East County News Service

October 23, 2015 (San Diego) – Hurricane Patricia, described as a “potentially catastrophic hurricane” by the National Weather Service’s National Hurricane Center, is forecast to slam into the Pacific coast of Mexico later today.  With winds of 200  miles per hour, Hurricane Patricia is the strongest hurricane ever recorded by the center, which tracks all storms in North America.

CNN reports that 50,000 people have been evacuated along the Mexican coast, where a storm surge wave of 30 feet is expected to hit the Mexican state of Jalisco. The powerful storm is between Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco, about 85 miles southwest of Manzanillo Mexico and 155 miles south of Cabo Corrientes. Flights from San Diego and elsewhere in California into the region have been cancelled, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Newly Released Government Documents Reveal Critical Flaws in ICE Inspections Process, Show that the Obama Administration’s Reforms Fail to Fix Widespread Abuses

October 21, 2015 (San Diego)-- A new report, “Lives in Peril:  How Ineffective Inspections Make ICE Complicit in Immigration Detention Abuse” released today by the National Immigration Justice Center (NIJC) and Detention Watch Network (DWN), exposes how the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) inspections process for immigration detention centers obscures and perpetuates widespread abuses of detained immigrants.

East County News Service

October 14, 2015 (Sacramento)—Governor Brown has taken action on numerous crime-related bills as well as a measure banning concealed guns on college campuses.

The Governor vetoed 11 crime-related measures, objecting to the fact that each bill would “criminalize conduct that is already proscribed.”  Among the bills rejected was one that would have made it a felony to possess date-rape drugs with intent to commit a sexual assault.

A week after a gunman killed nine people at a college in Oregon, Brown signed into law a measure banning the carrying of concealed w4eapons on all school and university campuses in California, except when school officials have granted permission or if the carrier is retired from  law enforcement.

East County News Service

September 17, 2015 (Sacramento)--State officials gathered Tuesday at the El Soldado ("The Soldier") Memorial in the State Capitol Park to honor the sacrifices and contributions of Latino American Veterans.

To kick off National Hispanic Heritage Month, CalVet held a ceremony to honor the 296,000 Latino American Veterans who honorably defended our country in war and those who serve during times of peace. Latinos represent the highest number of Medal of Honor recipients per capita of any ethnic group. During World War II, about half a million Latinos served with distinction.

East County News Service

August 17, 2015 (Otay) –An agent from the U.S. Border Patrol found the body of a Hispanic man alongside a roadway in unincorporated San Diego County at 6 a.m. on the morning of August 12, 2015. “The man had been shot multiple times in the upper body and died as a result of his injuries,” said Lieutenant John Maryon with the Sheriff’s homicide detail.

Despite controversy over violent crimes, new immigrants commit crimes at lower rate than citizens, Pew Research finds

By Miriam Raftery

July 11, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – Congressman Duncan D. Hunter (R-Alpine) has announced plans to introduce a bill that would cut federal funds to any city, county or state that has enacted laws to prevent enforcement of federal immigration law, Times of San Diego reports.

The measure comes in response to the fatal shooting of Kate Steinle at the San Francisco waterfront by Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, an undocumented immigrant with five prior felony arrests. San Francisco, a sanctuary city, did not notify federal officials of Sanchez’s release despite pending deportation orders.  Mean while San Francisco’s mayor has announced plans to cooperate with the federal government for deportation of immigrants with a history of violent crimes—a small percentage of the total immigrant population.

June 25, 2015 (San Diego)--The San Diego Latino Film Festival has issued a call for entries for its 2016 event. The deadlines are September 11 for early entry, October 9 normal entry, and November 13, late entry. Entry fees range from $15-$25 for early entries up to $40-60 for late entries.

The 23^rd annual festival will be held March 10-20, 2016. The festival seeks entries for short films and feature films. Last year’s festival was attended by an audience of 21,500 actively-engaged film lovers, filmmakers, actors, programmers, distributors, industry representatives, and journalists.

May 16, 2015 (Jacumba) – A bridge over Interstate 8 near Jacumba has been renamed to honor Eric Norman Cabral, a Border Patrol Agent who died of a heart attack caused by heat exhaustion suffered while tracking a group of suspected undocumented immigrants in the area.

By Suzanne Porter, Public News Service

Photo credit: chilombiano/morguefile.com

April 22, 2015 (San Diego’s East County)--Over the past 30 years, the Latino population in the United States has risen by 243 percent. But during that same period, according to a UCLA study of census data, the number of Latino doctors has decreased 22 percent.

By Dennis Moore

April 16, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) - Nuria Garcia Arteaga, whom this writer had the honor of writing a review of her publication Love Marathon in the East County Magazine, has taken a long and circuitous route to attend and participate in the 20^th Annual Los Angeles Times “Festival of Books” at USC. She has traveled thousands of miles to showcase her artistry at this event. Now living in The Netherlands, but originally from Peru, this author and entertainer will bring to the “Festival of Books” a dazzling compilation of music and literature. Click to view.

Honored for Long Record Supporting Immigrants and Working Families

East County News Service

March 29, 2015 (San Diego)--  Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, a San Diego Democrat, was honored Thursday night with the Cesar Chavez Foundation’s Legacy Award for her career supporting immigrants and working families. In commemoration of Cesar Chavez Day, the awards are presented to those who exemplify excellence and unparalleled commitment to community empowerment and advocacy.

Love Marathon (“La marathon del amor”), by Nuria Garcia Arteaga (Smashwords, 2013)

Book Review by Dennis Moore

‘A writer does not learn how to write … a writer is born to tell stories’

March 15, 2015 (San Diego's East County) - Nuria Garcia Arteaga, this accomplished author and musician from Lima, Peru, now living in The Netherlands, has written and compiled a work of art that explores romance and intimacy; Love Marathon (“La maraton del amor”). Love Marathon is a trilogy that follows the lives of three women, Malucha, Maniro and Magnolia. The three women hail from disparate socioeconomic backgrounds and exemplify the novel’s epigraph: “Latin American women are like their nations, some self-destruct, others are destroyed and a few survive.” This trilogy of stories in Love Marathon; Between Drizzle and Hate, Menkori and Of Sun and Moon, captures the essence of human endeavor and frailty. The book is written in English and Spanish. Click to view video.

Valdez stars in Oedipus Rex,  running March 7-29

By Mimi Pollack

Photo by Daren Scott

March 6, 2015 (San Diego)--It couldn’t always have been easy growing up as part of “Chicano theater royalty” or a Latino dynasty, yet Lakin Valdez, son of Luis and Lupe Valdez, comes across with ease and grace. The youngest of three brothers, all of them working in various aspects of theater, film, and television, Lakin is unassuming, smart and thoughtful.

East County News Service

File photo by Karl W. Hoffman

February 18, 2015 (San Diego)—A ruling by a Texas judge that halts President Obama’s executive orders to protect many undocumented immigrants from being deported will directly impact half of the 181,000 undocumented immigrants living in San Diego County, according to the Migration Policy Institute.  The Institute, which is based in Washington D.C., estimates that 91,000 San Diegans would have been eligible to apply for protection from deportation.