Blog - Page 86 of 400 - Peninsula 360 Press

Gaza: More than 2 million Palestinians suffer from famine due to war

Pamela Cruz

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2024.02.28

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At a Security Council meeting on Tuesday, UN humanitarian agencies reported that the entire population of the Gaza Strip is suffering from hunger to varying degrees, with children and pregnant and lactating women facing serious threats to their health.

The Assistant Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Maurizio Martina, said that some 2.2 million people are in a situation of food crisis or worse (phase 3 or higher of the hunger classification), “the highest percentage of people suffering from this type of acute food insecurity” that this classification “has ever recorded.”

Martina added that they estimate that around 50 percent of the population is in an emergency situation (phase 4) and at least one in four households is in catastrophic or famine-like conditions (phase 5).

The entire food chain, affected

The FAO deputy director said severe restrictions on fuel shipments are paralysing the operation of water infrastructure and desalination plants, the production and delivery of basic food products and the supply of electricity.

According to reports, around 97 percent of Gaza's groundwater is unfit for human consumption.

On the other hand, the capacity of bakeries to produce bread has been severely hampered, he said.

Gaza's food production used to allow for self-sufficiency in most fruits and vegetables, but the conflict has severely disrupted this situation, he said.

Martina added that as of February 15, 2024, 46.2 percent of all cropland was damaged and they estimate that by the end of last month, all broiler poultry had been culled or died due to lack of water and fodder.

Ramesh Rajasingham, an official with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that one in six children under the age of two in northern Gaza suffers from acute malnutrition, and wasting, which is low weight for height, is the most visible and lethal type of malnutrition. Severe wasting, also known as severe acute malnutrition, is its most deadly form.

The agency's director of coordination detailed how military operations, insecurity and extensive restrictions on the entry and delivery of essential goods have decimated food production and agriculture.

In this regard, food security experts warn of a complete agricultural collapse in northern Gaza by May if current conditions persist, with fields and productive assets destroyed or inaccessible, and people having to abandon productive farmland due to evacuation orders.

In addition, severe damage to water infrastructure caused by the fighting and the disruption of power and fuel supplies in October have significantly affected access to water, which is essential for food production and the prevention of malnutrition and disease, Rajasingham said.

The director highlighted the decline in fishing, as access to the sea was banned for boats after October 7, as well as the death of livestock due to lack of fodder and water and fighting. The commercial sector has also been paralyzed.

In addition to the lack of food availability, the official referred to the lack of water, sanitation and health services as aggravating factors, since malnourished people become more susceptible to diseases “that further deplete the body's nutritional reserves.”

The delivery of humanitarian aid continues to be hampered by the closure of border crossings, severe restrictions on movement, denial of access and disruption of public order, among other factors.

According to the director, the suspension of funding to UNRWA is undermining its ability to mount an effective response.

Leen, 2, is having her mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) measured, which measures less than 10 cm, indicating severe acute malnutrition and drastic weight loss and muscle atrophy. Rafah Governorate, February 2024. Photo: UNICEF

Famine is imminent in northern Gaza

The World Food Programme (WFP) Deputy Executive Director, Carl Skau, said immediate action was needed to allow for an increase in the volume of food and other humanitarian supplies reaching northern Gaza, reiterating that the agency had decided to suspend its operations in that part of the enclave due to a lack of security.

“If nothing changes, famine is imminent in northern Gaza,” Skau said, adding that “we must all live up to our responsibilities to ensure that it does not happen on our watch.”

Skau explained that in southern Gaza, WFP and its partners are on the ground, delivering food as it arrives to shelters, makeshift camps and tents. However, they are unable to provide food regularly or sufficiently to people in need.

“Most of the food is distributed in Rafah, the hub of WFP’s current operations in Gaza, with very little of it being distributed in the camps, and very little aid reaching people elsewhere,” he added.

You may be interested in: Palo Alto says stop to Palestinian genocide: Community unites in solidarity

What do 100 thousand votes without commitment mean?

Opinion

Gerardo Ortiz

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2024.02.28

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What do 100 thousand votes without commitment mean?

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In the Michigan primary elections, more than 100,000 votes were cast as uncommitted or for no one, with which the Arab people sounded the alarm bell to tell President Joseph Biden that they will no longer tolerate his disdain for the genocide of the Palestinian people at the hands of the far-right Israeli government.

Biden won the primary with 81 percent in Michigan, but 13.3 percent, or more than 100,000 votes, is a brutal number in that state since, in the last presidential election, Biden beat Republican Donald Trump by only 154,188 votes.

The Arab community took this as a strategy and, instead of not showing up to vote and remaining invisible, they cast their votes without commitment as a protest to make known the importance of their vote.

It will be interesting to see whether this dynamic carries over into the next primary, and whether it will cause a reaction in President Biden's performance.

You may be interested in: Redwood City residents demonstrate again to demand immediate ceasefire in Gaza

3 Hondurans extradited to face federal charges for alleged drug trafficking in SF

Peninsula 360 Press

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2024.02.28

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By Bay City News.

Three Honduran citizens have been extradited to the United States to face charges of alleged drug trafficking in San Francisco, federal prosecutors said.

Jorge Alberto Viera-Chirinos, Mayer Benegas-Medina and Elmer Bonilla Matute will face federal felony charges for their involvement in separate conspiracies to sell drugs in San Francisco's Tenderloin district, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement Tuesday.

Prosecutors said Viera-Chirinos was originally charged on July 29, 2019, for allegedly participating in a conspiracy to distribute drugs in the Tenderloin neighborhood.

A federal grand jury indicted Viera-Chirinos on August 8, 2019, alleging that he is one of 14 people who trafficked large amounts of heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine base and cocaine in San Francisco. The indictment alleged that he was a high-ranking syndicate official accused of drug trafficking in the Tenderloin area.

On May 6, 2020, he was released on bail. However, on Sept. 2, 2020, Viera-Chirinos fled the residence where he was required to remain while on bail, thereby violating the terms of his release, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. He fled to Honduras where he was later found.

He will now face the charges laid out in the August 2019 indictment. He made his initial appearance on Friday, and his next appearance is scheduled for Wednesday.

Benegas-Medina was indicted by a grand jury in December 2020, alleging that he participated in a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. He was arrested on December 10, 2020, but was released on bond on December 21, 2020. The terms of his release included electronic monitoring and a curfew.

But in March 2021, he secretly left and violated the terms of his bail. He was found in Honduras and appeared in court also on Friday. His next court appearance is scheduled for March 26.

Matute, for his part, was indicted on December 19, 2019. Based on the indictment, Matute was suspected of being a member of a San Francisco-based drug syndicate that, between approximately 2017 and 2019, was responsible for distributing large quantities of heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine base, and cocaine, as well as trafficking drugs through the states of Oregon and Washington.

He appeared in court on Tuesday morning. His next court appearance is scheduled for April 3.

You may be interested in: San Francisco to implement policy against racially biased police stops

Immigration controversies affect the mental health of the Latino community in the US.

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Health

Pamela Cruz

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2024.02.27

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Immigration controversies affect the mental health of the Latino community in the US.

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The controversies that frequently arise in matters of immigration throughout the American Union, significantly affect the mental health of the Latino community in the United States, including native citizens, according to a new study.

The new research, published Feb. 20 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that foreign-born Latinos living in the United States, including those with U.S. citizenship, reported more anxiety and depression during times of heightened immigration enforcement between 2011 and 2018.

The study focused on measuring feelings of anxiety and depression in Latinos who were not citizens, naturalized citizens, and U.S.-born citizens. It recorded participants' responses to monthly surveys about changes in immigration policy, law enforcement, and public interest to better understand the effects these had on Latinos' mental health.

“As a group, Latinos are racialized by public policy, by the implementation of public policy, and by political rhetoric in the United States,” said Asad L. Asad, assistant professor of sociology in Stanford’s School of Humanities and Sciences and senior author of the study.

"Latinos, considered undocumented or 'illegal' in the United States, feel threatened by deportation, even when they are citizens and presumably immune to it," the expert said.

The study also measured enforcement by the number of detainer notices sent by federal authorities to police departments across the country asking them to hold noncitizens for possible deportation.

According to the document, Latino citizens born in the United States also expressed greater psychological distress in response to immigration issues.

And according to their psychological distress scores, they were more closely related to increased public attention to immigration (measured as the volume of related Google searches) than to actual increases in enforcement.

The study said anxiety and depression levels were measured using the Kessler-6 Psychological Distress Scale, administered regularly through the National Health Interview Survey program to a representative sample of long-term U.S. residents aged 18 years and older.

Higher scores on the questionnaire indicate greater psychological distress, either from anxiety, depression, or both.

“If you’re a Latino American citizen, maybe your mental health still feels fine when deportations are increasing nationally because you’re not directly vulnerable to deportation. But that doesn’t make you immune to the broader racist conversation that comes up when, for example, some politicians describe Latinos, as an ethnic group, in a negative way,” Asad said. “You start to internalize that as you go about your daily life.”

Political debates affect individual mental health outcomes

Asad’s research and recent book Engage and Evade (Princeton University Press, 2023) focus on how institutional categories, such as citizenship, influence people’s mental, physical, economic, and social well-being.

In a previous article I showed that fear of deportation was trending upward among Latino citizens, while it remained high but stable among non-citizens.

In this recently published study, Asad and colleagues set out to understand how a changing political environment can influence mental health.

Initially, researchers expected that major immigration-related events, such as the Obama administration's 2012 announcement of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program or Donald Trump's rise to the presidency in 2016 after campaigning to repeal it, would reduce or increase depression and anxiety.

“We predicted that these major events would have very clear relationships to Latino psychological distress, but we found that they didn’t matter as much as we thought,” Asad said.

Although Asad and colleagues observed more psychological distress among noncitizen Latinos after the 2016 election, they showed that the everyday immigration environment was more closely linked to mental health than salient events.

The analysts detailed that when quantifying the overall immigration enforcement environment each month, the threat of deportation negatively impacts individuals even when they are not at risk of deportation.

“Our work shows that a deportation-focused approach is psychologically damaging to non-citizens and even to U.S. citizens,” Asad said.

The research does not suggest that increases in anxiety and depression were uniquely Latino or immigration-related problems. Accounts of rising anxiety abound, blaming everything from technology and climate change to political polarization, and Asad and his colleagues acknowledge this general trend in their paper.

“We very much live in an age of anxiety,” Assad added.

The research showed that psychological distress increased between 2011 and 2018 among Latinos overall and among non-Hispanic white and black populations born in the United States.

The researchers considered these latter populations as comparison groups “neither vulnerable nor targeted for deportation.” The increasing psychological distress in the comparison groups did not align with increased immigration enforcement or public debate as it did in the Latino groups.

You may be interested in: The importance of the value of the ethnic vote in the United States for the next elections

San Mateo County Offers Free STI Test Kits as STIs Rise in California

Pamela Cruz

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2024.02.27

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San Mateo County Offers Free STI Test Kits as STIs Rise in California

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Los residentes del condado de San Mateo pueden participar en un programa gratuito de detección de infecciones de transmisión sexual (ITS), que ofrece kits de prueba en el hogar por correo y en un portal en línea para acceso confidencial a los resultados de las pruebas y otra información.

En colaboración con el Departamento de Salud Pública de California, San Mateo County Health participa en el programa TakeMeHome, which allows eligible residents to receive free test kits, collect samples, return them by mail, and then view test results in a secure portal.

Hay kits disponibles para detectar VIH, gonorrea, clamidia, sífilis y hepatitis C.

Al igual que los resultados de las pruebas de ITS realizadas por los laboratorios locales, los resultados de las pruebas de TakeMeHome se comparten con County Health para realizar un seguimiento y comunicarse con los residentes para responder preguntas y brindar información sobre los próximos pasos del tratamiento, si es necesario.

El programa TakeMeHome pone a disposición de los residentes todos los recursos de los laboratorios de pruebas y el apoyo al paciente del departamento de salud local en la privacidad de sus hogares.

Currently, fourteen California counties participate in the program.

Las infecciones de transmisión sexual han aumentado constantemente en California y en todo el país en los últimos años. Según datos del Programa de ITS/VIH de County Health, al tercer trimestre de 2023, en comparación con el año anterior, los casos locales de clamidia aumentaron 11 por ciento en hombres y 7 por ciento en mujeres para un total de mil 995 casos.

Por otra parte, la gonorrea aumentó 11 por ciento en hombres y 5 por ciento en mujeres (704 casos en total); mientras que los casos totales de sífilis aumentaron 3 por ciento, en comparación con esta misma época del año pasado.

Las personas que se hicieron la prueba tardíamente (personas que reciben un diagnóstico de SIDA dentro de un año de un diagnóstico de VIH) representaron el 16,4 por ciento de los nuevos casos de VIH reportados en el condado en 2022 y el 20,4 por ciento de los nuevos casos de VIH reportados en 2021.

“Hacerse pruebas de detección de ITS es esencial para mantener una buena salud en general. Las ITS, incluido el VIH, se pueden prevenir eficazmente”, afirmó la doctora Vivian Levy, responsable de control de ITS del Departamento de Salud del Condado. “El programa TakeMeHome hace que las pruebas sean muy fáciles, ofrece información importante en el proceso, está disponible en español y se puede completar en la privacidad de su hogar”.

Además de participar en el programa TakeMeHome, el programa ITS/VIH de County Health ofrece pruebas en persona a bajo costo y sin cita previa en su Clínica Edison STI en 222 W 39th Avenue en San Mateo. Las pruebas sin cita previa están disponibles los martes y jueves de 16:00 a 19:00 horas.

Las visitas sin cita previa para personas que tienen síntomas de ITS o para el tratamiento de una ITS positiva confirmada están disponibles por orden de llegada los jueves de 16:00 a 18:30 horas.

Residents can begin the process to request test kits at takemehome.org. Un cuestionario en línea determinará la elegibilidad.

You may be interested in: YUCA in East Palo Alto, joins the demands to end the genocide in Gaza

Redwood City residents demonstrate again to demand immediate ceasefire in Gaza

Peninsula 360 Press

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2024.02.27

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By Pamela Cruz with information from Raúl Ayrala.

On the night of Monday, February 26, at least a dozen young residents of Redwood City They demonstrated at the regular meeting of the City Council in order to pressure the councilors to sign a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, where the war between Israel and Hamas has left 29,878 Palestinians dead, many of them children and women.

The protesters, mostly young people pursuing tertiary education, belonged to a group supporting a ceasefire in Gaza, which presented itself simply as “a coalition of citizens”, and expressed their views to the city’s mayor, Jeff Gee, and city councillors.

Following this demonstration, the City Council will consider on Monday, March 11, signing a resolution demanding an end to fighting in the Palestinian enclave.

Brandon H., a member of the group, said the group is largely made up of students from Cañada College, and he thought providing his comments in front of the full Council would be an effective way to support passage of the resolution.

“Our tactic is to speak from the heart, because we have this opportunity where the public can speak to any issue. The ceasefire is not on the agenda today, but we take the opportunity to explain why we support it. We are of different faiths, we have Muslims, Jews, Christians, secular people, immigrants and native-born Americans, young people and the elderly, we all want the atrocities to end,” Brandon told the Council.

So far, according to Reuters, some 70 cities in the country have passed resolutions regarding Israel's bombing of Gaza. These include San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle and Atlanta. Some of these resolutions call for the release of hostages and humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people.

Brandon told Peninsula 360 Press that while such actions may be symbolic, the growing number of resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire is putting pressure on President Joseph Biden's administration ahead of the November general election.

“It is 100 percent symbolic, but this is what we need, because Biden does not listen to us and neither does Congress. We know that Congress and the state representatives do not listen to us. But perhaps they will listen to the mayors, the vice-mayors, the councilors,” Brandon stressed.

There are those who criticise these local resolutions, believing that they do not actually have a practical and tangible effect on national politics and that they distract people from domestic problems.

Others say young people and communities of color in particular are frustrated and want the White House and Democratic leaders to listen to them on issues like this.

However, the government has warned that it will not call for a ceasefire, because (it argues) that would only make Hamas stronger.

Another citizen who was present at the Council was Marselene Luna, who defined herself as a friend of the young people who made up the group and told Peninsula 360 Press that “what happens in Gaza affects us all as human beings, not just the Palestinians.”

On March 11, the Redwood City Council is expected to consider signing a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict zone, joining other cities in calling for an end to what many view as genocide.

You may be interested in: Palo Alto says stop to Palestinian genocide: Community unites in solidarity

Cold and rain will hit the Bay Area again this week

Peninsula 360 Press

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2024.02.27

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Cold and rainy in the Bay Area — Según el Servicio Meteorológico Nacional, frío y lluvias en el Área de la Bahía regresarán esta semana debido a un sistema de clima frío que se desplaza desde el Golfo de Alaska y que está trayendo temperaturas gélidas, lluvia, viento y la posibilidad de nieve por encima de los 2 mil pies.

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With information from Bay City News.

Un sistema de clima frío que se desplaza hacia el Área de la Bahía desde el Golfo de Alaska está trayendo temperaturas gélidas, lluvia, viento y la posibilidad de nieve por encima de los 2 mil pies esta semana, según el Servicio Meteorológico Nacional.

Se espera que este martes por la mañana comience con temperaturas de hasta 10 grados por debajo de lo que fueron el lunes y las mínimas del martes y miércoles deberían oscilar entre los 30 y los 40 grados.

A medida que avanza la semana, la gente puede esperar fuertes vientos, oleaje alto a lo largo de la costa y períodos de lluvias moderadas, con hasta 2 pulgadas de lluvia acumulándose en elevaciones más bajas hasta el domingo, precisó el Servicio Meteorológico.

Además, se espera que la mayor parte de la lluvia caiga entre el viernes y el sábado y el sistema frío podría reducir los niveles de nieve en algunas cimas de la región, especialmente en Diablo Range de East Bay y Santa Lucías a lo largo de la costa central.

El Servicio Meteorológico emitió un aviso de heladas para el lunes por la noche y hasta el martes por la mañana para North Bay y las cadenas montañosas costeras.

Si bien no se espera que la cantidad general de lluvia sea mucha en el Área de la Bahía, el Laboratorio de Nieve de la Sierra Central de la Universidad de California en Berkley espera hasta nueve pies de nieve a medida que el sistema avanza hacia las montañas de jueves a domingo.

Por su parte, la Oficina de Servicios de Emergencia del Gobernador de California (Cal OES) dijo estar trabajando con socios locales, estatales y federales para garantizar que el estado esté preparado para los impactos y listo para responder a las comunidades necesitadas.

Las tormentas invernales tienen el potencial de provocar fuertes lluvias, inundaciones, nieve y otros impactos, por lo que es importante estar preparado para todos los resultados climáticos y las condiciones cambiantes.

Ante ello, la dependencia detalló que todos tenemos un papel en la preparación para el próximo desastre o emergencia, y ese momento es ahora.

Así, recordaron registrarse para recibir alertas locales en ready california, hablar con su familia sobre un plan de emergencia y saber dónde se reunirán los miembros de la familia durante una emergencia; proporcionar a los niños números de teléfono importantes, y preparar una bolsa de viaje en caso de que necesite salir de casa rápidamente, la cual debe incluir artículos esenciales para cada miembro de su familia (comida y agua, medicamento, documentos importantes, suministros de mascotas, etc.).

Conozca múltiples rutas de evacuación fuera de su vecindario, y manténgase atento a las actualizaciones de los funcionarios locales y, si le dicen que evacue, ¡no espere!

You may be interested in: Young man steps up and helps safeguard Bay Area marine life

Palo Alto says stop to Palestinian genocide: Community unites in solidarity

Peninsula 360 Press

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2024.02.26

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[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiN80g0EepE[/embedyt]

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With music, food and children's activities, a large group of residents of Palo Alto, California, joined the growing number of voices against the genocide that Israel is committing against the Palestinian people.

The rally took place at King Plaza, 250 Hamilton Ave., where a vigil in solidarity with Palestine was held, organized by ASWAT and Heal Palestine.

Among the organizations present, he highlighted ZawayaZawaya, a nonprofit organization that promotes multicultural discourse in the Bay Area through Arab arts. Founded in 2003 by Nabila Mango and Haya Shawwa Ben-Halim, Zawaya seeks to provide a space to discover and enjoy the multiple art forms in Arab culture.

Bisan Shehadeh, Executive Director of Zawaya, stressed the importance of solidarity with Palestine, highlighting the crucial role of the community in speaking out against the injustices it faces.

Shehadeh told Peninsula 360 Press in an interview that, “Palestine is in our hearts and minds. Although our organization is not only for Palestinians, I am an indigenous Palestinian. My mother, the founder of Zawaya is an indigenous Palestinian. The community has asked us to perform music from Palestine here at the vigil.”

The vigil creates a community space for Palestinians to raise their voices against the atrocities and brutalities they have been experiencing recently.

For decades, Palestine has faced the occupation of its lands, the expansion of illegal settlements and the economic, social and military blockade imposed by Israel. This situation has worsened over time, resulting in a conflict that has claimed countless innocent lives, especially in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Indiscriminate attacks, destruction of basic infrastructure and the constant displacement of Palestinian families are ominous aspects of the Zionist siege against Palestinians who are calling for a just and lasting solution. The occupation of Palestine has been going on for Bisan Shehadeh's entire life.

Shehadeh said: 'My parents are exiles from their villages who had to evacuate when the Zionist militia came in. They were dispossessed of their homes at a very young age.'

The genocide in Gaza resonates deeply in communities like the Bay Area in the United States, reminding us of the urgency of international solidarity and commitment to global justice.

“It is very important for Americans to speak out against the genocide taking place in Gaza. They can participate in vigils like this one, or they can talk to their local representatives, call for a ceasefire. The most important message is that being anti-Zionist is not being anti-Jewish,” Shehadeh said.

Michelle Higgins, one of the residents who organised the vigil, expressed her commitment to the Palestinian cause and lamented the lack of response from local authorities to the ceasefire resolution.

Higgins urged the community not to remain indifferent to the suffering of the Palestinian people, recalling the shared responsibility to demand justice and end the violence.

“The Palestinian community feels this very deeply, and so does the Muslim community. I’m not Palestinian or Muslim, but you can’t look at those images and not feel like you have to do something. Especially when you know that our government is funding this war in Gaza. It’s really important for other people to know that people in this community really care about what’s going on.”

On the involvement of the Latino community in the protests against the genocide in Gaza, Higgins added: “Our movement is very multiracial and multicultural and I think there are a lot of commonalities between the communities about the experiences they have had in their countries of origin. As a group, we are of all ages and backgrounds.”

It is crucial to recognize that criticism of genocide should not be equated or confused with anti-Semitism; to do so is to simplify and distort the true reasons for condemning violence and injustice.

Higgins believes that “it is ironic that speaking out against genocide can be labelled anti-Semitic. We speak out for human life, human dignity and justice.”

Domenica, 25, originally from Ecuador and a participant in the vigil, shared her feeling of helplessness in the face of the tragedy in Palestine, but also her hope for change through collective action.

“As a young person, I feel powerless, unable to help, seeing so many children and adults die every day. I think coming here makes me feel a little more confident in changing what is happening. Don’t be afraid to speak up. Even though we are Latinos and many of us have no connection to Palestine, we must speak up to change the world.”

In a Bay Area context marked by cultural diversity and international solidarity, the Palo Alto community reaffirmed its commitment to justice and human dignity, raising its voice against the Palestinian genocide and advocating for a future of peace and reconciliation in the region.

You may be interested in: US maintains its position and vetoes resolution for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza for the third time

The importance of the value of the ethnic vote in the United States for the next elections

sandra martinez

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2024.02.26

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The importance of the value of the ethnic vote in the United States for the next elections

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The electoral process in the United States has begun, and the participation of ethnic voters in the United States is essential. However, many people think that their community is not represented and that their vote does not make a difference. Therefore, leaders and organizations seek to inform and involve the community to help generate change.

Engaging ethnic communities and people of color in primary and general elections can be a difficult task, as voters of color, including Latinos, African Americans, and Asian Americans, are less consistent voters than whites on electoral issues because they do not feel a sense of belonging in the process.

This was pointed out by experts during an informative session held by Ethnic Media Services, where Ernie Serrano, integrated electoral participation organizer with Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE) in South Los Angeles, commented that equitable justice on social, economic and environmental fronts is what makes these communities get involved.

In this regard, he stressed that work must be done on behalf of the community, ensuring that politics achieves social change and this must be done through the people who are most affected.

"That's our theory of the social, we are the ones who are directly affected by the conditions and we should be at the front of the battle, so to speak, and we should also have a seat at the table with their elected leaders. They are ruling our communities because they have a lot of leaders who were being elected, but obviously they are not involved, so they really have no interest in knowing the conditions, or in hearing our voice.", he warned.

Serrano said that hard work must be done to create the necessary conditions, because the Colo communities are not being served and are not informed about the policies or the electoral process.

“TWe have to go the extra mile to tell them why it's important to vote, there are many factors that come into play when it comes to why people are not only disengaged from the voting process, but also disillusioned.”, Serrano added.

Debbie Chen, a Houston community activist and executive vice president of OCA Asian Pacific American Advocates, commented on the importance of the Asian American vote.

"As far as civic engagement and the importance of voting for us, it actually starts with the census. It's not just about going to vote when election time comes because the census and redistricting happen as well.”, Chen said.

The majority of the AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) community are actually first-generation immigrants and similarly to other communities, so it is important to be counted.

The importance of participating and being counted is because each person in the census generates income that is returned to the community in some way and when one votes, one can choose how to spend that money and how it directly affects the place where one lives, he said.

"Because voting is essentially money, so you know your investment because your vote essentially gives you power and power is one of those words that we test in terms of our cultural organizing and community organizing around the importance of voting because power is not a word that we should be afraid of, that's why it's so important to get your community involved.”.

The AAPI community, the fastest growing community in percentage terms, for the Houston metropolitan area grew at a rate of 74 percent, while the overall rate for voting-age citizens only increased 21 percent.

It is troubling that neither party has traditionally invested in reaching out to the AAPI community, pretending not to matter or thinking it couldn't make a difference to election outcomes, and that is leaving votes on the table.

"The AAPI community may be a smaller percentage, nationally in some states, in some cities we have a higher concentration in some areas like greater Houston, there are certain pockets of concentration where AAPI can literally be that margin of difference when it comes to these closer races.”, said Debbie Chen.

This is an area of opportunity for candidates and parties to look at a group of people without considering, he said.

Anneshia Hardy, executive director of Alabama Values, a media advocacy organization, says young people are an underserved area and need to be empowered because they often feel their voices aren't counted.

"Voting is not just about choosing a candidate, it is about shaping the future of our communities, it is a powerful tool to express our values and drive change.", he pointed out Hardy.

The goal is to make voting truly relatable by connecting it to issues that matter, like social justice, healthcare, education, and more, simply by connecting to the needs of each community.

She said that even in the midst of trying to get people out to vote, they are struggling to ensure that everyone has adequate access to the ballot, coupled with misinformation that is a current threat.

In 2020, Alabama voters under the age of 45 made up 1.7 million of the voting-age population, but only 50 percent of those voters turned out to cast a ballot compared to 70 percent of eligible voters, resulting in 1.4 million eligible Alabama voters not voting.

Another point to consider is that many marginalized communities have the idea that by abstaining from voting they achieve more; they do not identify with any candidate or proposal and decide not to attend, this as part of a peaceful protest.

"It is crucial to recognize that many of these voters are disappointed, not because they undervalue their vote, but because they are aware of the systemic injustices and political failures that persist.", he concluded Anneshia Hardy.

You may be interested in: In-person voting begins at the 9 voting centers in San Mateo County

San Francisco to implement policy against racially biased police stops

Peninsula 360 Press

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2024.02.26

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By Grace Marion. Bay City News.

San Francisco Police Commission members voted to enact a new policy aimed at curbing the use of racially biased pretexts in stops by the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), according to a Friday press release from the San Francisco Public Advocate's Office.

The new policy, Department General Order 9.07, was subject to a public engagement process that lasted more than a year and nearly a full year of negotiation with the Police Officers Association.

“The Police Commission’s vote to restrict pretextual stops is an important step toward reducing racist policing tactics in which police officers disproportionately stop and search Black and brown people under the guise of traffic control,” said Yoel Haile, Director of the ACLU of Northern California’s Criminal Justice Program.

“We will now work to ensure that SFPD implements the policy to prevent unnecessary encounters between police officers and San Francisco residents that too often escalate and end in tragedy,” he added.

The new policy prohibits officers from using a list of nine minor traffic violations as a pretext for investigating other crimes, but still allows officers to issue tickets for those violations when stopping vehicles for other reasons or while investigating other crimes.

The nine non-priority violations include: having only one license plate displayed, having an expired vehicle registration that is out of date for one year or less, failing to illuminate the rear license plate of a vehicle, driving without taillights on or in operation, driving without rear brake lights on or in operation, having objects in the windows of a vehicle or hanging from the rearview mirror, failing to activate a turn signal more than 100 feet before turning, sleeping in a parked vehicle, and any California Vehicle Code pedestrian violation.

There are some exceptions to this list. For example, police can still stop vehicles driving without taillights on or working if it is nighttime and vehicles driving without rear brake lights on or working if none of the lights are on.

Additionally, police can still stop vehicles for unsafe turns or lane changes and can stop pedestrians to prevent an imminent crash.

The ordinance explicitly allows hanging things like air fresheners and rosaries from rearview mirrors, but objects that obstruct a driver's vision in a way that substantially increases the likelihood of an accident are not allowed and can still lead police to stop a vehicle.

None of the deprioritizations apply to commercial vehicles, and any vehicle can still be stopped during a traffic accident investigation.

Other exceptions to the order include allowing police to stop a person or motor vehicle that matches the description of a suspect, or suspect vehicle, involved in a felony where the risk of death or life-threatening injury is imminent if the suspect is not immediately apprehended.

Applicable felonies include, but are not limited to, murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, armed robbery, kidnapping, forcible sexual offense, and any felony committed against a child.

The SFPD's own data showed that SFPD officers stopped Black people at a rate six times higher than white people, searched them at a rate more than 10 times higher than white people, and used force against them at a rate more than 21 times higher than white people, according to a news release.

The order also limited SFPD officers to asking investigative questions only in vehicle stops about criminal activity when the belief that criminal activity is occurring, has occurred, or is about to occur is supported by reasonable suspicion or probable cause.

“While voting to enact this policy limiting racially biased stops is an important step, we recognize that more work needs to be done to heal the harms inflicted on communities of color by decades of overpolicing and underinvestment,” San Francisco Public Advocate Mano Raju said in a Friday news release.

“My office looks forward to participating in the implementation of this pretext policy by informing the public of their rights. The fight for racial justice continues.”

The commission ordered the police department to implement the new policy within 90 days.

This publication was supported in whole or part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the Cali Fornia State Library.

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