eventually moving into the local high school and, if all goes well, surrounding school districts.

It’s a bold but natural move for a 5-year-old organization that has been lauded by groups across the metro area and even in Mexico for its unusually intimate approach and diverse offerings.”*

*From: http://www.oregonlive.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

Jon Ruiz, the Eugene City Council’s pick to be city manager, accepted the job offer on Sunday.

Councilors offered Ruiz, of Fresno, Calif., the job on Saturday night. He called Mayor Kitty Piercy about noon Sunday.

“He said that he was honored to be offered the job and that he was very excited about it,” Piercy said.”*

*From: http://www.registerguard.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

Oregon restaurants, nurseries and other businesses are joining the gnarly immigration debate, fighting proposals they see as hostile to foreign-born workers and their families.

The Oregon Essential Worker Immigration Coalition is planning a February launch of research and lobbying efforts to add their voices to a debate largely dominated by opponents of illegal immigration and by Hispanic and immigrant advocate groups.

Jeff Stone, a co-chairman, said agriculture, construction, food service, hospitality and other sectors want to give Congress room to fix the federal immigration system.”*

*From: http://www.statesmanjournal.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

Restaurants, nurseries and other Oregon employers are jumping into the state’s roiling immigration debate, bringing pro-business credentials to the fight against proposals seen as hostile to foreign-born workers and their families.

The Oregon Essential Worker Immigration Coalition is planning a February launch of its research, public-relations and lobbying efforts — all meant to add the voices of employers to a debate that’s largely pitted illegal-immigration opponents on one side, and Hispanic and immigrant-rights activists on the other.”*

*From: http://www.registerguard.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

Azteca America has expanded to Eugene.

The Hispanic television network based in Los Angeles is on Churchill Media’s Channel 36 and soon will be available on Comcast’s Channel 617.”*

*From: http://www.bizjournals.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

Hundreds of Hispanic activists from across the state descended on the capital Wednesday to learn, rally and press their causes with legislators.
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“We had really good visits,” said Pasco’s Gabriel Portugal, a board member of the Washington State Hispanic/Latino Legislative Organization.

“It’s extremely important that you’re here,” House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, told an auditorium full of participants, pointing across the street. “You’ve got to get over there where the action is, to the Legislature.”"*

*From: http://www.theolympian.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

For thousands of Latinos, high school is about more than just making the grade, it’s about learning the language. Many of them don’t know where to start when it comes to making long term plans. That’s where programs like “Opening the Doors to the Future” come in. The Kennewick School District has been working the weekends to get both students and parents up to speed.

Cecilia Guillen is a mentor to Latino students at Kennewick High School, helping them prepare for college and beyond. She has a simple message for them.

“Yes, it’s difficult, yest it’s hard, but it can be done,” she said. “*

*From: http://www.kimatv.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

Intense emotion erupted at the state Capitol on Friday as interest groups sought to persuade lawmakers to adopt — or reject — tougher identification requirements to get an Oregon driver’s license.

Ted Campbell, director of the Oregon chapter of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, was there in support of stiffer rules.

“Drug dealers get protection in Oregon,” Campbell told lawmakers.”*

*From: http://www.statesmanjournal.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

As Oregon prepares to join most other states by stiffening requirements for immigrants’ driver’s licenses, Hispanic groups in the state are asking for a delay.

On Monday they turned in over 5,000 petition signatures to Oregon’s Driver and Motor Vehicle Services Division in Salem, asking for a one-year delay in implementation of the new rules.”*

*From: http://www.oregonlive.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

Maritza Mendez, a multi-cultural recruiter for Western Oregon University, nods her head in agreement. Spouting off a request in Spanish, Mendez asks a group of Tualatin High Latino students for more reasons and in quick succession answers in Spanish are fired back.

Barriers for Latinos wanting to attend college aren’t all that different from the traditional worries: financial aid, debt, unfamiliar environments, being away from family and serving as the first-generation in a family to attend college.”*

W hen Olga Acuna moved to Oregon, the 15-year-old could speak no English.

Her father was a single parent, trying to raise seven children on what they could make picking berries and working in the fields.

They made ends meet by living with members of their extended family, by scrimping and saving and doing without what many others considered necessities.”*