L.A. Clinic Offers Care for Mayas/Karla Saia

Due in large part to tenacious outreach efforts, Los Angeles’ Clinica Romero is serving a growing Maya immigrant population, a group which has traditionally been relatively alienated from Western and institutionalized health care.

For the last eight years Idalia Xuncax, herself a Maya, has grown the clinic’s Maya clientele from a handful to approximately 700, and in doing so has brought preventive and routine care to a group leery of doctors. Further, she has learned to manage care for these immigrants – generally from Guatemala – in terms of other cultural and historical healing practices the community employs.

The clinic is receives funding from private donors, County, State and Federal Funds. As a result of the work by Ms. Xuncax and her colleagues, the Federal Government has agreed to fund the clinic’s healthcare research into Mayas in Los Angeles.

Link: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-mayan2apr02,1,7177882.story

Bending the ear of union members/ Lisa Sweet

The US Supreme Court is hearing a case that will decide whether state money that is given to employers may be used to influence union member views regarding unions. The Chamber of Commerce and President Bush state that California would be violating federal labor laws. But California maintains that the law is meant to prevent subsidizing an employer's union activities thus remaining neutral.

Justice Scalia questioned the State's claim of neutrality as did Chief Roberts while both Justices Ginsburg and Breyer both supported the law determining that California should be able to determine how that money is spent. The law doesn't prevent an employer from stating opinions related to union activities, just from using state money to do so.

The author of the bill noted that the law, which was supported by California labor unions, "began as a means to prevent unscrupulous contractors from using state money to block unionization by California janitors."

A decision has not yet been reached.

Link: http://www.sacbee.com/114/story/798331.html

Schwarzenegger Details Plans For Reforming Troubled Districts/ Sarah Montes

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will be announcing his latest plans which hope to help 97 California school districts that have not being able to meet the requirements set forth by the No Child Left Behind law. Schwarzenegger wants California to be the first state in the nation to use the federal education law to turn around low performing districts.

The specific improvement plans for each of the 97 California school districts that have missed test targets for five years in a row will be released at an 11:15 a.m. press conference at Northwood Elementary School.

The specific improvement plans for each of the 97 California school districts will be released at a press conference set to begin at 11:15 a.m.

Link: http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/742251.html

Mr. Schwarzenegger Goes to Washington/ JoAnne Golden

Schwarzenegger just returned from lobbying in D.C. for mortgage relief, border security, and funding for roads and levees. Congress recently changed home mortgage limits to $729,500, and the governor hopes that it is a permanent increase. He also hopes that the National Guard will supplement the Border Patrol in preventing trafficking and illegal crossings of the border. The governor requested that National Guard emergency equipment be returned to California (currently in Iraq), so California may better prepare for any floods, fires, etc. He did realize, however, that getting money for infrastructure was not “sexy.

Link: http://www.mercurynews.com/politics/ci_8365584

Tougher environmental rules will apply to O.C. toll way/ Hagob Boyadjian

President Bush signed an amended military bill last week which negated an exemption sought by Orange County toll road planners in an attempt to avoid state environmental laws. The estimated $875-million project would build a toll way, which would complete Orange County’s network of turnpikes and would cut across San Onofre State Beach, which is a popular camping and surfing spot. Toll road officials claim that the project would be extremely effective in relieving traffic. Opponents, however, argue that it would affect campgrounds, wild lands, Native American burial sites and famous surf spots. Orange County toll road planners had obtained a federal exemption which had enabled federal law to have jurisdiction over lawsuits involving the agency and the Foothill South as opposed to state law which is much more inflexible. Members from the board that governs the Foothill-Eastern toll way explained that they sought the exemption not because they sought after special legislation but because they needed to determine which authority, state or federal, it was to follow for the proposed route.

Link: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-tollroad30jan30,1,5217670.story

Marijuana from a Vending Machine/ Erica Quevedo

In 1996 California voters passed proposition 215 with over 56% approval rates; it was the first statewide voter initiative in the US supporting the approval of medical marijuana for seriously ill patients. Despite its contradiction to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which continues to regard marijuana as an illegal substance, Los Angeles has pioneered a new way for soliciting this drug.

Los Angeles inventor and owner Vincent Mehdizadeh has created a line of 24-hour medical marijuana vending machines. Mr. Mehdizadeh contends that these machines which he has patented as PVM (prescription vending machines) provides, “convenient access, lower prices, safety, and anonymity." These PVMs are computerized and require finger print identification scanning as well as prepaid magnetic striped cards; once the the fingerprints and prepaid card are verified a green envelope is dropped with the marijuana inside.

Store owners of these PVMs have said that they provide greater accessibility and convenience of these prescription drugs to patients who are serioulsy ill, as well as reduces the risk for raid or theft for workers in the dispensaries. While the DEA has argued that there is a possibility of “unplugging” this new invention as it violates federal laws, this new innovation continues to demonstrate the struggle for power between state and federal jurisdiction, with once again California at the forefront.

Link: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-potmachine30jan30,0,5042929.story

Wavering over Emissions Waiver/ Aimee Dewing

In response to the EPA’s denial of California’s application for a waiver that would allow the state to set its own emission standards, angered critics spoke out against the current administration, yesterday. The waiver, if approved, would have enabled California to adopt its own strict curbs on greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.

California, home to six of the ten most polluted cities in the entire country, already has the most severe air quality problems in the nation. Yet, the EPA stated that because global warming is a worldwide problem, only national measures such as the energy bill signed by President Bush last month, could adequately address it.

Under the typically smoggy skies of Los Angeles, Sen. Barbara Boxer stated at a briefing with state officials at city hall that she would consider taking actions to reveal White House interference in the EPA’s decision to deny the waiver. California Attorney General Jerry Brown has already begun a law suit against the EPA in an effort to overturn their decision.

Link: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-epa11jan11,1,5236978.story