Linea Abierta Programming: November 25, 2024

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25
PROGRAM #10603 12:00 PM PT

Protecting the Monarch Butterfly. Threatened by climate change, overuse of pesticides, and habitat loss, the migratory monarch butterfly population has been plummeting in recent years. Next week, the Biden administration will announce whether the monarch receives federal protections. Why are we seeing fewer monarch butterflies? What are the consequences of their loss? What would federal protections do to save them? What else can be done?

Guest: Dr. Rebeca Quiñonez-Piñón, Strategist, Monarch Butterfly Recovery, Director, Resilient Habitats Program, National Wildlife Federation, Washington, DC.

Latino Groups Regroup After the Election. After Trump’s election, social leaders around the country are regrouping and calling on civil organizations to come together to discuss the takeaways and the path forward. Groups from around California’s Central Valley gathered in Fresno pledging to organize and mobilize to support communities most at risk of new federal policies. What’s the potential impact of the election on Latinos in the Central Valley? How will Latino groups navigate the turbulent political waters? How can communities overcome the new political challenges?

Guests: Dolores Huerta, President, Dolores Huerta Foundation, Fresno, CA (TBC); Bryan Osorio, Councilmember, City of Delano, Delano, CA (TBC); María Romani, Immigrant Rights Program Director, ACLU of Northern California, Fresno, CA.

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26
PROGRAM #10604 11:00 AM PT

Extra Edition: Debate on Mobile Food Vendors. (Program Repeat). The city of Fresno is considering new rules that would restrict and penalize sidewalk street food vendors. Under the new ordinance, vendors will be more inspected and can’t be close to a freeway ramp, a farmers market or a restaurant. Proponents say the measure is aimed at vendors who obstruct sidewalks and fail to clean up. Opponents call it too punitive and regressive against small entrepreneurs.

Guests: Maria de Leon, Street vendor of tamales and snacks, Fresno, CA; Griselda Silva, Street vendor of tamales and snacks, Fresno, CA; Miguel Ruiz, Street vendor of corn on the cob, slushies and snacks, Vice President, Fresno Street Vendors Association, Fresno, CA; Ariana Martinez-Lott, Consultant, Cultiva la Salud, Fresno, CA. This archival program was originally aired on November 19, 2024.

PROGRAM #10605 12:00 PM PT

Immigration Edition. President-elect Donald Trump confirmed plans to declare a national emergency and deploy the US military to carry out mass deportations on his first day in office. Under this plan, millions of people would be traced, detained and deported invoking the Alien Enemies Act. In the aftermath, in view of the prospects of mass incarceration, stock prices of private prison companies have risen fast. The Trump administration is reportedly also planning to stop issuing passports and Social Security cards to children born in the US to undocumented parents. Immigrant advocates are reactivating rapid-response plans. How are local governments reacting?

Guests: Rosalba Piña, Immigration Law Expert, Chicago, IL; others TBA.

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27
PROGRAM #10606 12:00 PM PT

Bird Flu Surges. As California, Arizona and other states report new cases of bird flu, health care officials are offering more than 100,000 doses of seasonal flu vaccine free of charge to livestock, dairy and poultry farm workers in twelve states to help prevent seasonal influenza and protect rural communities. The plan is to reduce the burden on rural health care systems during influenza season, when respiratory illnesses are most prevalent, and to help distinguish influenza from bird flu (H5) cases.

Guest: Laura M. Castro, DrPH, MPH, Epidemiologist, Global Influenza Branch, Influenza Division, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, GA.

Holiday Shopping Scams. A new report shows that four in five consumers in the country have experienced some form of fraud this year, including gift card scams, counterfeit products, phishing attempts disguised as delivery notifications, and more. Researchers warn that, as the holiday season is upon us, many consumers are unaware of the types of fraud they may encounter when shopping online.

Guest: Gilberto Cabrera, External Relations Advisor, AARP, Phoenix, AZ.

Healthy Thanksgiving. Millions of US residents contract food borne illnesses each year, resulting in an estimated 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths. As Thanksgiving is a time of cooking and big meals for large families, experts share advice on how to prepare dishes keeping in mind vulnerable loved ones such as the elderly and children.

Guest: Beverly López, Spokesperson, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC.

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28 — Holiday Specials
PROGRAM #10607 11:00 AM PT

Extra Edition: Turkey Feasts and Poultry Workers. This archival program, originally aired on November 26, 1999, features a conversation with workers who, although largely invisible to society, are nevertheless the ones who make turkey dinners possible during the holidays. They are workers in the poultry industry. In this conversation, they talk about their work and about how invested these immigrants are in the traditional thanksgiving festivities of the so-called Turkey Day in the USA.

Guests: Antonio Fernández and José Ramírez, Poultry Workers, Fresno, CA; Araceli García, Reporter/Producer, Radio Bilingüe, Fresno, CA.

PROGRAM #10608 12:00 PM PT

The “River People.” The Cocopah, a transnational Indian Tribe divided by the US-Mexico border, was once a thriving people that used to fish in the Colorado River Delta. As the water of the Colorado was diverted for agricultural needs and without the nutrients from the river, the fisheries declined and now the tribe is facing displacement and loss of water and fishing rights. In this program, leading Cucapá fisherwomen in a coastal town where the river ends remember the traditional ways they used to fish in the Colorado River, the factors that forced them to be displaced, the way they manage to survive amid Mexican government fishing bans, the Cucapá’s legal fight to fish gulf corvina, the prominent role of fisherwomen and other topics.

Guests: TBA.

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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29 — Holiday Special
PROGRAM #10609 12:00 PM PT

Mexico Edition: The Potential of Seaweed. In recent years, the coasts in the Mexican Caribbean have been invaded by unusual amounts of seaweed, a brown algae that has caused problems for locals, tourists and the environment. What some see as an enemy and a disaster, scientists see as an opportunity to generate biodiesel, build bricks, cultivate mushrooms and other commercial uses of seaweed. Meantime, kelp forests along the Pacific coast of California and Baja California are being devastated in unprecedented proportions. What’s been done to restore kelp forests and prevent them from disappearing from the sea? Also, edible seaweed is part of traditional cuisine in many cultures and its production can help sustain coastal economies. How are fresh seaweeds prepared and consumed around the world? What’s been done to promote the cultivation and marketing of seaweed for human consumption?

Guests: Jessica Pantoja, Oceanographer and scientific diver, Kelp forest restoration expert, Ensenada, MX; Génesis Samanta León Santos, Oceanographer, Spirulina production project, Ensenada, MX; Dr. José Antonio Zertuche Gonzalez, Researcher, Autonomous University of Baja California-UABC, Ensenada, MX; Víctor Rodriguez, Conservation Journalist, Ensenada, MX.