Wednesday November 10, 2021
Serving The Rio Hondo Community
Vol.63 Issue 8
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El Paisano Takes the Win Again at JACC Jasmine Soria
Editor-In-Chief
jasmine.soria5406@my.riohondo.edu
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l Paisano Newspaper attended the JACC Fall Confernce this Nov. 5-7 via zoom and took home over 10 awards, placing in each category including Infographic, Opinion Writing, Copy Editing, and overall excellence in Magazine. The El Paisano Staff took home plenty of awards and dominated this years event. La Cima Magazine's, Editor-InChief, Raymond Luna won first place for the front cover along with Previous Digital Editor-InChief and Sports Editor, Mimi Castellanos placed top three under the editorial cartoon category.
During this weekends live contest, under strict deadline, Raymond Luna also won an award for Canva Inforgraphic along with Editor-In-Chief, Jasmine Soria. Ryan Leon, opinion editor, won the Opinion Writing category. Under the copy editing contest, Reporter Jeffrey Barragan, placed top three. A total of seven awards were taken home, all from the El Paisano Staff. “They were under tremendous pressure to meet deadlines and I am not surprised they pulled through. The team was prepared and what can I say, I am extremely proud of all my “kids” or as I am allowed to call them my ‘mijos’ and mijas’, said Advisor Wendy Carrera, they are all winners in my eyes, she added."
This year's conference was a three day event that included workshops, speakers, and roundtable discussions. These workshops were intended for students to learn more about the industry and how to implement new techniques in their journalistic carrer and schools newspaper/ journalism program. A few of the professionals and mentors included Paloma Esquivel from the LA Times, Mike Heistand from The Student Press Center, and Kim Komenich, a Pulitzer Prize Winner. A few of the workshops included were Opinion Writing Basics giving journalist tips on how to write opinion pieces along with not being afraid to let their voices be
heard. DACA recipient ,Andrea Lopez-Villafana, was this years keynote speaker. She told her story as a journalist and what it took her to achieve to become the Managing Editor of the Voice of San Diego. Editors and students from all over Southern and Northern California, joined together at the Student Meeting and Editor Roundtable to discuss their different struggles they may have, along with sharing their experiences and what works best for them. JACC strives for inclusivity and held Affinity Group meetings, including Asian, LatinX, Women, Black, and LGBTQ+ journalist. This allowed for an interactive disucssion sharing stories and resources.
Since UC/CSU applications are due this November, JACC brought in representavitves from San Francisco State, Humboldt State University, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Los Angeles, Cal State Northridge, San Jose State University, CalPoly San Luis Obispo, California Lutheran University, San Diego State University, Fresno State, and Chico State University, to help students if they had any questions about the school, their programs or transferring. The entire conference was full of resources and discussions for all young journalists to begin their carrers. This years sponsors included CAMAYAK and SNO Sites.
Infographic by Raymond Luna
Photo by Raymond Luna
On the Spot Winners Infographic: Jasmine Soria Raymond Luna Opinion Writing: Ryan Leon Copy Editing: Jeffrey Barragan Magazine: Raymond Luna *A Few of our Award Winning Samples Infographic by Jasmine Soria
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Wednesday November 10, 2021
Front Cover by Raymond Luna
Magazine Excellence
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Spokane Father Admits Murder for Daughter's Sex Trafficker John T. Rodriguez
News/Photo Editor
john.rodriguez5769@my.riohondo.edu
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ohn Eisenman, a 60 year old father who is accused with first degree murder. Homicide detectives arrested Eisenman in Airway Heights last year, according to court records. Eisenman claims that he had resucre his teen daughter from sex trafficing in Seattle. Furthermore, he also claims that he killed her boyfriend. The case had broken out in the middle of October when residents in the area noticed an abandoned car in the area of East Everett Avenue. People began rummaging through the unlocked 1991 green Honda Accord, police stated. Police had gone on and said that people were also complaining about the strong odor that the car had. It wasn’t until someone had opened the trunk of the Accord, and when a body was found the person called the police. One of the officers in the scene had stated that the interior of the car was covered in mold. Brenda Kross was the name that was registered on the car, therefore the police tried to contact Kross. However According to court documents, her phone wasn’t accepting calls. Officers later identified the body of Andrew Sorenson, 20, that was inside the aban-
doned car. Sorenson’s ankles and hands had been zipped tied, and tape over his mouth according to court documents. The clothes that Sorenson was wearing had puncture marks, suggesting he had been stabbed multiple times. The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s office is pending Sorenson’s cause of death and matter. Police had continued to try and get in contact with Kross before going to her house. Eisenman, her fiance, had answered the door. According to court documents Eisenman stated to the police the car had been stolen. Police spoke with Kross a few days later and stated that their underage daughter had been sex trafficed in Seattle on October 2020 by her boyfriend. Both Eisenman and Kross drove to Seattle the same month and rescued her daughter. According to the police, Sorenson had no adult criminal history in Washington State. Just a couple of days after police had spoken with Eisenman and Kross, a neighbor had called and Crime Check saying Eiseman had disclosed killing someone and putting someone in the trunk of a car. Eisenman had even spoken about how Sorenson was placed in the trunk in deep detail to his neighbor. When the police arrested Eisenman on, he confessed to
killing Sorenson. Moments after Eisenman saved his daughter, he learned that Sorenson would be at a certain spot at a specific time. Just before Sorenson was tied up and put in the trunk of the Accord, Eisenman confronted Sorenson in November 2020. Eisenman threw a cinder block at Sorenson's head and stabbed him multiple times before abandoning the car to a remote area in North Spokane County. The Washington State Patrol reported Sorenson missing that month. Almost one year later the car had remained at the remote location. It wasn’t until an unknown individual drove it to Spokane, leaving the accord on Everett Avenue. Police do not believe that the person who drove the car had an idea that Sorenson's dead body was in the trunk. One million dollars is what Eisenman’s bond is priced at. John Eisenman’s story had gone viral on social media. About thousands of dollars were donated to the original GoFundMe page, which was not long before it was taken down. There is over $54,000 for John Eisenman’s legal fund on a Christian crowdfunding GiveSendGo site at the moment. The campaign was created by his step daughter, Ashleye Kross.
The Arts Student Success Jonathon Carmona
Sci. & Tech Editor
C
jonathon.carmona9046@my.riohondo.edu
reativity is the love child of emotion and time.
The Arts are for those who do not accept the norm. For those who dare to create. Unafraid of being accepted, unafraid of showing their side of
the story. From Animation and Graphic Design to Dance, Music, and Theatre, the Arts Student Success Team can help you paint the picture you have envisioned. “We meet the needs of those wishing to create, consume, document, or analyze the arts,” a quote taken directly from the Guided Pathways website.
The Arts Student Success team consists of seven members. With two counselors, an Arts Clerk, an Arts Secretary, a Success Coach, a Librarian, and Dean Grant Linsell, this team is always ready to create. They will be your guides through the space that is the Arts at Rio Hondo.
are offered in the Arts as well. Maybe you’re an up and coming musical artist and you just want to learn how to make music? There are Music Composition, Music Production, and Music Engineering certificates ready to be earned. With the help of the student success team, you can get
Rio Hondo offers many degrees in Arts from an AA in Animation to either an AA for Transfer or a AS in Theatre Arts. If you’d like to know the difference between the two, contact the team. It really could be as simple as asking a question, the Arts Student Success team is here to help you create a future for yourself. If a degree is not what you’re after, many certificates
started on that path and stay on it, creating the painting that is your career. Perhaps you have a business and you’re looking to really start building a strong foundation? Ask your student success team about certificates in Advertising Design, Branding Identity, Packaging Design, or Website Design. These certificates would Continued on pg.2 ▶
The Biden Bill Lorenzo Arce Digital EIC
lorenzo.arce1393@my.riohondo.edu
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n November 5, Joe Biden’s proposed infrastructure plan finally passed after months of deliberation in congress with bipartisan support. According to The Wall Street Journal, the bill passed 228-206, with the approval of 13 Republicans but with the disapproval of six progressive Democratic members.
The $1.2 trillion in government aid will modernize the country’s overall infrastructure, including public transportation, bridges, roads, airports, and rail systems. The plan will also devote over $200 billion towards clean drinking water, power grid infrastructure, water storage in the west, and pollution removal. Also of note is the $17 billion going towards port infrastructure. The nation’s seaports have been backed up due to labor shortages caused by the pandemic. At Saturday morning’s press conference, the light-hearted Biden said, “Finally, infrastructure week…I'm so happy to say that: infrastructure week.” The six Democrats who opposed Biden’s bill were members of the progressive subgroup known as “The Squad.”
Including Jamaal Bowman, Cori Bush, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna S. Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib. They argued the bill was not large enough to compensate for the environmental toll of construction that the project will undertake. They are also concerned the passage of this bill will hinder any future hopes of a bigger bill since the moderates are content with this one. Initially, most progressives
sided with “The Squad” and their grievances but eventually decided to support the bill. Biden also hopes to pass a scaled-down version of his “Build Back Better” plan. The $1.75 billion plan would address social issues and climate reform of the United States. These include universal pre-K, affordable healthcare, and lowered prescription drug cost. Biden’s initial $3.5 trillion plan would have addressed free community college for two years, but progressive and conservative senators opposed the plan. The climate change funding clause was also significantly scaled back. Most of the opposition came from moderate Democrats Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz. and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.
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Wednesday November 10, 2021
Astroworld Tragedy Gabrielle Ortiz
Lifestyles Editor/A&E co Editor gabrielle.ortiz3320@my.riohondo.edu
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inutes before the main event at Travis Scott’s Astroworld, a crowd surge began and pushed thousands of people towards the front of the stage where Scott was due to perform. Fans were swaying left and right, back and forth, with little to no room to move. They were compacted within the barricades, and those along the edges were pushed against railings. The two day sold out festival was so packed that concert-goers were unable to breathe in the crowd. This left many fans to eventually pass out and fall to the ground, where they were trampled or stepped on. Fans pleaded with staff and camera crews to stop the show, but no efforts were made. Scott paused at one moment to shine light on an
◀ Continues from pg.2 be tools helping you build that foundation, helping it and you withstand any cracks that may come. The Arts Area of Interest has tons to offer. The opportunities to create a career in this field are endless, and if you’re a little lost, then the student success team for Arts can help guide you to road less traveled. By offering their full support and guidance, the student success team helps walk you through the college world so you can move on and create for others. The goals you have in mind can be achieved. With persistence, time, and a great team of support, anything is
possible. Art is more than just one concept, its a conglomerate of creative activities that can take you to heights never seen or allows you release emotions not felt. Being able to create an opportunity for yourself and get a support system at the same time is what you have with the student success teams. If you are connected to Arts or just want to create something to call your own, the Arts Student Success Team can help guide you down the pathway. With opportunities at your fingertips, you can visit pathways. riohondo.edu, the new and improved Guided Pathways website and join a team thats going to look out for your success.
individual who had lost consciousness in the crowd. He resumed the performance shortly after, and neglected to stop despite the chanting to stop the show. Approximately 300 people were injured and treated on scene, but 25 were taken to the hospital to be treated for their injuries. 5 of the 25 people hospitalized are under the age of 18. The tragic incident was preventable. The poor planning and lack of crowd control all contributed to the unruly crowd. The anticipation of crowd surges, also known as “crowd crushes”, and having an adequate amount of staff and emergency personnel on festival grounds would have made all the difference during the event. Event promoters, the facility hosting the event, and the artists involved are responsible for the actions of the crowd. Homicide and narcotics teams
are now assisting in the investigation, due to the fact that a security officer had to be revived with a dose of Narcan after being injected with an unknown substance. Travis Scott, whose real name is Jacques Webster, has been arrested twice for inciting the chaos at his 2015 Astroworld Festival, and in 2017 at a performance in Arkansas. At the 2021 Astroworld Festival fences were pushed down, and a stampede of eager fans rushed to the front of the stage. The second day of the festival was cancelled due to the chaos and tragedy of the first day. Multiple lawsuits have been filed against the team and promoters who organized the event. Scott has made a public statement regarding Friday’s events, however he has deleted tweets about encouraging fans to sneak into shows and rage at his shows.
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Lost Media and The Community That Finds It Brandon R amirez Opinion Co-Editor
brandon.ramirez3017@my.riohondo.edu
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he Lost Media Wiki (LMW) is a near decade long community preservation project. The “about us” section of the website describes LMW as “a community passion project where we detail and attempt to track down (at least,
the general public, it belongs here”. The Lost Media Wiki was founded by user Dycaite in Nov. of 2012. Eventually moving from it’s original Wikia to an independent host. The website itself hosts a massive repository of searches in various levels of completion, and found preserved media. The subjects of these searches span decades and across all forms of media.
meitonJorge amass millions of views from videos covering lost media subjects. Great effort is put into the searches, with the stories surrounding searches being just as captivating as the lost works themselves. For the unfamiliar, lost media is essentially just that. It’s media that is either completely lost or widely unavailable, as specified in the LMW about us.
Illustration Courtesy of Via The Lost Media Wiki
Big Via The Lost Media Wiki Any comic fan knows the controversy of Batman: A Death In The Family and the death of then Robin Jason Todd. The character's fate was left up to a vote, where fans voted for him to die. There does exist some form of alternative comic and its the subject of one of LMW's searches.
in most cases) pieces of lost or hard to find media; whether it be video, audio or otherwise (of either a fictional or non-fictional nature), if it's completely lost or simply inaccessible to
The community around LMW has grown a lot since its inception. Lost media as a topic has gone from relatively niche to gaining widespread popularity. YouTube channels like Bla-
This could be anything from a TV show to a song or even an internet series, such as the recent topic for a BlameitonJorge video. Oftentimes some of the more popular searches come
with interesting (or creepy) stories attached to them. While it may be hard to believe, a good amount of widely known (and mostly found) lost media searches started because someone had been bothered by memories too vivid and specific for a fever dream. But, too odd and obscure for a simple Google search. According to founder Dycaite, a large amount of lost media comes from both the Internet and commercials. When asked what forms of media are most often lost, he replied “Internet media by far, just because of the massive scale of the content constantly passing through YouTube's servers and whatnot before much of it is inevitably deleted, day by day. But I would also add commercials to that list; a lot of people don't tend to hold commercials in the same regard as the shows they bookend when it comes to archival”. Dycaite went on to give the example of a personal search, “there is a 2007 Australian ad I have been searching for for months, but have not been able to find; not really that old in the grand scheme of things, but because nobody really thought of it as being valuable to archive, it's not available. Of course, some of these lost ads are sitting unnoticed in commercial compilations on YouTube and such, but it's just such a vast field with so much content produced every year, and it's all treated rather ephemerally compared to other forms of media”. Dycaite went on to offer some insight on the growth of popularity of lost media as a subject and how it’s affected LMW. “As with any big or growing online group... Fandoms, what-
ever you wanna call them -- the percentage of troublemakers is just naturally going to rise with that growth, no matter how good of an admin/mod team you have. And that has proven true a few times, with people trying to make hoax pieces of lost media and things like that, spreading misinformation. But nothing that has been too damaging in the grand scheme of things. At the same time, having more eyes on us has definitely helped get certain pieces found or, at the very least, given some pieces a lot more exposure and likely sped up the process of them being potentially found. It’s a double edged sword, but one that I feel has benefited us more than it has hindered us, so… Can't complain.” He closed out the interview with the message, “we're always happy to have more people in the community, so, we'd love for anyone who is interested to come by and check out the Wiki at lostmediawiki. com and to maybe even join the Discord or Forums (links can be found on the Wiki's right sidebar, just so everyone knows) if they'd like to participate in the searches and discussions. We also have a collaborators section on the homepage where we work with some of the best lost media talents on YouTube today, so I’d highly encourage people to check out their content if they haven’t already”. With the massive proliferation of new interest and people to the topic of lost media, the prospects for media preservation are better than ever before. Whereas in decades past analog media was often overwritten, the Internet has created a new avenue for the preservation of many different forms of media and art as a whole.
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Wednesday November 10, 2021
What to Expect in the Latest Animal Crossing Update M adeline Torres A&E Co-Editor
madeline.torres3722@my.riohondo.edu
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he biggest, latest, and sadly final update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons was released November 4th, originally scheduled for the 5th. Many Animal Crossing fans were ecstatic, to say the least when hearing about the update release. Though, many were sad when Nintendo also mentioned that this update would be the final update for the game. The five-series game revolves around the main player starting on an empty island and must complete tasks to help build the island. For every Animal Crossing game, the role of the main player is always in charge. For example, in Animal Crossing: New Leaf the main player is the mayor and in Animal Crossing: New Horizons players are playing the role of the island's resident representative. When first starting the game, there will already be residents there looking for a place to stay. Also living on the island is Tom Nook the tanuki who is a shop owner and a real estate broker. Tom Nook sells items and furniture to help the players progress in the game as well as giving the players loans to upgrade their houses and build other establishments. Throughout the game,
nal update will not be the final content for Animal Crossing. Along with the new update, Nintendo also released Happy Home Paradise DLC for Animal Crossing: New Horizons. This paid DLC allows players to travel and design holiday homes for villagers in the game. This DLC lets players be more creative in designing
or sugarcane to make certain dishes. When whipping up these dishes, instead of using a workshop players will need to use a stonework kitchen. The cooking recipes are about 2,000 nook miles along with an app upgrade. Farming In addition to creating
Madeline Torres for El Paisano Media
Animal Crossing: New Horizons was released March 20th, 2020. The social simulation game created by Nintendo, brings the players onto a deserted island filled with cute silly animals that are the residents. As the main character, players must complete tasks, build relationships with the villagers, and help create a friendly community on the island. As the resident representative, it is the players job to make sure the island is decorated, clean, and all the residents there are taken care of!
both interior and exterior. Buying Happy Home Paradise also unlocks more house designing techniques that can be used in the holidays homes and the players own homes. To buy the DLC, it can
Madeline Torres for El Paisano Media
In the game, players can go fishing, dig for money, or run around catching insects. New Horizons is filled with so many activities and chores for the players to complete. There are also special events that take place in the game like; fishing events, firework shows, and insect catching events. The game also haves specials events taken place during holidays so players can enjoy celebrating the holidays in the game!
players will be able to progress by unlocking new items, inviting more residents to the island, and discovering more about what the game has in store. The Animal Crossing series has come so far developing so much throughout the years! Many fans were loving the new content that Nintendo has included in New Horizons making the game one of the highest-grossing digital premium games. A lot of Animal Crossing lovers are hoping that the fi-
the update. For anyone who is wanting to know more, here's a more in-depth look at the update! Characters In the 2.0 update, a lot of fan-favorite characters made a return to the game all appearing on Harv’s island. You can find Leif, Katrina, Harriet, and other characters there
either be purchased on Nintendo eShop or My Nintendo Shop for $24.99. Another way is buying the Nintendo Online Switch membership for either family or individual along with the expansion pack. An individual membership costs $49.99 for 12 months and the family membership costs $79.99 for 12 months. The New Horizons updates include returning characters, more island customizations, and more furniture and other items. That's only a small fraction of what is included in
giving haircuts, selling their items, or telling players their fortunes in the new marketplace located on the island. Many of these characters were in previous Animal Crossing games so it was only right to continue including the iconic characters. To build the marketplace and bring all the old characters back, players have to complete tasks and drop some bells. Of course, any hardcore fan would know that that isn’t anything new to them. Many fans were especially excited for Blather's good pal, Brewster. Brewster runs the cafe located in the museum, players can stop by to grab some coffee and chit-chat with any other villgers there. One day, Blathers will be in deep thought and bring up the idea of opening up a cafe. Players will get the opportunity to invite Brewster onto the island and invest in building the cafe. Delicious Recipes Players can now put their kitchen furniture to good use and make some yummy meals! At the island's local Nook Shop, cooking recipes can be bought from there and added to their DIY recipes. Some recipes include; Cupcakes, bread, tomato curry, and smoothies. Finally, villagers and players will no longer have to keep eating their island's native fruit! The recipes are quite realistic too, players have to gather resources like wheat
delicious dishes, farming was added into the game bringing a whole new experience to the players. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the first out of all the Animal Crossing games to have farming in it. Players can grow various types of vegetables and use them for cooking recipes. Island Ordinances As the resident representative, it’s important to make sure the villagers on the island are living in a clean, friendly environment. In the update, island ordinances are brought back into the game with the same four options. This was big in the previous game, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, players would enact any ordinance that they felt would help satisfy and better their island. The ordinance includes; Beautiful Island Ordinance, Early Bird Ordinance, Night Owl Ordinance, and Bell Boom Ordinance. To enforce any of these it will cost 20,000 bells
so it is important to make the right choice when deciding which one to enact. Island Tours Every players's favorite transportation host, Kapp’n makes a return allowing players to hop on his boat and discover new islands. For 1,000 nook miles, you can travel to islands that are completely different from the ones players have visited from dodo airlines. Rare items like star fragments or rare valuable moss can be found in these new islands. On the way to the islands, Kapp’n will entertain the players by singing some tunes. Players can clap along to the song and can be given gifts if they express shock when Kapp’n finishes his song. Quality Time As if there was already so much to do with villagers, the update added more activities to do with villagers on the island. Players can now host a yoga session inviting all villagers to come to participate. There’s a tape deck in front of the services resident building to assemble to group stretch. This new feature also invites those playing to participate in the session in real life! Using the joy-con, players can follow the stretches in their homes. Nothing strenuous, but it's a great way to involve some movement during the player's gaming time. Villagers from the island can now drop by players’ homes and hang out with them. Players can play silly games with villagers and have fun light-hearted conversations with the them. Those who have already started playing with the update have noticed that villagers have more cute interactions! The list goes on and on for this big update but these were just some of the biggest update additions. Many fans were happy for this update and that all the big and little additions in the update made Animal Crossing: New Horizons ten times better!
Madeline Torres for El Paisano Media
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is currently the fifth game in the Animal Crossing series. The first Animal Crossing game, Animal Forest, was released in 2001 in Japan. Every game released after that has been for every Nintendo console. The series has been successful selling over 60 million units worlwide.
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The Nature of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot Jonathon Carmona
Science & Tech Editor
jonathon.carmona9046@my.riohondo.edu
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n area that can fit three whole Earth-sized planets inside of it is almost impossible to comprehend. Almost, since we can see an area like that by looking through a telescope pointed towards a bunch of gas. The planet Jupiter is mostly known for being the biggest planet in our solar system but there’s more to it than just size. The gas giant has a big red spot on it, sort of like a pimple. However, like a pimple, it doesn’t take away from its overall beauty. The real substance lies in whats going on with that big red spot. Recently, NASA’s Juno Spacecraft recorded some interesting data from its trip to Jupiter. For those of you who don’t know, Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is actually a huge storm
thats been going on for hundreds of years now, potentially longer. The storm is actually the largest in our solar system as well and produces winds up to 268 mph. Despite the storm’s long history, scientists are discovering more about the planet now than ever before. The Juno Spacecraft has been orbiting Jupiter since 2016. The data gathered has contained details about Jupiter’s atmosphere, interior structure, internal magnetic field, and the Great Red Spot. Juno has been quite busy. Last week, it was discovered that the Great Red Spot runs deep into Jupiter. Deeper than the Earth’s Mariana Trench, the big storm on Jupiter goes 350 to 500 kilometers deep and spans 16,000 kilometers wide. To help a bit, that means about 217 to 311 miles deep and about 9,941 miles wide. Driving in that storm
would be chaotic to say the least. “Jupiter works in this mysterious way that we're sort of revealing for the first time because this is the first mission that's been able to look inside the planet,” said Scott Bolton, who is a Lead scientist from Southwest Research Institute. Dr. Bolton also mentioned that based on how Earth behaves, and previous model-building, scientists previously thought that the storm was a shallow one. Now, thanks to spacecraft Juno and an instrument called a microwave
radiometer, we see that is not the case. The microwave radiometer allows scientists to discover what’s beneath the surface clouds of Jupiter and learn the behavior of the storms that lie within the gas planet. The info coming from Juno doesn’t seem to be stopping either. The more time the spacecraft spends out in space, the more opportunities it has to discover the unknown. Knowing this, NASA has extended Juno’s mission by four years until the year 2025. This means Juno will have the opportunity to
pass by Jupiter’s large moons, Europa and Io. NASA plans for the spacecraft to also venture towards Jupiter’s rings and explore them. Jupiter being the largest planet in our solar system raises enough eyebrows as it is. With it also holding the title for the biggest storm in our solar system, there is no telling what else could be out there. The Juno Spacecraft has four more years of discovery left, maybe it’ll find some new life. All alone out there in space, Juno can see anything.
Graphic by Jonathon Carmona for El Paisano Media
Jupiter's Great Red Spot is actually a huge storm, one thats been going on for centuries. The mysteries that still lie within our solar system are starting to unravel. Sooner rather than later, we might discover something bigger.
First Block of Whittier Blvd. Cleanup Michael Martinez Contributor
michael.martinez5980@my.riohondo.edu
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irst Blocks of Whittier Blvd When you drive through Boyle Heights you see filth upond filth which seems to be a trash city where residents are a victim of illegal dumping, with a massive homeless crisis. It has been a filth for countless years, it seems there is no change in sight. No help from city officials such as LA Mayor Eric Garcetti as well as the councilmember Kevin De Leon in charge of district 14, cities include Boyle Heights, Downtown, Eagle Rock, Highland Park, El Sereno, Garvanza, Glassell Park, Lincoln Height, and Monterey Hills. Residents are tired of the neglect they are facing on a daily basis seeing no help in sight and are literally drowning in the city's filth. Four residents were tired of the neglect and decided to action into their own hands to start a community clean up group called “First Blocks of Whittier Blvd” Veta Gashgai, Barbara Martinez, Jacobo Estrada, and Jose Rodriguez are founder of the group which is grassroot and started by simply sweeping along sidewalk and storm drain, to make their streets a little more cleaned. They started in February 2020 and now have done a total of 30 clean ups and picked up 200,000 pounds of trash within
a year. According to Rodriguez “We learn as we try, also giving back to our community, making a difference is the main thing.”
Leon for the past year sending over 500 emails to his staff but only to get no response, all though the group sees the
help from our leaders, it is nice seeing that no matter what, the community always finds a way to make things happen.” What
A recent report done by Los Angeles City Controller Ron Galperin. He indicates a rise of 450% in illegal dumping of debris and hazardous items in public areas from 2016 to 2020. Even though having the community support is great the city officials need to take responsibility and start taking action. According to the group they have been trying to get ahold of Councilmember De
councilmember supporting other cleaning groups in other cities and not acknowledging First Blocks of Whittier Blvd. Gashgai states “We have to keep pushing because it’s the only way we will see change in our community. If we are able to do this, so can the city, as ugly as it is to see our neighborhoods trashed and receive little to no
the city is facing is a systematic neglect. It seems as no one is stepping up city street trash cans are filling up and overflowing onto the streets, bus stops are covered with disgusting floors that are full of trash, bird poop, and urine. Martinez states “The community was not like this before it was so beautiful, as the city is growing becoming more diverse which
is great, politicians are gentrifying and neglecting us. Also it appears they are not working for the people.” Lastly Estrada stated “ I thought the trash here in Boyle Heights was normal, I grew up with all this filth, as I got older seeing how other cities were clean I began to notice this was a problem.” Main streets in Boyle Heights which some include Whittier Blvd, Soto st, Lorena st do not get street sweeping which has been over 40 years simply because most of the houses do not have driveways or garages, and are unable to move their car due to compact streets with tons of cars. The idea that the group wanted was to have the city do a ground crew street sweeping and have city workers sweeping along parked cars to keep the main street clean, adding addition trash cans along main street calling for daily trash pick up of trash along the street, having a patrol for illegal dumping adding a ticket for violators as well as getting resources for the unhoused residents along the streets. As the group continues to move forward to get more acknowledgement from local residents they are also trying to educate residents about illegal dumping, and if they are simply trying to get rid of furniture they would either call 311 or download the app to request a pick up.
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Wednesday November 10, 2021
EDITORIAL
Accountability in Decision Making Ryan Leon
Opinion Co-Editor
ryan.leon7365@my.riohondo.edu
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uring her keynote speech at the JACC Fall 2021 Virtual Conference, the newly appointed Managing Editor of Voice of San Diego, Andrea Lopez-Villafaña brought up a very interesting issue that is going on in the world today: holding people in positions of power accountable for their actions. This is an issue that is important for everyone to think about. Decisions are an important part in everyone’s lives. Sometimes, it can be difficult to know if the decision being made is good or bad. If it leads to negative results, then should the person who made that decision be held accountable? Hopefully, this idea will expand to places beyond San Diego because it is important to know exactly why people in positions of power make certain decisions. Sometimes, a big decision can change things for the better. However, if it is something that will cause outrage, positivity won’t always be the case. For example, vaccine mandates are currently being rolled out in cities across the United States in an effort to combat COVID-19. This decision is good in that it will allow less people to contract the coronavirus and limit its spread. Consequently though, it has been met with extreme backlash. Many individuals are upset about this decision and feel it is costing jobs and going against constitutional rights. Although the decision to enforce vaccine mandates is for a good cause, it’s easy to understand why so many are against it. If riots and chaos were to break out as a result, then who would be held accountable? In the case of this event, many people would be injured or even killed. Property would be damaged, and someone would be left having to clean up the mess caused by the destruction. That would not be good for anyone, let alone the people involved. So, it would be highly comforting to know that someone would be held accountable for this kind of decision making. “A big focus of ours is to do a lot of investigative work and really hold people in power accountable for their decisions,” said Villafaña. The fact that Villafaña and her team strive to make this a regular form of work is highly respectable; and this ideology is something that everyone should follow. People in positions of power should be held accountable for their decisions, and if more journalists follow Villafaña’s message, then it will be much easier to accomplish.
Marvel's Eternals Review Ryan Leon
Opinion Co-Editor
ryan.leon7365@my.riohondo.edu
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arvel Studios’ “Eternals” premiered Nov. 5, 2021, and is the latest addition in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film opens with the Eternals getting ready to go on some kind of mission. This is where our new heroes are introduced in epic style. Not much is revealed at first, so you’re left wondering what’s going on exactly. This is a good thing because for fans of Marvel like me, things are kept fresh and interesting. Upon seeing the Eternals
for the first time, I found myself incredibly immersed in the things they were doing on screen. Even though their powers are similar to other fictitious characters, it was still very entertaining to see a character with superhuman speed dart around a battlefield and someone with superhuman strength shoot laser beams out of their eyes. This is a perfect segue into the film’s action scenes, and there is no shortage of them. The action is directed fairly well; not as well as other films in the MCU, but well enough to still be entertaining. The way the camera follows certain characters around as they’re
Image courtesy of Disney
Marvel's Eternals premiered on Nov. 5, 2021 and is the newest film to be incorporated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Taking place throughout many different eras, this next addition sets up events that will change the future of the MCU in exciting ways.
Ryan Leon
through buildings, the sounds of every impact are very realistic. My favorite sound in the entire film has to be the buzz of laser beams that fire out of the eyes of Madden’s Ikaris. So, it’s safe to say the film’s sound is just as good as its visuals. Now, on top of the pros in the film, there are some flaws as well. One of them being an overabundance of comedy. Don’t get me wrong, I love comedy in movies when used sparingly and at the right time, but “Eternals” relies on it too much. Especially with Nanjiani’s character Kingo. There are a few jokes that caused the occasional chuckle but for the most part, they fell flat. Another is how events in the story felt all over the place. The film takes place in many different moments in time, so it forces you to retain information that has happened centuries apart while also trying to keep track of present events. I understand why it’s structured that way, but it kind of made it hard to keep up at times. Overall, “Eternals” is a good movie that many fans will enjoy. Especially because of an end credits scene that will excite many more.
PlayStation 5: One Year Later
Opinion Co-Editor
ryan.leon7365@my.riohondo.edu
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fighting feels really smooth. Each frame flows seamlessly into the next which is a plus for the film’s editing because camera cuts never felt jarring. As for the acting, everyone does a really good job of bringing their respectable characters to life. Most notably Chan and Madden. The chemistry they shared on screen together was honestly pretty wonderful to see. One scene in particular showed just how powerful some actors can make a relationship between two characters feel. “Eternals” is also beautiful. Each location brings something pleasing to the eye no matter how dark or light the setting. The cinematography in every scene captures some great visuals that makes this one of Marvel’s better-looking movies. Also, the visual effects are still as good as ever. If there’s one thing you can count on when seeing a Marvel movie, it’s fantastic looking visuals. From every wave of energy that causes ripples in the air, to the destruction of a building, “Eternals” delivers. Of course, you can’t have amazing visuals without great sound design to accompany them. When characters fly
ov. 12, 2021, marks the one-year anniversary of the PlayStation 5 console's release. The PS5 has had an outstanding first year, and it seems like it's only going to get better. It has become Sony’s fastest selling PlayStation and is on track to outsell the PS4. With thousands of video game options to choose from, the PS5 is the best place to play. However, over the course of its first year, the PS5 hasn’t had many true exclusive titles to warrant the purchase of the console just yet. It does have more than the PS4 did back in its 2013 release, but that’s mainly because of the crossgeneration system Sony started off with. Titles such as “Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales,” and “Sackboy: A Big Adventure,” were both cross-generation games. Meaning they released on the PS4 and the PS5 simultaneously. On top of this, more PS5 titles that have yet to be released are doing the same thing. “Horizon Forbidden West,” which is slated to release on Feb. 18, 2022, will be a crossgen title too. Along with the highly anticipated “God of War Ragnarök” that will come out sometime in 2022. This is due to the 100 million plus number of PS4s that have been sold over
the course of its existence. However, there will come a time when Sony commits to the sole distribution of exclusive PS5 games. Although there have been limited true PS5 exclusive games during its first year, all of them have provided top-tier experiences. Even the crossgeneration ones. Sony has been knocking it out of the park with their exclusive games over the years; and it looks like that’s a trend that isn’t going to end anytime soon. The recently announced “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2” and “Marvel’s Wolverine” (both created by developer Insomniac Games) have been confirmed to be PS5 only titles. Those won’t be seen until 2023 and beyond, but it’s exciting to know that one of Sony's first party studios is working hard to bring more next-gen games to its consumers. Besides Insomniac Games, other first party developers are working on projects that haven't even been announced yet. Studios like Sucker Punch, Naughty Dog, Bluepoint Games, and more, have seen massive success from their previous titles; so their next annoucements will surely bring even more hype. One year later, the PS5 is still the best way to play video games. The experiences that have already been had in one year have been a blast, and it feels like Sony is just getting started.
Photo by Ryan Leon for El Paisano Media Released on Nov. 12, 2020, the PS5 remains in high demand due to it being incredibly difficult to purchase. A worldwide chip shortage is making it challenging for Sony to produce more of these critically acclaimed and seemingly rare gaming consoles.
Photo by Ryan Leon for El Paisano Media The glowing blue lights on the PlayStation 5 signify the beginning of great experiences that will always keep gamers entertained.
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Women's Soccer Sucessful Season Earns Them Top Bragging Rights Noah Segovia
Sports Co-Editor
noah.segovia5186@my.riohondo.edu
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he Rio Hondo Women’s Soccer Program was dominant in all aspects of the game this season. These ladies understood that each game was a challenge and they were making the most of it with an overall record of 13-1-1 , #3 ranked NJCAA Division 3 Women’s Soccer team in the state, and a first place record of 8-0-1 in the South Coast North Division to add to their resume for the season. Just last week, on November 2nd, the Lady Roadrunners defeated Mt. San Antonio College to capture their fourth SCC North Division Championship in the past 4 to 5 seasons under Coach Tanaka. The championship was a nail-biting game with a scoreless draw of 0-0 but Rio Hondo prevailed in the point standings ending the season with 25 points. Now that the team has a SCC North Division Championship and an undefeated conference record under their belt to end the season, they now can turn their attention to the SCC Conference tournament and CCCAA playoffs in the next few weeks. Their entire roster is full of first and second year players that are young, thriving and playing excellent soccer this season along with a great team chemistry on and off the field. Coach Tanaka (on overlooked players) “ One of the important things about hugely successful
teams, are the players who don’t show up in the stats. These are the ones who we always depend on to be solid day in and day out.” The overlooked players like Defenders, Midfielders, and GoalKeeper #1 Daniella Marin, #21 Brianna Valdez, #23 Alessandra Ramirez, #4 Julie Krantz, and #17 Kristen Salguero, all put their stamp on the defensive side of the ball and had 7 shoutouts this season . One player to keep in mind right now and in the future, is freshman phenom Forward #13 Alexis Macias. She has been on fire, rolling through the competition this season so far with state leading 30, 11 team assists, 71 points with 7 game-winning goals to add to her collegiate career. As well as, Forward #6 Jackie Marin, being in second in team points with 19 points, Forwards, Defenders, and Midfielders #21 Ashely Vera, #18 Raeanne Jones, #11 Aunsia Morales, #8 Alice Hendernandez, and #24 Camila Garcia, all sharing the touches on the offensive of the ball. Also, Coach Tanaka, emphasizes the team will be focused and prepared to play their best soccer yet heading into the SCC Conference tourmanent on Tuesday, November 9th. If the roadrunners advance to the SCC Championship or the third place game, well you are in luck! On Friday November 12th, at El Camino College on the pitch depending on the COVID -19 restrictions.
CourtesyCoach Tanaka For Rio Hondo Women's Soccer
#8 Alice Hernandez is anticipating a pass from #24 Camila Garcia as she breaks away from the defender.
Courtesy of Coach Tanaka For Rio Hondo Women's Soccer
#21 Ashley Vera having control of the ball as she breaks away from the defender.
Coach Tanaka For Rio Hondo Women's Soccer #2 Brianna Valdez, #11 Aunsia Morales, #24 Camila Garcia embracing one another after a goal.
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Wednesday November 10, 2021
Formula 1 Mexico Grand Prix Fernando Ramos
Sports Executive Editor
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fernando.ramos9660@my.riohondo.edu
he 2021 Formula 1 Grand Prix will be a day to remember for Red Bull and for Mexico, as Sergio “Checo” Perez became the first driver to place in the podium in Mexico City. Max Versstappen won first place with a time of 1:38:39 as he won the Grand Prix in Mexico for Red Bull Racing. In second place was another world champion in Lewis Hamilton. with a time of 1:54:95, for Mercedes. Finally, in third place was Sergio Perez for Red Bull Racing. Sergio Perez becomes the first ever Mexican born driver to place in the podium at a Mexico City Grand Prix. Perez finished the race with a time of 1:56:14. Max Versstappen now becomes a three time Mexico Grand Prix winner. Versstappen had the race under for a majority of the race. Versstappen was able to go around the outside of both the Mercedes in the first corner. Valterri Botas was unfortunately taken out of the race in the second corner as he was spun out of the race by Daniel Riccirardo. Another driver that was not able to finish due to an unfortunate coming together was Yuki Tsunoda. Tsunoda stated in his post race interview that “ I Was extremely disappointed and unfortunate with how his race ended because he knew that his car was good enough to take some points.” Tsunoda also stated that he knew as soon as he was hit in his back tires he would not be able to come back and finish the race.
Many believe that Daniel Riccirardo should be penalized for spinning out Valterri Botas. Riccirardo stated in the post race interview that he feels unfortunate for taking out Botas, however he claims that he had locked before seeing Botas and therefore led to an unfortunate coming together. Team Principal for Red Bull Racing, Christain Horner, says he is extremely proud that both his racers Versstappen and Perez. Horner believes that Perez has been finding his form in the last third or fourth races and placing third in this Grand Prix has proven that for Sergio Perez. As for Verstappen, Horner stated that as soon as Max showed up in the morning, he knew that he was ready to win this Grand Prix. Red Bull is now only one point away from Mercedes with only four races to go. Red Bull's strategy with Sergio Perez was to cover up anything that Lewis Hamilton did. Verstappen had the race pretty much won after the first lap, and as a result of that Sergio Perez was then left to go head to head against Hamilton. Perez went long for the majority of the race and many are led to believe how the race would have finished if Perez decided to change his tires sooner and push for a second place finish. The next Grand Prix will be in Brazil on November 12-14. Many racers will go to Brazil looking for some redemption after this past Grand Prix. Red Bull Racing will go into the Grand Prix in Brazil with lots of confidence, as they look to keep on pushing Mercedes.
Fernando Ramos For El Paisano Media
"Red Bull has had the fastest car for a marjority part of the year." as stated by World Champion Driver Lewis Hamilton
El Paisano Newspaper Staff Jasmine Soria Editor-In-Chief
John Rodriguez News Editor/Photo Editor
Jonathon Carmona Sci & Tech Editor
Fernando Ramos Executive Sports Editor
Molly McCormick Noah Segovia Sports Co-Editor
Ryan Leon Opinion Co-Editor
Brandon Ramirez Opinion Co-Editors/Podcast
Gabi Ortiz Lifestyles Editor/A & E Co-Editor
Madeline Torres A & E Co-Editor Lorenzo Arce Digital EIC
Cassidy Anderson Digital Photo Editor
Carlos Jimenez Digital Sports Editor
Madeline Ekstrand Broadcast Director
Raymond Luna Social Media
Christopher Elias Marina Gutierrez Jeffrey Barragan Justin Gomez Valeria Yanez Yasmine Poot Gilbert Lazo Bryan Chavez Reporters
Poem of the Week I Say to Myself
By: Brandon Ramirez
Isn't right I say to myself You and I shouldn't be all there is We aren't I say to myself There are others But where are they? Who are they? It's cold and empty and dank in here My hands are weak Can't stay steady When I breath it's shaky and labored I say to myself Fair you're right Right now's pretty rough But don't dare forget that it's you that's enough You're strong in more ways than one my friend Hang in there with those hands, this pain will end I say to myself It's not fair It hurts I do so much I ache all over and my stomach lurches with frustration Sometimes it feels not worth my patience I say to myself And maybe it's not, but why stick around? In the end, my friend, you've made yourself proud. What's that you said? Not worth your time? Valuing yourself now? Isn't that rather kind? I say to myself But I'm my own enemy aren't I? I'm not normal My fears overflow and I'm weighted by it The echoes of cracks and scrapes and bruises ring loud with no one but me to hear And I hate it I hate the ringing I say to myself You're right, You carry that pain and those scars And sometimes it keeps you from getting very far But still you fight! Why? Who needs a reason, really Survival is its own reward silly Not more days to suffer I know you'll say that But more time to spend getting dust off your back I say to myself But why me, Why do I have to carry all this Am I any less important than anyone else Do I deserve to be this bitter to myself? No you don't and you realize That when I look into the mirror I see my own eyes A reflection of my victories and failures Of my drives and fears I'll be alright, just keep going
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I say to myself.