L.A. County’s food insecurity is not much different from that of the Golden State’s. A study published in September of this year by USC Dornsife found that 30% of Los Angeles County residents are faced with food insecurity, a 6% increase from the previous year. Last Saturday, November 18th, the Weingart East Los Angeles YMCA, a nonprofit organization with approximately 25 additional YMCA sister branches offered low-income families financial assistance with its 9th annual “Fiesta para La Comunidad” in the community of Boyle Heights.
Tag: LA
Posted inSocio Economic
Street vendors in Huntington Park ask for better regulations and treatment from the city
The average street vendor in LA makes $38,038, according to Comparably, a workplace and compensation monitoring employee review platform. This pay is 20% lower than the combined average salaries of other metropolitan regions like Boston, Dallas, or New York. On November 7, the Los Angeles Street Vendor Campaign, made up of organizations such as Community Power Collective, East LA Community Corporation, Inclusive Action for the City and Public Counsel, presented a public letter to the City of Huntington Park City Council advocating for street vendors in that city. “It has come to our attention that the City of Huntington Park is engaging in a concerning pattern of harassment and regulation of vending that is not permitted by California law. Multiple local vendors have reached out to LASVC seeking assistance with criminal citations they received for vending and the impounding of their vehicles,“ states the three-page letter.
Posted inOpinion
COLUMN: On Prosperity featuring Rebekka Ramirez
Rebekka Ramirez is a first time homebuyer in Whittier. She has good fortune conspiring for her on multiple fronts. The first was that her parents moved in with her father’s parents and offered to sell her the home where she was raised. The second was her husband partnered with her financially to facilitate the purchase of the home. The third, she said, was her faith. Adding them all up, she has been able to continue a tradition of homeownership that began with her Mexican grandmother from Nuevo León and continued with her father. She is also one of those rare examples in the Latina/o community that is benefitting from and continuing her family’s generational wealth via real estate. She is a third generation home owner.
Posted inAnti-Hate
The state-wide United Against Hate Week aims to raise awareness about hate and build healthier communities
The City of Los Angeles and the California Civil Rights Department are putting together a set of events to create awareness to the rise of hate and discrimination that have become a dangerous threat to safety and civility both locally and statewide. UAHW originated in 2017 as a poster campaign in Bay Area cities in response to white supremacist rallies that took place in North California cities like Berkeley and San Francisco. Today, UAHW has spread to about 90 organizations and cities across the country.
Posted inCulture
Día De Los Muertos, celebrated by many Latinos in LA, again takes center stage at La Placita Olvera
Olvera Street, also known as Placita Olvera, held a celebration for Día de los Muertos, spanning nine days from October 25th to November 2nd. The merchants of Olvera Street have held this celebration for over 30 years. It is believed that during the celebration of Día de los Muertos, the veil between the living and dead thins, allowing family members who have passed on to visit their loved ones.
Posted inGender
Anthony Ocampo, author of “Brown and Gay in L.A,” gets vulnerable about family and his journey of self-acceptance
thony Ocampo, the author of “Brown and Gay in L.A.: The Lives of Immigrant Sons,” recently spoke to CALÓ NEWS about his journey to self-acceptance. Today, Ocampo is a Professor of Sociology at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. He frequently writes on topics of immigration, gender and sexuality, and Latino-Asian identity.
Posted inRepresentation
Rico León, Denver-based realtor, contractor and host of HGTV’s “Rico to the Rescue”
Rico León, a Denver-based contractor, realtor and the star of HGTV’s “Rico to the Rescue,” understood just how deceiving real state contractors can be. With promises of supplying labor, materials and a quick fix, the contractor they hired had only one request: three-quarters of the reconstruction budget before starting. Shortly after receiving the money, the contractor disappeared. In addition to his construction company, León has his own podcast, GOAT Talk Radio, where he discusses, in-depth, the good and bad aspects of construction and gives homeowners and builders brutally honest advice, and Par 3 Productions, his own production company. He is also a business consultant for construction, emergency, restoration and roofing companies such as Grace Kennedy-Colorado Real Estate and Red Hawk Roofing.
Posted inOpinion
COMMENTARY: Is there a void in Latino leadership?
There will never be enough Latino representation in positions of power and our leaders will have flaws like all others. Much of how Latino leadership, in its representation praxis, is measured is merely on namesake, neighborhood identity, and of course physical phenotype and even the performance of Latinidad. Across the state, California is represented by one U.S. Latino Senator, Alex Padilla, but still continues to lack a front runner for governor and mayors across the state. There have been two Latino mayors in modern history, Antonio Villaraigosa and Eric Garcetti, who is half Mexican-American and half Jewish There were three Latino mayors in the 1800s.
What happens in the leadership pipeline that prevents more of Latino and Latina leaders especially in the state legislature from seeking higher office? Latinos make up more than a third of elected officials in the California legislature.
Posted inEducation
California community colleges celebrate 7th Annual Undocumented Student Action Week
The 7th Annual Undocumented Student Week of Action (USAW) got underway on October 16th, with a series of virtual and in-person workshops, webinars, and activities for students, faculty, staff, and administrators that focus on advocating and supporting undocumented students. In California alone, there are an estimated 94,030 undocumented students in higher education, approximately 49,704 of those students are DACA-Eligible. The “week of action” helps, ensure undocumented students can access the information, services, resources, and assistance they need. The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation, composed of 73 districts and 116 colleges serving 1.9 million students annually.
Posted inAnti-Hate
New “Come walk with me” mural in El Monte honors Latino community
A new report released in June by the office of California’s attorney general and the California Department of Justice stated that hate crimes in the state have had a 20% surge, from 1,763 hate crimes in 2021 to 2,120 in 2022. Latinos are of the group most targeted by hate. To uplift the Latino community and remind everyone that there is no space for hate in LA, the city of El Monte revealed “Come walk with Me,” a new mural.
Posted intechnology
TecoGuide app leverages technology to help first-generation Latinos enroll in college
TecoGuide is leveraging technology to assist non-traditional and first-generation Latino students in achieving academic success.For those seeking to return to higher education, TecoGuide includes information on more than 1,000 colleges and universities throughout the nation including opportunities to earn scholarships and financial aid assistance. For users who are still in high school, the app offers tips on how to write a college essay and prepare for the SAT and ACT exams.
Posted inAnti-Hate
Latino Media Collaborative’s anti-hate campaign, “Color y Raíces: Encara el Racismo,” aims to support Latinos in California
On Wednesday, the Latino Media Collaborative hosted a media briefing at its downtown Los Angeles offices to present initial findings and research of their anti-hate, multi-media campaign called “Color y Raíces: Encara el Racismo.” Arturo Carmona, LMC’s president and founder, said the campaign’s research began 8 months ago and originated after the LA City Hall scandal involving former Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez.