The Weekly Focus:
Published by SacLatino Magazine
July 13, 2017 - Volume 1, issue 3
Latinos makeup nearly 30 percent of the Sacramento Region’s Population...! Now that we got that out of the way, we can focus on the critical issues connected to that statistic. Through the Weekly Focus we will bring forth key issues, information, and possible solutions affecting Latinos living in the Sacramento region with emphasis on education, economic development, and political empowerment. We invite you to share this online publication, provide feedback, submit guest articles, but more importantly, to become engaged. Thank you for the opportunity.
CalExpo to recognize Farm Workers during State Fair
CalExpo Chief Deputy General Manager Tom Martinez presented to the Sacramento Latino Community Roundtable on June 24th that California State Fair will be displaying a tribute to Farm Workers, a first in its 164-year history. Although the focus of the State Fair is to promote California’s number one industry, it has never recognized those who actually make the industry a success. “It’s a first for the State Fair, but long overdue,” said Martinez, who presented on behalf of CalExpo CEO Rick Pickering. “This exhibit will be dedicated on Sunday, July 16, 2017, at 5 pm, and that same evening will also feature a concert by the internationally known ‘Ozomatli.” Martinez said that the exhibit will feature historical pictures, some of the tools used by farm workers, which are illegal today, and recognition of United Farm Worker’s founder Cesar Chavez, with video and a display of his clothing.
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“The dedication will feature President Arturo S. Rodriguez, members of the Chavez family and some farm workers currently working under a union contract,” added Martinez. “The exhibit itself includes a video with interviews of Paul Chavez (Cesar’s son), Dolores Huerta (UFW Cofounder) and Larry Itliong, who lead the Filipino farm workers.” The exhibit will be located in the main exhibit hall dedicated to county and farm exhibits. It is the largest exhibit and will be open to the public during the duration of the State Fair, which runs from July 14 to July 30— Monday-Thursday 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Friday-Sunday 10 a.m.-10 p.m.—at Cal Expo & State Fair, 1600 Exposition Blvd., Sacramento 95815. The State Fair has celebrated California agriculture since the mid-19th Century, but not until this year will it include a first for the fair and farm workers. “We applaud their efforts,” says Latino Community Roundtable Cofounder Lola Acosta. “Let’s see if other state agencies can follow the State Fair’s lead.” Adult daily admission (ages 13-61) is $10. Daily admission for seniors is $8, children (5-12) is $6, with children 4 and under admitted free. For more information about the 2017 California State Fair, visit http:// www.castatefair.org
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Voter turnout is poor, especially in the Valley - turning Red! PPIC Report says poor voter turnout is being driven by Demographics…!
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California’s low voter turnout has two elements: a decline in the voter registration rate relative to other states and a decline in turnout in midterm elections. Each has a different origin in the state’s demographics, according to a report released today by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC). California’s Latino and Asian American communities have become eligible to vote at faster rates than their counterparts in other states. At the same time, Latinos and Asian Americans register at lower rates than members of other groups, leading to an overall decline in California’s registration rate compared with states where eligible voting populations are not changing as quickly. The registration problem is especially pronounced among Latinos and Asian Americans more closely connected to the immigrant experience, that is, naturalized citizens and children born in the United States to immigrant parents.! The drop in midterm turnout is largely about age. Young people have been voting at slightly higher rates in presidential elections but at much lower rates in midterms than voters of the same age did two decades ago. The state’s expanding Latino and Asian American populations do not play a role in declining turnout. Once registered, these groups have voted at consistent rates over time.! Despite increases in California’s registration rate and turnout in the 2016 presidential election, broader voting trends have been disappointing, with record low turnout in the 2014 primary and general elections. A PPIC report in 2016 showed that the state’s registration rate has been falling compared with other states. The report also found that turnout among those who are registered has been falling in midterm elections while remaining largely flat in presidential elections.
“Latinos, Asian Americans, and young people represent California’s future and they will dictate the future of electoral participation as well,” said Eric McGhee, the report’s author and a PPIC research fellow. “California has been a creative and energetic force for voter participation, and it must redouble its efforts to ensure future civic engagement.”! Recent California reforms to address the process of voting—such as automated registration—may help alleviate registration and turnout problems. But process reforms are not enough, the report argues. They need to be coupled with aggressive outreach targeting Latinos, Asian Americans, and young people.! California’s young people—who show up for presidential elections but increasingly stay home for midterms—present a different problem. These “drop-off voters” may be good targets for mobilization in midterm elections because they have already registered and, in many cases, voted. The PPIC report finds evidence that vote-by-mail registration helps ensure more consistent participation. This suggests that California’s recently adopted law potentially providing all registrants a default vote-by-mail ballot could help raise midterm turnout, though the cautious roll-out of that law makes sense given the magnitude of the change.! For a copy of the report, CLICK HERE.
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! Latino plaintiffs sue California alleging poor health care! By DON THOMPSON, ASSOCIATED PRESS
California is harming medical care for more than 13 million lower-income residents, more than half of them Latinos, by failing to pay doctors enough to provide proper care, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday. The lawsuit alleges the state violates Latinos' civil rights because poorly paid health care providers balk at providing treatment.!
The Oakland-based union includes 93,000 caregivers, while the community division has 6,000 union supporters including Medi-Cal patients.! About 7.2 million Latinos are on Medi-Cal, a program that covers low-income families, some elderly patients, those with disabilities, foster children and pregnant women.!
It alleges the low reimbursements often mean that those who rely on Medi-Cal, the state's health care program for the poor, are denied timely and quality medical care. The lawsuit was filed in Alameda County Superior Court by plaintiffs including the state's largest labor union representing health care workers.!
The California Department of Health Care Services "has not identified any systemic problems with patient access to services in the Medi-Cal program," nor have federal officials, department spokeswoman Carol Sloan said in an emailed statement.!
"In effect, California has created a separate and unequal system of health care, one for the insurance program with the largest proportion of Latinos (MediCal), and one for the other principal insurance plans, whose recipients are disproportionately white," the suit says.!
She declined further comment, but provided a letter state officials sent to the plaintiffs' lawyers last year saying there is no evidence of discrimination against Latinos. That letter was written after some of the same Medi-Cal recipients filed a similar civil rights complaint against the state with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2015.!
The suit was filed by five Latino residents who depend on Medi-Cal. They were joined by the community division of the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West.
One of those suing is 33-year-old Saul Jimenez Perea of Clearlake, who has cerebral palsy and!
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Continued in Page 4 - Lawsuit
Lawsuit - from page 3!
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suffers severe seizures that require frequent hospitalizations. It took months for Perea to see several specialists since he is covered by Medi-Cal, according to the lawsuit.! "People who are going through the medical system, they're not being treated fairly, particularly if they have a certain type of insurance," he said in a telephone interview.! "It broke my heart, seeing these people getting worse, like my son, or some actually died," added Analilia Jimenez Perea, 56.! The state budget includes $107 billion in state and federal funding for Medi-Cal this year, but the spending is not enough to restore reimbursement cuts made during the Great Recession. A proposal in the U.S. Senate to repeal former President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law could drastically reduce money for Medi-Cal and the number of Californians who can access it.! Thomas Saenz, an attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund who helped file the lawsuit, said he believes it is the first time the civil rights approach has been tried in California. The legal approach is possible, he said, because California is one of the few states to specifically prohibit discriminatory effects in state programs.!
Father’s map now defines Oceanside school election districts! by LOLA SHERMAN Seaside Musings! Perry Alvarez, a parent, didn’t have experience drawing maps. And he didn’t have any background in studying demographics. Yet his map is the one chosen by Oceanside Unified School District trustees to decide the way they are elected in the future.! Alvarez’s work defining five new election districts was selected on a 3-2 vote of trustees last month.! Until now, trustees have been elected “at large” — from the entire school district.! Actually, Alvarez is not opposed to that method of electing trustees, but he realizes that they don’t have much choice without enduring a costly lawsuit.! CLICK HERE to continue reading
DHS’s Kelly: Program shielding 800,000 illegal immigrants may be in jeopardy!
Those receiving care through Medi-Cal have substantially worse access to health care than those who are covered by Medicare, which provides care for the elderly, or employee-sponsored insurance, according the lawsuit. That's because there are a relatively low number of Medi-Cal providers, partly because they are underpaid, the lawsuit says.!
By Maria Sacchetti July 12 at 5:33 PM !
The lawsuit claims that those on Medi-Cal suffer more illness and more undiagnosed and untreated serious medical conditions than do other Californians with different insurance.!
Kelly declined to take questions after the meeting, but his spokesman said the secretary told the members that the Obama-era program, which shields immigrants brought to the United States as children, is at risk.!
It blames Medi-Cal reimbursements that it says are among the lowest in the nation and a fraction of what other insurance plans pay providers. California ranks 48th or 49th out of 50 programs, it says, depending on the payment method.! Those payments have steadily dwindled since 2000, the suit says, even as the number of Latinos in the program has tripled.
Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly told the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in a closeddoor meeting Wednesday that an initiative that grants work permits to more than 800,000 undocumented immigrants may not survive a looming legal challenge.!
“This is what he’s being told by different attorneys, that if it goes to court it might not survive,” DHS spokesman David Lapan said. If Congress does not pass a bill to protect the program, he added, “they’re leaving it in the hands of the courts to make a decision.”!
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CLICK HERE to continue reading
UPDATE - County Budget Inadequate for the American Parkway By Phil Serna, County Supervisor Editor’s Note: Reprinted from Supervisor Serna’s blog with permission.! After nearly six hours of staff presentation, public testimony, questions and commentary from me and my colleagues, and healthy debate, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors provided executive staff a better sense of which personnel deployment/funding option we should ultimately vote up or down at a third hearing next month. Overall, it wasn't the decisive moment that I had perhaps foolishly hoped for, but I believe it's marked progress in the right direction. ! I want to thank all those who took time to write emails, call and/or attended in person to testify. Hearing from our constituents definitely helped inform the discussion and affected all of our perspective on this particular challenge.! County Supervisor Phil Serna
This would be the wrong time to let up. As we draw closer to an August hearing, it will remain particularly important for everyone invested in this effort to continue letting us know you're watching, and that you expect a change from the status quo.! Please stay tuned here and on my Facebook page for more specific information in the days ahead.! You can watch the Supervisor’s meeting in its entirety online - go to item #71. If you haven't already, please read my Sacramento Bee guest editorial published on July 7. Thank you. - Phil
OUR FOCUS IS DIVIDED - Opinion!
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My friends often ask if I support Trump as President because I don’t attack him. My response has been the same. It’s not local, and only Trump, Congress and voters in 2020 can do something about it. Besides, I believe putting energy on something I can’t control takes away the energy from those things I can. ! One of those things that are much more important to me is the growing number of Latino homeless. Many thought it was just happening elsewhere except Sacramento, but that was obviously dispelled by a great article written by the Sacramento Bee’s Marcos Breton. ! The homeless issue continues to grow and it appears the cries for help from the different facets of our community have been falling on deaf ears. From some political leaders to business and property owners to nonprofits, there is a growing concern of the lack of action occurring at the state and local levels. For action to happen, we need to assess the reasons for homelessness and implement options to address each reason. I do know that not all homeless have drug and mental issues, yet we tend to classify them under those two so we can justify our inaction. Obviously, that is not the case as we’re informed in Mr. Breton’s article. ! Recently, Council Member Allen Warren, District 2, brought a potential option for the City’s consideration. It included identifying a location where temporary housing could be provided and where each person could be evaluated to provide the right options for them. Warren’s option was killed by the City Council which instead, punted the issue to local churches to address. The problem with that is, not all churches provide professionals to conduct the evaluations and most require a commitment to God before any food or housing can be provided.! County Supervisor Phil Serna has been requesting our help to get the Board of Supervisors to take this issue more seriously, and although his efforts appear to be paying off, it’s still too early to tell. In the meantime, the City wants us to step over those sleeping in our parks and clean urine, needles, and feces left in our doorsteps. Where there is inaction, nothing improves, it only gets worse.! - Adrian Perez, Publisher/Editor! adrianp@saclatino.com
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How One Under 30 Overcame The Barrier To Funding For Latino-Owned Businesses! Maggie McGrath , FORBES STAFF !
! Miguel Garza knows that, statistically, the deck is stacked against a startup like the one he runs.! While Latino-owned businesses account for 12% of all small businesses in the U.S. and grow two-and-a-half times faster than the average U.S. business, these companies — and their leaders — face a dearth of capital and a ceiling on revenue. According to Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, less than 1% of startups funded by venture capitalists have a Latino founder. And just 2% of all Latino-owned businesses see revenues north of $1 million.!
Garza’s business, the grain-free tortilla maker Siete Family Foods, has beaten those odds, securing outside investors and achieving seven-digit revenue figures in the three years since launching Siete in 2014. It’s a fact that the 29-year-old CEO attributes to good fortune (“we’ve been blessed to work with really Subscribe to the Weekly Focus by good people who have helped us grow,” he says), emailing us at and also some ingenuity. CLICK HERE to read more. weeklyfocus@saclatino.com
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Editorial Staff Adrian Perez, Editor/Publisher ! John Neri, Associate Editor ! Cecelia Perez, Graphics/Layout ! T.B. Player, Online Distribution/Social Media!
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