Linea Abierta Programming: August 12, 2024

MONDAY, AUGUST 12
PROGRAM #10465 12:00 PM PT

The Threat of Heat in the Fields. After record-setting heat across the country, made worse by the climate crisis, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra announced heat resiliency plans in Arizona. On Farmworker Appreciation Day, Becerra announced new protections for farm workers from Extreme Heat and Wildfire Smoke. Additionally, federal labor authorities are taking steps toward a federal heat standard that would require employers in the construction, agriculture and other sectors to create a plan to evaluate and control heat hazards in their workplace. Secretary Becerra comments on these federal plans. Also, farmer and farm worker advocates discuss how climate change is impacting agriculture production and field workers, and how farmers are changing farming practices to adapt to the climate crisis.

Guests: Xavier Becerra, US Health Secretary, Washington, DC; Emma Torres, Executive Director, Campesinos sin Fronteras, Somerton, AZ; Lucas Benitez, Co-founder, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Immokalee, FL; Angel Garcia, Human Resources Manager, Pacific Tomato Growers, Palmetto, FL.

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TUESDAY, AUGUST 13
PROGRAM #10466 11:00 AM PT

Extra Edition: Neglecting Low-Income Patients? Community groups in Fresno are suing a public health organization charging it with misuse of public funds. The plaintiffs claim that instead of investing public funds in providing lifesaving care for low-income families and people of color, the medical organization diverted the money to a medical facility that serves a more affluent population.

Guest: Genoveva Islas, Founder and Executive Director, Cultiva La Salud, Fresno, CA.

Fired for Stopping Work during Excessive Heat. When they saw other fellow field workers feeling ill during one of the first heat waves this year, a crew of farm workers said they got their forewoman’s permission to go home early. But when they showed up again at dawn the next day, they were given their last checks — and told there was no more work for them. Two state agencies are investigating the incident as a retaliatory firing.

Guests: Jorge Santana, Farmworker; Antonio De Loera-Brust, Communications Director, United Farm Workers-UFW, Davis, CA.

PROGRAM #10467 12:00 PM PT

Immigration Edition. President Biden’s Executive Action that would grant Parole in Place for certain spouses and children of U.S. citizens opens next Monday. As the first applicants come forward to enroll in the program, an immigration expert shares the latest updates about the application process, the eligibility requirements, the filing instructions for the new program and the impact and risks of any litigation filed relating to this program. She also clarifies listeners’ questions. In other news, Texas Gov. Abbott orders hospitals to ask patients about their immigration status and send the data to the state. What’s the impact and the future of this measure?

Guests: Alma Rosa Nieto, Immigration Attorney and Legal Analyst, Los Angeles, CA; Fernando Garcia, Director, Border Network for Human Rights-BNHR, El Paso, TX.

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14
PROGRAM #10468 12:00 PM PT

Israel’s War on Gaza and US Elections. Amid fears of wider escalation of the war after recent assassinations in Iran, Arab American Democrats in crucial states asked presidential candidate Kamala Harris to discuss an arms embargo on Israel. They said weapons supplied by the US have been used to kill civilians. Nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, as the bombing and a suffocating blockade on Gaza continues. A reporter shares news on Israel’s war and the way the humanitarian disaster in Gaza is playing in the US elections.

Guest: José López Zamorano, News Correspondent, Washington, DC.

Venezuelan Election: The Voting Tallies. Since the disputed presidential election in Venezuela, officials from Brazil, Colombia and Mexico have been in close contact with top representatives of both Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the opposition seeking a solution to the country’s political crisis. The three governments are refraining from taking a position, calling instead on Venezuela’s electoral authorities to release the vote tally sheets.

Guest: Leonardo Flores, Venezuelan Political Analyst, Activist, and Founding Member, Venezuela Solidarity Network, Washington, DC.

Barriers to the Justice System. A recent study found continuing discrimination that Latinos face in the legal profession, the justice system and civic life. Leaders of lawyers say that “significant legal obstacles” remain for many Latino residents and a “growing anti-Latino sentiment continues to fuel discriminatory laws and policies, stir hateful rhetoric, and inspire violence against Hispanics.” What are the effects in the Latino community?

Guest: Gabriel Ramirez-Hernández, Commissioner, American Bar Association Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights and Responsibilities, and Attorney, Norton Rose Fulbright, Minneapolis, MN.

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 15
PROGRAM #10469 11:00 AM PT

Extra Edition: “Water for the People.” (Program Repeat). Renowned scholars on the culture of water and the Rio Grande communities discuss their book “Water for the People,” a collection of essays by world-renowned acequia experts and community leaders. The essays focus on the acequia use and history in places like New Mexico, Chile, Spain, the Middle East and the Philippines. How are modern acequias doing in times of drought and climate change? How sustainable is the acequia agricultural system? What can other communities learn from the acequia tradition in order to save and restore other endangered waterways? What if the acequia irrigation model is replicated in other farming areas? This program was originally aired the previous week.

Guests: Enrique Lamadrid, Professor Emeritus, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, The University of New Mexico-UNM, Albuquerque, NM; José A. Rivera, Research Scholar, Center for Regional Studies and Professor of Community and Regional Planning, The University of New Mexico-UNM, Albuquerque, NM; Laura Ramos, Interim Director, California Water Institute, California State University at Fresno-CSUF, Fresno, CA.

PROGRAM #10470 12:00 PM PT

Menendez to Leave his Seat After Corruption Conviction. Democratic Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey announced his intention to resign from office effective August 20 following his conviction on 16 federal charges including misuse of his official position to benefit New Jersey businessmen and the governments of Egypt and Qatar. Menendez had previously run as an independent candidate for re-election this year and it is unknown whether he still intends to pursue his election plans. A reporter tells about the next steps in this legal case and its ramifications in regards to the upcoming elections.

Guest: José López Zamorano, News Correspondent, Washington, DC.

Governor Opens Door to Doctors Affected by Texas Abortion Restriction. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued a direct appeal to Texas health care providers inviting them to consider relocating to neighboring New Mexico in response to what she calls a “draconian abortion ban” in Texas. What steps is New Mexico taking to make sure it does not follow in Texas’s footsteps in passing restrictive abortion laws?

Guest: Marina Piña, Director of Communications and Marketing, New Mexico Health Care Authority, Santa Fe, NM.

Unprecedented number of evictions in Denver. Nearly a year since Denver set a new record for evictions, Colorado’s most populous city is poised to break that mark in 2024, at a time when the cost of rent exceeds what people can actually afford. In the midst of a crisis exacerbated by a lack of affordable housing options, where to move? How do you tell the government that it is required to offer enough options to stem the problem? A representative of an organization that promotes economic and racial equality comments on this topic.

Guest: César Jiménez, Head of Rental Programs, Community Economic Defense Project-CEDP, Denver, CO.

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 16
PROGRAM #10471 12:00 PM PT

Mexico Edition. A U.S. federal judge in Massachusetts dismissed a ten billion lawsuit against six of the eight US gun manufacturers Mexico sued in 2021. Mexico argues the companies knew weapons were being sold to traffickers who smuggled them into Mexico. The Mexican government may decide to file an appeal. In addition, the official count of the presidential elections of last June 2 grants the majority certification to Claudia Sheinbaum, which proves that she is the elected president of Mexico and, at the same time, the first woman to receive this appointment in the country. And a Oaxaca Court ordered that Juan Antonio Vera Carrizal and two other people, accused of attempted femicide with sulfuric acid against saxophonist María Elena Ríos on September 9, 2019 in Huajuapan de León, remain or return to preventive prison. Analysts discuss these and other news.

Guest: María Elena Ríos, , MX; Mexican saxophonist attacked with sulfuric acid on September 9, 2019, Mexico City, MX; excerpts from recent statements by Mexico’s President-Elect Claudia Sheinbaum, and President of the Electoral Tribunal, Monica Soto.